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
AUDI
A6 ALLROAD
(2022) - ENGINE
Sep 4, 2024
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
It was losing calling but no coolant leak, rough idle/driving and blows white smoke out of the exhaust and threw the code p1299 so I took it to a garage and they told me it was the cylinder head gasket but my car has no recalls on it and I looked up my problem and it said 2013-2018 ford fusions with the 1.5l built before June 2019 and mine was built in feb 2018 and I haven’t received any mail ab... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
My steering wheel began moving back and forth on its own. This happened both while I was driving and while idling.
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
Collant bypass valve premature failure at 35K
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
have been searching for valid part for repair. Dealers state part discontinued. Today, incident where I braked heavily, almost lost control of my vehicle. Swerved and prevented accident. Safety issue and dangerous situation that may not be avoided next time. Sadly, feel dealer or manufacturer must be held responsible for lack of part or failure to provide updated part for purchase.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
The headlights in front of truck are doing a flicker here and there. It is happening by itself, during normal operation. It kind of looks like I'm flashing my high beams when it happens. People may think I'm flashing my high beams at them when I'm not. I think other people are having the same issue with this GMC truck. I have not contacted GM waiting to see if they will publish something, since ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
My brakes have failed on this car three times. I had new front and back brakes installed on [XXX] mileage 44882. Again my brakes failed on [XXX] mileage 47626. A new brake booster was installed along with front brakes. Again on [XXX] brakes failed again and a brake booster and front brakes were installed. Mileage 54924. Today I was driving to my daughters house in Zanesville, Ohio and my brakes fa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Driving one day without warning the van was shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear when there was a hard slam, then the check engine light came on as well as the forward collision sensor failure. The van went into limp mode on the highway which was very dangerous. After having the Honda dealership investigate two times they said the only thing they could do is completely replace the transmission.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
Hard brake with a whistle sound while pushing
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
The engine had a life threatening malfunction. Currently, there are arrangements being made to move the truck to my insurance company's property. I'm sure my insurance company would allow and arrange a site visit to inspect the truck. It happened so fast and without warning, we were blessed that we were able to escape the truck without losing our lives or getting severely burned. Anyone who helped... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 30, 2024
I recently experienced “safe mode” in my 2022 Nissan Rogue while driving on the highway at 80mph. My car suddenly lost power and would not accelerate or brake. I had to have my vehicle towed off the side of the highway as it was not drivable. My car is currently under diagnostic at Nissan where they are unable to reproduce the error codes. They notified me of $4,000 in repairs that would be co... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2024
Break pedal feels very mushy and no breaking effect , very dangerous on highway speed for my car and cars behind me. I went to different dealers for a fix ,they all says it is normal, but it is sure not normal, I had multiple close calls. Break feel is inconsistent everyday. When I apply the break lots of deadline and no breaking effect for first few inches also pedal sinking to floor, ford and de... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2024
Clutch and both Actuators needed replacing at only 69,623 miles.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while inspecting under the hood of the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a crack in the engine. The engine fault message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was entering the engine and because of the failure, the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2024
Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12 Certain 2017-2019 Model Year Fusion and Escape Vehicles Equipped with a 1.5L GTDI Engine – Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion Ford put these vehicles out knowing this was an issue.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
There is a engine coolant leak from the plastic coolant line connector going into the motor
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and shifting to park(P), the vehicle failed to shut off when the START/STOP button was pressed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were contacted regarding the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 36,000.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
I was driving my mother's 2018 Honda CR-V at a steady rate of about 30 mph when there was a warning chirp and the car suddenly braked hard and came to a complete stop. At that time, I was at least 30 feet behind the car in front and both my car and the one in front were traveling at the same speed. I can only assume that the collision avoidance system kicked in unexpectedly. After stopping, I r... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The wipers were on and lights were flickering. The car does not turn on.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz began shaking on the interstate and showing a check engine light on the dash. After pulling off the road to a nearby auto parts store, the ODB reader showed a DTC of P0301, which is a misfiring cylinder. A independent mechanic across the street from the auto parts store diagnosed the issue as a leaking fuel injector, but in order to get the repair cost covered, the vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
This vehicle has had an open recall (22V-406) open since June 2022, Dodge Ram still hasn't provided enough parts to the dealers to fix this recall. The parts have been on back order for two years. Considering this vehicle is registered in California, soon this will lead to us not being able to renew our vehicle registration. Dodge Ram needs to produce and provide the parts necessary to remedy t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
The instrument panel center display fell out of the housing today. Keep in mind this display controls things like all HVAC, defrosting, audio, rear cross traffic camera, and is the sole access to the front trunk (frunk). It looks like two seals on the top failed. When driving slightly inclined on a hill, it became detached and was dangling. This caused immediate distraction. The screen did not bre... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2024
The driver side rear passenger door can not be opened,either by remote or manually. This poses a threat to the safety of passengers in the rear seat area in the event of a crash. First responders would need to take other measures to tend to any injured passengers.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
I have brought my vehicle back to Tesla 3 different occasions for the same issue ( Suspension failure) The first time, I was told that it was a malware issue. The second time in November 2023, I was told the compressor was bad. They charged me $623 to repair. The same problem with the suspension happened again the end of June 2024. Tesla told me that I had a leak on my suspension and that they co... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); 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 contact had not experienced a failure. The manufacturer was not made aware o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
Headlights flicker randomly
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The transmission has a defect. While towing 8,000lb trailer going up a small grade, the truck shuddered then immediately downshifted violently, causing the truck to skid and almost jack-knifing the truck and trailer. . The dealership has confirmed the issue as a valve body failure in the transmission. The dealership has the vehicle for diagnosis and repair. No codes or warnings were displayed at ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
There is a confirmed recall 92A for the gear position sensor on my 2022 Jeep Wrangler. I took it to River Oaks dealership in Houston to have the recall work done in March 2024. They told me the work was complete; I returned to pick up my vehicle and found out the work had not been done because they didn't have the parts, so I took my vehicle home. I'm now told that they actually ordered the par... Read more
AUDI
RS E-TRON GT
(2023) - UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Aug 20, 2024
Incident date: Mar 11, 2024
For the now 2nd time for the SAME problem as before, I was on the highway and the car just cut off mid drive on 8/17/2024 @70mph!! Engine light came on. Later that day while on the street, 35-40 mph, ALL OF A SUDDEN NO ENGINE LIGHT ON... the car cuts off again mid drive!! I purchased the car with roughly 15k miles on it and it's been absolutely nothing but issues back to back. The daytime running ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
When pulling trailer trailer brakes keep disconnecting
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
The engine stopped while driving with no warning and provided no opportunity to exit the travel lane of the road. No warning lights were illuminated on the dashboard and all gauges appeared normal leading up to the event. This event is extremely frustrating, but I am thankful that it didn't happen on the interstate as there is no telling what the outcome may have been......... Leading up to the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Dodge Charger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V198000 (Air Bags); 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 not experienced... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2024
I own a 2014 BMW 320IX and first time today, August 20th the Engine Overheat message came on my dashboard and then started to go idle and appear that it was about to die. Upon letting the car sit for a few hours to cool off, within a quarter of a mile of driving the car again the light came up and started to idle and felt like it was going to die again. Twice today, I was left stranded in parking... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Dodge Charger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V198000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2024
The "front right-side marker light is defective" message illuminated in my dash February 2024 when my car is in the garage or gets dark. It does not impact the functions of the car and there is an amber reflector beneath it. According to Federal Law, these are necessary to be visible to others, and without these my car will not pass inspection. However, due to the engineering of the vehicle it ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2024
Purchased the car with around 70 miles. Dealer filled the car up full with gas when driven off the lot. Check engine light at 300 miles. Took into the dealer to deal with it. Dealer reported misfire on multiple cylinders on start up. Was told I put bad gas in the car when the dealer filled it up. Added fuel additive and reset codes, sent me on my way and only have used 91 chevron since. Next aroun... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
While driving the car brakes hard when it thinks that it is going to hit another car even though there is not another car around. We have almost been in multiple accidents because of it. When driving down a winding lane it often shakes the wheel although we are not departing lanes. We do not feel safe while driving the car with this safety feature
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
08/19/24 Monday Time: 3:05 pm Picking up daughter from school car completely stop while driving around traffic, started beeping, shift gear knob went down on its own and car stopped in front of school traffic almost causing an accident where I could have been hit. No warning symbol came on or anything. 08/15/24 Thursday Time: 5:45-5:50 Wife was on her way to work and was on the feeder about to ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2024
When car downshifts from 2nd gear to 1st gear, it lunges / jerks forward, even as brakes are applied. Porsche mechanic and Porsche Cars North America both indicate nothing is wrong with the transmission. THIS IS A CONSTANT ISSUE. EVERYDAY FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS. EVERY STOP.
Incident date: Aug 9, 2024
Still no fixture for the tie rods its been a year this is rediciolous its the second time i had them replaced
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
Head gasket failed, flooding #5 cylinder with engine coolant. A warning lamp came on just prior to the failure signaling the #5 plug was misfiring. The engine stopped running and could not start the vehicle. The engine is the Chrysler Pentastar V6 with 63,763 miles.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The radio screen starting developing bubbles on each side. After speaking to several dealers by phone they are telling me this is very common with this yr vehicle that the screen is delaminating and Jeep will not cover this. For my concern how and who do I contact? Beings this system controls the heated seats is this eventually at some point going to stop working? Each time I turn on these seats ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
I walked out to my car and I noticed there were scratches and dents that weren’t there that morning. I park in a carport in my apartment, and the only vehicle that could’ve possibly hit mine would be the GMC Yukon who parks in the carport next to me. Their car is completely wrecked on the back, so although there are scratches that match the damage to my car, they could easily say they didn’... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
I was driving down the highway at night and out of nowhere my head lights turn off. Leaving me and my daughter driving blind going 60 mph. Prior to that on the same night, I picked her up from work I was turning out of the parking lot where she works and the same thing happened but very quickly corrected itself. The area was lit up so it wasn't as noticeable. This is a very dangerous problem.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
Brake actuator needs replaced. Yes please inspect. You have my permission for further review. My safety was put at risk since I was traveling 70-75 mph when my dashboard lit up with warnings. I tried braking and the brake was extremely hard to the touch and required a lot of force to even slow down and stop the car. Just making it home was dangerous. I almost ran into the garage wall since braking... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
Engine cutting off while in neutral. Engine shutdown also when downshifting from 2nd to 1st and holding in clutch. similar to many other ducati owners. Very dangerous as engine cut off is affecting my ability to control and distracting from riding properly. Only have 5500 miles on it. Happens every ride now and I can reproduce it fairly easily.
Incident date: Jul 16, 2023
Service safety restraint constantly reappears. Taken into dealership 3 times and still has not been fixed. This could cause serious injury or harm and I have 4 children 10 and younger. This has been an on going problem.