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: Dec 2, 2025
The ICCU (Integrated Charging Control Unit) failed with DTC P1A9096 and I was driving at approximately 25-30 MPH on 01/17/2026 at approximately 5:40 pm in approximately 32 degree temperature. The car had just been disconnected from a hardwired Chargepoint Home Flex 11.5 kw 48A Level 2 home charger with a NACS connecter (so no adapters used), though the charging had mainly ended at approximately 5:... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2026
Ford has had a known problem with their cam phaser in 2017-2020 Truck and SUV's. My truck got the recall 21B10 accomplished in 2021 and just a couple years later requires $5600 to fix a failed camshaft gear/sprocket. Ford refuses to help pay for the required repair.
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
Car has been broken down since May 2025. My car started jerking forcefully with my child in the car. Brought it in to be assessed. They could not figure it out. After two more times bringing it back in due to the jerking worsening, the car completely broke down in the middle of the road. Apparently recall has been active since January 2025. I was never notified that there even was a safety recall ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
Car has been broken down since May 2025. My car started jerking forcefully with my child in the car. Brought it in to be assessed. They could not figure it out. After two more times bringing it back in due to the jerking worsening, the car completely broke down in the middle of the road. Apparently recall has been active since January 2025. I was never notified that there even was a safety recall ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2026
On February 11, 2026, the 2025 Tesla Model Y "Vision AutoPark" system initiated an uncommanded high-speed reverse acceleration into a stationary yellow concrete bollard in a parking lot. The vehicle's vision-only parking assist hardware failed to detect a clearly visible, fixed obstruction and displayed a clear path on the system interface immediately before impact. No warning lamps, chimes, messa... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jan 16, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V031000 (Structure) and 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. While driving approximately 70 MPH, the front passenger’s side A-pillar trim detached and struck another vehicle. In reverse, the rearview camera failed to display a clear ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
I was on an overpass in the left hand lane doing 40-45mpg getting ready to make a left hand turn on an expressway on ramp. I coasted for just a bit and applied the brakes gently, then a little more. The truck was not slowing down like it should have so I applied alot more brake pedal pressure and it slowed down some then it down shifted several times and the engine was roaring, I'm guessing around... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
I was on an overpass in the left hand lane doing 40-45mpg getting ready to make a left hand turn on an expressway on ramp. I coasted for just a bit and applied the brakes gently, then a little more. The truck was not slowing down like it should have so I applied alot more brake pedal pressure and it slowed down some then it down shifted several times and the engine was roaring, I'm guessing around... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2025
I was driving on the highway and there was a sudden drop in power and hesitation in the engine. I slowed down too quickly on a busy highway and almost got rear ended. I took it to the shop and found out I had to replace the engine due to the cam and lifters were bad. It cost $12,000 to replace a four year engine with 148,000 miles. The time before that this happened, I had to replace the engine wi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2025
I was driving on the highway and there was a sudden drop in power and hesitation in the engine. I slowed down too quickly on a busy highway and almost got rear ended. I took it to the shop and found out I had to replace the engine due to the cam and lifters were bad. It cost $12,000 to replace a four year engine with 148,000 miles. The time before that this happened, I had to replace the engine wi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2026
While driving the vehicle the other night, the cars electrical system completely shut off for a few seconds before popping back on. The whole car inside and out went completely black. It was around 10pm on a dark country road. I had the seat heater on high and the defrost on high because it was cold. It appeared to happen when the auto high beams were supposed to engage. Instead of them engaging, ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2020
This is a 2022 Santa Fe PHEV with just 33k miles on it. While driving on freeway, vehicle displayed warning sign for "Check Hybrid System" and the Check Engine light and Battery light switched on. Sensing a loss of power with the acceleration, I managed to get off the freeway and had to get the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership. Once they checked the vehicle, they reported they had to recali... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2026
While driving the car just shut-off in the middle of the road. If you tried to restart the car it would turn on rev the engine and shut off. The dash display displayed a message " precollision system malfunction" and "secondary brake collision malfunction". Safety wise if this had happened on the highway could have been very dangerous or worse. The car was inoperable and required a tow truck. Luck... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the engine warning light was illuminated due to an emissions issue. The message to check the oil level was displayed. The contact pulled over to check the oil and added a quart of oil. The vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was smoke co... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2025
The p0101 code has been going on and off of this car since purchase (3 years) the MAF sensor has been replaced twice and the check engine light comes back on after just a few days each time. This poses a safety risk because the car stops at stop lights and turns off, the car shakes at idle, the car refuses to accelerate risking pulling out in front of another car without being able to accelerate. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2025
The p0101 code has been going on and off of this car since purchase (3 years) the MAF sensor has been replaced twice and the check engine light comes back on after just a few days each time. This poses a safety risk because the car stops at stop lights and turns off, the car shakes at idle, the car refuses to accelerate risking pulling out in front of another car without being able to accelerate. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2026
It was the XXX recall for the DTC P0442/check engine light code. The dealership said that the recall had been satisfied in 6/2020 by putting a buffer in to separate the 2 lines but not replacing the part. Now the exact same code DTC P0442/check engine light in the exact spot that occurred for the original recall. The dealership originally quoted $5,093, then after me complaining that it is the sam... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2026
It was the XXX recall for the DTC P0442/check engine light code. The dealership said that the recall had been satisfied in 6/2020 by putting a buffer in to separate the 2 lines but not replacing the part. Now the exact same code DTC P0442/check engine light in the exact spot that occurred for the original recall. The dealership originally quoted $5,093, then after me complaining that it is the sam... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2026
What failed: On February, 6, 2026, I experienced a complete failure of my Ioniq 5's electrical system due to the ICCU failing. Heard a loud "pop" and eight seconds later it reported a warning to check the vehicle's electrical system and 24 seconds after the pop it then chimed repeatedly saying to pull over immediately and come to a complete stop. The vehicle is currently at a nearby My safety: On... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2026
What failed: On February, 6, 2026, I experienced a complete failure of my Ioniq 5's electrical system due to the ICCU failing. Heard a loud "pop" and eight seconds later it reported a warning to check the vehicle's electrical system and 24 seconds after the pop it then chimed repeatedly saying to pull over immediately and come to a complete stop. The vehicle is currently at a nearby My safety: On... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
The adhesive on 3 of the rear parking sensors failed and the brackets holding the sensors in place fell off into the inside of the bumper triggering the sensor to go off constantly when reversing and auto brake.
Incident date: Jan 12, 2026
When purchased "As Is", an airbag deployment was disclosed but not that the front passenger side airbag had not been replaced. In December of 2025, an SRS Airbag warning appeared. Upon inspection, the mechanic discovered a "resistor" had been inserted in the SRS cirucuity to avoid disclosure of the absence of a replacement airbag. The replacement airbag was installed at my cost of $1,578.09 +8%... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 - 60 MPH, the rear driver's side window exploded, causing pieces of glass to land on the contact's child, seated inside the vehicle. There were no injuries sustained. The contact used a blanket to cover the window and prevent more glass from entering the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2026
Transmission unexpectedly down shift.
Incident date: Oct 10, 2025
The contact owned a 2021 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, an abnormal clicking sound was coming from under the hood. No warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact managed to pull over to the shoulder of the road, where white smoke was noticed leaking from under the hood, and the intensity was increasing while the smoke turned black. The local fire departme... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 10, 2025
I own a 2015 Ford F-150 with approximately 175,000 miles. I have experienced intermittent hard shifting at low speeds for many years. During normal driving, the transmission occasionally shifts very harshly, producing a loud knocking noise and causing the truck to jerk unexpectedly. I do not recall the exact first occurrence, but the hard shifting has been happening since I have owned the truck. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2025
While operating my 2018 Ford Fusion, the vehicle began experiencing internal coolant loss resulting in engine misfires, rough running, and white exhaust smoke. The coolant intrusion caused engine failure and loss of reliability. This condition creates a safety risk, as it can lead to loss of power while driving, hesitation, and the possibility of engine shutdown. The defect occurred without warni... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2025
While driving my 2020 Ford F-150 on the highway, the transmission suddenly failed, causing loss of normal drivability and creating an immediate safety concern due to reduced vehicle control at highway speeds. The failure involved the transmission system, which I later learned may be related to Ford’s recall notice stating that the installed remanufactured transmission may be missing an internal ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
Steering wheel gets "sticky" and "clunky" when turning the wheel while at speed. Anytime I turn a corner or accelerate into a turn the steering wheel feels like it locks up and clicks back to center - almost like negative feedback.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
Transmission (10r80) down shifts hard and shifts hard between 3-4 and 7-8 gears. And front differential makes a noise.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
My car stayed with up to date oil changes and everything. One day I noticed it was leaking oil and had to stay on top of adding oil. When took to a mechanic they said my motor was blown and needed a new one. I took very good care of this car and it’s crazy that I need a new motor after babying the car.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2026
Starts Vehicle at cold start and notice right away engine turbulence, engine light flashing, lost some coolant and white smoke. Scan vehicle for codes, engine misfire #2.
Incident date: Jan 16, 2020
At highway speed (60-65mph), in 6th gear, cruise control activated, the car began to surge and stall and loose power. Applying more throttle to maintain speed did not help. Pulled to roadside and engine stalled. No check engine light at that time. Re-started with rough idle, check engine light illuminated, attempted to drive again but there was no power, vehicle stalled again. Tried to crank again... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2008
The contact owns a 2026 Toyota Camry Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle. Additionally, while driving at, or exceeding 65 MPH, the engine made an abnormal crackling sound, and the vehicle shuddered. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the contact was made aware tha... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2026
The rear trunk door would occasionally fail to open or shut for the last several years. It was inconsistent with this behavior and I was never able to get it to fail when at the dealership servicing department. This weekend when at the store, it failed shutting and I had to force it to shut. While driving home it rattled itself open. I had to pull over to inspect it and could not get it to close.... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2025
My vehicle is included in NHTSA Recall 25V099 / Kia SC336 for defective piston oil rings. The vehicle has experienced stalling, loss of power, knocking noises, and oil consumption. The engine behavior is unsafe and consistent with recall-related engine damage. Kia closed my case based on a dealer’s subjective noise judgment, but no mechanical engine testing (oil consumption, compression, or cyl... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2026
Vehicle developed a cylinder 3 misfire that progressed to engine failure. The engine began running rough and lost power during normal operation. Dealer diagnosed internal engine damage and advised that a complete engine replacement is required. Prior to failure, the vehicle experienced significant oil loss, with oil leaking and rapidly depleting despite proper maintenance. Oil levels dropped abno... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2026
Vehicle developed a cylinder 3 misfire that progressed to engine failure. The engine began running rough and lost power during normal operation. Dealer diagnosed internal engine damage and advised that a complete engine replacement is required. Prior to failure, the vehicle experienced significant oil loss, with oil leaking and rapidly depleting despite proper maintenance. Oil levels dropped abno... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2026
Vehicle developed a cylinder 3 misfire that progressed to engine failure. The engine began running rough and lost power during normal operation. Dealer diagnosed internal engine damage and advised that a complete engine replacement is required. Prior to failure, the vehicle experienced significant oil loss, with oil leaking and rapidly depleting despite proper maintenance. Oil levels dropped abno... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was sputtering and vibrating abnormally while starting. There were no warning lights illuminated. The failure was intermittent but became a recurring failure. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic out of fear of the vehicle stalling on the highway. Prior to the engine failure, the contact became aware that there wer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was sputtering and vibrating abnormally while starting. There were no warning lights illuminated. The failure was intermittent but became a recurring failure. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic out of fear of the vehicle stalling on the highway. Prior to the engine failure, the contact became aware that there wer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2025
Full system error codes displayed on dashboard, Drive Train Error, Steering Colume error, brake system error, "Car will not operate a speed greater than 40 mph, happened 3 times dealership on first inspection advise it was an interface with the factory installed Lojack system and disconnected, Last same sincerio (note..no Lojack connected) same as above the new diagnosis is the battery low voltage... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
Warning light came on stating that we needed to have the electrical system checked asap. Vehicle would not charge from Level 2 charger. It needed to be towed from our house to the dealer to get its ICCU replaced since there was a risk that it would no longer power vehicle on 4 mile drive to dealer for repair. Problem was fixed in one week by Roseville Hyundai by replacing the ICCU in the vehicle
Incident date: Jan 13, 2026
The tailgate on the truck popped open without being triggered to. This continued to happen like every 5-10 seconds. It drained the battery and was a hazard as I drive down the road.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The contact stated that the rear-view camera display was black while in reverse(R). The contact stated that the message "Camera not Available" and "Contact Dealer” was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the rea... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V322000 (Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that the part was not yet available for the recall repair. The contact stated that the parts were supposed to be available in October 2025; howev... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2025
My vehicle started having issues with misfires approximately 2 years after I bought it in January 2020. I bought it new from the dealership in Salinas California. I took it to Morgan hill Honda for repairs. It’s had 2 misfires and I took it in for a Fuel pump recall. About 2 weeks later all my lights in my dash come on. I took it in to get looked at and they said it’s the turbo engine, $3k to ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2026
Fuel / Propulsion System.. Hybrid Inverter Assembly Defective component: Hybrid inverter assembly Cause: Improperly torqued bolt inside the inverter Result: Open circuit Possible loss of motive power while driving Possible short circuit and fire risk Component is available for inspection and is currently at the Toyota dealer. From Toyota’s own recall filing: Loss of motive power while driving at... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2026
Back glass was shattered with no visible impact. Back glass was replaced by Safelite.