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 21, 2023
1. Gear shift jammed (from 3 months of owning my car, until now -4 yrs). 2. Stop Safely Now Caution Light on. Vechile stops, then shuts off, can't turn it back on until about 20 minutes, Maybe Transmission? I am highly displeased! The transmission started to kick when this "Stop Safely Light" appeared. I could have been in a car accident.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
When driving the vehicle on September 8, 2023 LKAS (lane keeping assist problem), collision mitigation system problem, road departure mitigation system problem, blind spot info system problem, auto high beam problem and ACC (adaptive cruise control problem) came on. Pulled over and restarted the car and all warning lights remain. Transmission system problem error is now appearing with the letters... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
UNKNOWN Called a Ford dealership and they stated 2 other vehicles of the same year/make/model had similar issues. They couldn't find the issue. The touch screen radio got super hot to the point of not being able to touch it. Can't control the radio or climate from main panel. Can't lock or unlock truck manually or with key. Can't roll down windows from drivers side or adjust mirrors. Blind spot wa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
I purchased my 2019 Honda Crv exl brand new. There is a history of fuel injectors problems. All of my dashboard lights come on all the time. It may go off for a few hours then come back on again. Honda knows of this problem. It is a manufacturer defect. I went to Honda to price the charge. I want to charge 2000 dollars to replace the fuel injectors. Honda should take responsibility and replace th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
Oil line ruptured spilling causing loss of most engine oil on road and potentially ruining engine. Vehicle currently is at Toyota dealership being rep[aired so is available for inspection. Oil on road of course a safety hazard. Oil line rupture was confirmed by Toyota service department. Vehicle had to be towed into repair shop. Rupture occurred spontaneously while drive at 45 MPH on road. No wa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated that while driving from a stop, after engaging the clutch, the vehicle started to shudder and vibrate and nearly stalled. The contact pulled over into a parking lot. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the valve spring had fractured in half within cylinder #5. Furthe... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the RMPS increased significantly. Additionally, the contact stated upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound. The contact also stated that the vehicle shuddered and hesitated to respond while driving from a complete stop. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while at a complete sto... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
Rear brakes wearing before front brakes
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
Rpm goes up and down to 3 on 10-20 mph. back bed wiggles on 60mph lots of vibration going on! Brakes have some grinding sound.
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
Rpm goes up and down to 3 on 10-20 mph. back bed wiggles on 60mph lots of vibration going on! Brakes have some grinding sound.
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
The driver side mirror glass vibrates and shakes inside the mirror housing at high speeds, over 50mph. The vibrating glass makes it hard to see objects behind the vehicle or judge distance on the driver side. The passenger side mirror glass is unaffected, does not vibrate, and I can clearly see objects behind the vehicle on passenger side. Additionally, the mirror housings on both sides of the veh... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
Car randomly will cut off at slow speeds and when entering roadways fails to accelerate at a sufficient pace with traffic (can put pedal to floor and doesn't accelerate). Have contacted dealer several times, told earliest available to get in for service is two months and they will not order replacement fuel pump/fuel cell till the car is dropped off, and replacement part takes four to six weeks to... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
Minor rock strike from road driving on 09/15/23. This resulted in a crack about 8" long on passenger side of window. In 7 days, the crack has grown to about 36" and has fractured in multiple locations. The crack continues to grow even while the vehicle is stationary and not experiencing severe weather events. This is due to a poor bracing of the window on the top frame portion of its mounting lo... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The Power Steering Assist Fault message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering gear assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the fail... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
While driving to school, sitting in traffic, I head a loud noise, looked in my rear view mirror and saw my entire rear window was shattered. Nothing was thrown through the window, there was no collision. The vehicle was taken to a local Honda dealership for a full diagnosis of the problem. Because the glass is tempered, and no one was in the back seat - there wasn’t an immediate safety issue to ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
Sitting at drive through and driver headrest exploded and hit me in the back of the head. Thank God I was not moving at the time and my car was in park or I may have wrecked! Startled me and I was dazed and confused because I couldn’t figure out what had happened! This just happened a few hours ago so I have not been able to report it or have it checked out. I did take several pictures. The... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
Moonroof shade failure. Droops, blocking rear window visibility while driving. Happened with no warning. Will bring to service center for inspection.
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
Just got here to savemart my car made noises to again shift to park message to scary see if I make it home something needs to be done gm needs to fix this car or close gm down id love to see gm shut down like this car shuts down this is my only car please help me by then fixing my car or replace it or repurchase it is hate to be injured or killed in this car 😭
Incident date: Jul 5, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 320I. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started overheating. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and inspected. The contact stated that he observed a burning odor coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an indep... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Carplay freezes or disconnects randomly when in use. Will be driving with navigation is frozen so would be driving past destination and cause a distraction trying to fix it. Or it will randomly disconnect when in use and will keep my eyes of road trying to connect it again or hold my phone while navigating. Honda states there is no update to the system to resolve it or anything they can do, direct... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
High beam lights do not work. It shows them on but they never turn on. We found out driving on a mountain road in NM that had no street lights. We had to slow down to 10 miles an hour because it was so dark and we couldn't see. It was scary and dangerous. We wouldn't have been able to react in time if a deer or other animal ran into the street. We looked it up and saw it was a known problem. We c... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
High beam lights do not work. It shows them on but they never turn on. We found out driving on a mountain road in NM that had no street lights. We had to slow down to 10 miles an hour because it was so dark and we couldn't see. It was scary and dangerous. We wouldn't have been able to react in time if a deer or other animal ran into the street. We looked it up and saw it was a known problem. We c... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS, check engine, low oil pressure, and Forward Collision Avoidance warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,200.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
While this incident took place last week, this has been an ongoing issue with the truck since purchase new from Golf Mills ford in Illinois. Transmission has been jumpy since truck was purchased, changing gears randomly, lurching or suddenly downshifting. I have reported this multiple times and was repeatedly informed it could not be replicated or that this was "normal". Recently, when deceler... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 06V288000 (Suspension), 13V252000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Structure), and 18V278000 (Suspension). The contact scheduled a recall repair appointment, and after arriving at the dealer, was informed that parts were not yet available for the recall repairs. The dealer suggested that the appointme... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact came to a stop sign and the vehicle auto-stop; however, while attempting to accelerate after coming to a complete stop, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the emergency warning brake light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
The information system head unit crashes (reboots) on demand when a MS Teams call is answered or initiated via CarPlay. Crashing of the head unit is 1) very distracting to the driver 2) avoiding it requires attention and ability to first determine incoming call is from MS Teams and then reaching down and unplugging the phone prior to answering it, causing a loss of Navigation and yet more attent... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and stated that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
Back-up Camera: The back-up camera works intermittently, or sometimes not at all; On several occasions, the camera went on briefly, showing children approaching the back of the car while backing out of a driveway. Then it goes blank as they walk behind the vehicle. Additionally, when backing into a parking space, the camera displays, then goes blank as soon as the proximity alert warning beep sta... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
Occupant Sensor for Airbags is not working and airbag light is on, this is a safety issue which can cause loss of life in an accident this needs recalled immediately
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
Dear NHTSA, I am writing to report a safety defect with my Tesla Model 3, VIN [XXX] . On July 28th, 2023, at 3:34 PM PST, My wife [XXX] was driving into my driveway at my home at [XXX] . The weather was sunny and car was traveling at 5-10 mph. The car was not in Autopilot and the driving mode was set to Chill mode. When pressed the brake pedal to slow down, the car did not stop and went straigh... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
Dear NHTSA, I am writing to report a safety defect with my Tesla Model 3, VIN [XXX] . On July 28th, 2023, at 3:34 PM PST, My wife [XXX] was driving into my driveway at my home at [XXX] . The weather was sunny and car was traveling at 5-10 mph. The car was not in Autopilot and the driving mode was set to Chill mode. When pressed the brake pedal to slow down, the car did not stop and went straigh... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
Emergency brake sets itself. Car won't start. Takes many attempts to get brake to release and be able to drive car.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
The back up camera started appearing upside down at times or black. Then it was constant upside down for a couple weeks so we were co sidering flupping tje camera but it switched to a normal view for about a week or 2 and now it is usually upside down. This can be a safety issue. It's hard to not look at a camera that you're used to using and it's right in front of you. I know other models were re... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
Pearl white paint peeling in chunks of hood. All four window regulators went out within six months. Transmission had to be replaced Hard shift rear end Motor replaced
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
Pearl white paint peeling in chunks of hood. All four window regulators went out within six months. Transmission had to be replaced Hard shift rear end Motor replaced
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
2015 Jeep Renegade vehicle's horn stopped working/malfunctioned. The clockspring in the steering column control needs to be replaced, along with a battery transmitter, and an air bag that is in the steering column. A Jeep service confirmed the problem and is ordering parts at this time. The parts cost $1,802.31, not including labor. Not having a horn to use puts myself and others at risk while... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
I had a noise in my front driver side and the car felt like it would pull or sputter. I took it to GMC and they said the bearings are miss threaded in the transmission and it is causing problems with the sputtering and control of the car. They said this is a known problem in GMC but they do not have a recall on the car or the parts to repair it. This is a safety risk because if the transmission is... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
While driving the EPC light came on and the car stopped driving. Vehicle was towed to local VW dealership, a FULL engine rebuild took place and a faulty intake valve spring was found, after replacing the injectors and seal kits. Then to replace the faulty electronic ignition switch. Over $3k in repairs for faulty parts. It was a safety risk because the vehicle stopped working in the middle of driv... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
Power steering went out twice, both from changing gears once was mid drive second time was going from park to reverse.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
My 16 year old son was driving the vehicle when all of the lights on the dashboard started flashing and alarms started sounding. As a new driver he found this really alarming and didn't know what to do. He was driving along at 40 mph along a local main road and very nearly collided with a vehicle in front of him at a set of traffic lights because he lost attention on the road. He pulled to the sid... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
I was at a stop sign and I was on an incline and I let the brake go to press the gas and the car started to go backwards and i almost hit the car behind me and and press the gas to go forward. Now anytime I am on an incline during a stop and if I let go the brake the car goes backwards.
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
Cam phaser rattle has progressed into loss of power in vehicle and unreliable performance. My engine will shutter and when gas pushed it feels like it is in limp mode.This started occurring after the phaser volume progressed and in my opinion after independent research the cam phaser lockout pen is slipping. Ford will not honor their own TSB to remedy although I am affected and within mileage rang... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to shift into reverse (R); however, the transmission failed to shift as desired. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. The engine overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the co... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
Rear subframe corrosion and failure. Based on my queries this apparently a common issue. I am adding my report to add weight to this common issue. Vehicle is approximately 13 years old, is in good condition, and has not suffered any accidents affecting the rear subframe. Overall only minimal rust or corrosion is found during a visual inspection while on a lift. This vehicle has passed annual ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
Rear subframe corrosion and failure. Based on my queries this apparently a common issue. I am adding my report to add weight to this common issue. Vehicle is approximately 13 years old, is in good condition, and has not suffered any accidents affecting the rear subframe. Overall only minimal rust or corrosion is found during a visual inspection while on a lift. This vehicle has passed annual ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
Bought this 2014 Ford Focus from a used dealership for my 16 year old daughter's 1st car. Within a week of owning the car noticed the car had a hesitation going from a stop sign intersection stop to pulling out would not pickup speed but has a forced hesitation before eventually gaining speed. My daughter was also at a intersection one day when the car slipped and jerked as a result in sudden or ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
Faulty water pump causing coolant loss and engine shutting off in traffic!
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
Infortament system delamination and ghost touching of the Navigation screen could distract drivers which directly related to driving safety.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2023
The passenger side airbag recall involves the removal of the dashboard and the dealer advised the dashboard may break during this process and I am responsible for the cost to install a new one. Their estimate was $1500.00.