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 16,369 complaints for AUDI
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Engine Excessive oil consumption burning oil then suddenly found out there is no oil in the engine that causes for blow the engine while driving if you don't add oil it's common problem for this car ; asking for solve the issue
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2017) - AIR BAGS
Apr 1, 2022
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Audi A4. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V874000 (Seats, Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer had been notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount ... Read more
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2017) - SEATS
Apr 1, 2022
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Audi A4. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V874000 (Seats, Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer had been notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount ... Read more
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Apr 1, 2022
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the passenger’s side air bag off warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed; however, the dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags). The VIN was included however, the vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2022
The MMI at times fails to work along with the pop up LCD screen. During vehicle in motion the LCD screen would malfunction and close
Incident date: Aug 19, 2021
The turbo failed while driving the car at normal speed trying to enter freeway. Luckily I was able to get the car to the side of the road safely. The vehicle has always been serviced by Audi on prescribed intervals. After researching, I found a TSB on the oil screens that feed the turbos. The dealer (Audi Miramar, San Diego) told me this is not/was not a required repair and quoted me $16k to r... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2020
The Mfg defrayed some of the cost of replacing the two turbos but I was charged $5,607.06 on the repair on 9/24/20. The cause of the repair was do the mfg defect and they should pay 100% of the repair. The vehicle only had 42,040 miles at the time of the turbo failure.
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Mar 28, 2022
Incident date: Dec 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the Audi presence system fault warning chime and ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
I'm NOT sure if this would have developed to an safety issue, I'll let your team decide. At my scheduled 50,000 mile dealer service (50,219 miles) I was informed that both motor mounts had failed and needed replacement. The service rep said that THEY found a fault code for one mount and a visual inspection confirmed that the other mount had also failed. Both mounts had sensors but I DID NOT rec... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
I have been an Audi A4 owner for more than 10 years. During that time, I have had 2 incidents where I could have easily been killed as well as injured or killed passengers in oncoming vehicles. The latest was this morning on March 23, 2022. The other was nearly 10 years ago. My personal investigation has led me to a conclusion that I have not yet seen anywhere else. In both cases, I am trying to ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
I have been an Audi A4 owner for more than 10 years. During that time, I have had 2 incidents where I could have easily been killed as well as injured or killed passengers in oncoming vehicles. The latest was this morning on March 23, 2022. The other was nearly 10 years ago. My personal investigation has led me to a conclusion that I have not yet seen anywhere else. In both cases, I am trying to ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
I have been an Audi A4 owner for more than 10 years. During that time, I have had 2 incidents where I could have easily been killed as well as injured or killed passengers in oncoming vehicles. The latest was this morning on March 23, 2022. The other was nearly 10 years ago. My personal investigation has led me to a conclusion that I have not yet seen anywhere else. In both cases, I am trying to ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
My 2017 Audi A4 Quattro is now five years old. There is only 26,000 miles on the vehicle. Mostly local miles. I noticed drops of red fluid on the garage floor under the engine compartment. My mechanic investigated and found the issue to be leaking coolant from the thermostat/pump housing. It is obvious that the leak has been occurring for awhile as there is dried white residue all around ... Read more
AUDI
RS E-TRON GT
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Mar 23, 2022
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
CAR FUNCTIONING NORMALLY. Came to a stop light. Waited for light to change. Then when I pushed the accelerator nothing happened. No movement. Had to turn on emergency flashers, power down the car completely and restart it to move. Then functioned normally. Happened four times total. Car has already been at the dealer once and had some replacement parts done to fix the issue - but now it has occu... Read more
AUDI
RS E-TRON GT
(2022) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Mar 23, 2022
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
CAR FUNCTIONING NORMALLY. Came to a stop light. Waited for light to change. Then when I pushed the accelerator nothing happened. No movement. Had to turn on emergency flashers, power down the car completely and restart it to move. Then functioned normally. Happened four times total. Car has already been at the dealer once and had some replacement parts done to fix the issue - but now it has occu... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
Water pump stopped working properly, creating hazardous situation with my car. Had the car overheated and stopped working while driving, this could have been catastrophic. The only symptom was loss of coolant and resulting warning message from the car. I took it to an independent service center, who diagnosed the problem and replaced at my own expense of $961.07.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
RECEIVED LETTER FROM AUDI REGARDING NHTSA:22V034. LETTER INDICATED THERE WAS A DEFECT WITH THE REAR AXLE SUSPENSION ALIGNMENT WHICH COULD LEAD TO PREMATURE AND EXCESSIVE TIRE WEAR AND, POTENTIAL TIRE FAILURE. AFTER INSPECTION, DEALER (FLETCHER JONE AUDI, COSTA MESA, CA) SAID THERE WERE NO ISSUES DESPITE PRESENCE OF EXCESSIVE TIRE WEAR. TIRES ONLY HAD 18,000 MILES ON THEM AND HAD BEEN ROTATED AT 1... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
RECEIVED LETTER FROM AUDI REGARDING NHTSA:22V034. LETTER INDICATED THERE WAS A DEFECT WITH THE REAR AXLE SUSPENSION ALIGNMENT WHICH COULD LEAD TO PREMATURE AND EXCESSIVE TIRE WEAR AND, POTENTIAL TIRE FAILURE. AFTER INSPECTION, DEALER (FLETCHER JONE AUDI, COSTA MESA, CA) SAID THERE WERE NO ISSUES DESPITE PRESENCE OF EXCESSIVE TIRE WEAR. TIRES ONLY HAD 18,000 MILES ON THEM AND HAD BEEN ROTATED AT 1... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The panoramic sunroof suddenly shattered when drove on the highway I-15 at the speed around 75mph. There was no other cars around me when this happened, and we didn't use any heater or A/C at that time, all windows were closed. There is no sign of glass exploding prior to the failure. If the shade is not closed, the exploded sunroof glass will splash in the car cabin, causing injury for all passe... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2022
Early in January of this year - - Got the message on the dash ('ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION'). - Then a 2nd. message ('PULL OVER WHEN SAFE TO DO SO'). - Then a final message ('DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE'). Vehicle was still driveable and I was able to make it back to the house. - Vehicle was towed to the Shawnee Mission Kansas Audi dealership Where it has been since January 4 First attempt to rep... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2022
The thermostat housing on the 2.0t ea888 gen 3 engines keeps leaking after being replaced, VW has made multiple revisions and it still leaks I’m only at 41k miles.
Incident date: Mar 20, 2022
I bought this vehicle with 57,000 miles on it the water pump was replaced under recall at 60,000 miles now the water pump is bad at 97,000 miles so that’s three water pumps 97,000 miles
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The car is completely not safe it seems to have a mind of its own and that’s saying that I’ve maintained everything up to par and it’s still a safety hazard
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The car is completely not safe it seems to have a mind of its own and that’s saying that I’ve maintained everything up to par and it’s still a safety hazard
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The car is completely not safe it seems to have a mind of its own and that’s saying that I’ve maintained everything up to par and it’s still a safety hazard
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
Ok before my previous incident it must’ve been 2 weeks ago that my car just sped up and broke on it’s on on a 65 mile road it’s to the point that I’m very hesitant to drive the car but it’s my only means of commute it’s just a total safety problem and I don’t feel safe one bit
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
Ok before my previous incident it must’ve been 2 weeks ago that my car just sped up and broke on it’s on on a 65 mile road it’s to the point that I’m very hesitant to drive the car but it’s my only means of commute it’s just a total safety problem and I don’t feel safe one bit
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
Ok before my previous incident it must’ve been 2 weeks ago that my car just sped up and broke on it’s on on a 65 mile road it’s to the point that I’m very hesitant to drive the car but it’s my only means of commute it’s just a total safety problem and I don’t feel safe one bit
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
I went to dealership to fix recall and the dealership didn't finish work on recall because they wanted me to pay for an alignment when it says it should off been fixed on your website because the recall damaged my tires unevenly.
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
I went to dealership to fix recall and the dealership didn't finish work on recall because they wanted me to pay for an alignment when it says it should off been fixed on your website because the recall damaged my tires unevenly.
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The car has only 60,000 miles and it is gently driven. In the middle of the interstate it started making a rattling noise. Immediately the car ceased to run. Luckily there was no vehicle otherwise it would have been a disaster. I managed to start the car back and bring it to my home which was nearby. I called a friend who is the mechanic and he mentioned the turbo had failed
Incident date: Mar 18, 2022
After coming to a park after driving, a loud bang noise was heard from the rear of the vehicle. It was not an impact with another vehicle. When I got home I took off the rear right wheel and found that the lower part of the coil spring had sheared and broken. It looks like some corrosion was inside the metal. I called my Audi dealer service and he had not heard of anything like that happening.
Incident date: Mar 20, 2021
My car got the recall of PODS a year ago and Audi still doesn't have part availability to fix it. This impacts my driving a lot.
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
As I was driving with my 4 year old daughter in the vehicle, while making a left turn my vehicle steering wheel locked or seemed to lock on me with no warning, and then the "DO NOT DRIVE VEHICLE" indicator appeared. Thank God I was able to safety steer into a driveway. Inspection is available upon request. The defect of the vehicle could have cause major bodily injuries to me and my daughter and ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Audi A7. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the steering assist warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not serviced. The contact took the vehicle to independent mechanic and was informed that the electronic steering unit needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side air bag alarm would chime intermittently. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made the dealer aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer informed the contact to latch the front passenger’s seat belt latch at a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Audi A6. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated continuously. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was overheating and the thermostat needed to be replaced. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the f... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
COOLANT PUMP BECAME BLOCKED IN MY 3.0 ENGINE VEHICLE, CAUSING IT TO OVERHEAT. THIS MAY BE A SIMILAR PROBLEM TO THE 2.0 VEHICLE, FOR WHICH THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN 2 RECALLS. MY AIR CONDITIONER STARTED BLOWING FUSES REPEATEDLY (DAILY TO WEEKLY) LAST YEAR AND THE MECHANIC THINKS IT MAY BE A RELATED ISSUE.
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
COOLANT PUMP BECAME BLOCKED IN MY 3.0 ENGINE VEHICLE, CAUSING IT TO OVERHEAT. THIS MAY BE A SIMILAR PROBLEM TO THE 2.0 VEHICLE, FOR WHICH THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN 2 RECALLS. MY AIR CONDITIONER STARTED BLOWING FUSES REPEATEDLY (DAILY TO WEEKLY) LAST YEAR AND THE MECHANIC THINKS IT MAY BE A RELATED ISSUE.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2022
After the shutdown of 3G network, my 2018 Audi Q7 Prestige lost some great features. Audi USA sent a recall 91CD which is basically the notice that 3G network will be shutting down from 2/22. This deactivates app based features like lock/unlock, vehicle monitoring, vehicle related data etc. When taken to the dealership "Audi Minneapolis" with letter from Audi USA, dealership just upgraded the soft... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Without warning, my 2017 Audi Q7 sunroof exploded, with glass exploding outward and shards deposited on the closed mesh sun/shade screen. I was alarmed by a loud explosive noise, thinking a tire blow-out, but the sunscreen had literally exploded. I escaped being injured by flying glass shards because the sun/shade was drawn closed so glass did not enter the cabin. Only the retractable piece of the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2021
I had purchased the car back in August 17th 2021 my power steering my brakes my airbag light and the fuel system fuel leak started happening all at once water was draining out of the middle of the engine . It overheating the engine speed ball down and I automatically I instantly pulled over and turned it off and towed it home 2 days after I bought it. these are also recalls my Audi 2009-a3 2.0 tfs... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2021
I had purchased the car back in August 17th 2021 my power steering my brakes my airbag light and the fuel system fuel leak started happening all at once water was draining out of the middle of the engine . It overheating the engine speed ball down and I automatically I instantly pulled over and turned it off and towed it home 2 days after I bought it. these are also recalls my Audi 2009-a3 2.0 tfs... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2021
I had purchased the car back in August 17th 2021 my power steering my brakes my airbag light and the fuel system fuel leak started happening all at once water was draining out of the middle of the engine . It overheating the engine speed ball down and I automatically I instantly pulled over and turned it off and towed it home 2 days after I bought it. these are also recalls my Audi 2009-a3 2.0 tfs... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Audi A5. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the oil light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact drove to the local dealer. The dealer informed the contact that many vehicles had experienced oil issues. The oil was topped off. The dealer performed an oil consumption test. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failur... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Audi A4. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking space, there was big rock next to the bumper on the front passenger's side of the vehicle and there was a scallop area with stones next to the passenger's side of the vehicle as well. The contact stated that she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the scallop area and the vehicle was stuck between the... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
This is my second time contacting you in reg. this vehicle, it was previously in the shop for the same repairs the engine was replaced and the coolant system was fixed, now it has been about two mo and again it is having issues with the coolant system and now transmission issues, I also just found out that this vehicle was in a accident in 2014, in which I was told t had not been, so I am currentl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
This is my second time contacting you in reg. this vehicle, it was previously in the shop for the same repairs the engine was replaced and the coolant system was fixed, now it has been about two mo and again it is having issues with the coolant system and now transmission issues, I also just found out that this vehicle was in a accident in 2014, in which I was told t had not been, so I am currentl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
This is my second time contacting you in reg. this vehicle, it was previously in the shop for the same repairs the engine was replaced and the coolant system was fixed, now it has been about two mo and again it is having issues with the coolant system and now transmission issues, I also just found out that this vehicle was in a accident in 2014, in which I was told t had not been, so I am currentl... Read more
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Mar 10, 2022
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) 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 made aware o... Read more