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: Sep 1, 2021
The headlights are so dim the vehicle can not be driven at night. My mechanic tells me this is a known issue for the RDX and I will have to replace the headlights at my own expense. The estimated cost is over $2000. Its hard to say when I first noticed the issue but it is at the point that if I am driving at night I must use my high beams.
Incident date: Dec 18, 2020
Headlight low beams are dangerously dim. When driving at night the headlights are so dim it is impossible to see.
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated while at a stop light and attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that a warning message to "Park and Restart” the vehicle was displayed. The contact shifted the vehicle into park(P) and attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle would not start immediately. The contact stated t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2022
On September 6, 2022, at 7:45 AM I was traveling from my home to work in my 2020 Acura RDX. As I was merging on to an interstate in heavy, high-speed traffic, my RDX suddenly lost power and started to decelerate with absolutely no warning at all as high-speed traffic was approaching from behind. My vehicle decelerated to a speed of about 20mph on an interstate in the midst of heavy, high-speed t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2022
On September 6, 2022, at 7:45 AM I was traveling from my home to work in my 2020 Acura RDX. As I was merging on to an interstate in heavy, high-speed traffic, my RDX suddenly lost power and started to decelerate with absolutely no warning at all as high-speed traffic was approaching from behind. My vehicle decelerated to a speed of about 20mph on an interstate in the midst of heavy, high-speed t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2019
S25 S25 recall fuel system 2012 Campaign Number 12V063000
Incident date: Apr 1, 2019
S25 S25 recall fuel system 2012 Campaign Number 12V063000
Incident date: Sep 4, 2022
16 y/o driving and stopped at a traffic light. He attempted to go when the light turned green, heard a pop, engine was revving but the car was not moving. It was acting as if it was in neutral. Luckily a police car was right there and they helped him push it to a parking lot. This car has 99K miles on it. He almost got hammered by the car behind him. This is a transmission issue and we had absolut... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
Low beams (both) became so dim as to be unsafe to drive at night due to reflector becoming very clouded. Many other owners have reported the same issue. FYI: low beam bulbs are good, high beam lights are fine, car has only 75k miles and is seldom driven at night
Incident date: Sep 2, 2019
The low beam bulb seems to be fine. But the road is barely visible at night. Could be the reflector got damaged over the time? No warning lamps or messages.
Incident date: Sep 2, 2022
The car several times now has stopped in traffic and died after the idle stop was initiated while stopped in traffic. It will not start up for at least 30 seconds to a minute. We were almost rear-ended because we were stuck in the middle of the road. I was told that Canada has issued a recall because of this issue
Incident date: Apr 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Acura ILX. The contact's daughter was driving approximately 10 MPH and accelerating after stopping at a traffic sign when the vehicle was crashed by another vehicle. The contact's vehicle had the front bumper removed. There were no injuries and both vehicles were drivable. The contact's daughter had exited the vehicle and retrieved the front bumper. She got back into the dr... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
Car will not restart from the Auto Idle Stop when at a stop light. The dash goes blank then flashes everything and it takes a minute or so to restart. It has happened 3-4 times in the last 6 months. Once on a 55 mph highway. Very dangerous safety issue. I have take it to the Acura dealership service department and they say diagnostics does not show why. However, They said it has happened to their ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
On numerous occasions the Electric Power Steering, Lane Departure Warning, and Lane Keeping Assist problem lights illuminate on the dash and I lose all power steering. My car becomes extremely difficult to turn, particularly at lower speeds. This is a major safety hazard and warrants a recall. Had my wife been driving when this occurred she would not be able to turn the vehicle. This has happe... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
On numerous occasions the Electric Power Steering, Lane Departure Warning, and Lane Keeping Assist problem lights illuminate on the dash and I lose all power steering. My car becomes extremely difficult to turn, particularly at lower speeds. This is a major safety hazard and warrants a recall. Had my wife been driving when this occurred she would not be able to turn the vehicle. This has happe... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
On numerous occasions the Electric Power Steering, Lane Departure Warning, and Lane Keeping Assist problem lights illuminate on the dash and I lose all power steering. My car becomes extremely difficult to turn, particularly at lower speeds. This is a major safety hazard and warrants a recall. Had my wife been driving when this occurred she would not be able to turn the vehicle. This has happe... Read more
ACURA
MDX
(2019) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:FUEL GAUGE:FUEL LEVEL FLOAT/SENSOR/SENDING UNIT
Sep 1, 2022
Incident date: Aug 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V215000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle and driving several miles, the fuel gauge fluctuated to empty. The contact stated that the fuel gauge would indicate the incorrect amount of the fuel in t fuel tank. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dea... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
Turbo went out at 109230 miles. No warning lamps or anything prior. Unknown on other questions. Just know mil had a turbo go out and ended up being apart of recall
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 Acura TL. The contact stated that multiple cracks had formed on the dashboard, exposing the passenger’s side air bag. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dashboard was originally replaced under warranty. Recently, the contact stated that the failure returned with multiple cracks forming on the instrument panel. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. T... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
Driving down the freeway cruising around 70 miles per hour when the multiple sensors tripped and car started to slow down to 50 mph. Took the exit and when I came to a stop the car was moving very slow. Had to go over an overpass and it barely made it over. Close to home so drove the car slowly. The car at times would stop moving and took a little time for it to pick up and started moving slow... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
Driving down the freeway cruising around 70 miles per hour when the multiple sensors tripped and car started to slow down to 50 mph. Took the exit and when I came to a stop the car was moving very slow. Had to go over an overpass and it barely made it over. Close to home so drove the car slowly. The car at times would stop moving and took a little time for it to pick up and started moving slow... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
Driving down the freeway cruising around 70 miles per hour when the multiple sensors tripped and car started to slow down to 50 mph. Took the exit and when I came to a stop the car was moving very slow. Had to go over an overpass and it barely made it over. Close to home so drove the car slowly. The car at times would stop moving and took a little time for it to pick up and started moving slow... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
Traveling on I-49 north at approximately 80 mph without any sign of a problem when suddenly the car began breaking, shifted into neutral, hazards flashing, and every light on my dash lit up (Emission system Failure, Braking Failure, and Transmission Failure). At first I thought it had something to do with the cruise control, so I tried turning that off, which did not help, so I pulled over to the... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2022
What component or system failed or malfunctioned? Car automatically applied brakes on several occasions, despite no obstacles in front of the car. Incident 1: While driving through an 3-way intersection, the car slammed on the brakes automatically. There was a van in the opposite lane waiting to turn left. There was 2-3 feet of space so there was no risk of collision, but the car slammed on the br... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2022
What component or system failed or malfunctioned? Car automatically applied brakes on several occasions, despite no obstacles in front of the car. Incident 1: While driving through an 3-way intersection, the car slammed on the brakes automatically. There was a van in the opposite lane waiting to turn left. There was 2-3 feet of space so there was no risk of collision, but the car slammed on the br... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2022
Projector headlight failure. Replaced bulbs and cleaned lens and low beam is still almost non existent The reflector in the back of both projectors are disintegrated and will not reflect enough to pass inspection. New headlight assembly are in backorder which means this a reoccurring problem with the 2013, 2014, and 2015 model with the halogen bulbs.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2022
This complaint is in regards to the 2003 Acura model TL, which is made by Honda and seems to have a notorious car frame rust/rot problem due to designing the AC compressor drain line to dump water directly onto the cars front subframe/engine cradle causing it/them to be compromised to a serious extent that could lead to major injury and or death if not spotted and dealt with. All complaints clearl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2022
Purchased vehicle used. Halogen headlight assemblies are so dim at night that vision is impaired. This is a safety hazard for night driving. Known issue on this car model, that seems to be due to failure of reflective material over time. Will replace headlight assembly.
Incident date: Aug 25, 2022
The auto stop feature is enabled by default when the car is started. When stopped at a traffic light or in a traffic jam, the auto stop turns off the engine and is supposed to restart when the drivers foot is off the brake. The engine unexpectedly will not restart, and the car must be put in park, turned off, and restarted. This is dangerous in heavy traffic. The dealer replaced the battery as an... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
(4/2021). While cruising on a 2 lane hwy the power went to zero. All I could do was coast to the shoulder. Restarted and was on the go. If I was passing another car and this happened when there was oncoming traffic I could had a head on collision. This occurred twice on the same 3 day vacation Another time (8/2022) While cruising at normal speed and acceleration in the passing lane on the inters... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
Rear wheels on car will suddenly without warning turn causing the car to violently fishtail. I have had this happen 5 times in the last month. Acura dealer reproduced the malfunction 2 times. The last time this happened it almost put my family into oncoming traffic. We cannot currently drive the car for safety reasons and parts to fix the problem are not available. Seems the problem is within ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
The auto engine disable function causes the car to stall unexpectedly. The car engine stops, and the car changes from Drive into Neutral. The only way to re-engage the engine is to place into Park and restart the car. Sometimes, it requires more than one attempt. Fortunately, this has only happened while the car has been stopped, but it has happened at several busy intersections, holding up tr... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
My car routinely sends a warning alert that there is an approaching object. It happens more frequently, when the temperature is hot, and it happens mostly when I am stopped at a traffic light. Occasionally, the alerts continue as I'm moving, which is really distracting, but even sitting at a traffic light is distracting and creating a safety issue. I listed yesterday's date, but this happens ne... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
My car routinely sends a warning alert that there is an approaching object. It happens more frequently, when the temperature is hot, and it happens mostly when I am stopped at a traffic light. Occasionally, the alerts continue as I'm moving, which is really distracting, but even sitting at a traffic light is distracting and creating a safety issue. I listed yesterday's date, but this happens ne... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2022
Stopped at red light and car would not restart after the auto idle turn off function had engaged. All lights on dash flashed and car kept going into neutral. Car would not restart for nearly 10 minutes and I was left stranded in an incredibly busy intersection with cars flying around me honking and yelling. I could have been killed as well as the man who stopped to help me. Incredibly angry to cal... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2020
Acura RDX 2014 headlights - Yes available for inspection. The headlights are extremely dim and I have difficulty seeing the road due to the lack of light. They are so dim that passengers tell me I don't have my headlights on when I do. Upon researching this problem I found many Acura RDX 2014 with this problem. The dealership service department told me that the vehicle is known for headlight assem... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
Transmission slips and shifts hard causing the car to lurch foreward. It also loses power when accelerating.
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
Low beam headlights are extremely dim. Have replaced the bulbs, trying different brands and still very dim. This is a very dangerous car to drive at night. We drive with the high beams on in order to see the road. Started about 2 years ago with around 60K miles.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
For about a year or more, On cold start,(3-6+ hours of engine rest) rattle occurs for a brief period of time (usually 1-2 seconds) then ceases. TSB 09-010 is associated with various Honda models up to 2012, but does not include Acura. Car delivers no DTCs for this issue currently. Have not had the vehicle inspected by the dealer for this issue. Following the TSB, the symptom is the same. Replaceme... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
Headlights are too dim. Dangerously dim. Apparently the entire assembly is defective and needs to be replaced.
Incident date: Aug 21, 2022
The passenger side air bag that is located under the dashboard has caused the dashboard to crack around the outline of the air bag unit. Cracks in the dashboard can result in pieces of the dashboard being projected into the eyes and face of passengers once the passenger airbag deploys. The cracks allow moisture into the airbag module which can create the risk of a faulty airbag deployment or faili... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2022
When the idle stop comes on it shifts the car to neutral and I must shut off the car to get it to start again. This happens while on the highway and is unsafe.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
While driving on the highway the moon roof spontaneously exploded and shattered. The noise was loud and startling like a gunshot and poses a serious risk of crashing and injury if the shade is open at the time of explosion.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
While driving on the highway the moon roof spontaneously exploded and shattered. The noise was loud and startling like a gunshot and poses a serious risk of crashing and injury if the shade is open at the time of explosion.
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
When you are driving the steering wheel is jerked out of your hand causing the vehicle to change lanes. The problem happens intermintently. Date the issue started was around 7/15/2022 and has continued since. Our vehicle has been taken to Acura of Baton Rouge but they are unable to get a fault code on the computer to know what to fix. Please note this is note the first issue with this so called ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2022
While traveling on a narrow road and a narrow bridge, the lane departure system caused the car to veer left into another car. The road had no dividing lane marker. The car was totaled and my wife injured
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle went into limp mode and experienced unintended deceleration to 5 MPH with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2022
While driving, the vehicle shift into neutral unexpectedly, causing the transmission indicator to come on and OTC. Was going downhill when it happened but luckily I got off the road and went into a residential neighborhood to park. It was left on Neutral and could not shift to any gears. I put the emergency brake so the car wouldn't move down. I later found out after the car was towed that I was a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
On a few occasions, while at a stop light the auto idle engaged. When I lifted my foot from the brake pedal, which should restart the engine, the car Shifts automatically into neutral and cannot restart the engine. The dash shows a message saying that I must now shift to park. I have to then turn the car off, while in traffic, and then restart. This happens while in traffic, causing everyone b... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
On a few occasions, while at a stop light the auto idle engaged. When I lifted my foot from the brake pedal, which should restart the engine, the car Shifts automatically into neutral and cannot restart the engine. The dash shows a message saying that I must now shift to park. I have to then turn the car off, while in traffic, and then restart. This happens while in traffic, causing everyone b... Read more