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: Jun 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle failed to move after releasing the brake pedal. The contact noticed that the parking brake had engaged independently. The brake light was illuminated. The contact was unable to release the parking brake. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the pa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 GMC Acadia. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
Hello my car is stalling out and the stabilìtrak lights comes on with trak symbol. Car does not crank back up until the next day.. it keeps doing this after several days. Im scared to drive this car with the stalling when driving it... PLEASE help me fix this problem.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
Delay in the accelerating pedal and hesitation, transmission will chande gear abnormal.Ac went out at same time.
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
Severe oil leak coming from the engine. I had it in the Volvo Dealership, they claimed it was due to a loose oil filter. When I drove the vehicle home and parked in my driveway, It started to stain the driveway with a fresh oil leak.
Incident date: May 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, she noticed that the A-pillar trim was detaching from the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had gotten worse. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the contact was advised that the parts for the repair under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) were not yet available, and tha... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
The steering of the vehicle has started intermittently grabbing when turning curves or changing lanes. Dealer kept it for 3 days and said they could not duplicate the issue. I experienced the issue several times on my way home and it is getting worse. I had new tires put on the vehicle and a wheel alignment done and still experiencing the issue. I have checked the internet and see that many ot... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2024
My right front passenger seat does not detect adult occupants reliably, and therefore does not enable the airbags. My wife is approximately 105 pounds and sits in the seat in a standard upright fashion without leaning back. Her legs are not crossed and are just resting on the floor. it is rare that the vehicle detects her presence and therefore she is rarely protected by the safety restraint syste... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. The contact stated that after releasing the parking brake, the rear passenger’s side brake vault release failed to return to its original position. The contact had to release the brake manually by going underneath the vehicle and using a crowbar. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the actuator had seized, and the caliper needed... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, there was an abnormal exhaust odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the odor was present while driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the left exhaust flex pipe... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while at a stop light, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact called a tow truck company, which declined to tow the vehicle. The tow truck driver informed the contact that there was severe rust damage to the subframe. The vehicle was towed by another tow truck company to an in... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed as a failure with the spark plugs. The contact was informed that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. While the mechanic attempted to replace the spark plugs, the contact was inform... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
When pressing gas pedal from a stop position the car hesitates for a couple seconds and then goes all while the gas is pushed down
Incident date: Jun 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly lost motive power. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to be restarted, and the contact noticed an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2024
The back passenger back door had problems wouldn’t close rt now can’t open. In May it felt like it wasn’t getting power, engine light said turn off car for 10 minutes, while stuck in traffic, so i had it towed to Upland Ford Dealers, they charged me $209.99 Just to look at it! Then after inspecting it they wanted almost $4,000. Which i can’t afford. They said it was the Clutch Assembly... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
I have noticed that when I am breaking, occasionally as I’m breaking there’s a sudden jolt, or lurch, forward like the car is accelerating. This is very disconcerting especially when there are other cars in front of me or people.
Incident date: May 20, 2019
The backup camera in my Chevy Traverse stopped working a few months after purchasing the vehicle new. Whenever the car is put in reverse a black screen appears with an exclamation point inside of a triangle. This seems to be an extremely common issue with 2020 Chevy Traverses as there is numerous postings on online message boards about the same issue of the backup camera dying shortly after purcha... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
On our way home the motor started ticking loudly and more and more loss of power. All the dash lights came on with the check engine light. We called the dealer and they said to bring it in. We babied it another mile and could no longer go more than 20 mph. We pulled over as soon as we could and the motor couldn’t go any more. Had it towed to the dealership and they said the whole fuel injection ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
Brake pedal went to floor and brake function became significantly impaired and dangerous. Took car to local shop who diagnosed as failed rear brake lines, and most of the entire length of the rear lines were in very bad condition. Car only has 104k on it. It doesn't take much searching on the internet to see how widespread of a problem this is, and even the dealer admits they do multiple of the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2024
Lost Transmission fluid cap, don’t turn on any sensor light. I realized only because a friend just replace his. He shared the information I check it was gone. I had to buy a new one at Honda. High risk since temperature is super high in California, potential risk to lose all the transmission oil and brake.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
I have had multiple instance of losing power with my car, I completed Customer Satisfaction Program 14M02 and the known issue was not solved. I then went to a mechanic to have a diagnostic test performed due to the check engine light being on and they concluded that the issue was the Canister Purge Valve as well as possibly the Charcoal Canister due to the CPV malfunctioning. Other than losing pow... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver was able to coast off the road and continued to drive slowly. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who tested the vehicle but was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
Problem Dealer said recall for airbags risk/ seat sensor cannot be fixed due to unable to get parts.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
Problem Dealer said recall for airbags risk/ seat sensor cannot be fixed due to unable to get parts.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) 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 exp... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
Has to replace the Fan Assembly Coolant sensor three years in a row beginning in 2022, 2023, and 2024. 2023 January, also has the Right Side CV Axcle replaced because a/c coolant was leaking. This leaking went in to the transmission and the transmission also had to be rebuild. Then in 2024 of May the transmission fault service light came on again after being rebuild in January 2023. Took it bac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The turn signal indicator buttons fail to work consistently. About 30% of the time when I try to indicate a turn or lane change the button does not respond. It is sort of stuck in place. Not being able to show an intent to turn is a serious safety issue in heavy traffic.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The turn signal indicator buttons fail to work consistently. About 30% of the time when I try to indicate a turn or lane change the button does not respond. It is sort of stuck in place. Not being able to show an intent to turn is a serious safety issue in heavy traffic.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
On long trips (when you need cruise control the most) the adaptive cruise control will (seemingly at random) stop working with a warning about the active distance assist and active brake assist. It has happened in all situations from heavy traffic to long distances of no other cars on the road. It stays non-functional for anywhere from a few minutes to several days. It has happened many times. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
Drove this 15 Kia Optima on the highway when all of a sudden it lost power and died. There was no lights or symptoms prior to this happening. The vehicle ran as it should up until the other day, the Engine had no codes or lights on in the vehicle.. Then without any signs at all the vehicle stalled and almost caused an accident on the highway and the would not start. Barely made it to the breakdown... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Audi E-Tron GT. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V842000 (Electrical System) 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distr... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
1. "Service ABS soon" and Service Electronic System soon warning light and alarm occurs at random times. Failure code C0020-01. 2. Unsure if the braking system will actually work when needed. This vehicle is used to tow large heavy trailers and I just don't trust the breaks. 3. Took it to a repair shop since my warranty has expired. 4. No warning prior to failure. Failure occurred Jan 20... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 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 local dealer was contacted 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 manufacturer was not made... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2024
The driver side visor has flopped down and has needed to be replaced twice. It is very difficult to repair this yourself and I have had to do it twice. This is ridiculous. It’s a safety hazard because it won’t stay up in position and it won’t go towards the windshield either. I initially replaced this four years ago.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
Brakes hard to push and has trouble stopping vehicle brake booster was replaced but still isn’t working
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
A RECALL WAS ISSUED ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT HEADLIGHT REFLECTORS ON AUGUST 12, 2022. NHTSA RECALL# 22V624000, MANUFACTURER RECALL # WRG622. TO DATE THE MANUFACTURER HAS OFFERED NO RESOLUTION TO THIS RECALL. AS IT HAS BEEN NEARLY TWO YEARS SINCE THE RECALL WAS ISSUED I FEEL THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NEGLIGENT IN ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. I BELIEVE THAT IT IS TIME THAT THE NHTSA CONTACT THE MANUFACT... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he observed excessive smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. The low oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the valve steam seals. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, he observed a clicking noise coming from the front undercarriage of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that he observed a warning chime and the service 4-WD warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent dealer where it was diagnosed that the PTU neede... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound coming from the exhaust and smelled a gasoline odor. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
• The fuel pump failed. Yes it's available for inspection • I was driving on a very busy road going about 55mph and the car stalled. I was able to coast to the shoulder of the road to avoid being rear-ended. This put my life at risk along with the other drivers if I was not able to safely get to the side of the road. • I am not able to reproduce the issue as my vehicle will not start after ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
Back windshield spontaneously shattered while car was parked and not on. Glass is now everywhere. This is a safety issue!!!
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
Radar and multi purpose camera simultaneously failed. Dash lights came on indicating that auto high beams, lane keep assist, forward collision, adaptive cruise control, and braking system where not working properly. I think my safety and the safety of others where compromised with these systems not working.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
I was driving about to make a right hand trun on the st where my home is located. Out of nowhere with no warning or any message displayed on my dashboard. The both front tires locked up and automatically reduced my speed. I am thankful for this happening when I was turning on my street to my house. If it would had been a few minutes before when I was traveling at 60 mph and this would accard. The ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX5. The contact stated that after cold starts, the vehicle hesitated and jerked upon depression of the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer on numerous occasions. The contact was repeatedly informed that no fault was found with the vehicle. The dealer later performed a software update on the vehicle; however, th... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V566000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. In addition, the vehicle was violently shaking. The contact stopped the vehicle, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with timing fail... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2020
Three times now our 2020 Honda Odyssey's entire instrument and infotainment system has gone out - both screens at the same time just don't turn on. Which means we have no MPH gauge or back up camera. It is extremely unsafe to drive without a speedometer and we paid extra to get a van with a backup camera and now we don't even have that. We've taken it to Honda and are getting charged to replace th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
While driving the vehicle it will suddenly shut down the engine. Then the letter "D" starts to blink on the gear shift lever. I am able to restart the car by turning it off, waiting for 5 minutest and then restart the car. I turned in the car 3 weeks ago and they still do not know what the problem is.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
EV system failure when starting trip created car that could move sluggishly but was unable to perform. Car has 120 miles on OD