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: May 1, 2024
My vehicle has not repaired. I have not been in an accident. However there are two open safety recalls for my car and I am terrified that myself or someone else is going to be injured or even killed due to this problem has yet to be resolved. The first recall for my car is the headliner plates. I took my car into my local dealership (Stokes Kia of Goose Creek) and they told me it would take 10 bus... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2009 Honda CR-V. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired under an unknown recall by the previous owner. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic for maintenance where it was noticed that the subframe was rusted past the L-bracket. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the subframe was rusted past the L-bracket. The vehicle was not r... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2024
It seems like from a dead stop my car is stuttering to move or it seems like first gear disappears like the our pins will rev up and then it'll catch I don't know what's going on with it
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt light flashed on the instrument panel, indicating that the seat belt was not being worn. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the wiring harness. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. After investigatin... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking, and the transmission shuddered. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become a persistent failure. In addition, the contact stated that the internal transmission clutch was replaced eight years ago; however, the failure had reoccurred. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the brake pedal was firm when depressed, and the vehicle was slow to respond. There was an abnormal hissing noise detected from the dashboard. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another local deal... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the brake pedal was firm when depressed, and the vehicle was slow to respond. There was an abnormal hissing noise detected from the dashboard. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another local deal... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Acura TLX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); 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 contact expressed dissatisfaction with the manufacturer's inability to communicate details r... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
3 times now, I am driving straight and flat about 35-40 MPH, dry conditions, and the AEB triggers with nobody around me at all.
Incident date: May 1, 2024
We have a 2020 Blazer that will occasionally show "Shift to Park" error message and won't allow us to turn off the motor. Searching this issue, we see many people have the same problem and GM makes us pay to repair the problem.The dealer said the shift control module had to be replaced. It cost us almost $300.00 to repair. GM Service Bulletin No.: 19-NA-206 has been issued but no recall has been i... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 experienced a failure. The cont... Read more
ACURA
MDX SPORT HYBRID
(2019) — STEERING
Apr 30, 2024
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The component that’s messing up is the power steering causing a warning light to come up I got the car in January and been dealing with this issue since it’s making my car hard to drive and I been getting stuck in places the warning lamps been popping up about two months after I got the car and it’s been acting up since my steering wheel shakes uncontrollably and sometimes it slips and tries... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the rear driver’s side turn signal and brake lights were inadvertently illuminated and the key failed to program. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the dealer refused to look at the vehicle since it was not included in a recall. The contact diagnosed the vehicle with body control module (BCM) failure.... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while initially accelerating, the vehicle was stalling when approaching 40 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and an unknown warning message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a turbocharger and under-boost failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred w... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not 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 stated that the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2024
ABS module is not communicating with the vehicle which is a known issue with Ram 1500. No repair parts are available and have not been available from Ram in over a year.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
Car stalled in the middle of the road while driving. Took it in to dealer ship for a recall to get this repaired or flashed. Engine burning excessive oil. Car has always been kept up with maintenance. While operating the vehicle the car stalled due to low oil compression. Vehicle has aprox 155k miles. Check engine light has came on. Due to the issue that car engine is burning oil there is a new pe... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 24, 2024
Defective braking system Persistent noise from brake pads and rotors After many attempts to fix the issue, dealer stated there is nothing further they can do
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
After driving for an extended timeframe (approximately 3 hours, trip was traveling between Des Moines, Iowa and Kansas City, Missouri) at Highway/interstate speeds, upon slowing down from those speeds, the vehicle goes into limp mode and check engine light begins blinking. After pulling over and turning car off and on again, normal behavior resumes. This has happened both as I arrived in the Kansa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2024
After driving for an extended timeframe (approximately 3 hours, trip was traveling between Des Moines, Iowa and Kansas City, Missouri) at Highway/interstate speeds, upon slowing down from those speeds, the vehicle goes into limp mode and check engine light begins blinking. After pulling over and turning car off and on again, normal behavior resumes. This has happened both as I arrived in the Kansa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2024
While driving I experienced full power steering loss out of nowhere, causing me to drive into a ditch. There was no indication of a failure prior to the incident, only a steering indication light afterwards on my dash.
Crash
Incident date: Feb 10, 2024
Back in March 2024 the tailgate opened on its own only a few times. Now April 2024 it opened on its own several times without a button being pushed. After it opened it made several clocks like the tailgate is trying to lower. Now the tailgate button does not work and can only open it with the key fob
Incident date: Feb 16, 2024
FEBRUARY 2024 SEVERAL ISSUES STARTED TO OCCUR WITH MY 2018 ACURA AWD MDX. ON TWO OCCASIONS I TRIED TO START THE VEHICLE, WOULDNT START TILL THE THIRD ATTEMPT. I WAS DRIVING NOT EVEN 25 MILES WHEN THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED. ANOTHER OCCASION I WAS EXITING A PARKING SPOT WHEN THE VEHICLE DECCELERATED, COULDNT PICK UP SPEED ALMOST CRASHED INTO A PARKED VEHICLE. I CALLED ACURA DEALERSHIP TO REPORT CONCER... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2024
The vehicle's tailgate stopped working and a series of distracting alerts repeatedly popped up on the instrument panel. Upon inspection, the liftgate control module had a significant amount of corrosion on the pins and on the circuit board itself, despite the surrounding area seeming dry. Replacement of the control module did not completely fix the problem because the connector pins are corroded a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2024
The vehicle's tailgate stopped working and a series of distracting alerts repeatedly popped up on the instrument panel. Upon inspection, the liftgate control module had a significant amount of corrosion on the pins and on the circuit board itself, despite the surrounding area seeming dry. Replacement of the control module did not completely fix the problem because the connector pins are corroded a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2024
- What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? According to Ford Service, this is confirmed to be a High Voltage Battery Junction Box failure (HVBJB). The part is pending replacement currently at Central Ford, CA. While Ford issue recall (23S56) to replace all HVBJBs in Extended Range and GT model '21 and '22 vehicles built before May 24, 2022,... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2024
- What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? According to Ford Service, this is confirmed to be a High Voltage Battery Junction Box failure (HVBJB). The part is pending replacement currently at Central Ford, CA. While Ford issue recall (23S56) to replace all HVBJBs in Extended Range and GT model '21 and '22 vehicles built before May 24, 2022,... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2024
Getting a code of misfire on cylinder one and it’s got antifreeze on top of the cylinders blowing white steam out of the tail pipes
Incident date: Mar 27, 2024
While making a left turn out of a parking lot, across one lane of the two-lane road to the middle left-hand turn lane of the traffic signal, the car cut power and issued an alert (which I could only hear - not see due to the urgency of the situation) causing me to almost get t-boned by traffic in the lane that I was crossing. I think the car sensed the stopped traffic I was facing, and the car di... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
Transmission has failed twice on the highway with no warning, leading to abrupt slow down and could have caused an accident
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that there was fluid leaking from underneath the hood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a water pump and the thermostat housing failu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
My engine will not turn over 70% of the time. My radio switches on and off on its on and changes stations randomly. Even with new brakes, it sounds like they are constantly grinding. When my gas gets low the issue gets worse to the point i can't arm my car. I have a small child and my car started smoking. I was also stranded for almost an hour because my car would not start. I just got off the ph... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
My engine will not turn over 70% of the time. My radio switches on and off on its on and changes stations randomly. Even with new brakes, it sounds like they are constantly grinding. When my gas gets low the issue gets worse to the point i can't arm my car. I have a small child and my car started smoking. I was also stranded for almost an hour because my car would not start. I just got off the ph... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the check engine warning light appeared on the instrument panel with heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact also stated that vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the high-pres... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
I've been having an issue with my car just out of the blue breaking while I'm going into it seems to be only a left turn I had let Kia know about this when I took it in for the other recalls just recently nobody seemed to have any idea of what was going on or look at me like I was crazy I guess and now I see this recall that explains everything to a tee of what my car is doing I need somebody to c... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
the steering system locks up and loses power assist,and the brakes and traction control sys also malfunction, and several failure lights all come on ,as I was making a left turn in front of a police car the steering locked up and I almost hit the police car,the vehicle isn't driveable,the policeman advised me not to drive the car,he verified the steering didn't work,when the problem occurs the ste... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2023
The dash warning light appeared referring to a possible problem with the airbags. I took vehicle to the local dealer and I was informed after their inspection that I did have a problem the passenger airbag. They said they would need to replace passenger seat airbag and wiring harness associated with that device.
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 BMW. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V104000 (Electronic Stability Control - (ESC), Service Brakes) 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 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 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 vehicle was not repai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
I was driving 35mph and there was nothing in front of me when my car stopped. It would not move forward or accelerate despite pushing on the gas pedal. There was no forward motion or propelled motion. It took several seconds for my car to go again. The car was towed and serviced at the dealership. They said the front sensors had misfired. If a car would have been behind me or if I had been on the ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
The sunroof inexplicably blew out while driving on a 3-lane interstate normally taken to work every day in the morning, windows were up. This movable portion of the sunroof is part of the panoramic sun roof. The sun shade was open, it is normally left open. Some small pieces of the glass fell onto me and seats but most was sucked up and away from the car. Thankfully, no glass hit me in the fa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
While driving vehicle goes into neutral on its own and will not go back into drive for at least 30 mins.
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
Vehicle caught on fire. There were not any warnings, and no alarms went off prior to this.
Fire
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
Our 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE had a loss of engine power while attempting to accelerate into traffic after stopping at an intersection four times since purchase in November 2023. The engine did not go above idle for approximately 15 seconds while the gas pedal was pressed half way down. The vehicle barely moved into the road and then gained power after what seemed to be the same as limp mode. No ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
My auto is a 2015 model. Like all other manufacturers its navigation database is not being updated after 5 years. Because most cars of that age require a dvd or SD card to update, there is no longer anything to update my navigation system. I encounter many incident where a highway ramp or exit has been moved and makes it unsafe at the last second when I must suddenly change lanes or otherwise. I t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
Strong gas fumes smell from vehicle when parked. Issue starts around 50k miles. No lights on dash or anything. Multiple people in forums online experience the same issue around the same mileage. Some say it's a leak from fuel lines to the fuel pump.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
Started out as misfire codes. Replaced spark plugs then ignition coils. Still getting misfire codes. Discovered engine coolant low and through research found there to be an KNOWN design flaw/issue with these engines that usually results in an entire COSTLY replacement to the customer. Listed in Ford TSB 22-2229. This should be a recall covered entirely by ford.
Incident date: Apr 20, 2024
While driving on a freeway for about 15 minutes at 65 MPH, the MIL indicator started blinking. The vehicle began to rapidly shake, while the engine power decreased significantly. The engine dramatically went from 65 mph to 35 mph causing a safety hazard while driving on the freeway as we attempted to exit and pull over safely. The vehicle is a 2021 Acura RDX and is driven approximately 10,000 m... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2024
I was driving and more then 10 times my car has stalled in the middle of the street while driving and the gear “D” began blinking and note has displayed on the screen saying “shift to P then to gear” and said “check transmission” after shifting to park, the car locked up and I then had to shut off the car, open the door and then turn the car back on to get it to drive again. This happe... Read more