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 4, 2023
The vehicle has a faulty ABS module, which has resulted in my truck losing traction on dry roads and wet roads, however the “wet” roads are a result of a minimal sprinkle. The vehicle is beyond a vital component of my ability to make a living, i work in construction and have to be able to safely move equipment and supplies to sites; as of right now I am unable to drive the vehicle. The faulty ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
•Problems occurring with steering. Even when assisted living keeping is off, the steering will try to throw me out of the lane where i have to constantly have a good grip to try stopping it from swerving the vehicle I tend to notice it more on highways especially in areas where the black line is on the road from lanes shifting over due to construction. •I believe it can be a huge safety risk ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
On November 26, 1923 I had a flat tire on my 2017 Ford Escape. I tried to take the flat tire off & put the spare tire on with the lug wrench provided by Ford & it would not fit on the lug nuts enough to remove them. The size of the lug nuts were bigger than the opening on the lug wrench & I could not get any lug nuts off. My son gave me the lug wrench from his wife’s 2014 Ford Focus. It was ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
On November 26, 1923 I had a flat tire on my 2017 Ford Escape. I tried to take the flat tire off & put the spare tire on with the lug wrench provided by Ford & it would not fit on the lug nuts enough to remove them. The size of the lug nuts were bigger than the opening on the lug wrench & I could not get any lug nuts off. My son gave me the lug wrench from his wife’s 2014 Ford Focus. It was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
Steering sticks when turning the wheel giving a jerking feel
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
Sunroof malfunction while opening. Loud snap sound then wouldn’t shut.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
Steering progressively gets sticky and hard to move back to center when speeds are 45 and up. Usually will occur after some highway/higher speed driving. During turns the car will fight minimal adjustments the driver will try and make as well as trying to keep the car centered in a lane. With lane keep assist fully off and on the results are similar.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
I purchased this vehicle used, I started having transmission issues here and there and now it's more frequent. I travel from Houston tx to Katy Texas weekly and travel on I-10, the most dangerous road in Houston with my 9 year old daughter and 2 year old son. There have been several times where I was almost rear ended because the vehicle shifted gears and when I would push the accelerator the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
I purchased this vehicle used, I started having transmission issues here and there and now it's more frequent. I travel from Houston tx to Katy Texas weekly and travel on I-10, the most dangerous road in Houston with my 9 year old daughter and 2 year old son. There have been several times where I was almost rear ended because the vehicle shifted gears and when I would push the accelerator the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that he shifted to park(P), turned off, and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle responded as needed. The contact stated that the failure had recurred 5 times while driving. Additionally, the contac... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s side air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after a visual inspection of the vehicle, she became aware that the vehicle was leaking oil. The check engine warning light was also illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with failures to the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The vehicle stopped operating on the highway suddenly and without warning and would not restart. I had it towed to the Chevrolet dealer. They determined power train parts were required which were backordered. They are unclear on which parts. The car has been at the dealer for 2 months waiting for parts. They have no estimate on when they will have the parts. I am concerned about the reliability is... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
The Recall (Under Hood engine fire) is causing crankshaft wear due to containments being present destroying the engine, my engine has been deemed unsafe and can currently no longer use my vehicle until ford fixes the problem
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The Asb light comes on when pushing the breaks and when hinting a bump it is hard to stop .
ACURA
MDX TYPE S
(2022) - ENGINE
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Oct 17, 2023
My truck is a2021 Chevy Tahoe Z71 and my motor knocking real loud I was told it’s a problem with the lifters My car is not old enough to habe lifter problems It started knocking a year ago I was told change the oil but I always change my oil on time now it’s way louder than a year ago
ACURA
MDX TYPE S
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Oct 17, 2023
Having issues with transmission shifting normally. Trouble shifting out of 1st and will jerk horribly going into 3rd gear. Was up to gear 8 and let off gas and went totally down to 5th then 4th gear as I was going down highway in traffic. Have an appointment with Ford dealership next week to see what's causing this. There has been no warning of this trouble. It just started the 1st to third jerk ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Sudden unintended acceleration appeared to cause the Tesla while parking the car on the street in front of home accelerate go out of control and crash into the home totaling the car and damaging the house. Two days prior the vehicle was brought into a Tesla service location where Tesla replaced the 12 volt battery that they believed was causing the car not to power on properly at that time. Afte... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
On Sept. 28, 2023 I was driving this car and it was on a very rough highway and it went into a skid and flipped over and was totaled. It was towed to Willow Creek, CA for one week. I was badly injured and had no way to get to Willow Creek, CA so I had to pay $500 for it to be stored and they eventually got the title of the car from me and allegedly disposed of the 2002 Accord. I did not see it ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
My "Service 4 Wheel Drive" light went off in my 2019 Jeep Cherokee (Limited) and my local Jeep Dealership informed me that the Power Transfer Unit (PTU) had failed. Moreover, a complete failure of the PTU while driving would be very dangerous so I was lucky for this not to happen. I drive in Philadelphia and rarely have need of the 4WD feature so the part failure is mostly likely due to poor desig... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the contact saw and smelled a smoke odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the ABS and traction control warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed failures with the hydraulic control unit and the ABS control module. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mile... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
Sometime the rear soft closed door ajar with child safety locks engaged while in motion. Child safety locks used because have small children in the back seats. The children safety are at risk when the door ajar while turning. Had to pull over to re-closed the door because the door ajar warning light and sound is on. The dealership had inspect the issue and said there is a service bulletin on the l... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The engine failed due to antifreeze leaking into the #2 cylinder. I use the vehicle daily and drive long distances on the highway several times per year. From my understanding an engine fire could be a result of this issue. I have the car at a garage now to replace the engine at a cost $8700.00. The issue first appeared approx. 11-7 when the temperature gauge immediately shot to hot after r... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
was driving down the road with no warning car popped and made loud noise.. the left front of the car dropped down and steering was un responsive and came to a stop made a clunking sound when trying to move it out of road but was unsuccessful...
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
The car started reporting error messages including "Stop vehicle and check power supply". It briefly went into limp mode before dying completely. Flat bed to dealer who can't begin diagnosis for at least a week. This sounds identical to the ICCU issue that many owners are experiencing.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
I have a lot of questions. I bought the best trim car for safety, but as a result, nothing worked. The damage to my family caused by this was a lot of damage mentally and physically, and it took a lot of time for these results to come out. That ended my view of Hyundai/Kia as a Korean American living in the U.S. I will never repurchase a Korean car. I suspect a sudden acceleration. I decided t... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) 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 contact stated that the defroster and air conditioning failed to turn off. The vehicle was not diagn... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. 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. 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 exp... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
Every time i was traveling in sport mode, shifting was delayed & was very rough transition to next gear. Car was not accelerating or decelerating properly. Burning smell came from the engine. Car’s electrical momentarily went haywire. Wrench light came on. This happened within 18 hours of purchasing this NEW car. And several times over the subsequent week. Indicator light went on intermittently ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
When describing what happened, try to answer these questions as specifically as possible: What component or system failed or malfunctioned? Is it available for inspection upon request? the engine, when I am at a traffic light or in line at school to pick up my daughter, the car starts to shake suddenly, what I have to do is put it in NEUTRAL so that the movement decreases. Also when I'm driving o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
When describing what happened, try to answer these questions as specifically as possible: What component or system failed or malfunctioned? Is it available for inspection upon request? the engine, when I am at a traffic light or in line at school to pick up my daughter, the car starts to shake suddenly, what I have to do is put it in NEUTRAL so that the movement decreases. Also when I'm driving o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
Every time the driver side opens, I hear a popping sound. I took it to my local Ford dealership and apparently it was passed warranty just two days prior so no work has been done. They advised me that the welds failed on the door and now the car needs a new door and latch that will take at least a week to complete repairs. My car has only 32,000 miles so it's fairly new. I fear that the door will ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V338000 (Electrical System, Structure) 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. VIN too... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
Bought car on 10/28/23 and as I was leaving the dealership, I applied the brake and the pedal went to the floor. An error code came up "Brake System Failure". The truck was immediately brought back to the service department. 10/31/23- Capital Chevrolet service department checked the error and deemed the vehicle was safe to drive. 11/8/23-I was turning right on a main road and moved into the far le... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
SUV has died several times for no reason. Taken to dealership several times. They laugh and say it’s normal for this compass. Engine oil is constantly low and they say that it’s common for oil to just disappear on these suvs. Nothing can be recreated at the dealership each time. I’ve been driving down the road with two kids in the car and traffic behind me and the car just dies and doesn’t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Rear window exploded after starting the truck. Glass shards and chunks flew into the truck . This is the 3rd F150 truck that I've owned that has had this happen.
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue 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. Th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The airbag maintenace light comes on every time I start it. Alot of my friends who own GMC say that it is a normal problem with a GMC vehicle and there should be a recall on it. But there is none.
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
On Nov 28th 2023 while driving at approximately 70 mph on highway SR408 in Orlando the front suspension on my vehicle starting shaking violently.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
Water intrusion on the driver side rear panel has caused the power tailgate command module to short out twice now.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
Vehicle stopped and is not operational. Dealer stated that the generator went out. Part is not available due to this problem occuring on so many vehicles. Vehicle has been in the shop since late, October it is now November 28th and still no ETA on part arrival or repair completion.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
Vehicle stopped and is not operational. Dealer stated that the generator went out. Part is not available due to this problem occuring on so many vehicles. Vehicle has been in the shop since late, October it is now November 28th and still no ETA on part arrival or repair completion.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
In October I noticed my engine knocking. It has always made a ticking sound so how long it might have knocked before we noticed I don’t know however in October it was clearly noticeable. The first thing I did was check my oil level and it was full. Over the several days it became more noticeable and one morning while driving my check engine light came on and the vehicle lost most(maybe 80%) of i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
As I drive the power steering is locking up and my steering assist vault keeps coming on. I have taken my vehicle to Clinton , Indiana Ford dealer & currently taking it back 11/28 for the same issue. Please help. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V615000 (Electrical System, 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 contact stated that while using the key to start the vehicle, the key spun around in... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V615000 (Electrical System, 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 contact stated that while using the key to start the vehicle, the key spun around in... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
Doors will not close in cold weather. This is a safety issue that was not resolved with prior recall.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
When turning off engine, multiple times had "Shift to Park" warnings and car does not shut down. Sometimes goes away after 10 - 20 seconds. Other times must restart car, place transmission back into park, open drivers' door and then turn off. Told by dealer that it is a known problem for multiple model years and vehicle models with multiple technical bulletins issued but no recall. Please review... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
My car randomly brakes while using autopilot/cruise control on the highway. It will brake and move the car toward one side of the line. This happens sometimes every 20 minutes on a roadtrip. On one occasion, it threw the car to the far left side of the line and then reacted to the on the left. It threw the car back to the right side of the lane, near the car on the right side. There were cars on e... Read more