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: Jul 23, 2024
In April 2022, we purchased a new 2022 Hyundai Palisade from a dealership due to persistent issues with our previous Hyundai Santa Fe, which had ongoing engine problems and recalls. After multiple unsuccessful repairs and software updates on the Santa Fe, we decided to trade it in for the Palisade. Since the purchase, the Palisade has undergone over ten warranty-related repairs. In early 2023, an ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
Oil pump failure, causing inability to read oil level. Also flickering oil light on and off. After some research noticed it was happening to a lot of others as well due to oil pump being made with plastic internals. BMW has since updated to a new pump with metal internal the next year however never recalled old pumps.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
This car was purchased [XXX] and has been in my possession for 3 years and 4 months. It has sat in a dealership repair facility for 13 of those months to replace the engine and high-voltage hybrid battery. Meaning I have actively driven this vehicle for approximately 27 months and the retraction system for the seatbelts is malfunctioning and as its a safety issue I feel the need to report this and... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated to 55-70 MPH. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal slightly, the vehicle came to a complete stop. The ABS, traction control, and ECU warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated to 55-70 MPH. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal slightly, the vehicle came to a complete stop. The ABS, traction control, and ECU warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
I recently had the recalls addressed (despite having any issues with the vehicle). Days later, I noticed my vehicle would occasionally not detect my key fob. Changed battery without resolution. On 6/27/24, I was driving in rush hour traffic, and stopped with the red light. When the light turned green, I went to drive, and the car shut itself down. Everything shut down. Couldn't even turn on my... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the service power steering warning illuminated, and the power steering function became inoperable. The contact pulled over and stopped the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering functionality had returned. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred the same day and... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. 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 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... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
>Refer to investigation PE24018. For reference recall 23V-265 was performed on this truck. >This incident was before the recall work, and it was mentioned to my dealership. There have been no additional incidents. >Driving on a rural road at about 30mph. I slammed on breaks to avoid contact with animal. My vehicle went into park, emergency break activated, and engine turned off. I was able to... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
Vehicle stumbles at stops when sits more than 6 hrs ..feels like a misfire ..had it to dealer 6 times can’t find problem
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
When making right turn steering got hard vehicle seem to loose power and stabilitrak light came on
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DIFFERENTIAL UNIT continues to experience movement in the Power Transfer Unit (PTU) between the differential input splines and the transmission output shaft and has caused input spline teeth to wear off, leading to a loss of engagement between the transmission and the differential inside the PTU. If there was a recall performed on this veh... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2024
While driving on freeway lights, flicker and car just dies. Steering goes out and lose control of vehicle. Then will randomly start up again
Incident date: May 6, 2024
While driving on freeway lights, flicker and car just dies. Steering goes out and lose control of vehicle. Then will randomly start up again
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
Vehicle started shaking and making noise. Engine light came on and within 30 seconds car went dead. I’m an elderly person traveling with wife and grandchildren. On highway at 70 mph. 21,000 miles. Has been towed to dealer. No diagnosis yet. Third day moving slow. Very disappointed and scared.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, an audible message indicated that there was engine failure, and the infotainment screen displayed the option to send an engine failure report. The vehicle then shuddered and made an abnormal sound. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, but the abnormal sound persisted. The vehicle was shaking... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
Check engine light and wrench light are both on. Checked by mechanic. Issue with power train:automatic torque converter. There is a recall on 2018 ford edge for this issue, but my VIN isn’t listed. Car has less than 60,000 miles on it.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
Tailgate malfunction due to water seeping through tailgate resulting in tailgate module to stop working.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
My 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 3.3L engine started ticking sound while driving in residential are with the speed below 25miles. Within seconds, Engine started screaming and dropped power in the middle of the road. It is a huge security and life threatening risk. I was lucky that I was driving in residential area with very slow speed, and just imagine if it happens in the middle of the freeway cruisi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2024
Sub frame rotted out on passenger side, causing passenger side control arm to become dislodged which resulted in lost control of car! Could have resulted in major accident and or death at higher speed! Entire family in car.
Incident date: Jul 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while idling at a stop light, the STOP/START system activated; however, after releasing the brake pedal and attempting to accelerate, the instrument panel illuminated simultaneously with several unknown warning lights. The vehicle then powered off completely. The contact manually restarted the vehicle and the vehicle responded as ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated while cold starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling roughly, and abnormal sounds were coming from the engine. The contact stated that no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The cont... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2023
In 2020, I paid a local Ford Dealership to replace my back up camera on my 2014 Ford Edge SEL. The camera had failed and gave the " camera not available" to driver. Worked until July of 2024. In July, the new camera failed. The camera "inverted" the image the driver sees. This makes it impossible to use the camera safely for backing up or hazard during back up. I feel this is a critical safety is... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
When we come to a complete stop and going at highway speed the transmission slips from 10th gear to 1st gear while driving then through other gears until it catches back up to the correct gear. The whole truck will stall until the correct gear is found causing us to possibly be hit
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
When we come to a complete stop and going at highway speed the transmission slips from 10th gear to 1st gear while driving then through other gears until it catches back up to the correct gear. The whole truck will stall until the correct gear is found causing us to possibly be hit
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
My family and I were driving down the road, in a gentle left hand turn when the emergency braking system suddenly activated, and our best guess is that it was due to a car well off the road in a parking lot at the same point. A tractor trailer, loaded heavily with electrical transformers was just behind us, and if not for the driver of the truck paying attention we might not all be here today. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2024
Driving and sun roof shattered while it was in closed position. nothing struck it. no temperature extremes.
Incident date: Feb 9, 2024
Our 2024 Santa Fe while traveling 70mph on the freeway suddenly lost power and went into what Hyundai warranty described as "limp mode'. This happened 2x. The 1st time was June 26, 2024 and the 2nd time was June 29th 2024. Both times the high pressure fuel pump was diagnosed by 2 different Hyundai dealership service facilities.Both times were highly potentially serious risk situations- traveling a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
My 2006 Lexus IS350 is subject to NHTSA Recall number 16V340, for passenger airbag replacement. According to the diections on the NHTSA website shown in the following link: [XXX] The dash pad needs to be removed to access the airbag and perform the repair. Ive contacted my 3 local Lexus dealers and was told in various ways that they do not remove the dash to accomplish the repair but instead just... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
I was given my 2nd recall letter. I called ford recall customer service center was told the car is fine until anything goes wrong with the brakes. I was driving my car in light of this. I got a car wash at mobile gas station. The car wash washed underneath the vehicle and after going out the car wash the brakes made a LOUD squeaky sound. I contacted ford like they stated now no answer ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
The transmission went out. It will cost 9000 dollars to fix. The dealership not Nissan warned me about this
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
The transmission went out. It will cost 9000 dollars to fix. The dealership not Nissan warned me about this
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
Check engine Transmission ABS VSA TPMS All lights went on suddenly. While I was driving suddenly all lights came on dashboard. I’ve used OBD scanner to find the root cause but the problem can’t be detected. I went to Acura dealer in NJ and paid $250. They inspected, and said it could be this Instrument cluster or that ECu. But they did not said anything concrete what could be faulty. Both ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The door lock actuators on both of my rear doors suddenly no longer work. When I hit the button to lock all doors, only my 2 front doors lock. My cars 3 year warranty expired about 5 months ago and I have under 19,000 miles on the odometer. This is a safety issue. What if a carjacker walked up to my car while I’m in it, I lock the doors, and my back doors don’t lock. I could be killed. Not onl... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
I would just like to complain about the excess Rtv on the engine oil pan that has been demonstrated on numerous videos of people opening up the oil drain pan and finding chunks of Rtv blocking some of the engine oil pickup tube. I have not opened up my oil drain pan due to cost. This has not lead to failure as of yet but it is worrisome. Thank you
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The Engine. No? The engine blew up at night in the middle of a busy highway. Leaving the vehicle powerless and overheating. Yes. No, there was no immediate indication of an issue until it occurred.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2019
The car shuts off while driving. The dealership can’t re-create and isn’t sure what the problem is.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2019
Coolant keeps disappearing with no sign of leaking, only possibly on the ground when my car sit. Engine keeps overheating and smoke comes out of air vents. Recall that is out now is what seems to be the issue but does not cover my Ford focus.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2019
I would like the recall defect fixed on my vehicle. It’s been a year since the recall came out. It’s a serious recall involving possible loss of life and no consumer should be exposed to this deadly risk. Make GM move forward and quickly fix this defect in its cars.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced an oxygen sensor, but the failures persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000.
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
At estimated 25500 miles in the vehicle, I started to feel vibration at 65- 75 mph. Bouncy ride and slight bad bearing noise at 45 mph . After taking to the dealer, they also felt vibration and recommended tire balancing. After having that done, the problem still existed. I took the car next day and at first they where not willing to check my car but then when I forced, they test drove and conf... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2024
When accelerating or breaking, my cars transmission would slip causing me to slow down whiled driving. Also, my check engine light has came on. It goes on and off unexpectedly. Car shutters and shakes when accelerating.
Incident date: May 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly hesitated and jerked, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway. After pulling over, the contact observed that the vehicle was idling rough and turned off the vehicle. Upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle initially failed to start and requir... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2024
Airbag warning came on. I took to dealership for diagnostic. There was malfunction with the passenger airbag. Seat coushin needed to be replaced so the “normal” wear and tear airbag would no longer be an issue. Nissan stated this is not a safety concern and all expenses were out of pocket.
Incident date: May 30, 2024
I got on the Highway after work, particularly hot day so I had the a/c running. Following nobody, and not next to any cars I hear a loud "crack," followed by yet another loud crack, glass flying to the back of my car, sunroof cover starts rattling back and fourth. I pull over after being jump scared, and come to find my sun roof to be blown upwards.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
ACC, LKAS, collision mitigation system problem, road departure mitigation system, and auto high beam problem warnings all appear on instrument panel. None of these systems work. Have replaced battery and problem not fixed. Warnings continue to appear each time car is turned on. Vehicle has 47783 miles on it. Codes indicate there’s a problem with the camera in the front of the car. The car is onl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
I was sold a vehicle with an open safety recall on it by General RV in Birch Run Michigan. The vehicle is a 2023 Winnebago Travato 59GL. I had agreed to the sale and was planning on completing the sale once the recall was finished. They forced the sale through prior to the recall being done so they could inflate their sales numbers for that month. They refused to give back a $10,000 deposit. The v... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
"I was driving when the passenger airbag light came on and wouldn't turn off. At the same time, my steering wheel locked up, and my car started making a whining/humming sound. The lights began blinking on and off, and the battery light came on, even though the battery was brand new. Finally, my car completely shut off while I was driving in the middle of the street." A few years ago, I encountere... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2024
A warning message appeared on my 2021 Chevy Suburban dashboard that says "Service Safety Restraint System". This impacts the airbag control module under the driver seat. After doing some research on my own this is a TSB PIT5759 but it is not covered under a recall, as per my local dealership. I took the vehicle to the Chevy dealership where purchased and was told this is not a recall or warran... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2024
A warning message appeared on my 2021 Chevy Suburban dashboard that says "Service Safety Restraint System". This impacts the airbag control module under the driver seat. After doing some research on my own this is a TSB PIT5759 but it is not covered under a recall, as per my local dealership. I took the vehicle to the Chevy dealership where purchased and was told this is not a recall or warran... Read more