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: Sep 27, 2018
Received recall notice for vehicle listed above. Contacted the local Ford dealer and talked to the service writer. They stated as the recall notice outlined that currently Ford does not have remedy for the situation. In the recall notice it outlines one of the issues could be the vehicle to stall particularly in hot weather conditions.. I live on the Gulf Coast (hot humid conditions) and com... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
I am reporting a serious and recurring safety defect with my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, purchased new in January 2024. The vehicle has suffered from over 30–40 sudden hybrid system failures, including loss of acceleration, “Stop Vehicle” warnings, and check engine lights. These incidents happen without warning, including while driving at legal speeds (40–70 mph), on residential streets ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
I am reporting a serious and recurring safety defect with my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, purchased new in January 2024. The vehicle has suffered from over 30–40 sudden hybrid system failures, including loss of acceleration, “Stop Vehicle” warnings, and check engine lights. These incidents happen without warning, including while driving at legal speeds (40–70 mph), on residential streets ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
My warning lights are showing my driver front tire psi is high passenger front is real high and passenger rear is high then driver rear is extremely low. There are no signs of hole in tire but took to tire professional and they told me the rear tire has a manufacturer defect. Looks like it has been burnt or cut out spot on inside tire wall. My tire size is 255/60/R18. I have called the dealership ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving over a bump at a high rate of speed, the contact experienced the death wobble and the contact temporarily lost control of the vehicle. The contact slowed down and the violent shaking ceased. The contact stated that the tie rods, ball joints, and other front-end parts were replaced to reduce the risk of the failure recurring.... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2017
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experience... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2017
At 60k miles the car started making noises when I start it. I took it in and they said it was the timing chain. Also my engine light keeps coming on and it says Emissions Error. I have purchased several Fords and I don’t plan on major repairs every 5 years. Especially the day it goes out of warranty. Apparently the timing chain is a big problem according to the repair company at around 5 years o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2017
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, an unknown brake message was displayed on the instrument panel. In addition, the failure progressed, and the brake pedal felt loose, and the vehicle would not come to a stop as intended while the brake pedal was depressed. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH on the interstate, the low brake fluid warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road and became aware that the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The contact exited the vehicle to check the brake fluid and became aware that the brake fluid was low. The contact purchased brake fl... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact had received notification of an undisclosed recall campaign, and the vehicle was taken to a dealer to be repaired; however, the failure occurred within several months after the repair. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear and the vehicle stopped unintende... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
2025 “EV Battery Electronic Coolant Pump” issue tied to U1118 error message failed at 1072 miles. Dashboard flashed warning messages and A/C cooling failed.
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
The brake system, it is in the repair shop. I could not stop the car, had I been on the highway I hate to think what could have happened to me or others. No, it has not been reproduced. It is in the repair shop. No, it is in the repair shop. No, there was no warning lights or messages or problems prior to this. I was pulling into a parking space at work in the parking garage and as I pushed down ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
The steering wheel has a very distinct wobble. It moves in every direction as if the locking bolt is loose.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2025
Recall Action Soon Issue Since 07-11-2025 Low pressure fuel pump failure For More Information Telematics Generated Issue Recall Action Soon Issue Since 05-16-2025 Rear camera screen software update For More Information Telematics Generated Issue
Incident date: Jul 20, 2025
The floor behind the passenger side gets very hot and you cannot touch where the tracks for the seat are with your hand for risk of pain. This occurs for the middle passenger behind the front passenger and also the third row floor on the passenger side. Also the temperature in the cabin is substantially warmer due to this heat
Incident date: Jun 15, 2025
Recall Action Soon Issue Since 06-20-2025 Powertrain control module and secondary on-board diagnostic control module c software upddate For More Information Telematics Generated Issue Recall Action Soon Issue Since 04-25-2025 Drivers side seat buckle replacement For More Information Telematics Generated Issue Recall Action Soon Issue Since 11-08-2024 2021-2023 model year mach-e vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2025
Clutch slipping causing the inability to accelerate when needed
Incident date: Jul 19, 2025
I purchased this truck about a year ago. After two oil changes, the cam phasers began to rattle on startup. It has the 3.5l Ecoboost engine. This is a known problem and there have been tsb's but they come and go during short windows. The cam phasers were finally updated in 2021 but some people have paid thousands in and out of warranty, some multiple times before the issue is fixed. Ford say... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2025
Subject: Known Carbon Buildup Issue in 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan TSI – Request for Recall and Accountability To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally express my concern and request action regarding a well-documented and dangerous issue affecting Volkswagen TSI engines—specifically, severe carbon buildup. I am the current owner of a 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan TSI, which I purchased in April 2... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2025
2017 Nissan Altima with CVT transmission losses acceleration while driving.
Incident date: Jul 17, 2025
The engine block is leaking coolant into piston cylinder #4. This caused misfires resulting in reduced power when needed causing a few close call accidents. The loss of coolant could have also cause the engine to overheat and catch fire due to the loss of coolant. Yes, the check engine light came on in early March 2025 so I took it to Advanced auto and O'Reilly's for for diagnoses at first, both ... Read more
ACURA
RDX
(2025) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:FLUID/LUBRICANT:VALVES/VALVE BODY
Jul 18, 2025
Incident date: Jul 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Sierra 2500. The contact stated that while his son was driving 60-62 MPH in tenth gear, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to seventh gear. There was an abnormally loud clunking sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve body needed ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2025
There have been several instances where the vehicle’s “Idle-Stop” feature failed to restart the vehicle resulting in a stall. This has happened in heavy traffic including once in the middle of a busy intersection while waiting to make a left turn. My vehicle has not been inspected by the dealer, but this is a known issue with an open investigation.
Incident date: Mar 2, 2025
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle experienced an electrical malfunction that caused it to shut off or switch into an inoperable gear while in motion, without driver input. A “Central Locking: Malfunction” message appeared on the dashboard at the time of failure. Yes, the vehicle is currently with Audi North Atlanta an... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2025
Every time I turn my left turn signal on my headlights high beams come on weather headlights are turned on or not even if I have my headlights on on low beam, it does not do it when I turn my right turn signal on. It does it whether I have my auto headlights on or off. I'm sure it's been happening longer than that that's just the first time I was informed by someone I was following on the highway
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
The ABS pump/motor, ABS modulator needs to be replaced. This is a pretty common issue with the Honda Accord from 2008-2017. Fixing this problem is expensive at the dealer. I believe Honda motors should have a recall about this situation because how pricy this is. Looking online for information and videos on youtube many people have been quoted 2,800 dollars and up to replace it. I just replace the... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
On June 30, 2025, I was driving at about 55 mph with the smart cruise on. A message appeared on the left side of the dash (in the left circular screen) that said “Conditions for smart cruise have not been met”. And the cruise turned off, Then a second message appeared that said the engine has been put on idle. At that time I tried to use the gas pedal and got no response. Fortunately I was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2023
Cv axles went out at 55k causing shaking at highway speeds while accelerating. Frequently when starting the car the steering wont activate right away even after the car begins to move for 5-10 feet. Dealer cant replicate because it doesnt happen every time. But it is still doing it and may cause a crash in the future....
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
While driving along the transmission slipped into neutral and would not move forward.Could have been hit from behind.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
Was driving in a FastTrack/commuter lane on the Interstate at 65MPH, all of a sudden my car would not accelerate forward. It coasted a bit. I was able to stop between the Fastrack lane and an exit space, in the triangular median. I easily could have gotten hit, especially if I had been where there was no painted median I decided to walk behind the sand filled garbage cans that were infrint of the... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 30 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk, the driver lost control of the vehicle, and the vehicle stalled. The shift key inoperable message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V343000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
The blender door that controls the air flow will close all the way and causes fog build up on the front windshield constantly whether it's cold or hot outside. It also randomly changes from hot to cold during driving. This is a concern due to drivability with the windshield fogging up or the comfortability of driving in extreme conditions ie... Hot, cold, or rainy conditions keeping the temperatur... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
The blender door that controls the air flow will close all the way and causes fog build up on the front windshield constantly whether it's cold or hot outside. It also randomly changes from hot to cold during driving. This is a concern due to drivability with the windshield fogging up or the comfortability of driving in extreme conditions ie... Hot, cold, or rainy conditions keeping the temperatur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2023
The turbocharger failed on my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T. It is still on the vehicle and available for inspection upon request. The turbo failure caused a severe loss of engine power, making acceleration dangerously slow and unpredictable, especially when merging onto highways or passing vehicles. This sudden reduction in power could have caused a rear-end collision or made it impossible to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2025
Around 37,000 miles, I intermittently started getting a Shift to Park error while the car was already in park. Whenever it happened, I had to turn the car off an on many times and jiggle the shifter until it went away. I brought it to Bomnin Chevrolet in Manassas, but it wasn't happening that day. I was then forced to come back, around 40,000 miles, when the error/beeping became persistent. I c... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2025
The vehicle stopped playing interior sounds, including indicator “clicks”; alerts like collision avoidance, parking collision warning, etc; as well as radio. A hard reset of the infotainment system was required to restore functionality. The issue continued through multiple times “turning the vehicle off” and starting again. Malfunctioning Component: Infotainment system. Available for insp... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
I purchased the 2023 ford maverick xlt with about 12,000 miles in may, right from the start I started having problems with the steering freezing up, almost hit a wall exiting the freeway, a few times it happened close to my house, it happens without warning, the warning "steering assist fault service required"comes up on dashboard , I have gone to the dealer a few times, the first time they said ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
Forward lane collision warning is dangerous. It fully stopped on the freeway during traffic and other times because it thinks im going to hit another car when I was rolling no foot on pedal.. there is no permanent way to turn it off. Has to be drone each drive. Dangerous and almost caused me to get into accidents
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
My 2018 Mini Convertible has 47,000 miles on it. Recently the convertible top stopped retracting and now doesn't fit snuggly when closed. I brought my car into the dealer and they said that a cable broke and gave me a repair quote of $4600-. I sent a msg to Mini USA and they called me and said they would cover the repair if it breakage wasn't due to something I did improperly. About a week lat... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The dashboard design produces a glare that is visible under almost all lighting conditions. The glare is very distracting and can make it difficult to see in some situations.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
Initially my van began with a simple engine stall and total electrical failure while driving down the highway. The check engine light came on and the van was taken to the dealer to explore the problem. Multiple codes were found and were fixed which included coils, O2 sensors, fuel pump control module and several other things. Then a few days after picking the van up from the shop it had another en... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2025
Vehicle: 2017 Chevrolet Volt Purchased: March 2017, new from Quality Chevrolet, Escondido, CA I am reporting a persistent and worsening issue with the “Shift to Park” system in my 2017 Chevy Volt. The problem began approximately three months after purchase (mid-2017) and has continued to worsen over time. Initially, the issue occurred intermittently, but it now happens every time I attempt to... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
While car was on a warning popped up saying "Service Transmission" and then another warning popped up saying "Propulsion Power is Reduced". This then limited the speed of the car and the acceleration significantly making it extremely unsafe to drive. Thankfully I was not on the interstate, but I certainly would have been hit if I was. This car is less than 2 years old, has under 10,000 miles, and ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2025
Jeep begins to display 4WD service light. Took it into a transmission shop who informed that Power Distribution Unit needs to be replaced. They indicated that there is an active recall on this part and that it should be taken to a Jeep Service Center. Jeep Service Center confirmed that it is indeed a PDU issue and that there is an active recall on this part. This serial number vehicle, however... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2025
My Volkswagen Tiguan suddenly and without warning blew a large amount of smoke out of the exhaust along with oil while driving at highway speeds - causing the cars behind me to lose visibility and possibly be covered with oil further reducing their visibility due to the VW manufacturers faulty crankcase breather/pcv valve. After this happened the car dash lit up with warnings and went into "limp m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2025
The vehicle is a motor home equipped with a Fiamma F45 Eagle power-operated awning. While I was driving the vehicle on an interstate highway, the awning deployed for unknown reasons and was partially torn from the vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2025
I had an awful noise that accompanied a sticky/ inconsistent brake pedal feel and braking concerns. Upon contacting multiple dealerships and honda corporate is was told everything is working as designed. I filed a claim with NCDS and was awarded a repair. When contacting the dealership and manufacturer they did another inspection and said it's working as designed and there was nothing to repair. N... Read more