Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 16,985 complaints for ACURA
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
Started hearing like a water sloshing noise when stopping or accelerating. I took it to the shop and coolant was low no apparent leak of any kind. They put coolant in and within a few weeks I started hearing the water noise again added coolant again and check engine light came on. Code read misfire on cylinder 1. Check engine light would pop on and then go off. Started rough cranking took it to th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the exhaust manifold bolts had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage wa... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
At 60,000 miles the engine began knocking and recently the engine blew through the bottom and cracked.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
2 WEEKS AGO, I WAS DRIVING MY JEEP AND STOPPED FOR A TRAIN. THE JEEP SUDDENLY CUT OFF. I PUT IT IN PARK AND IT STARTED RIGHT UP. AFTER THE TRAIN PASSED, I DROVE APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET TO THE NEXT STOP SIGN AND IT CUT OFF AGAIN. IT RESTARTED, BUT I HAVEN'T DRIVEN IT FOR ANY DISTANCE SINCE THEN BECAUSE I'M AFRAID IT WILL CUT OFF ON THE HIGHWAY WHILE I'M GOING TO WORK OR ELSEWHERE. ALL MAINTENAN... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
While filling the gas tank with fuel the fuel spits back causing an unsafe condition. There is a technical service bulletin for this by Ford (number 22-2433), but no recall. Many people have complained about this condition.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
The car has a reoccuring problem where is stalls in the middle of driving the vehicle. A warning comes up to shift to park. The car then restarts, runs extremely rough and stalls out. It then signals to shift to park again. The car is extremely unsafe. I took the vehicle to GM dealer and they said the car is "confused" between running on the battery and combustible engine. I have seen se... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2019
For the past year, when I place the car in reverse the backup camera shows a reverse image. Items on the left appear on the camera as being on the right, and visa-versa. The first time it occurred I backed into a ditch. This occurs nine out of ten times. The hazard to pedestrians and chance of an accident is substantially increased. I contacted the local Ford dealer who showed no interest in my co... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jan 2, 2022
Tesla Model Y 2023 running on Enhanced AutoPilot (software up to date as of Nov. 19, 2024) on a highway in the rush hour when traffic is moving at the speed of 5 - 30 mph, failed to identify the trailer in the front and sped up. I had to take over control, apply brakes to avoid the rear-ending the trailer in front of me. Tesla was speeding up as if the road was open. In the computer display it doe... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2024
Dear NHTSA, I am seeking assistance and compensation for ongoing warranty and repair issues with my Toyota Prius. Key Incident Timeline: •March 21, 2024: Dashboard message “Grille Shutter Inoperable” •March 25, 2024: Toyota of Glendale visit •Charged $220 for diagnostics •Refused to honor service bulletin •Vehicle mileage: 149,217 Customer Service Interactions: •April 9, 2024: •C... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
Transmission vibrates when it approaches 35 mph and 65 mph. The vibration feels like rumble strips and last for 3 seconds
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
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 20, 2024
Greenway CDJR in Florence Alabama did the T33 airbag recall on my Grand Caravan. I recently found out while investigating another issue that they had taken a shortcut and the work wasn't properly or thoroughly done. The recall was to correct an issue with exposed wiring and the remedy was to install a protective sleeve. Rather than remove the retaining clip to install the whole length of sleeve th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
While waiting at a red traffic light in drive and on a slight incline, engine shut off by itself and car started rolling backward with my foot on the brake pedal. The pedal felt harder than normal to push but didn't stop the car. A car stopped behind me was put at risk of impact with the rear of my vehicle. I could see I was getting closer and closer to hitting the other car. As this was happenin... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
There are times when I go to start the car and it will not start. It sounds like it is trying but won’t completely turn on. When I press the starter to the off position and then try again it works. We took it to the dealership and they said I need a new Fuel Pump. There is a recall for this but not on my vehicle.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2024
I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the safety recall issued for my 2023 Jeep Wrangler Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) under Recall Number 95B/NHTSA 24V-720. The recall highlights a critical defect in the High Voltage (HV) battery, which poses a severe risk of fire due to internal cell damage caused by defective components. While I understand that FCA US LLC is working on ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
The transmission shifts hard when going at speed and slowing down through about 30mph. Sometimes it will not accelerate, like when passing another car. Overall poor transmission shifting. This is an ongoing issue.
ACURA
MDX
(2019) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER:SENSOR/SENDING UNIT
Nov 19, 2024
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
I've experienced 3 of these Vehicle Network Communication Errors while driving, two of which were recent and after the problem was supposedly fixed at the dealership. Most recent event failure event occured 11/14/24 during rain. This is a frightening and serious problem. The car is back at the dealership now, awaiting inspection again since their first fix wasn't a fix. While driving there are ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Motorcycle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V129000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and contacted the dealer to schedule the recall repair appointment; however, the dealer informed the contact that they could not assist because the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a re... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
Transmission failed at 59000 miles had it replaced and it’s failing again a year later
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
I am [XXX] and I have owned Honda/Acura since I was 16 yrs old. My last vehicle was a Honda Odyssey minivan with 423K when I donated it, running well to a family that fostered kids! I bought a new 2016 Acura MDX and now it is 8 years old and has 180K on it. I get the oil changed and other normal service maintenance done only at Honda or Acura dealerships. I have never had a car accident and I ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the output speed sensor failed to function properly, causing the vehicle not to operate and accelerate as needed. The contact pulled over, turned off, restarted the vehicle, and was able to continue driving. The contact stated that several times after turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle failed t... Read more
ACURA
MDX
(2016) — SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:WHEEL SPEED SENSOR/TONE RING
Nov 18, 2024
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the output speed sensor failed to function properly, causing the vehicle not to operate and accelerate as needed. The contact pulled over, turned off, restarted the vehicle, and was able to continue driving. The contact stated that several times after turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle failed t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
Short in the car headlight and rear high brake lights. Have replaced the lights and entire headlight but day time running lights and front headlight keep going out. The headlights also have a halo effect. Rear passenger tire also keeps deflating even when tire as been checked for holed and leaks.
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
While we were driving we heard what sounded like a shot, when we pulled over we noticed the rear window was shattered, and noticed nothing had gone through or hit it After inspecting it. My daughter was scared to stay in the car so we had to call someone to pick them up and give them a ride. The dealership told me my vehicle is no longer under warranty only drivetrain warranty and that it was not ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
Subject: Urgent Safety Concern and Request for Immediate Resolution – Cracked Sunroof on Tesla Model Y 2024 To Whom It May Concern, My name is [XXX] , a United States citizen and resident of Florida. I am writing to formally express my deep concern and dissatisfaction regarding a significant safety issue with my Tesla Model Y 2024, which I purchased directly through Tesla’s official website.... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
Subject: Urgent Safety Concern and Request for Immediate Resolution – Cracked Sunroof on Tesla Model Y 2024 To Whom It May Concern, My name is [XXX] , a United States citizen and resident of Florida. I am writing to formally express my deep concern and dissatisfaction regarding a significant safety issue with my Tesla Model Y 2024, which I purchased directly through Tesla’s official website.... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
My 2023 Sierra has an issue with the tailgate opening at any given time while in park. The dealer denied such issue until I noted a GM recall on the tailgate switch becoming contaminated with water. My issue is the amount of items, such as tools, half full plastic gas cans, shovel, etc, that I have lost out the rear of my vehicle endangering other motorists. My tailgate has become damaged, mostl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2024
Electric power steering went out completely. 2013 vehicle and Dodge will not repair since the part is not available. The part cannot be repaired. Extremely dangerous driving and steering with a Dodge Ram 1500 vehicle. Forums are full of this same issue, and no repair options from Dodge corporation. Dodge service and independent service verified the problem was the power steering module th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2024
The rear differential started making noise and growling. Upon draining the differential, we found a lot of metal debris. Upon reading on this issue, we found that Cadillac has had this issue with past models. It seems that the original G.M. part is no longer available. This could be a safety risk if the rear wheels are to lock up due to debris. It has not been confirmed by the dealer, the vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2023
The exterior A-pillar trim panel on my 2011 Ford Explorer has detached multiple times while driving. The first incident occurred when the original panel flew off into traffic, creating a safety hazard for other road users. Since then, I have been using a temporary replacement panel, which also continues to detach while driving, further escalating the safety risk. I have been attempting to resolve... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
My rear passenger side window will not go back up. It is constantly receiving power to pull the roll the window down. This is a known problem in the community. If you visit any Ford F-150, Explorer, or Maverick forum, there are post about work arounds on how to get the window up and temporarily get the window to stay up until the part comes in to repair it the correct way. Many of the people are p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
I understand Honda isn't doing soo well so I hope this is added to the list of the feds research we just bought this tlx aspec don't understand how these cars need to be 4000lbs but anyway the gas mileage advertised is not what you get I've seen on multiple forms people are saying they experience 13 mpg and on a cylinder engine that is just not acceptable 2 hear grinding noises in our drive train ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
I am experiencing sudden deceleration when the gear suddenly shifted from higher gear 7, 8, 9 to gear 1 for only a few seconds then shifted back to gear 7, 8, or 9 again. This could happen at lower speed like 30s or 40s mph, or also happened at higher speed like 70s. It happens randomly. There are also other typical transmission issues like hard shift, will not shift into gear etc.. but the random... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
The first generation with the 1.4l turbo engine. Had two air lines coming off of the air filter container. They are solid and break when the dealer does the courtesy check during oil changes. It is a common problem showing online and the dealers do not take responsibility for it
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
I've received the recall notice for my car about 2 years ago. I've tried to schedule time with the dealership to get it fixed but they just keep telling me they don't have the parts or I have to wait till something "bad" happens first for them to prioritize me. This seems really unsafe and bad practice. I've reached out to Honda and they have open a case to review this but has not gotten back to m... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failed to function as intended. In addition, the power steering fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the nearest gas station; however, the contact attempted to make a turn and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
The low beam light is extremely dim, making it unsafe and dangerous to drive at night. I hope this issue can be considered for a recall.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
After six months, VW still doesn't have a repair for recall 24V344. My speedometer, backup camera, climate control, and all other functions controlled via the display screens malfunction. Both the dealer and and VW customer service have confirmed that no repair is available and they also will not provide a refund or replacement. My only option is to continue driving the car with malfunctioning ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V797000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2024
I received the "Important Safety Recall" notice in May 2024. I immediately called my Honda Dealer and was told that parts were on order, and I would be notified when available, however, the approximate date for resolution was in the Fall. I have called 4 times and received the same answer. Here we are in November 2024 and still no resolution. I am always asked if my vehicle is stalling, hesit... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2024
I’ve had issues with my transmission since I purchased the vehicle new. Most of the time it just downshifts from like 4/5th gear to 1st/2nd gear and slams the truck. Very horrible shifting. I’ve also had it before though that I’m going through an intersection and the truck can’t find the gear and I have no acceleration for a few seconds. Luckily I haven’t gotten hit before. I brought it... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
I started to break saw a major traffic jam . And my steering started shaking and my breaks did not Stop like they're supposed to.almost was i huge crash w I th my [XXX] and [XXX] old INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the vehicle was recently repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V132000 (Suspension, Steering). The contact stated that approximately one week after the recall was completed, while driving approximately 40 MPH and following a curve in the roadway, the contact heard an abnormal clicking sound coming from the suspension on the fro... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact depressed the brake pedal, and he was sitting at the stop light when the ABA warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that whenever the vehicle was stopped and sitting for a period of time, the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed ... Read more