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 8, 2023
I opened my power lift gate to load groceries in the trunk. It opened without issue. As I loaded the groceries the lift gate came crashing down on my head. This happened in the festival foods parking lot around 5:05 pm today (7/16/23). Once I moved out from under it I saw the left arm was popped off. I popped it back in , there is a metal piece that was messed up. It came/ happened out of nowhere.... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 16, 2023
I previously reported issue 11360107 which Honda attributed to a bad battery cell and replaced the battery on this vehicle. I followed up with them that I consider auto-idle-stop functionality that doesn't restart despite the battery being capable of restarting to be a safety issue. I re-iterated to them that I "rebooted" the car by holding the car start button down until the Honda logo appeared i... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2023
On June 28th 2023, while driving on Route80-West near Parsippany, NJ my 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS seized on the highway. I was forced to veer to the shoulder as the oil light flashed on, followed by multiple lights flashing on with immediate engine failure. I waited almost 3 hours for a tow to arrive late night, where many vehicles continued to speed past dangeriously close to my seized car. Even w... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
“Travel assist” warning comes on frequently. System activates and deactivates multiple times even in short driving trips. System is responsible for lane departure, collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control etc. Can deactivate and reactivate without any known cause multiple times within even 1 minute. Was told by my dealer that it’s “normal” because it’s “high tech”
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
I was driving on a paved two lane rural route and hit a small bump in the road. Immediately, my check engine light came on and all the safety features turned off. Control panel showed multiple safety features off and the Sport mode indicator light blinking. My car only has 17K miles on it and I have had it just over a month. I was able to drive it safely home and when I called the dealership t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
I was driving on a paved two lane rural route and hit a small bump in the road. Immediately, my check engine light came on and all the safety features turned off. Control panel showed multiple safety features off and the Sport mode indicator light blinking. My car only has 17K miles on it and I have had it just over a month. I was able to drive it safely home and when I called the dealership t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
My vehicle has the Pentastar engine tick indicative of a rocker arm issue. I’ve been having performance issues with the vehicle at only 124,000 miles and less. It’s escalating to the point in afraid of complete engine failure while I’m driving. This is a known issue with these vehicles and needs to be repaired by Dodge as it’s a manufacturing defect.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
The component is wheel speed sensors. Safety issues - uncontrolled speed, transmission, engine performance, vehicle unable to be operated safely - Had the problem in 2020 (twice) - 2 of 4 sensors replaced after towing....again, in 2020 the third failed - had the 4th replaced at my expense. This year, two days of terror driving across WA - made it to Spokane Mercedes - three of the four sensors w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
Happening within the first few weeks of purchase from new in November 2022. Delay and wildly inconsistent acceleration from a stop. This is most noticeable within the first 10 minutes of driving and is much worse when cold. Often, when accelerating from a stop, the vehicle does not move for several seconds; when the car does begin to move the acceleration is erratic and often results in wheel s... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2020
I've only had the car 3 months and an error code for the forward collision worning light is on. The dealership said it should go off. It never did. It is malfunctioning and it automatically and without notice applied the emergency brake system when it's not needed. It gave me sort of whiplash. It does this often out of no where. This could cause a severe accident.
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
Cruise control suddenly ceased operating and I believe that is disabling the automatic collision avoidance system.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The first issue took place in September 2022 when someone tried to steal the catalytic converter off of my car, I took it in to be replaced. Shortly after I started having engine issues, the engine light start flashing numerous times over a few week span and I had taken it into the Waikem (now Diehl) dealership in Massillon, and first they thought it was the spark plugs and replaced those, then ha... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2020
225/60R18 100H Mileage on car when tires purchased 33,410(11/4/2021 mileage when tire failed 40,702.(6/8/2023) These tires have a 50K warranty. At 40,846 (6/26/2023) two more tires failed. I was told tread separation was issue. This dealer put my family at Risk! When the car went in for shaking they said the tire was defective. They replaced it and charged me $214, the tire only cost $150 new. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2020
While coming to stop at a red light, service parking brake message along with audible ding appeared on the message center. The light on the parking break switch was flashing. Brake light was illuminated along with parking brake light. I arrived at my destination shortly after and attempted to engage the parking brake. Nothing happened. I moved up a few spaces in line at a coffee shop and came to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
In November 2020, I had my Tesla MCU replaced under the NHTSA recall (Exhibit1). Attached is the invoice of the repair (Exhibit 2). On July 3, 2023, my MCU malfunctioned again. The dashboard is frozen showing the car is at 72 MPH in drive in a parking lot (exhibit 3). This is a safety issue since I cannot tell how fast I am driving when I am going with the flow of traffic. I nearly hit a person... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
Multiple times the car while on cruise control has slammed on brakes due to seemingly nothing. It's without warning our alert and it is extremely violent. It happens at least once every week.
Incident date: May 5, 2023
Driver side electric Seat rail malfunction after I was hit from the rear end collision. The seat electric adjustment became inoperable. The seat rail has a small gear in the electric seat that got destroyed during the rear end collision. Is the seat designed for damping, if so why does the driver side electric seat become inoperable?
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) 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: Jun 15, 2021
2019 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL- I am writing regarding the subject recall (Safety Recall Notice 22551 NHTSA Recall 22V644) involving a cloudy rear view camera on my vehicle. I have checked periodically to have my vehicle repaired. Each time, for at least 10 months, I get the same response --- supply chain issues. In the meantime, millions of new vehicles across many brands are being manufactured with s... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2015 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 manufa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The VSA ABS modulator failed, and it will be available for inspection upon request. The failure of this causes the ABS system to not work along with traction control. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic that pulled the codes and then taken for an estimate to the Honda dealer who confirmed the issue with the modulator. There are 4 warning lights in addition to the "FCW System Failed" message on ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
I was in Michigan and my car, which had been in great shape, unexpectedly failed to start after sitting for two days. After jump-starting the battery, the maintenance light turned on and my display showed a transmission malfunction. So while I traveled in my car to Columbus, unaware of the potential danger that my car could catch fire and explode because it couldn't shift beyond third gear, I stop... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2021
CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE DISINTERGRATED CAUSING VEHICLE TO CATCH FIRE AND BURN COMPLETELY TO THE GROUND.. WHEN CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE FAILED, ENGINE SHUT OFF, LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO A STOP IN AN UNPOPULATED AREA... NO WARNING LAMPS CAME ON UNTIL THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE, MESSAGE SIMPLY SAID "CLUTCH"...
Fire
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
My 2019 Ram 1500 will not take more than a few ounces of fuel at a time. It takes well over a half hour to refuel my tank. The pump constantly shuts off and the tank constantly spits gasoline back at me when trying to refuel, it is not safe to have gasoline spilled on you. I have a toddler, and I do not want her exposed to the fumes after I am doused with gasoline trying to refill my Ram 1500. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
When driving my 2016 Ford Fusion, the Transmission Not In Park light comes on without any other warnings. This is unsafe because it stops accelerating. Most times I'm on the freeway. This is a safety issue that has been happening for about 2 years now. The dealerships tell me that they can't fix it because the safety issue does not occur when they have the vehicle and cant read any codes. One F... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
GMC issued recall #N232404980 Re airbags that are faulty and may rupture releasing metal fragments causing injury or death. My vehicle is part of that recall. Immediately called my dealership after learning of this recall. My dealership states that yes my car is part of the airbag recall but they have no parts available to fix it. I was told by my dealership that no one has these parts yet. No ti... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
The drive train or engine suddenly locked up while driving down the road at 35mph causing the vehicle to violently decelerate and the wheels to lose traction and skid. The failure only lasted maybe a second before car resumed driving as usual. I was not accelerating or breaking at the time and had been driving as normal for 10min prior. The vehicle only has 86,000 miles and all service was comple... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2023
As I was driving my 2023 KIA Sportage SX Prestige at 70+mph on highwy, suddenly "Hybrid System Failure" appeared on the dash along with evey other lights you can think of. I lost power and steering and only by the grace of God was able to safely get to the side of the road and stop. Car was at KIA dealership for 4 weeks and I was told it only needed a software upgrade and nothing was wrong with th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
I was getting my oil changed and the guy told me that my engine was no longer bolted down, that it can move all around. I called Chrysler and they told me that they would charge me to diagnose the problem and that it would not be covered under warranty. I took it to another shop and they said that it was not bolted down, because the bolts that Chrysler used were bad. It is so frustrating that my e... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
I was getting my oil changed and the guy told me that my engine was no longer bolted down, that it can move all around. I called Chrysler and they told me that they would charge me to diagnose the problem and that it would not be covered under warranty. I took it to another shop and they said that it was not bolted down, because the bolts that Chrysler used were bad. It is so frustrating that my e... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
The car will lose power while accelerating and the turbo does not properly work well. Was told it was a fuel pump issue.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
I received notification back on May 10th of a Takata Airbag recall for my car via email from Carfax and GM. I have filed a complaint on www.carcomplaints.com, NHTSA, and have contacted the dealership that I purchased the vehicle from 3 different times. I have also contacted GM customer service and voiced my concern for a safety issue not having a remedy and we are already a month and a half into t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2023
My 2023 Tesla model y occasionally applies phantom braking when ADAS is on. The car brakes very abruptly therefore it may cause rear end collision.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
When I parked my car and stopped the engine after driving for 90 min/62 miles on June 22, 2023, I found that I couldn't lock my car's door, through my remote, door handle or the switch inside the door. Upon further examination, I saw complete loss of the power: no light, no audio, no other accessory power, no start of engine. Foot press on the brake feels heavy/less responsive. One hr after the i... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
For months now I keep having something wrong not sure whats wrong either it’s engine, powertrain. It keeps doing different stuff. First it’s acting like it want to dye like stall out for no reason. Sometimes it loses power like hitting the gas peddle but won’t go engine just fires up. The other day I had issues trying to put into reverse to back up hit the gas and it just accelerated really ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
For months now I keep having something wrong not sure whats wrong either it’s engine, powertrain. It keeps doing different stuff. First it’s acting like it want to dye like stall out for no reason. Sometimes it loses power like hitting the gas peddle but won’t go engine just fires up. The other day I had issues trying to put into reverse to back up hit the gas and it just accelerated really ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
I am having an identical issues as described in NHTSA ID Number 11526094. Vehicle hesitates when accelerating from a stop. Have been almost hit a couple times as it is unpredictable when this happens. This is a dangerous behavior and I cannot in clear conscience sell this minivan to another family. I have returned it to the dealer multiple times and they were eventually able to reproduce the prob... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
The Electronic power steering system stops working without warning or cause. It is available for inspection. While driving the loss of power steering stops you from be able to steer for turns or avoid a collision. A dealer confirmed that the (EPS) is shorting out causing this to happen. A warning light appears when EPS stops working stating "POWER STEERING IS UNEVALUABLE". There is a recall for... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
The Electronic power steering system stops working without warning or cause. It is available for inspection. While driving the loss of power steering stops you from be able to steer for turns or avoid a collision. A dealer confirmed that the (EPS) is shorting out causing this to happen. A warning light appears when EPS stops working stating "POWER STEERING IS UNEVALUABLE". There is a recall for... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2023
While driving the 2017 Chevy Volt, for about 20 minutes, the electrical system shut down. The warning said to put the car into park and look at the screen. The first instance the car was traveling at 45 mph, the second time it was on the freeway at 70 mph. At this point the check engine light came on. After turning the car off and on three times the car was able to be driven, but it happened again... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
The automatic trunk does not work. I'm unable to open and/or use my trunk. Moon roof does not open Airbag light is on Vehicle jerks very hard while operating in drive
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An undisclosed 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 m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2019
My partner was driving my car on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 and received a "Check Electrical Vehicle System" warning. Within 30 minutes of receiving that warning, the maximum speed on the car was throttled to 20 mph and shortly after that, the car stopped working entirely. Thankfully, my partner was on a residential street when all this occurred and was able to move to safety; however, had any of this ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
Shift to park warning continues to come on daily when I go to put my car in park. I have to fidget with the shifter to get the computer to recognize that my car is in park and the car will then shut off. Recently I was stopped at a red light, tried to accelerate at the green light and my car completely shut off, while I was still in drive. I could not accelerate and had to place my car in park. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud popping sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. Upon visual inspection, the contact observed a baseball-sized hole in the lower right corner of the rear windshield. As a result of the failure, the entire passenger’s side half of the rear windshield later colla... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
The steering is so hard to turn I can barley drive a vehicle I purchased I’ve taking it to be looked at a few times because the code will come on and off but when they run the code it won’t read it so they don’t know how to fix it.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
I attempted to open my rear passenger driver side door and it wouldn't open from the outside, then tried inside door handle and still would not open. Tried the door lock and key fob. Still would not open. Searched on Google and many other people have the same issue with the same car where the rear driver side door will not open. This is a safety hazard as you are unable to escape from the vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
We have recently experienced a significant and concerning increase in incidents of phantom braking and have thus far been unable to receive an adequate response from Tesla. We have had at least six instances of this occurring today, 16-Jun-2023 in the first 6-7 hours of our cross-country drive, and I’ve shared these time stamps with Tesla service. This is because we experienced this same thing... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2023
The fuel pump relay circuit board has a failed point in the soldering, causing the car to intermittently stall and die on the road. My safety was at risk because my car died randomly with no warning on a busy road. Can not even limp car to side of road. The part is being replaced by dealer where car was purchased, but a quick internet search provides thousands of similar results. There were no ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, a vehicle crashed into the front of the contact’s vehicle. Additionally, two other vehicles crashed into the side and rear of the contact's vehicle; however, the air bags failed to deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact and the passenger sustained injuries and received medical attention... Read more
Crash
2 injured