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 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experie... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
1) power train system and anti lock brake system. Base on the code found in the fix finder report my solutions were to replace the fuel pump and battery. The battery was changed one week ago and it is telling me that the battery must be change again due to an electrical issue. Yes, it is available for inspection upon request. 2) While driving my car began to accelerate picking up speed by itself a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
Vehicle over heated and had to pull over to cool it down. Got vehicle home safe and check engine light was on. 116867 T1.0 for diag verified customer's concern. Quick test P1299, P0217, P0219 for over temp condition. removed spark plugs and found coolant intrusion into all the cylinders, WSM direction is to replace the long black. This same issue is happening with other Escapes and are on the rec... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
Driver's side powered seatback randomly tilts backward, losing the seat settings that the driver has set. Nissan and other Frontier owners say it is because of the way the driver gets in and out of the vehicle, especially by 'heavier drivers', and claim the driver hits the controls with the back of their leg when getting in or out of the vehicle. This requires the driver to adjust the seat each ti... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly downshifted, prompting the contact to pull over to the side of the roadway. After shifting into park and back into drive, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2021
Unconnect screen is faulty causing lines down the screen and causes the screen to go completely black. Issue has been noted by hundreds of other jeep owners available online and dating back to 2018. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This issue puts me and others at risk due to the possibility of loss of visual location on the screen while using navigation, poses possible distractio... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2023
Power steering appeared to malfunction. Vehicle was difficult to steer, and wheel would not return to center when turning to the left. Problem is intermittent, dealer/mechanic has not replicated the issue, and there is no police or insurance report to go witn it as there was no accident. Visual inspection of the vehicle show no broke or worn suspension components. No warning lights were present, a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The power steering system failed, as indicated by the locking up of the steering wheel and the power steering light that illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle and its malfunctioned component are available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? While... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed s... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) 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 reversing at 5 MPH, the back over pre... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) 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 reversing at 5 MPH, the back over pre... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2021
I was turning left into a parking spot at work with my foot slightly on the break when my engine revvved and my car accelerated at face pace and my brakes were unresponsive causing me to hit a parked truck in front of me. Upon impact my vehicle kept trying to accelerate causing me to keep pushing the truck until my front right side of my car broke off. My car STILL kept accelerating and went acros... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
In 2019 dodge had a shift cable bushing recall. I had it fixed in 2021 after owning the car for a few months (recall V34) . At this time, 2 years later, I’m experiencing the same problems that would be present with a faulty shift cable bushing which is a major safety concern. My car says it’s not in park when the shifter is indeed in park.
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated while reversing, the steering wheel became firm with the "Steering Failure" message displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the electric power steering module needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V167000 (Steering... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
Ford Fusion 2.0 is currently at 71,000 miles and experiencing signs of coolant intrusion. Rough cold start with white smoke coming out of the exhaust. Check engine light illuminated showing a P0301 code (misfire in cylinder '1'). Still trying to research a reputable dealer/repair facility that can perform the repair without any hassle. The engine is drinking about 1/4 cup of coolant per day as of ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
My ABS control module was replaced 2 years ago by David Stanley Dodge in midwest city oklahoma. It is failing again and i have discovered a lot 2017 & 2018 ram 2500/3500 trucks are having the same issue. Last time it cost $800 to fix. I now have to take it back in again to have it fixed again. This is unacceptable. Ram should be recalling this issue on these trucks.
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
I was driving for approximately one hour on Interstate 95N. In heavy traffic, but still at speed limit. Then exited onto Rt. 40 N. For about 10 minutes. When I turned onto the back road to my destination, my car instantly started swerving all over the road. I had to immediately pull off into the grass to get off the road. I had to be towed. The driver side rear control arm broke completely in hal... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
I was in Rei parking lot pulling into parking space and suddenly vehicle accelerated and jumped curb and hit the wall loud noise.people thought it was earth quake. Air bag did not deploy . No warning signals came on when jumping the curb it hitting the wall
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
In 2019, I purchased a pre-owned BMW 228i from BMW Northwest. Recently, it was discovered that an incorrect front-sized rim has been installed on the rear wheel of my car. This has resulted in having three front rims and only one rear rim on my vehicle. The car has exclusively inspected or received servicing only at BMW Northwest and BMW Seattle until the error was discovered at BMW San Diego. In... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and turning, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Car decelerates while on auto pilot 4-5 times while driving from Chicago to Alberta,CA vice versa.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
The front passenger headrest sprung out and hit my husband in the back of the head while we were driving.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
This vehicle has the 1.5L turbo engine and 64,xxx miles on it. Recently there has been large amounts of smoke come out of the exhaust after the car sits for several hours at a time. There are not any service/check engine lights on, however I feel as if it is only a matter of time before something bad happens to this vehicle. I have owned it since it was brand new and this is the only issue that ha... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2020
Failed part: Clock spring. Yes, the work was appropriately installed. This is my fourth replacement within less than 100k miles. No additional inspections as of yet. No warning lights, just a faint click coming from the steering wheels while making turns two days prior to hearing a snapping noise. My air bag light illuminated and my dash notified me of an air bag error. Lost all connection to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2017
I was letting my car run for a couple of minutes for the AC to cool down the car and I went into my house. When I came out about 2 minutes later, there was a large puddle of gas under the car in front of the right rear wheel and gas was running down the driveway all the way to the street. I immediately turned off the car and the gas stopped pouring out from under the car. I was lucky the car, m... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2023
Interior electrical system right left passenger door will not lock, front speakers stop working and signal handle does not work will not turn on when engaged handle to turn left or right. Temperature gages stop working dial stays on C.. causing air conditioner to blow out warm air never get cool.
Incident date: Jul 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the navigation system became inoperable and inadvertently powered off independently. The contact also stated that the backup prevention camera became inoperable, and she backed into another vehicle. The ABS malfunctioned with the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated upon opening the driver's side door, she noticed that the front driver's side seat had independently moved closer to the steering wheel. The contact stated that the seat failed to move back to the original position after several attempts. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to squeeze herself into the seat and drove ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. 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. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not expe... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the cover on the roof between the two falcon doors detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,900. The contact stated that the dealer and the ma... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
Poor lug nut design I’m sure the dealership impacted these nuts on and did follow proper torque recommendations. Had a flat and can’t remove the tire without having to destroy the lug nut or pay a big expense to tow and fix it outrageous this is a known issue with these nuts I promise the dealership doesn’t follow proper procedures torque wise.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
While driving the vehicle when making left hand turns vehicle occasionally shuts off with no warning.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
We purchased a certified pre-owned Acura MDX 2020 in Feb of this year. In four separate instances, after the auto engine idle feature is on, the car stalls out and shuts off. Two of the four times this has happened on a highway causing extreme stress. When I lift my foot of the brake to start moving, the car shifts into park and I get a message that I need to start the car before I can move the ca... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine and electronic throttle warning lights remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the electronic throttle body and the computer wiring harness however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notifie... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine and electronic throttle warning lights remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the electronic throttle body and the computer wiring harness however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notifie... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2023
And module Burt out causing my shifter to get stuck in park Jeep to shut down and dash to light up like a Christ mad tree..
Incident date: Jul 21, 2023
2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid. The following has been true from the beginning of ownership of new Sienna. When braking for a turn or stop, as speed drops below about 10-15 MPH, there can be a sudden power/speed surge and lurching forward that lasts for 1-2 seconds. This feels as if there are no brakes at all for those 1-2 seconds Dealer says that that's just the way that hybrids are, that once yo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
The vehicle suddenly, and unexpectedly lost propulsion while driving. The vehicle is no longer able to turn on or drive. I contacted several Chevy official dealers and took the car in for repair. They said it is a problem with the hybrid battery system. But the car is no longer manufactured and parts are no longer available. So I am now stuck with a car that is non-operational and not repairable.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
Several electrical and transmission problems. Vehicle over exerts battery. Transmission goes out of overdrive while driving . Collusion avoidance radar constantly goes into malfunction modes. Car over heats.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
ABS / electric brake assist turns off and on randomly
Incident date: Jul 18, 2023
Car accelerated without warning propelling me across a curb, street, then a second curb. The SUV was stopped upon impact at a concrete building. Fortunately there was no injury to others but the accident caused the car to be totalled by my insurance company. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The airbags did not deploy upon impact,
Crash
Incident date: Jul 13, 2023
When driving there was a clunking noise and then the steering was hard to steer and the battery light came on & had to have it towed to find out that the harmonic balancer bolt broke. There are hundreds of complaints online about this same issue happening with these engines as this is a poor design. This is a safety hazard and very dangerous since you loose the steering and should be recalled.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Lexus UX250. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, he T-boned another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The air bag malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufactur... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 18, 2023
On 7/11/2023, I opened my driver's side door and heard some strange popping sounds I had not heard before, my window would not work correctly either. I got into my Ford 2020 Escape and proceeded to drive home while driving approx 35 miles an hour while making a left turn the driver's side door flew open. The weld on the driver's side door has failed along it exhibits cracks and/or broken spot weld... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2023
While I was driving along a freeway using autopilot cruise control, the car suddenly slammed its brakes even if there was no cars in front of us. I thought it was just a fluke but it happened at least twice if not thrice during that trip. There was at least an approximate of 3 miles gap between us and the car in front, so practically no cars in front. Had there any vehicles behind us, it would f... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2022
My 2018 Volkswagen Atlas has a defect that has impaired my ability to use the vehicle as intended. It is not only unsafe but I am in fear of driving freeways because I do not know when my car will cut off. Manufactures were fully aware of their defective products. I have read forums pertaining to the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas engine sputtering (Causes and Diagnosis). It states that the causes could b... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2023
Braking power low message on the dashboard and the car won’t start