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: Feb 10, 2023
I have completed extensive research on my 2016 chevy equinox and it is my understanding this model has ongoing issues with the high pressure fuel pump. However only the newer models have been recalled for the same exact issue. I need to report the same issue with the 2016 models as well. I have never had any major issues with this vehicle until it suddenly started stalling and failing emissions in... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2023
Passenger seat occupancy sensor failure. This is a very common fault in the R56 series Mini Cooper. The manufacture has not initiated a recall. There are vendors selling "bypass" kits which will cause unsafe air bag deployment in an infant is in the seat.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2023
Passenger seat occupancy sensor failure. This is a very common fault in the R56 series Mini Cooper. The manufacture has not initiated a recall. There are vendors selling "bypass" kits which will cause unsafe air bag deployment in an infant is in the seat.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2023
The backseat middle seat sensor goes off despite nothing being in any of my backseats.
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 5, 2023
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
With the cruise control set to a speed of around 60mph and with no other vehicles around, the truck accelerates (uncommanded) to some value over 71mph. This occurs randomly but is repeatable and has only started occurring within the past week. A definite safety concern.
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2023) - FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Jul 5, 2023
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
With the cruise control set to a speed of around 60mph and with no other vehicles around, the truck accelerates (uncommanded) to some value over 71mph. This occurs randomly but is repeatable and has only started occurring within the past week. A definite safety concern.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
Vehicle started to downshift while driving at highway speeds a few months ago. Also a loss of power and acceleration with instrument failure. Later learned this was a common problem with the 11-13 f-150s that Ford knows about. They did give everyone a 10 year, 150k warranty but my truck is just barely out being a 12 with 151k miles. I took it to dealer where it cost me around a $1000 to fix. Was ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated while driving at slow speeds, the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the ABS module was replaced. Since the initial repair, the part had failed an additional three times. After the recent failure, the contact was informed that the part to repair the ABS module was on backorder. The manufacturer was notified of t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. Additionally, the passenger’s side seat headrest exploded. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 13V282000 (Electrical System, Air Bags) and 11V315000 (Steerin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. Additionally, the passenger’s side seat headrest exploded. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 13V282000 (Electrical System, Air Bags) and 11V315000 (Steerin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
Tire pressure monitoring system displays fault at random intervals while vehicle is in motion, primarily associated with the rear axle but affecting all six tires on the vehicle. Tires are not damaged and no indication of rapid deflation or other defect is present. Problem is intermittent but typically appears after approx. 20-35 miles of driving and lasts for random interval, after which proble... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ram Promaster 2500. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to reverse as needed with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V301000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. Several unknown dealers were notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet availa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
I am writing to report a safety concern with my Tesla Model 3 vehicle. The issue pertains to a persistent warning message that displays "Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault". This warning suggests a potential malfunction in the safety restraint system, which could pose a significant risk to the passenger in the event of an accident. The warning message first appeared in July 2019 and ha... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
AWD Module Failure and needs to be replaced. Service lights came on, and awd was disabled, pre-collision was disabled, and hill-start assist was not available. I looked this up, and al ot of people have had the same problem. The vehicle was just outside the warranty (37,688) and cost over $1100 to repair. AWD should be considered to be in the Powertrain warranty that is still active.
AUDI
Q4 E-TRON SPORTBACK
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 29, 2023
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop and depressing the accelerator pedal, the engine revved but the vehicle hesitated to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission was slipping and need... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she smelled an abnormal fuel odor throughout the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel tank assembly was cracked and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2023
I was driving on CT Route 2 using super cruise. We came upon a construction zone and the bar on the steering wheel changed from green to red. The car came to a complete stop in the middle of the highway and didn't respond to the accelerator pedal. This is a frightening situation on a super highway. I tried pressing the buttons that turn on and off the cruise control, super cruise, etc. with no ef... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2023
The vehicle had a premature water pump failure that leaked antifreeze into the engine compartment and caused the engine to seize up while traveling at a higher rate of speed.
Incident date: May 16, 2023
I have attempted to resolve my concern wit JLR directly (executive case number 8001094516) but to no avail. I have requested that JLR send out an engineer as advised by the dealer but they have refused to date. I recently took a test drive with the fixed operations director. During that test drive, the frontal alert system only worked two times at speeds at 40mph. Never did it work at lower speeds... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Takata Recall. The contact owns a 2016 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 not 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
The tow hitch can apparently start a fire. I can not afford to rent a car & must use mine as I am disabled & have a mother with dementia, so I need my vehicle. Kia still has not resolved this issue. This recall has been open since September, 10 MONTHS! This is the THIRD recall for this vehicle, one has a current lawsuit.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle regained motive power independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with power train failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V265000 (Power Train). The contac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2023
For months our backup camera would turn blue and not show the rear cameras. Also during this time, on occasion the emergency braking would stop us from backing up and then the brakes would not work. We had a recall on the blue screen software but the breaking has started again.
Incident date: Jun 24, 2023
I was driving on the roadway when suddenly the front driver side power switch (which controls the automatic windows, doors and mirrors), caught fire and started smoking. Unsure of what to do, I pulled over and tried to investigate. When the smoke subsided I drove to an oil change store, which had serviced my vehicle in the past, and asked for assistance from a technician on duty. While investigati... Read more
Fire
AUDI
Q4 E-TRON SPORTBACK
(2022) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
There was a recall on some of the 2015 for engine cutting out at times when you turn and try to accelerate and nothing happens. Well its been doing it with my car but they say not part of recalls. But at times I take a turn, can't go anywhere cause gas pedal don't go till I wait a few seconds and than it goes. Dangerous driving at times
AUDI
Q4 E-TRON SPORTBACK
(2022) - ENGINE
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic for service on the throttle body and was informed by the mechanic that there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The ... Read more
AUDI
Q4 E-TRON SPORTBACK
(2022) - ENGINE
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
Vehicle has 61k miles and the a/c began blowing cold and hot intermittently as the car was idle but no engine lights were coming on. 5 days later a mechanic was able to look at vehicle and discovered the one fan responsible for entire car wasn’t not coming on and it was only the air being pushed into the front of vehicle by having it in motion that was turning the fan thus making the vehicle blo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The bike seems to get shaky or even start to skid while taking turns which causes the bike to pull either towards on coming traffic or guardrails. Somebody is either going to get seriously hurt or possibly die as result of poor design. My bike currently does this when it wants to I have no warning lights on. Please get involved and get this fixed, you'd possibly be saving a life.
AUDI
A4
(2011) - SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The bike seems to get shaky or even start to skid while taking turns which causes the bike to pull either towards on coming traffic or guardrails. Somebody is either going to get seriously hurt or possibly die as result of poor design. My bike currently does this when it wants to I have no warning lights on. Please get involved and get this fixed, you'd possibly be saving a life.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
Windshield wipers are very slow when set to high speed. On the highest setting they are going the same speed as other vehicles low speed setting. During heavier rain visibility is near zero in the Bronco when it wouldn’t be in other vehicles.
Incident date: May 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz CLS53 AMG. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, there was an abnormal clicking sound detected. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who informed the contact that there were metal fragments inside the engine. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine needed to be repl... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
Friday morning, on June 16th I went out to start my car and I noticed an I code 95 on my dashboard. It also showed my ABS light, traction light, and airbag/seatbelt light. When I researched the I code 95 it said that my car had been in an accident and the airbag and seatbelt needs to be replaced. When I came home the previous night on June 15th there were no lights showing on my dashboard and I ha... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
My vehicle has been displaying a ''shift to park" message. The message appears when I put the vehicle in park. When I go to turn off the car the vehicle will not turn off. Sometimes If I giggle the gear shifter violently enough the car will turn off. I have had leave my car running on multiple occasions. Woken up to dead battery's because my car WILL NOT TURN OFF. I have taken the vehicle to the d... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
Door guide hinge failed where the guide hinge is "welded" (glued) to the internal frame of the door, causing the door to sometimes not to close, window to stop lowering, and inoperable lock. Shockingly not covered under warranty
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2019) - ENGINE
Jun 20, 2023
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
In June of 2023, my check engine light came on and my vehicle lost the ability to accelerate. I took it into the local Hyundai dealership who said it would take 3 months to look at and that this wasn’t a major issue. The car would not accelerate past 45 mph and could barely go up an incline. The dealership never even ran a diagnostic. I checked my oil dip stick and there was barely any oil on it... Read more
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2019) - TIRES:TREAD/BELT
Jun 20, 2023
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
Castle Rock ST 226 Tire P 205 / 75 R14 ST226 had catastrophic failure while properly inflated, far below rated load, and below rated speed. The Towing company that inspected the tire and Discount Tire that replaced the tire both stated that the tire failed due to a defect. Additionally, the immediate destruction of the tire caused significant damage to the vehicle wheel well and caused the trave... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2023
I was in a head on collision where my vehicle went off the road and hit a guard rail head on. My vehicle was totaled but not a single air bag deployed. If I was not wearing my seat belt I could have been ejected from the vehicle. There were no warning lights of any kind shown. It was raining and wet out during the day.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: May 15, 2023
AIRBAG WARNING IS ON, BUTTONS/CONTROL OF THE WHEEL DONT WORK, CRUISE CONTROL DOES NOT WORK. MOTOR SHAKES A LOT. WE GOT THIS CAR 2-3 WEEKS AGO LIGHT WAS NOT ON WHEN WE GOT IT FROM THE DEALER. IM NOT AN EXPERT BUT I THINK THAT SOMETHING IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY... IM DO APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
We are not sure what component or system failed or malfunctioned. The truck is available at this time for inspection, there wasn't much left of the truck after it caught on fire. The passengers in the truck were in danger, because they didn't realize the smoke they were smelling was coming from the truck they were riding in. It was not until one of the passengers said his arm was hot, it was then... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Engine lost 4 quarts of oil in a little over 2000 miles after service (2nd event). Engine oil caution light came on with 1 quart of oil left in the engine. Oil dip stick is tarnish brown, evidence of an over heated engine. This car only has 63000 miles on it and I believe it's a danger to drive on any highway. I've visited the dealership which has serviced this car since purchase and they suggest ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
November of 2022 my husband and I were traveling to visit his sister and tried to use the navigation system. It would not work, kept flipping back to the radio. When we tried to plug in our iphone and use car play to use Google Maps, the screen really went crazy, going back and forth between iheart radio and saved channels there and the maps and radio - making the navigation system and screen wo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2023
Motorcycle Shutting down on deceleration. This problem happens when decelerating with the clutch pulled in and shifting from second to first gear. It happens inconsistently and with no discernible Rhyme or Reason. I've been unable to replicate this or determine a set of variables other than second to first gear. Your form requires an incident date but this is something that has happened to me seve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Hi I'm in the car with my granddaughter 9 years old We will ready to visit my oldest son his daughter my 3rd grandchild 9 months old.my 9 year old granddaughter we were on I75 north ready to change lanes into the right slow lane as I am ready to merge onto exit 275 Ramp Land o lakes. I notice my rpm numbers are at zero, my SUV was losing speed, I had a green 18 wheeler tractor trailer exactly on m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
I registered my Ram pickup vin # [XXX] with the dealer I purchased it from, the day after I received the card from CFA telling me about the recall. I have checked with that dealer monthly since. They always say parts are not available. Now I am 1000 plus miles from home and stranded because the truck has quit. The local in Springdale, Ar. say some of the parts will be in about 6/13/2023, some part... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
The 2023 Kia Forte LXS model rear camera often fails to identify people, objects, or other vehicles presenting a hazard to vehicles that are backing up. It fails to identify people and vehicles in the blindspots and is quite unreliable leading to several serious close calls in the vehicle. Due to construction of the vehicle it is important to have these features working correctly but they do not... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2023
Lane departure warning activated and attempted to correct during a gentle curve. The location had shifted lanes due to construction, so clear lines were visible but not the actual lane to follow which is a frequent occurrence in New York City. The system came close to steering me into the adjacent lane occupied by another vehicle forcing me to fight the correction. There was a lane departure warni... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2023
Lane departure warning activated and attempted to correct during a gentle curve. The location had shifted lanes due to construction, so clear lines were visible but not the actual lane to follow which is a frequent occurrence in New York City. The system came close to steering me into the adjacent lane occupied by another vehicle forcing me to fight the correction. There was a lane departure warni... Read more
AUDI
A6 ALLROAD
(2020) - STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 12, 2023
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
Driving on a road trip, 2.5 hours in. All doors were locked. Drove over a road change from tunnel to bridge, small bump, and dashboard started beeping and flashing that a door opened. Driver side back door (where my child was sitting) opened, air was rushing in. We had to brake ( on a highway bridge to pull over) and unlock door to get it to close again. The door popped open while still l... Read more
AUDI
A6 ALLROAD
(2020) - FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Jun 12, 2023
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
Driving in Autopilot, the vehicle steered itself to the left into a barrier with no warning.
Crash
AUDI
A6 ALLROAD
(2020) - LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Jun 12, 2023
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
Driving in Autopilot, the vehicle steered itself to the left into a barrier with no warning.
Crash