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: Dec 22, 2024
In June 2024, my vehicle suddenly lost power while I was driving on the freeway, almost causing a serious accident. I managed to restart the car after being stuck on the shoulder of the freeway for several minutes. The same issue occurred the following day, prompting me to have the vehicle towed to the dealership. Hyundai Motor was contacted since the vehicle is still under warranty. The dealersh... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2024
In June 2024, my vehicle suddenly lost power while I was driving on the freeway, almost causing a serious accident. I managed to restart the car after being stuck on the shoulder of the freeway for several minutes. The same issue occurred the following day, prompting me to have the vehicle towed to the dealership. Hyundai Motor was contacted since the vehicle is still under warranty. The dealersh... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2024
Brakes are loud been changed to new ones, engine makes a small sound
Incident date: Oct 24, 2024
Every time road conditions are wet (rain, snow) the drive lane module gets wet and will disable entire transmission and several error codes come up stating power train failure. Hill start assist is disabled, 4wd is disabled, pre-collision assist is disabled and the Bronco Sport's drive modes for various road conditions are also disabled. Service engine soon light came on along with several message... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2024
Every time road conditions are wet (rain, snow) the drive lane module gets wet and will disable entire transmission and several error codes come up stating power train failure. Hill start assist is disabled, 4wd is disabled, pre-collision assist is disabled and the Bronco Sport's drive modes for various road conditions are also disabled. Service engine soon light came on along with several message... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken a dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into cylinder #2, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. T... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Cadenza. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in a recall 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. After the repair was completed, while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle was shifted into reverse and then driven before a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Cadenza. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in a recall 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. After the repair was completed, while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle was shifted into reverse and then driven before a... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2024
Our 2018 Chrysler Pacifica had a check engine light come on and we immediately took it to get it checked out. The mechanic said that it had a cylinder 5 misfire that would require a new engine. Our Pacifica only has 68,000 miles on it. The vehicle never over heated and we did routine maintenance by the manufacture recommendations. Our extended warranty is denying the claim due to coolant leaki... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2024
I just went to a professional auto mechanics and they have confirmed that my 2014 Honda Odessey engine has the same symtoms and noise of a connecting rod bearings failure. The engine is making a lot of engine knocking noise. and recently, the connecting rod has failed. The safety issue is that with a stall engine on freeway, it can cause serious accident. I have the car here. I wonder if... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2024
Problemas con el motor, específicamente la lubricación. El vehículo fue reparado y aún continuó con los problemas de lubricación, incluyendo los llamados " sprocket" que se dañaron. He leído que Hyundai a retirado muchos vehículos por este mismo problema.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
First: wiper motor stopped working, so it would not spray washer fluid to clean front or rear windows. Multiple people have had the same issue, only way to fix was replace Second: rear heat stopped working, dealership said we were the 5th tahoe in the last 2 weeks with the same issue. The "lines needed blown out" was what they said the fix was.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
Seat Calibration; Airbag/Seat Belt Tensioner, level control system malfunction etc
Incident date: Dec 18, 2024
New tires installed on vehicle 12/10/24. Passenger rear tire blew out at 65mph on interstate on 12/16/24. Car was able to be controlled, some damage to vehicle. Could have resulted in severe injury and/or death.
Incident date: Dec 13, 2024
Rear door sensors do not work. No dash light or dome light to indicate if a door is open or adjar. If a child is in the back seat doors could be left open and the driver would not know.
Incident date: Dec 17, 2024
Illegal communication device on and inside truck harss and stalk driver across state lines divert driver attention while driving
Incident date: Dec 17, 2024
Vehicle Information: • Make: Tesla • Model: Model Y • Year: 2024 Description of the Problem: After a software update pushed by Tesla, the AP4 computer in my 2024 Tesla Model Y shorted out, causing a complete failure of all systems controlled by this computer. The following safety-critical and driver-assist features have become non-functional: 1. Cruise Control (adaptive or otherwise) 2. Forw... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
honda has yet to fix the fuel pump issue after issuing recall on the fuel pump over a year ago. I've been by the Honda dealership numerous times trying to get this recall fixed. Now i am having many issues with my car and i can't even drive it at this point. The Honda dealership told me that I have a cracked head which has caused may other issues. There is known issues with the 2018 Honda accord... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
Warning light on dash (power steering) I had no power steering at all !thank God I was at a Drive Thur at that moment . Took car to my mechanic(Steve Brook)Family Auto 26937 Eckel Rd. Perrysburg Ohio 43551 419-931-1900 they diagnosed power steering needs to be replaced and they looked up recall on 2008 Chevy Malibu’s so I called around and I’m getting no where on a recall on this but when l... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware of a puddle of fuel on the ground underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with the fuel pump failure. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact was informed that th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2025 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (Steering); 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 made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was mad... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
I have a open recall on my vehicle from 2/2024 VIN [XXX] Honda Will not honor it because, they don’t have the parts is what I was told. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Feb 18, 2021
UNKNOWN/ my car came up with an engine code . Trouble accelerating, tends to runs hot ( drive train malfunction
Incident date: Dec 14, 2024
When I was driving my car had stopped driving, the engine light had popped up. I put a new battery, and starter on to see if that was the problem, but it wasn’t. I then took the car to battleground Kia in Greensboro, NC. They confirm that the engine had stopped working due to being locked up and it had a recall on it. First they said they can’t fix the engine without my registration and licens... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2024
AUTO PARKING FEATURE MALFUNCTION AND BACKED RIGHT REAR QUARTER PANEL AND BUMPER INTO A YELLOW POLE IN A PARKING SPOT.
Crash
Incident date: Dec 13, 2024
Within the first year of purchase, my power train system has beeb throwing codes. I took it to the dealership where they assured me nothing was wrong. My fuel injectors then gave out. The dealership replaced them and told me “yes these things are faulty and we see it a lot”. After replacing it, they did not seal the fuel injectors, causing gas to gush out and set my car to smoke. I was ill fro... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
Front wheel hub bolts back out on their own. This is a huge safety problem and needs a public recall. It is a known problem. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Dec 13, 2024
The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking d... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Transmission failed to transfer adequate power to the wheels when the accelerator was pressed from a full stop at the entry point of an intersection. This led to the the vehicle slowly entering the intersection for 2 feet over w seconds. Transmission then transferred full power to wheels. Vehicle was then driven to the entrance of the nearest parking lot, which required a left turn. Vehicle again ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
I purchased the above-referenced car in July 2020 almost immediately after purchase the indicator light came on with Chasis failure and the car lowered to a safe distance to the ground. Unbeknownst to me the car had been declared unsafe to drive previously. The airbags had been deployed and placed backward the front sensors were painted over and not operable. I had to take legal action against fou... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2024
There was a recall for a loose steering wheel bolt . The recall was repaired at the dealership but now the steering wheel is loose again. I feel like this issue is grounds for a second recall. Not sure what is going on . Please advise before something bad happens
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Transit. The contact stated that the AWD and air bag warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the actuator and sensor needed to be replaced, and a software update needed to be performed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The dealer determined that the transfer switch, new ai... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
The contact's daughter owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted and failed to return to normal operation. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission valve body needed to be replaced. The dealer made the contact aware that t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The driver cluster in front of steering wheel constantly goes from blank to partial screen to proper driver display. I have video of this happening. The speed, turns signals, odometer and blind spot information cannot be seen during the blank and partial screen. The dealer has replicated the problem. I’m out of warranty so replacement will cost $8500. There were no issues up to the point where i... Read more
ACURA
MDX SPORT HYBRID
(2020) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Dec 12, 2024
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
Brake warning lamp is on for low fluid but fluid is okay. Electronic stability control not functioning.
ACURA
MDX SPORT HYBRID
(2020) - POWER TRAIN
Dec 12, 2024
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
Brake warning lamp is on for low fluid but fluid is okay. Electronic stability control not functioning.
ACURA
MDX SPORT HYBRID
(2020) - SERVICE BRAKES
Dec 12, 2024
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
I purchased the Chrysler 300 touring of May 23, 2023. This was suppose to be brand new. After, a week, the car was having issues in the steering and I had too report the car dealership because they were giving me a hard time but finally, after, reaching out to corporate, the car dealership, fixed the steering and added an addition warranty. Now, there’s something going on with the tire pressure.... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The vehicle’s back-up camera completely malfunctions about 20% - 30% of the time making it completely impossible to see anything behind the vehicle when backing up. Sometimes, when the vehicle is put into reverse, the display screen will be completely dark, other times the image freezes on a load up image or screen and there is no display of what is behind the vehicle, and worst of all, other t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
The backup camera has frequent delays in activating -- approximately 5 seconds and regularly shows an error message with a black screen stating that the "camera is temporarily unavailable." I'm providing documentation from a November 22nd incident, but it happens more frequently.
Incident date: Nov 2, 2024
I have a 2018 Terrain SLT. On 11/20/24, I was headed home from my commute to work driving my terrain with all the confidence in the world because I hadn't had any major issue with it. In 5pm stop and go traffic I decided on another route to my son's school to pick him up from practice. As the light at the end of the bridge turned red, I proceeded to stop, and my brake pedal was as stiff as stone. ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
1. First incident occurred on 10/29/24. My wife pulled into driveway and placed car into Park. When she shifted to reverse, the transmission didn't respond and the car revved to a very high RPM when she took foot off of brake, no foot on gas. Unable to shift it to go forward or backward. She then turned car off, back on, and was able to reverse it. This situation occurred numerous times. 2. So... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
An 'Emergency call system malfunction' message starting appearing. Upon inspection by the dealer they mentioned "Faults stored for emergency battery hardware faulty, GPS antenna open circuit, TCB microphone short circuit. Checked rook aerial cover and found not to be sealing correctly and causing water damage to components. Recommend to replace roof aerial, roof aerial cover, TCB and emergency bat... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
For the past several months, my 2020 Buick Encore has been giving me a message to shift to park even though I placed my vehicle to park. This then does not allow my car to shut off, because it believes I am still in drive. I tried making an appointment with the dealership a month ago and their earliest availability was today, 12/10/2024. I took my Buick in, and they wrote me and stated that they f... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
In June of 2022 We were driving when all the dashboard lit up saying stop immediately, get to a mechanic, engine light and every light was on. We happen to be right near the Ford dealership in our town and pulled right in. After diagnosing it we were told it needed a new engine as the one we have had metal in the oil, it was froze, they had no idea a car with such low miles would do this, that is ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
I parked in a covered parking garage for about two hours. When I came out there was a crack about a foot long on my passenger side windshield. The crack quickly spread over the next couple of hours while driving almost double the size. There was not a rock that hit my car and it looks like tiny hold in my windshield very strange looking and then spread quickly. I believe my windshield is defective... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
I received several recall notices for the fuel pump impeller. I understand that there are no parts available to fix the vehicles’s faulty issue. However, all notices indicate a safety risk of crash or injury. I just received another notice and I can see that this recall was first reported in December of 2023. I feel that I am at risk, based on the information provided on the recall notices. Is ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2019
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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 experienced a failure. Parts distrib... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
Our Honda had a failure while driving on the highway. The camera behind the windshield apparently failed all at once and this caused all of the safety features to stop functioning and we almost had a wreck trying to get across the busy lanes of traffic because when this camera failed it caused the service brakes light on the dash to come on and stay on as well as the adaptive cruise control, the l... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The brake system ABS module/sensor malfunctions- yes it is available for further inspection. Safety is an issue due to the ABS indicator light on. Yes, the problem/issue has been confirmed by a dealership. No inspections have occurred other than the dealership. The only warning is the light indicator for the brakes, parking ABS.
Incident date: Dec 8, 2024
Car battery died. When jumped, it then started up. However, upon getting onto the street - only the hybrid battery would engage (not the combustion engine). Thus, my speed was limited to ~10 miles per hour and this made the drive very unsafe.