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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 755 complaints for ALFA ROMEO

Incident date: Jun 2, 2023

Trunk will open seemingly at random. Occurs while driving, parked, turned off, etc. Widespread problem as it has been reported on multiple car forums, all with the same response from dealers; can’t reproduce issue or they don’t know what’s wrong.

Incident date: Aug 8, 2022

I started my car one morning and heard a new noise that sounded like something was loose in my engine. I would hear this noise at idle and while starting the car. I took it to my mechanic who diagnosed a cracked flex plate.

Incident date: Aug 8, 2022

EGR failure can cause the car to become immediately inoperable w/ no propulsion due to fuse pop. EGR required to pass emissions regulations but none are available.

Incident date: Oct 20, 2023

While driving down a major highway, the trim/molding on the passenger side of the windshield flew off. The underlying bracket is still attached to the vehicle. The flying debris could cause other drivers to swerve to avoid the debris and potentially causing an accident. A local Ford dealership said there is not a recall for this issue. I found an article in USA Today that states several others... Read more

Incident date: Oct 31, 2023

- My car started having intermittent electrical issues. The first warning something was wrong was always the cars instrument cluster would start flashing, and the audio system would also drop in and out. Then later other malfunctions would start to show up on the center Nav Screen, some of the warnings are listed here : ○ Audio/speakers would cut out randomly while listening to music ○ Air Con... Read more

Incident date: Oct 31, 2023

Kia issued a recall warning dated September 29, 2023 regarding a fire hazard in our car. The recall stated that remedy was not available. After two months of no remedy from Kia and failure of Kia's Customer Care Center to respond to our requests for help, we went to the Kia dealer in Van Nuys, California to inspect the car to ascertain if it was still safe. The dealer refused to inspect or take an... Read more

Incident date: Nov 27, 2023

"On August 18, 2023, I was driving at 70 mph on I-95 near the 100-mile mark using Full Self-Drive. The front driver-side suspension housing cracked, causing the bottom part of the suspension to detach. This led to the front tire striking the upper part of the wheel, resulting in a tire blowout. A piece of metal from the suspension fell onto the road and hit the rear driver-side tire, causing it to... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Nov 19, 2023

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Transmission suddenly stopped shifting correctly resulting in a sudden loss of power, a lugging of the engine, and almost cause of an accident. Specific components have been diagnosed by Crest ford in centerline. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Without proper shifting the... Read more

Incident date: Nov 19, 2023

It says a recall on my car was fixed 2014 I purchased vehicle 2022, but just recently it has started just shutting off while driving it. Completely dying. Simular to the alternator recall P60

Incident date: Oct 1, 2023

While driving my car this morning, I turned on the rear windshield defroster and the rear windshield glass shattered. I stoped the car to check if something felt in the rear windshield but there was nothing. Only glass everywhere.

Incident date: Oct 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact stated that on four separate occasions while driving at various speeds and a making a turn, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amo... Read more

Incident date: Oct 15, 2023

2015 has a bad ABS Modulator fail (Solenoid valve). My car only has ~75k miles. It seems this is a common error with 2010-2015 Honda Accords and presents a safety concern. Honda has not issued a recall.

Incident date: Oct 3, 2023

This was a T-Bone accident. My front airbags did not deploy as the hit happened at 40 mph.

Crash

Incident date: Oct 7, 2023

I had issues with my turbo in July. It needed to be fully replaced. One week ago, is started leaking coolant. White smoke was coming from the exhaust. Last night while driving on the highway, it would not accelerate and threw an error code saying cylinder three misfire detected. I had to stop on the side of the highway in the middle of the night in pitch black with no streetlights due to no fault ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 29, 2023

Louisiana 425 North. Inside lane. Yellow line remained solid on my left. There wer no striped lines for the car to follow to continue straight as we approached on Full self driving. At highway speed the car veered into the turn lane. I immediately took control and prevented encountering the embankment. Dangerous situation. Tesla did what it was supposed to do. Louisiana highway engineers not so... Read more

Incident date: Apr 3, 2022

- My back windshield spontaneously shattered. - Yes, my safety and the safety of my passenger was put at risk. We were driving on the freeway when the glass spontaneously shattered. IF I had a child in the backseat of the car, they would have been covered in shards of glass. -The problem has been confirmed by the dealer AND by Honda themselves. They issued a Priority/Action notice in May 2023 ad... Read more

Incident date: Apr 3, 2022

Rattle noise on the freeway, all electric lights on dash board started flashing. Car died on the side of the road. Did not restart. Engine was making a bubble noise (like overheating) with steam. When I checked my oil, showed dark and metal flakes. Recent oil change. Towed my mechanic and they said I have MAJOR engine issues.

Incident date: Sep 24, 2023

When turning the vehicle to the left there is a rubbing noise that comes from the front end.

Incident date: Jun 22, 2023

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated while reversing there was a squealing and grinding sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine to cause of the squealing sound. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,000.

Incident date: Mar 1, 2023

Fire started in engine from oil leak in cylinder head on Saturday, 9/9/23 at approximately 1:15 pm. Car had been running for around 2 hours with no signs or indication of malfunction. Driver pulled car over after entering Mt. Rainier National Forest at a viewpoint. At this point driver noticed engine was smoking. NO lights or indicators on dashboard lit up notifying of overheating or malfunction. ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Aug 24, 2023

I alone in the car driving on a residential street, about 20 miles per hour. There were no cars in front of me when my brakes slammed on suddenly! I was jerked forward and items that were on my passenger seat flew to the the floor. Thankfully there was nobody behind me either, so there was no accident. It was a clear sunny day with no obstructions. There were no messages or warnings that I saw. Th... Read more

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

The contact owned a Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 MPH the contact heard a loud pop from the engine. The contact stated that immediately after hearing the noise smoke started to emanate from the engine. The vehicle caught fire. The driver sustained a hand injury. Medical attention was needed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The fire and police repo... Read more

Fire 1 injured

Incident date: Aug 22, 2023

The paint just above my windshield at the center is bubbled up and stater peeling and is now rusting. It is also peeling on my drivers door just above the window. The paint color is Pearl White

Incident date: Aug 17, 2023

While driving at posted limits, the van will shut off without warning. This has happened 5 times. We have been fortunate that no cars have been following close behind, so we have been able to pull the van off the side of the road, stop and re-start the van. I have had a dealer and another mechanic look at the ignition and attempt to trouble shoot. However, nothing is ever found. This does not... Read more

Incident date: Jul 10, 2023

On July 10 I was driving my car and then suddenly all the brakes came on. There were no objects in front of the car or behind the cars it was early morning at 7 o'clock on my way to the hospital for work. There was no warning that there was an object in front of me or anything. Two days later around the same time in the morning the car could start but the electronic brake system was ON. you can't ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 10, 2023

As I was exiting my parking space I notice the steering wheel was stiff as I tried to navigate a left turn. I could not pull the wheel for a successful turn and to not block traffic I reverse slowly back into the parking spot. I rebooted the vehicle and was successful with no issues. Sent a message to Tesla service regarding incident. Mechanic says to have it towed the next time it happens again. ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 10, 2023

The back hatch glass busted when I was parked and no one around it blew so hard it blew the molding out from the window

Incident date: Jul 31, 2023

The contact owns a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the A/C was blowing out hot air. The contact stated that smoke began emanating from the engine compartment and the vehicle started smoking and it caught fire. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road where the hood was opened and the fire was out by a passenger. The vehicle was then towed to an ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Jul 31, 2023

I have ~50,000 miles and have had an excessive amount of chips on my front windshield. Getting them filled doesn't matter, and the windshield will crack. I've replaced the windshield twice since owning this vehicle at $1200+ (high costs due to front camera recalibration). I've owned many vehicles over the years and have never had a windshield chip or crack this frequent. I've seen many other compl... Read more

Incident date: Jul 21, 2023

The car completely stalled on the freeway. Giving less than 20 secs of warning that the vechicle will shut down. I got over from the fast lane to middle lane and car shut down. I had to call 911 and tow truck. I towed it to tesla and they said the rear unit failed… car was just purchased new a few months before this.

Incident date: Jul 21, 2023

Gear shift from gears 1 to 2 or 2 to 1, the gears often “slip” resulting in a slight delay or jolt upon acceleration. This is an ongoing issue that occurs frequently, for years.

Incident date: Jul 21, 2023

Vehicle stalled loss power on highway while driving 70mph almost got rear ended. Was able to exit highway and park vehicle. Shut it off for 10 minutes started back up put in reverse car would move at all put it in drive still wouldn’t move. This is very dangerous I couldn’t have been killed. Check engine light came on and stayed on. Stop/Start stated unavailable and service engine soon

Incident date: Jul 21, 2023

Currently have 62,254 miles on my car and the head gasket is now faulty requiring a repair that’s almost $4,000. Check engine light came on prompting it to be looked at and head gasket was root cause. Appears to be a very common issue with Pacifica’s but no service bulletins or recalls associated with this issue yet.

Incident date: Jul 21, 2023

Vehicle accelerated from a stop sign at high speed and brakes were pushed down all the way with no respond the steering wheels was stiff and the Vehicle continued at high speed on its own crashing curbs side walk vegetation along the way until final crash at a tree. not warning lamps messages and air bag did not deploy. Car engine remained on at time of crash until manually turned off. safety of ... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Jul 13, 2023

Got into a collision and the air bags did not deploy when they should have. There was a recall 2 weeks prior to the accident but no notification. This was a safety risk in the accident when the air bags did not deploy

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Jul 13, 2023

I have a Certified 21 Ford Escape Hybrid - I opened the drivers side door and the 3 welds to the hinge broke. The internet stated this is a common safety issue. It was a past recall with Ford. Ford is not honoring their quality, and refuses to fix the issue. Even the dealer admitted it is a common safety issue. The case number with [XXX] / Ford Motor Company [XXX] / [XXX] will not return calls,... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2023

The car will shut off in traffic out of no where. While driving the cars speed randomly will decrease to 15 miles and hour on the interstate almost causing a crash. When the cars speeds decreases randomly it does not all you to accelerate. Therefore the car is just going 15 miles an hour on a highway of no less than 65 miles. This has happened multiple times in the last 2 months. I see there was... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2023

1.What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? After closing the passenger side door, The 12v battery that controls the Tesla cabin died without any prior warning or car notification that it needed to be replaced, as a result the car instantly powered down , disabling the a/c, windows and door locks and we were unable to open the doors to acces... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2023

Incident date: May 29, 2023

I was driving and randomly my new 2023 Buick Encore GX and two error messages popped up and my brakes started being less responsive. The two error messages that popped up was "Service ESC" and "Service Power Steering". I will be calling the service department tomorrow to get it checked to make sure nothing is wrong. This is apparently an issue with GM cars but I need to verify that it is not an... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

I was cut off by another vehicle without signaling, the road was slick I brakes but ended up hydroplaning and my brakes seemed to give out.

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated. The contact then stated that the vehicle failed to shift while accelerating. As a result, the contact had to use the automatic shift to manually drive the vehicle. The power train warning light illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed th... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

Throttle body and throttle pedal

Incident date: May 8, 2023

I was making my daily commute to work on 5/8/2023. Location:Between Liberty Texas and Devers Texas on Highway 90 Rundown of Events: I was Driving on the highway 90 alone. No inclement weather and no other motor vehicles within atleast 700 ft or more. For absolutely no reason, my sunroof randomly exploded with no 3rd party influence such as a rock/animal etc etc. The music was at a low level where... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact coasted the vehicle off to the shoulder of the highway and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact then discovered that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V749000 (Exterior Lighting, Electrical System) which the mechanic linked to... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2023

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

None of my air bags went off in my car and my car was totalled. My insurance company has possession of the car now.

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Apr 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2004 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle started shuddering. The contact stated she heard abnormal creaking and cracking sounds. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had become more frequent. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independe... Read more

Incident date: Apr 15, 2020

On March 1, 2023, approximately 5 days after purchasing the vehicle, when turning the vehicle on at approximately 8:00 pm, the screen stated that "A possible condition with your Hybrid Control Unit/Low DC-DC Converter has been detected. A full system check is recommended to be done soon. Please contact your local dealership to schedule an appointment." An appointment was scheduled from the screen... Read more

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