Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 17,413 complaints for ACURA
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
The headlights and interior lighting flickers when turned on. The vehicle often will not start, but once hooked up to a jumper pack starts immediately despite the batteries being inspected previously and being okay. The start/stop function doesn't always work, and the engine stalls while driving, causing a massive safety issue.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
The headlights and interior lighting flickers when turned on. The vehicle often will not start, but once hooked up to a jumper pack starts immediately despite the batteries being inspected previously and being okay. The start/stop function doesn't always work, and the engine stalls while driving, causing a massive safety issue.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2026
The pressure sensor coming out of the transmission has failed, and it's pushed transmission fluid throughout the engine harness, transmission harness, the bull harness in the dash and the 02 sensors. All of those have been damaged. The car is now unsafe to drive due to the pressure sensor failing. This information comes directly from the Subaru dealership. There was nothing prior to this that indi... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
My 2018 CX5 just hit 50,000 miles recently and I smelled something burning and saw smoke coming from the hood while I was stopped for a school bus. I immediately stopped driving due to fire concerns. The vehicle has a cracked cylinder which is a known issue for this vehicle. Mazda has no plans to correct this issue other than issuing a technical bulletin. I feel that Mazda should repair this at th... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2026
The emergency call is malfunctioning in the overhead console.
Incident date: May 15, 2026
The vehicle experienced a sudden steering malfunction involving the electronic steering gear. While backing out of a parking structure, the steering wheel suddenly jerked and locked instead of naturally correcting, resulting in collision with a pillar. There were no warning lights, steering fault messages, or prior symptoms before the incident. Restarting the vehicle did not resolve the issue. Th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 27, 2025
Driver's side mirror has a distorted view and vibrating, most noticable at highway speeds, especially at night. Took it to a dealership and they were not able to recreate the problem both times it was taken to them. This puts my safety and the safety of others at risk as the mirror has a distorted view, making it extremely difficult (nearly impossible) to accurately judge if a car is in the lane n... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated to start, and multiple warning lights illuminated, including the check engine warning light. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with trouble code P1437. The contact was informed that the motor power inverter had failed and needed to be repl... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
There is a defect in the charging system of the BMW, where upon charging the cable fried BMW refuses to replace the charging cable
Incident date: May 8, 2026
Hi ! I just purchased the 2024 Nissan pathfinder SL on March 13th , 2026 . Three days later I noticed a slight vibration to the car . I was told it was the mount they’d replace both mounts . Get the car from getting the mounts replaced , & when I went to leave with the “ repaired “ the car sounded horrible while in Reverse. It was a loud sound more than just a vibration. I immediately went i... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2025
Vehicle was parked and turned off in a residential driveway when a fire spontaneously ignited in the engine compartment. There were no warning lights, unusual sounds, or symptoms prior to the incident. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire using dry chemical suppressant and water. The vehicle was a total loss. The fire appears to have originated in the front engine compartment... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
Forward collision assist keeps turning off, saying the front camera needs to be cleaned. Loud cracking/clicking/popping noises from front suspension making low speed turns (left and right). Sounds like the wheels want to fall off. I got this Prologue with 4 miles on it, started making those noises at less than 3K. It sounds so bad! Honda seems to be waiting until someone is seriously injur... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
Forward collision assist keeps turning off, saying the front camera needs to be cleaned. Loud cracking/clicking/popping noises from front suspension making low speed turns (left and right). Sounds like the wheels want to fall off. I got this Prologue with 4 miles on it, started making those noises at less than 3K. It sounds so bad! Honda seems to be waiting until someone is seriously injur... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH with cruise control engaged. The low-pressure oil light illuminated. The driver was able to pull over. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who determined that it was 4 quarts low and replenished it. An oil compensation test was performed. The dealer found no issue. While driving, there was an abnormal ba... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
The integrated seat belt guide mechanism on the Graco SlimFit LX 3-in-1 Car Seat malfunctioned by damaging the vehicle's seat belt webbing fabric. The affected vehicle system is the rear occupant seat belt/safety restraint system. Yes, both the damaged Graco car seat and the replaced vehicle seat belt components have been preserved and are available for inspection upon request. The car seat's guid... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2026
I am submitting this complaint regarding my 2021 Kia Telluride experiencing repeated and dangerous electronic system failures while driving. Kia of East Syracuse (NY) diagnosed the issue as related to the backup camera assembly and communication/network failures. While driving, the vehicle experienced loss of power steering assist, instrument cluster failure, speedometer malfunction, incorrect gea... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2026
The vehicle has experienced life-threatening safety defects during operation; shaking, hesitation, and stalling in high-speed traffic. The vehicle unexpectedly stalled/lost power while driving, putting myself and others in direct risk of collision. The Hyundai dealership claimed it needed an Actuator Gasket replacement, Throttle Body replacement, and ECM/TCM update. The vehicle had NO warning lig... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2026
Accident happened while driving on a two-way county road without center lane markings. The driver was leaning to the right of the road. The lane keep assisting overcorrected to the left hitting a culvert. Upon the crash the seat unlocked from its position and slid towards the steering wheel. The seat belt did not lock in time to prevent the seat from considerable forward movement. The airbag loca... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: May 12, 2024
I was driving my 2025 Hyundai Palisade Night Edition on a rural highway at 55mph 245/50R20 102V when I heard a boom. The right front tire sidewall had blown out in 2 spots. I put the spare on and redrove the section where the tire blew out and the highway had no potholes or debris that would have caused any issue.
Incident date: May 10, 2026
I am reporting a serious safety concern involving my 2026 Chevy Traverse that occurred on May 9, 2026 at 6:46pm. While driving at freeway speed in the carpool lane with adaptive cruise control and gap assist engaged, my vehicle suddenly applied the brakes unexpectedly even though there were no vehicles directly in front of me. The nearest visible vehicle was a significant distance ahead, and ther... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2026
Evap purge valve stuck open, coolant pooling in spark plugs, and oil combusting rapidly causing fire and explosion fears. Heavy smell of gasoline to where i didn't feel safe to start or drive
Incident date: May 10, 2026
The Integrated Thermal Management System (ITMS) in my Kia K5 GT (2.5T engine) has experienced a recurring internal electronic and mechanical fault. This is the third failure of this component. The failure causes the cooling system to malfunction, either by over-cooling or failing to cycle coolant once at operating temperature. Under acceleration—specifically when merging onto expressways—th... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2026
Had to replace transmission at 133k miles. It was jolting sometimes providing a hard jolt at times will driving. There are also times of what feels like a cylinder misfire. Oil is constantly leaking and have to replace oil every 1k Miles. Have had multiple shops look at it and not able to find anything. Now during acceleration there is a huge grey smoke cloud coming from the exhaust. Looking at th... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2026
I was driving with trailer attacked coming from [XXX] , in the middle of the overseas highway (a two lane steet) the truck loss power and stalled and would not start. I was only able to move slightly to the side, with half the trailer with boat still sitting in the road. My family was on board and I am alive and an accident didn't happen. I called a tow truck (took an hour to get to me) and charg... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2026
After updating to Tesla FSD 14.3, whenever I take over from FSD, the vehicle displays a mandatory “intervention reason” prompt on the center screen. The prompt does not disappear unless the driver selects a reason. This occurs immediately after a disengagement/takeover, when the driver may still need full attention on the road. The prompt can cover map/navigation information and forces interac... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
The transmission shifted from 10th gear to 9th gear and then to 8th gear on a flat freeway going 70 mph. It quickly reduced our speed causing vehicles behind us to brake hard so as not to crash into the back of us. Ford and the dealership have been no help because of the transmission being out of warranty. Ford knows there is a problem but refuses to fix it. Customer service and safety is not more... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2026
I am submitting this report regarding a serious and potentially fatal unintended vehicle acceleration incident that occurred immediately after my vehicle was returned from repair. I originally brought the vehicle to the dealership’s body shop following a collision. The repairs included the replacement and repair of cracked grille covers, sensors, rear damage, and the rear camera system. The veh... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: May 8, 2026
I have had several instances of the infotainment system freezing up after starting the Jeep and putting it into reverse. When this happens, the radio sound is replaced with a buzzing noise and the rear camera image becomes frozen. None of the radio controls work and putting the vehicle into Park doesn't have any impact. The only resolution is to push and hold the power button until the system r... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2026
The sunroof seal isn't working. It lifts when going through a car wash, and water is getting in.
Incident date: May 8, 2026
The sunroof seal isn't working. It lifts when going through a car wash, and water is getting in.
Incident date: May 9, 2026
Factory windshield has what looks to be micro sized cracks clustered throughout the glass and when the sun or other bright light hits at certain angles makes it look like a star field and drastically obscures forward vision.
Incident date: May 9, 2026
Factory windshield has what looks to be micro sized cracks clustered throughout the glass and when the sun or other bright light hits at certain angles makes it look like a star field and drastically obscures forward vision.
Incident date: May 9, 2026
Backing out of a parking spot at Lowe's in Jacksonville, vehicle was in motion and a pedestrian walked behind the vehicle and no warning or braking occurred inside the vehicle, I manually stopped when I saw the person appear in the camera as they walked behind the vehicle.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Sienna Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V668000 (SEATS). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had n... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2026
[XXX] old child pulled the seat belt out farther than necessary, creating slack. The seatbelt got twisted and it won't retract into the trim. We tried tugging, trying to unfold the ripple at the trim and We tried folding the belt into a triangle, pushing it back in to re-engage the pulls but it did not work. we now have no seatbelt for the 2nd row passenger side. The belt is extended and wil... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2026
My car has an issue officially diagnosed by a reputable mechanic that matches the claim of the former TSB SA-058/20 that was changed and clarified through the now existing TSB SA-031/21. My car has a cracked cylinder head. This is the non turbo engine but it does have cylinder deactivation which his believed to be a culprit. The cracking is known to be caused by a manufacturing defect. There i... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
LT245/75R16. Driving north on I-77 around Charlotte, NC around 7:40 PM and the tire blew out. I saw in my left rearview mirror the treads roll off the right side of the highway. I did not run over anything. Travel speed was 65 to 70 mph in medium traffic. No warning lights came on. Did not lose control and was able to navigate to the left side of highway when enough space opened up after a g... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
LT245/75R16. Driving north on I-77 around Charlotte, NC around 7:40 PM and the tire blew out. I saw in my left rearview mirror the treads roll off the right side of the highway. I did not run over anything. Travel speed was 65 to 70 mph in medium traffic. No warning lights came on. Did not lose control and was able to navigate to the left side of highway when enough space opened up after a g... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2024
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Automatic braking system brakes for no reason when I am not near any cars traveling at high speed or even when I am already at a complete stop or moving very slowly but not anywhere near hitting the car in front of me. This has happened multiple times since I leased this car in July 2025 and it seems... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2026
I am reporting that authorized dealer Audi Knoxville (Harper Auto Square) is KNOWINGLY AND WILLINGLY attempting to force me to operate an unsafe vehicle. Following an intake manifold repair, the dealership’s service staff identified carbon buildup and fouled spark plugs as a necessary repair, while the manufacturer (Audi of America) has reclassified it as 'maintenance' to avoid coverage. Because... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2026
The failing component is the same as Land Rover Discovery 2017-2020 recall /N221 service action. Complaint is to extend this service action/ recall to later production models of Land Rover Discovery in the years 2021 and 2022. The same issues are occurring as reported with Land Rover discovery 2017-2020. Due to a faulty sealant mechanism, the windshield is leaking water on the inside of vehicl... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that he initially began to notice that his engine would consume oil at a rapid pace. As the failure persisted, the vehicle would shudder upon depression of the accelerator pedal as the check engine light appeared on the instrument panel. In addition, the contact stated that white smoke would emit from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was ta... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
The front radar sensor behind the emblem on the grill is very easily stolen due to a design flaw. It was stolen, replaced, and stolen a second time. This is happening so much that Honda can’t keep up with replacement parts, leading to service delays, which cause many people, including my pregnant wife and now new baby, to drive for weeks without critical safety features. This is unacceptable and... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X5 PHEV. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM), but the failure persisted. The contact stated that a month after the repairs were completed, the coolant connector would stay on and drain the battery. The contact stated that after the vehicle was turned off at night, the coolant connector overheated... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
Ford has acknowledged the defect (recall 26S28). · my truck experienced the dangerous downshift and wheel lockup. · Ford has no fix available until June 30th, leaving me without a safe vehicle. · Ford is refusing to provide a loaner or rental. The wheel locked on me and causing the vehicle to be uncontrollable, in wet condition. Causes a near fatal accident. I do have a dash Camera recording to... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
When applying the brakes when slowing down fro a traffic light or in traffic, the brkaes suddely stop workign for a few sseconds at a speed of 5-10 mph, causing car to lurch forward before the brakes reengage. This has existed for a couple of year but has gotten worse in thelast 6 month.s The risk is that the lurch occurs prior ot the full stop ,potentilly causing the car to run into the car ... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2026
My 2017 Hyundai Tucson is experiencing dangerous, sudden engine stalling, which are symptoms directly matching Service Campaign T1B. These critical safety issues surfaced following a total engine replacement in June 2025. Despite the vehicle being within the 12-month/12,000 mile workmanship warranty, the dealership is refusing to honor this coverage or offer goodwill assistance. My claim is base... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera would display a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure had obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2026
One day out of the blue, my Jeep Wrangler received a "Service Shifter" error code. The error code threw about 40 other codes at the same time. Loss of power steering, loss of abs, engine kept revving on its own, windshield wipers turned on. While in park it felt as if it was trying to shift itself into other gears. Loss of steering while driving as well as the engine revving up and down while on t... Read more