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 18, 2023
car slammed on the brakes with no apparent obstruction in the path of the vehicle. Braking caused hand injury from the grip of the steering wheel. nearly caused rear-end collusion with vehicle follow behind us.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
The contact owned a 2024 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while his wife was driving at 50-55 MPH, the front passenger side tire detached from the vehicle, and the front passenger side was damaged. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. His wife sustained injuries to the neck and shoulder which required medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Driver seat is ripped at the base interior The seat frame is not mounted to the base.
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
While driving, malfunction warning flashed on dash, followed by 48v malfunction warning, then engine coolant overheat warning. The car then went into limp mode and finally stopped completely. Luckily this occurred on a residential street and not on a high speed freeway - the car gave very little warning before drastically reduced speed and shutting down systems. A 48 volt battery problem should h... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
Knock sensor keeps throwing codes, the car will not accelerate over 20mph and under 2000 rpms
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
Power steering stopped working completely.... was taking a turn and the steering became stiff and shook a little and went back to normal. Parked the car. started the car 2 hours later and steering completely stiff... no power steering. a quick google search of this common issue will tell you : Ford owners forum groups with the same issue, complain that Ford apparently only did reprogramming an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2024
Horn is not working. It was working last week, but no longer functions. It’s not faint, it simply makes no sound at all
Incident date: Nov 29, 2024
Oil continuously drains beyond normal usage. Fuel consumption has also been consumed beyond normalcy. Taken major advantage of lack of knowledge on car maintenance by Hyundai dealership. No repair orders are issued as of late for any major changes to the vehicle. Last repair order(s) was completed 10/24/2023.
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
Since leasing this SUV and experiencing the safety features for the first time, the method this manufacturer used for zero crashes methodology seems thought out and looks refined in its final product; however, there is a strong safety issue at hand. That safety issue revolves around the driver not having full response and other drivers reacting to that. For example, when I back out of my own dri... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an engine misfire and the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact noticed white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed due to coolant intrusion. The contact was informed that the engi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
the engine failed and lost all power to the car. It is available for inspection. My safety was put at risk because if i was going on a freeway and freeway speeds i probably would have crash and potentially crash into other people, causing a huge safety issue. The problem has been confirmed by dealer. They said it is very possible the engine rod bearing could have caused this. This is being inspect... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer XLP. The contact stated that his wife received a minor cut from the front driver’s side interior door handle because the chrome wrap on the door handle had started to deteriorate. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the interior door handle chrome was peeling and had sharp... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH on several occasions, the vehicle lost automotive power. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the clutch assembly needed to be replaced. The independent mechanic suggested that the vehicle be taken to a dealer. The vehicle was taken to ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2024
The Audi Q5 sunroof drain that is intended to keep water out of the vehicle, leaked where water collected and pooled in the car beneath the car liner. The water collected on the "comfort module" and electrical fuse box resulting in immediate electrical failure of several vehicle features/systems including brake lights, turn signals, reverse lights, windshield wipers, etc. to name a few. In additi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Audi Q5E. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the Lane Keep Assist erroneously corrected the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to make a drastic right turn onto a side street. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring mostly while driving near a turn lane or a side street located on the left or the right sides of the vehicle. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
While driving approximately 30mph the car lost all accelleration/power and slowed to a stop while still in Drive. First, this put me in an extremely DANGEROUS position in the middle of an extremely busy highway with cars almost hitting me several times. Dashboard displayed numerous flashing error messages. Some that I recall were: Low Tire Pressure TPMS, ABS, BRAKE SYSTEM, Power, and HOLD. I p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the engine was overheating. The contact noticed white smoke coming from under the hood on the passenger's side. The check eng... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the catalytic converter was clogged. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the catalytic c... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
Driver side and third row passenger side seat belts have stopped retracting, will not retract. Exterior tail light is going out due to faulty manufacturer seal, water gets in and destroys tail light from inside which also lets water get into license plate bulb and makes the license plate bulbs burn out constantly. I feel unsafe driving my vehicle due to the seatbelt not retracting, if I have to... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera image was blue. The local dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V653000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control (ESC); 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 part... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V653000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control (ESC); 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 part... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
THE STEERING WHEEL HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT SWITCH (UP & DOWN) STOPPED WORKING. The wheel is locked in the up position making driving difficult
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that her son had called while pulled over to inform her that the vehicle was driving rough with the check engine and several other unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the dealer had si... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Around 12:30 pm Sysco driver [XXX] illegally parked on the San Diego California street blocking off traffic. I made a note of the drivers identification because of the awkward closeness to my vehicle. I went to an appointment about an hour away and upon my return I immediately noticed tension and pulling with my suspension that was not there before. I contact Sysco corporate office to report the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Around 12:30 pm Sysco driver [XXX] illegally parked on the San Diego California street blocking off traffic. I made a note of the drivers identification because of the awkward closeness to my vehicle. I went to an appointment about an hour away and upon my return I immediately noticed tension and pulling with my suspension that was not there before. I contact Sysco corporate office to report the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Lighting bolt with parentheses came on along with off road sign. I was unable to accelerate past 20 mph and then I just rolled to a stop in morning traffic with my flashers on. I took it to dealership and they replaced my key battery since I told them i was also having problems lock and unlocking my car. I was told this should solve the problem. It did for about 3 weeks now lights back on car won... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2024
Driver side airbag didn’t deploy in head on accident
Crash
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
While using adaptive cruise control, the system can detect a vehicle and immediately apply the brakes or slow down. In some cases, it may detect a vehicle (the vehicle icon appears) and trigger an immediate red collision light flash, followed by automatic braking. However, during these events, there were no cars ahead of the vehicle. There was no obstruction of sensors or cameras, and the incident... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
While using adaptive cruise control, the system can detect a vehicle and immediately apply the brakes or slow down. In some cases, it may detect a vehicle (the vehicle icon appears) and trigger an immediate red collision light flash, followed by automatic braking. However, during these events, there were no cars ahead of the vehicle. There was no obstruction of sensors or cameras, and the incident... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
Vehicle brakes began locking up when braking on bumpy areas. Took in to dealership on October 7, 2024 and left it with them all week. I went back to pick it up and they said it needed a software update and was fixed. A few days later the brakes repeated the locking up on bumpy areas again. After waiting 6 weeks for an available loaner car my vehicle is back the dealership, it’s been nearly a wee... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the engine overheating warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that there was an abnormal odor in the cabin of the vehicle. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and d... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
The contact owns 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL450. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where DTC code: P060A00 was retrieved. The dealer determined that the solenoid valve had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to TSB Number: 37 13 17 2029027/8. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not not... Read more
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 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Kia EV6. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road, the contact waited for a while, and then restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that several unknown service vehicle warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to determine the ca... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2019
Travel Assist is disabled which includes Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. The warning lights flash on and off, sometimes multiple times a second, sounding a loud beeping each time. It is triggered at engine start and persists through all speeds. I have experienced it 0-70 mph. The flashing lights and associated rapid beeping indicating the failure is extremely distracting while drivin... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
Complaint Regarding Lack of Recall Parts Availability for Manufacturer Recall Number: 24S02, NHTSA Recall Number: 24V031 Dear National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, I am writing to formally report an issue regarding the unavailability of parts necessary to complete the safety recall repair for my 2011 Ford Explorer. The recall in question is Manufacturer Recall Number: 24S02, NHTSA Reca... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2022
Just started, while driving in high winds: electrical power steering problem, vehicle stability assist problem, hill start assist problem, trailer stability assist problem, road departure mitigation system problem, emissions system problem. Brake system warning light is also on. I don’t have a towing system installed- so that’s odd to get a warning for trailer stability. I had an oil change ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2024
Upon attempting to start vehicle every warning indicator flashed in series across the screen and the SUV would not start nor was the vehicle lockable. Also, the rear door and access glass (where tools, safety equipment, and spare tire is located) could not be opened. The vehicle would not start and could not be placed in neutral to push the vehicle to a safe location. The manufacturer informed me ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
My Toyota 2020 RAV4 has a dangerous design flaw. It rolls when turned off and in drive mode. For example, my driveway is on an incline, and a couple times I have pulled into my driveway, gotten distracted, and I forgot to put the car in Park. When I hit the on/off button, the car rolls backwards, accelerating due to gravity. If you're not quick, you can end up rolling out into traffic, or runni... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 RAM 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V653000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control (ESC); 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 ex... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 RAM 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V653000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control (ESC); 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 ex... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
We were driving on the interstate at approximately 70 mph when our car gave the warning, "Stop Soon. Vehicle will shut off." A turtle warning light also lit up. We pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car off. After a few minutes, we were able to turn the car back on and drive home, though the check engine light was then on. We took it to the dealer the next day, with the check engin... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
The headlights allow for only extremely limited visibility. At night, The windshield from the top to about 15” down is black. The lighting is bright for about 50-75’. If I am headed downhill the headlights shine down and the top of the hill can be invisible. Per Subaru this is standard. It is horrible. I can’t believe this hasn’t resulted in a recall. I will not drive the car after dusk.... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
My 2013 Kia Soul 1.6L is currently displaying a check engine light. My vehicle has very strong smelling exhaust, engine knocking, sluggish acceleration, and reduced fuel mileage. This has been going on for about a year. I have a diagnostic code reader and it returns the error code P0420, which indicates a faulty catalytic converter, which could cause engine damage. There is a recall for the ca... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
When i bought the car, it started making a grunting sound every time I would accelerate the car and start driving. Now the car stalls while I'm on drive. It had turned off on me a few times while driving and quickly turn back on, and other times it would turn off when I would make a turn I took my car to my mechanic and they weren't sure what is wrong with it. They say it might be an electrical i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact's girlfriend owned a 2021 Buick Encore. The contact stated that while his girlfriend was driving at 20 MPH, an abnormal, snapping sound emitted from the vehicle as the steering wheel independently shifted to the right and crashed into two parked vehicles. The contact stated that the suspension warning light appeared on the instrument panel after the failure and later discovered that th... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine and the front driver’s side tire. In addition, the instrument panel was occasionally turned off independently. Additionally, during rainy weather driving the brakes were making abnormal sounds. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were occa... Read more