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: Sep 15, 2017
1. DRIVING 2017 AUDI Q7 (MILEAGE 17017) ON I-85 CLOSE TO THE RICHMOND, VA. DRY, STRAIGHT AND NO TRAFFIC ROAD. 2. BOTH HANDS KEEP ON STEEL WHEEL, CAR LOST CONTROL, LANE KEEP DID NOT WORK, TRIED USED THE STEEL WHEEL TO ADJUST, THE STEEL WHEEL OVER RESPONSE. 3. THE CAR WENT TO LEFT AND RIGHT, ROLLOVER, AND CRASH. 4. HAD SENT CAR IN DEALERSHIP TWO TIMES TO REPAIRING AUTO BRAKE PROBLEMS (THIS CAR DI... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2017
1. DRIVING 2017 AUDI Q7 (MILEAGE 17017) ON I-85 CLOSE TO THE RICHMOND, VA. DRY, STRAIGHT AND NO TRAFFIC ROAD. 2. BOTH HANDS KEEP ON STEEL WHEEL, CAR LOST CONTROL, LANE KEEP DID NOT WORK, TRIED USED THE STEEL WHEEL TO ADJUST, THE STEEL WHEEL OVER RESPONSE. 3. THE CAR WENT TO LEFT AND RIGHT, ROLLOVER, AND CRASH. 4. HAD SENT CAR IN DEALERSHIP TWO TIMES TO REPAIRING AUTO BRAKE PROBLEMS (THIS CAR DI... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2017
1. DRIVING 2017 AUDI Q7 (MILEAGE 17017) ON I-85 CLOSE TO THE RICHMOND, VA. DRY, STRAIGHT AND NO TRAFFIC ROAD. 2. BOTH HANDS KEEP ON STEEL WHEEL, CAR LOST CONTROL, LANE KEEP DID NOT WORK, TRIED USED THE STEEL WHEEL TO ADJUST, THE STEEL WHEEL OVER RESPONSE. 3. THE CAR WENT TO LEFT AND RIGHT, ROLLOVER, AND CRASH. 4. HAD SENT CAR IN DEALERSHIP TWO TIMES TO REPAIRING AUTO BRAKE PROBLEMS (THIS CAR DI... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 10, 2017
TAKATA RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED BUT STILL SHOWS "RECALL INCOMPLETE REMEDY NOT YET AVAILABLE"
Incident date: Jan 11, 2017
TAKATA RECALL, NO REMEDY YET. NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 17V032. MANUFACTURER RECALL NUMBER -69P6
AUDI
A4 CABRIOLET
(2007) - AIR BAGS
Nov 13, 2017
Incident date: Nov 2, 2017
TAKATA RECALL - I HAVE TRIED TO SUBMIT MY CAR TO THE DEALER FOR REPLACEMENT SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE RECALL BEGAN IN 2016, AND AGAIN SINCE RECEIVING THE LATEST NOTIFICATION OF THE BANKRUPTCY BUT THE AIRBAGS ARE NOT AVAILABLE ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY SAY THEY MAY HAVE THEM IN JAN. 2018. WHAT IF THEY DONT GET THEM AT ALL?
Incident date: Oct 29, 2017
THE WIPER ARM BROKE OFF FROM THE MOUNTING ASSEMBLY AT THE BASE. CONDITIONS WERE MEDIUM RAIN. TEMPERATURE APPROXIMATELY 50 DEGREES (F). DRIVING AT LEGAL HIGHWAY SPEED OF 55 MPH. THERE WAS NO OBJECT COLLISION. IT SIMPLY SNAPPED, LEAVING ONLY THE DRIVER WIPER FUNCTIONAL.
Incident date: Nov 12, 2017
TAKATA RECALL NHTSA RECALL #17V032 NO FIX AVAILABLE
Incident date: Nov 8, 2017
TAKATA RECALL. I VISITED THE AUDI DEALERS SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE LAST YEAR AND THEY SAID THEY ARE UNABLE TO REPLACE THE AIRBAGS AS THEY DON'T HAVE ANY PARTS IN STOCK AND WERE UNABLE TO GIVE ME A TIMELINE FOR COMPLETION
Incident date: Jan 11, 2017
TAKATA INFLATORS MANUFACTURER HAS FAILED OR IS UNABLE TO REMEDY THIS SAFETY RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE IN A TIMELY MANNER. THE AIRBAG COULD CAUSE DEATH OR INJURY IF MY VEHICLE IS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2010
AIR BAGS DID NOT WORK IN A ACCIDENT IN 2010. SPEED WAS APPROXIMATELY 25 MPG. ACCIDENT INVOLVED THE RIGHT SIDE FRONT PANEL OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP AT A FOUR WAY STOP. RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE BY AUDI MARCH 2017. STILL NO RESOLUTION TO GET AIRBAGS FIXED.
Crash
Incident date: Nov 11, 2017
TAKATA RECALL I WAS FIRST NOTIFIED ABOUT MY RECALLED AIRBAGS A YEAR AGO. I HAVE CONTACTED MULTIPLE DEALERS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, AND AM ALWAYS TOLD THAT A REPAIR IS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE LAST COMMUNICATION WITH A DEALER WAS TODAY, NOV 11TH 2017. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DRIVE A VEHICLE THAT HAS AIRBAGS THAT CAN EJECT METAL FRAGMENTS THAT ARE STATED TO CAUSE SERIOUS INJURIES OR EVEN DEATH!? TH... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2017
TAKATA RECALL I HAD TAKEN MY AUTOMOBILE TO AUDI OF NATICK IN NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS FOR SERVICE TWICE IN THE SPRING OF 2017, ONCE AT THE END OF MAY, AND ONCE MORE LATER IN JUNE. BOTH TIMES THE DEALERSHIP OFFERED A "CHECK FOR ACTIVE RECALLS" INCLUDED WITH SERVICE. BOTH TIMES THE DEALERSHIP DID NOT REPORT ANY ACTIVE RECALLS. I ONLY RECENTLY FOUND OUT THAT THE RECALL FOR THE TAKATA AIRBAGS IN MY VE... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2017
TAKATA RECALL 1. THE LEFT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS. 2. IT THEN TURNS ITSELF OFF 3. THE MESSAGE "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" APPEARS 4. THIS HAPPENS WHILE MY VEHICLE IS PARKED AND IN MOTION SO IT IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY RISK. I HAVE HAD BOTH HEADLIGHTS GO OUT AT NIGHT WHILE DRIVING WITH MY 2 YEAR OLD IN THE CAR!
Incident date: Nov 8, 2017
THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD ARM SNAPPED OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING UNDER ORDINARY CONDITIONS AT A SLOW SPEED. IT FLEW OFF THE VEHICLE.
Incident date: Jan 18, 2017
TAKATA RECALL I RECEIVED A NOTICE IN JANUARY OF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG RECALL. THERE STILL IS NO REMEDY AVAILABLE FOR MY CAR. I HAVE NEEDED TO RENT CARS ON OCCASIONS WHEN I NEEDED THE FRONT SEAT AS THE ONLY ADVICE I'VE BEEN GIVEN IS DON'T USE THE FRONT SEAT. IT'S BE 11 MONTHS NOW. CAN I GET SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THIS?
Incident date: May 27, 2016
TAKATA RECALL FOR DEFECTIVE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG WAS ISSUED ON MAY 27, 2016. ONE YEAR AND A HALF LATER, AUDI HAS FAILED TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE AIRBAG OR TO PROVIDE A SAFE LOANER VEHICLE.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2017
TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL. MANUFACTURER HAS FAILED TO REMEDY.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2017
THE COMPLAINT IS ABOUT THE MOTORS LOSING OIL EVERY 1000 MILES A 1QT IS NEED EACH TIME. THE ENGINE IS CAUSED AND BURNS OIL FAST TO THE MOTOR TO LOSE OIL MORE RAPIDLY. NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. MY MOTOR IS LOSING OIL! AND SO DO OTHER MODELS HAVENING THIS PROBLEMS ISNT GOOD.
Incident date: Oct 5, 2017
I HAVE A COMPLAINT AUDI S4 AND OTHER AUDI CARS HAVE THE SAME ISSUE AS I'M HAVING YOU CAN BE DRIVING ON THE MAIN ROAD OR ON THE HIGHWAY AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR LOSES POWER AND EXCELLERATION . I FOUND THAT AS A PROBLEM TO THE SAFETY OF ME AND THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE SAME CAR MODEL.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2017
NO SOLUTION WAS OFFERED BY THE DEALERSHIP FOR THIS NOTICE: "THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR OF THE AUXILIARY HEATER IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CONTACT CORROSION, WHICH MAY CAUSE THE AUXILIARY HEATER TO FAIL AND/OR CAUSE THE WIRES TO OVERHEAT AND MELT. MELTING WIRES MAY USUALLY LEAD TO AN OPEN CIRCUIT, BUT CAN ALSO LEAD TO OVERHEATING WHICH CAN RESULT IN A FIRE."
Incident date: Aug 9, 2017
TAKATA RECALL. MY 2008 AUDI A4 HAS AN AIRBAG LIGHT ON WHICH WHEN RAN BY COMPUTER INDICATES THAT THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS DEFECTIVE. I NEED THIS ISSUE RESOLVED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2017
"TAKATA RECALL" ON MARCH 18, 2017, I WENT IN TO AUDI CALABASAS AND SPOKE WITH SCOTT GOMEZ, SERVICE ADVISOR, AND THE MANAGER ON DUTY THAT DAY, TO INQUIRE ON HAVING MY DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG REPLACE IN RESPONSE TO THE MANUFACTURER SAFETY RECALL ISSUED. HIS RESPONSE WAS TO TRY BACK LATER. HE SAID HE DID NOT EXPECT FOR ANY BAGS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR MONTHS. HE DID NOT SEEM CONCERNED. I SAID I WAS AF... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2017
TAKATA RECALL RELATED - A NHTSA RECALL NUMBER HAS BEEN ISSUED - 17V032 AND A MANUFACTURER RECALL NUMBER HAS BEEN ISSUED - 69P6 NEARLY 11 MONTHS AGO BUT NO REMEDY HAS BEEN PROVIDED.
AUDI
A4 CABRIOLET
(2008) - AIR BAGS
Nov 7, 2017
Incident date: Jan 1, 2017
TAKATA RECALL DEALER UNABLE TO PROVIDE PASSENGER SIDE REPLACEMENT AIRBAG. LEFT SIDE (DRIVER SIDE) WAS REPLACED EARLIER IN 2017.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2017
TAKATA RECALL. DEFECTIVE PRODUCT WITH NO SOLUTION TO MAKE CAR SAFE. NEARLY 12 MONTHS SINCE NOTIFICATION AND STILL NO SOLUTION.
Incident date: Jan 2, 2017
TAKATA RECALL--NO REMEDY AVAILABLE YET TO REPLACE INFLATOR.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2017
I HAVE A 5YR OLD DAUGHTER WHO SITS IN THE BACKSEAT ON A BOOSTER. THE BOOSTER MEETS ALL SAFETY STANDARDS, AND IS ONE WITHOUT A BACK OR HEAD SUPPORT. THE TYPICAL BOOSTER SEAT THAT MANY PARENTS HAVE FOR THIS HEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF THEIR CHILD. IF YOU LOOK AT THE DIAGRAM, THERE IS NO LOCKING POSITION AT THE NORMAL POSITION OF THE HEADREST. MANY OTHER MANUFACTURES LIKE SUBARU, PORSCHE, ETC HAVE A LO... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2016
AUDI HAS NOT PROVIDED A FIX TO MY AIRBAG RECALL DEFECTIVE PART.
Incident date: Oct 20, 2017
TACIT RECALL: I HAVE TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO GET MY CLOSEST DEALERSHIP TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THEY ARE TELLING ME THAT THEY CANNOT GET THE PART. MEANWHILE I'M TAKING A RISK EACH TIME I DRIVE MY CAR. NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE. I HAVE TALKED TO AUDI USA WHO PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH A TAKATA SPECIALIST AND THEY PUT ME BACK IN TOUCH WITH AUDI OF MELBOURNE FLORIDA. I GET THE SAME ANSWER, THE PART IS HARD... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2017
TAKATA RECALL IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ME DRIVING A POTENTIALLY DEADLY CAR OVER 70,000 MILES AND 10 YEARS. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY OR DEATH, THE DEADLY DEFECT HAS ONLY BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS AND THERE HAS BEEN NO REMEDY DURING THIS TIME, THE IDEA THAT I HAVE TO BE DEAD OR PERMANENTLY MAIMED, TO QUALIFY FOR LITIGATION/COMPENSATION, IS WHAT MAKE THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION DEADLY. I... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2017
TAKATA RECALL AUDI MINNEAPOLIS DEALER SAYS PARTS ARE "UNAVAILABLE"
Incident date: Aug 19, 2007
TAKATA AIRBAGS I HAVE CONTACTED THE DEALER (LARSON AUDI IN TACOMA, WA) AND THE AUDI HEADQUARTERS IN THE US. AUDI IS UNCONCERNED THAT I HAVE AN UNSAFE CAR AS VERIFIED BY TAKATA ON THEIR WEBSITE AIRBAGRECALL,COM. THE ONLY THING I AM ABLE TO DO IS NOT DRIVE THE CAR. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET IT REPAIRED? THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE LAST JANUARY.
Incident date: Feb 9, 2016
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 AUDI A5. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V078000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT CALLED TOWN AUDI AT (201) 227-6524 (400 SOUTH DEAN STREET, ENGLEWOOD, NJ 07631) WHERE IT WAS CONFIR... Read more
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2014) - STEERING
Nov 6, 2017
Incident date: Oct 25, 2017
"AUDI STEERING PROBLEM" AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE STEERING BECOMES STIFF WHEN CHANGING LANES AND IT DOES NOT RESPOND TO GOING BACK TO THE CENTER OF LANE RIGHT AWAY IT GIVES RESISTANCE IT WANTS TO KEEP GOING ON TO THE LAST DIRECTION THE STEERING WAS GOING IT HAS GRADUALLY GOTTEN WORST EVEN ON CITY STREETS NORMAL DRIVING I COULD FEEL RESISTANCE THE STEERING FEELS STIFF AND HEAVY THE STEERING WANDERS FR... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2017
TAKATA RECALL I HAVE BEEN CONTACTING MY LOCAL AUDI DEALER SEVERAL TIMES SINCE JANUARY 2017 TO FIX THIS ISSUE. HERE IT IS NOVEMBER 2017, TO NO AVAIL THE AIRBAG ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. I'M BEGINNING TO FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING A VEHICLE THAT HAS PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRBAG. MY AIRBAG REPAIR LIGHT STAYS ON CONSTANTLY. WHAT CAN I DO TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2017
AIRBAG WAS RECALLED IN JANUARY AND AUDI OF AMERICA HAS NOT SENT ANY INFORMATION ON THIS RECALL. FIRST WEEK OF NOVEMBER I RECEIVED A GENERIC FLYER IN THE MAIL WITH INFORMATION ON THIS ISSUE.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2017
TAKATA RECALL MANUFACTURER ISSUED A RECALL NOTICE (69N1) IN APRIL 2016 AND HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO COMPLETE THE REPAIR/REPLACEMENT SINCE. I'VE CALLED THE LOCAL DEALER SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST 17 MONTHS AND EACH TIME THEY SAY THEY DO NOT HAVE PARTS AVAILABLE AND CANNOT REPAIR.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2017
TAKATA RECALL THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL ON THE AIRBAG INFLATORS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. APPARENTLY THERE IS STILL NOT A REMEDY FOR MY SPECIFIC VEHICLE. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE USING MY VEHICLE AS I TYPICALLY HAVE TO CARRY PASSENGERS. THEY NEED TO FIX MY CAR!
Incident date: Jun 1, 2017
TAKATA RECALL. AIRBAGS ARE ON BACKORDER. DEALERSHIP HAS NOT RECEIVED ENOUGH TO REPLACE RECALLED ONES. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE FOR DRIVERS
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2016) - AIR BAGS
Nov 6, 2017
Incident date: Jan 11, 2017
TAKATA RECALL STILL NO REMEDY AVAILABLE FOR VEHICLE
Incident date: Oct 30, 2017
WITHOUT NOTICE, STEERING CEASED TO FUNCTION WHILE CAR WAS IN MOTION. THIS FAILURE OCCURRED IN A RETAIL PARKING LOT.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2017
TAKATA RECALL NHSTA RECALL HV032, AUDI RECALL 69P6, JAN '17, LOCAL DEALER SAYS CANNOT COMPLETE RECALL WORK.
Incident date: Mar 6, 2017
TAKATA RECALL - ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO, I ASKED THE AUDI DEALER ABOUT THIS RECALL AND WAS TOLD THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE PARTS YET AND THEY WOULD NOTIFY ME WHEN THEY DID. NOW I'VE RECEIVED A LEGAL NOTICE IN THE MAIL, REGARDING TAKATA INFLATORS. I WOULD LIKE ASSISTANCE WITH GETTING MINE REPLACED. I HAVE NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, BUT WOULD LIKE TO PREVENT PROBLEMS.
Incident date: May 20, 2016
TAKATA RECALL. DEALER SAID THEY DID NOT HAVE PARTS
Incident date: Nov 4, 2017
TAKATA RECALL, CONTACTED AUDI IN RHODE ISLAND (AUDI WARWICK 1517B BALD HILL RD , WARWICK (401) 821-1510). THEY STATED THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY PARTS REQUIRED TO REMEDY THE SITUATION AND TO CALL BACK IN ANOTHER MONTH. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE CONSIDERING THE POSSIBLE DAMAGE THAT CAN OCCUR IF THE AIRBAG FAILS TO FUNCTION PROPERLY DURING IMPACT.
Incident date: Jan 11, 2017
TAKATA RECALL - AFTER LENGTHY TIME THERE IS STILL NOT A REMEDY YET AVAILABLE!