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: Nov 4, 2024
Check engine light went on. Code was P0302/07E8 pd - Cylinder 2 misfire. After changing spark plugs - multiple times - and changing out the ignition coil, mechanic said he'd have to replace the entire engine. Took to Ford Dealer who confirmed concerns, performed test and found coolant in cylinder 2. Said that engine needed to be replaced. A mechanic said if engine wasn't replaced it could eventu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
I have been told by the Toyota Arapahoe dealer that the DCM in the car is bad. All the services the DCM supposedly provides have NEVER worked on the car, leading me to believe it has been faulty from day one. These include all safety assistance features.
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
Forward collision Avoidance assist system - warning comes on, was told the hydraulic electrical control unit failing, this may need a recall.
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
The vehicle experienced a malfunction in the ignition or fuel delivery system, specifically a misfire detected in cylinder 2 (DTC P030200). This component has been documented by the manufacturer’s vehicle service center as an issue and may be available for inspection upon request. The misfire caused reduced engine power and hesitation during acceleration, posing a safety risk, particularly while... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
While driving down the road at around 50 mph with no one in front of us, we heard a loud bang above us, and our Panoramic Sunroof exploded. I continued driving to reach a safe area to pull off and look at the damage, and saw glass flying away behind me into oncoming traffic. When surveying the vehicle, there was a large whole in the middle of the panoramic sunroof. It seems to have simply expl... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
Problem Parts?? At around 70,000 miles I was told that there was an engine oil leak ... camshaft area... and the engine needs to pulled out with a repair cost of about $5,000 dollars. (Reseal both cam towers, replace gaskets, etc.) A bit ridiculous. Is there now a possible engine fire risk? At 70,000 miles there was obviously a manufacturing mistake or a defective part used during assembly.
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350. The contact stated that on multiple occasions when fuel was administered into the vehicle, he observed a strong fuel odor in the cabin. The vehicle was taken to the residence and parked. The contact stated that as he came out to inspect the vehicle he observed a leak under the vehicle near the fuel spout. The vehicle was inspected and the rear seat and t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 19, 2024
I purchased my 2020 Hyundai Accent from Shirlie Slack Mitsubishi, in Fredericksburg, Virginia on [XXX]. It wasn't long after purchasing that I began experiencing difficulties with it. The car will shut off when it comes to a complete stop or even if I s for a brief moment to switch gears, for example when parallel parking. Some days it would happen less often, maybe once or twice per trip then oth... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
Was coming to stopped traffic, suddenly car accelerated quickly and rear ended car in front, which then hit 2 cars in front. Event data recorder showed the acceleration; not sure what happened. Car has haptic button for adaptive cruise control and ? Engaged on resume button left side of steering wheel. VW says not a manufacturing defect. Fortunately no injuries - air bags did not deploy.
Crash
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
My odyssey will intermittently refuse to respond to pressure on the accelerator. If I push the pedal to quickly gain speed, from stopping, it will lag for 2-3 seconds before suddenly leaping forward and squealing my tires. This is very unsafe because it has caused me to be in several near collisions. The dealer confirms that other customers have experienced this issue, but Honda has not made a d... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Honda Ridgeline. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V321000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had n... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
Engine started knocking and quit working while driving on the freeway. Was a connected rod bearing failure that was not included under the warranty or recall. Honda paid 75% of repairs but I had to pay $3300 myself.
Incident date: Nov 10, 2024
I have a single-owner 2011 automatic-transmission Subaru Forester [145k miles]. In a parking lot, I started the car as usual and shifted into reverse. I immediately noticed another car was approaching behind me and reflexively pushed on the brake to give the oncoming vehicle the right of way. As I pushed on the brake, the car suddenly and without warning surged backwards as the engine revved and "... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
ABS warning lights keep flashing in my truck, dodge has no fix for this problem, all they say is parts are in redesign and unable. what can be done here?
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Cruise control suddenly turns off. Clock spring issue with steering wheel. Buttons on steering wheel occasionally don’t work
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Cruise control suddenly turns off. Clock spring issue with steering wheel. Buttons on steering wheel occasionally don’t work
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Cruise control suddenly turns off. Clock spring issue with steering wheel. Buttons on steering wheel occasionally don’t work
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
Vehicle leaked oil to where it caused an engine fire.
Fire
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owned a 2018 VMI Compass trailer that hitched onto a 2017 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the safety trailer line and trailer hitch had failed causing the trailer to tilt and fall onto its driver-side on the opposite side of the road. In addition, the failure caused the truck to swerve when the Channel bracket (Part Number:505) failed to maintain t... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
I KEEP GETTING RECALL NOTICES FOR THIS VEHICLE WHICH I RETURNED TO THE DEALER BECAUSE IT WAS A LEMON. THE CAR DEALERSHIP IS ATKINS KROLL, GUAM. THEY SWITCHED OUT THIS VEHICLE WITH A 2016 MODEL.
Incident date: Jan 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 40 MPH, the vehicle abruptly came to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway. After a visual inspection, the driver observed that the draft shaft had become disconnected. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the rear axle p... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
I have a 2018 Toyota Camry SE in which the transmission has completely failed. If I drive the car without having it completely replaced it hesitates when trying to excel. I was almost hit several times while trying to pull out into traffic where the car wouldn't shift and accelerate when it needed to move quickly.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
The vehicle airbag is not fixed yet it is almost on year now. Either had to fix or issue new car. even the price come down now lost money due to bad name. when driving suddenly the safety fails and shows error the blind spot. And there is another recall also electrical one they ask us to come fix. How come a car be safe if airbags do not deploy you have to force them fix it please one year is too ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
Motor burning oil with no leaks causing it to need replaced, with out any reasoning.
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
Dash board appeared safety issue warning and ask to contact dealer. I have been to dealer 3 times since bought the vehicle last year. The first time it appeared was after I bought the vehicle for a week. I brought the vehicle back to the dealer and ask for a refund or exchange another one, and was denied. I happened 2 more times and I brought in again. They said that they adjusted the sensors for ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
Cruising at 75 the speed suddenly drops to 55, the worst I had was changed from 75 to 40. This is Dangerous and needs to be changed. It drops speeds every day and before I can correct it the car usually drops a minimum of 5mph. If allowed I will start to report this every day until it is corrected as it is a huge safety issue for other drivers and potentially a deadly crash or road rage incident.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
While driving my vehicle going up a hill, I all of a sudden had a loss of power and heard a bunch of noise. I had to pull over as well as possible while people were speeding past because the noise turned out to be a piston rod blew apart causing catastrophic engine failure
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 BMW X3. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed a faint burning odor. The contact stated that the odor was noticed directly after the vehicle had been driven and then parked in the parking garage. In addition, the contact stated that the odor had begun during the summer months. The contact stated that it was a burning odor. In addition, the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2023
The HVAC blend/mode door actuator has melted, causing a fire hazard.
Incident date: Aug 23, 2023
Passenger side middle row seat belt has locked up fully retracted. Dealership service center stated on invoice, “nothing found to be causing the binding other than a mechanical issue, quoted replacing the seat belt assembly.”
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
First incident we were driving on the interstate towing a fifth wheel RV, and several warning lights illuminated before everything just shut down. Manage to get to the side of the road. Vehicle finally restarted and the rest of the trip was uneventful. Second incident, vehicle had not run for two days, got in and while the starter cranks, the engine will not start or run. Engine/Transmission s... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
Door handle for drivers side door breaks off into hand. Exiting vehicle made extremely complicated: if window is compromised in any way or lock system is compromised in any way, exit of vehicle is impossible.
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal knocking sound. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle sputtered and hesitated while responding. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and the man... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
Good morning I am sure you are well aware of the cvt transmission problems with the Nissan pathfinder 2014. . Well I just join the group of Nissan [XXX] drivers . I had my cvt transmission replaced and I am still getting the judder as they call it each time I accelerate. Mileage was roughly 143K when I had notice these judder problems . Went to AAMCO had a new cvt transmission put in drive roughly... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
Water pump electrical connector
Incident date: Sep 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while the vehicle was at the dealer for a scheduled tire rotation, the contact was informed that the lug nuts were swollen. The contact was informed that the lug nuts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that a torch was used to remove the lug nuts. In addition, the contact was informed that the failure was a k... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
My vehicle stalled and the engine cut while I was waiting at a stop light. The engine auto shut-off feature was active at the time of the incident. While sitting a the red light the auto engine feature shut the engine down, which is normal to reserve the use of fuel while at a stop light. When I took my foot off the brake, the vehicle should have restarted. but instead, the vehicle went into N (ne... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH and ascending a slope, the transmission was struggling to shift into gears and downshifted abruptly. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the dealer determined that the transmission control module(TCM) and the transmission clutches needed to be repla... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V653000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control (ESC)); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 53- 55 MPH, the contact suddenly noticed that their surrounding drivers were honking for her attention. Eventually, another nearby driver notified the contact by pointing down and yelling out "fire". The vehicle then stalled and the contact was able to use its momentum to coast to the side of the road where th... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
Intermittent Electronic Brake System and ABS Failure messages. Been dealing with this issue for over a year now. Dealership told me I had to wait almost a year before there would be a fix and that’s if I’m lucky. The ABS pump motor and the software are both faulty and Ram is aware of how to fix it, and haven’t. There needs to be a recall for issue, ASAP.
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
I was approaching a stop sign, slowing down to around ~20 mph, then gently applied the brakes. All of a sudden, the car stared to lurch forward and the steering wheel shuddered violently as the ABS braking appeared to kick in. As the brakes were applied, the vehicle kept bouncing forward in spurts rather than stopping and it took almost twice as long to stop than it should have. There was a vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
Coming to a stop the engine just quit, as if I turned the ignition switch off. The dash was also blank. I turned the switch to the off position and then back to the on position, and it started as normal. I have read about this same sort of thing happening to numerous other riders of this bike. Triumph needs to have a recall to fix the glitch in the ecu.
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
Driving down a 4 lane busy highway. Going 65 when the car made a pop sound. We pulled over. Car caught on fire 5 mins after we were out
Fire
Incident date: Oct 19, 2024
Vehicle displays “Steering Assist fault-Service required”. Failure of power steering while driving could result in loss of control of the vehicle. The earliest available appointment for the dealer to check the problem is 11/20/24.
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
I am encountering persistent issues with my 2005 BMW 525i. Despite having replaced several critical components, including the ignition coils, spark plugs, mass air flow sensor, and throttle body sensors, the vehicle continues to experience performance problems, specifically failing to advance beyond the fourth cylinder when driving uphill. After conducting numerous diagnostic tests, I have concl... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
I am encountering persistent issues with my 2005 BMW 525i. Despite having replaced several critical components, including the ignition coils, spark plugs, mass air flow sensor, and throttle body sensors, the vehicle continues to experience performance problems, specifically failing to advance beyond the fourth cylinder when driving uphill. After conducting numerous diagnostic tests, I have concl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2024
I bought my vehicle in late June and in mid august, we notice the body started becoming rough to touch. It went from smooth and sleek black body to rough and spotty.