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 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Audi Q3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the infotainment screen went blank, causing the rearview camera to become inoperable. The dealer and Audi at New Orleans (3400 N Causeway Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002) were made aware of the failure. The dealers informed the contact of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V806000 (Equipment, Back Over Prevention) which... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Audi Q3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the infotainment screen went blank, causing the rearview camera to become inoperable. The dealer and Audi at New Orleans (3400 N Causeway Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002) were made aware of the failure. The dealers informed the contact of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V806000 (Equipment, Back Over Prevention) which... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2022
I was driving on the interstate when the vehicle gave a warning saying "electrical system malfunction, contact dealership". I went to the dealership as I was within a couple of miles and they said it could be many things and they would need to evaluate it the following week. I left with the car and attempted to drive it back the following week on the scheduled appointment. The vehicle did not m... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2022
I was driving on the interstate when the vehicle gave a warning saying "electrical system malfunction, contact dealership". I went to the dealership as I was within a couple of miles and they said it could be many things and they would need to evaluate it the following week. I left with the car and attempted to drive it back the following week on the scheduled appointment. The vehicle did not m... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2022
I was driving on the interstate when the vehicle gave a warning saying "electrical system malfunction, contact dealership". I went to the dealership as I was within a couple of miles and they said it could be many things and they would need to evaluate it the following week. I left with the car and attempted to drive it back the following week on the scheduled appointment. The vehicle did not m... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2022
Rear coil spring on passenger side broke and became detached, wedging against lower control arm. Coil spring had no signs of other damage; seems to be defective metallurgy (see attached photographs). Vehicle had 55,645 miles on it. Dealer charged $720 to repair. From online search, there seems to be a high number of Audi Q5's from 2018 model year with this problem, but Audi dealers claim it i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2022
I was driving across the George Washington Bridge towards NJ and I received warning of electrical issue, then transmission warning and the car promptly shut down, leaving my wife me stranded in the right hand lane with no shoulder. Had to call 911 to get assistance. Once at the Audi dealership I was told it is an issue with the alternator/electrical system and the car is undriveable until repair... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2022
Electric System Mal Function. The Car was flashing all signals. It asked to pull over and said there is a danger of car turning over. We called audi assistance. The tow truck driver could not load the car as the wheels were all locked up.
Incident date: Dec 4, 2022
Electric System Mal Function. The Car was flashing all signals. It asked to pull over and said there is a danger of car turning over. We called audi assistance. The tow truck driver could not load the car as the wheels were all locked up.
Incident date: Dec 4, 2022
Electric System Mal Function. The Car was flashing all signals. It asked to pull over and said there is a danger of car turning over. We called audi assistance. The tow truck driver could not load the car as the wheels were all locked up.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2022
48v Starter Generator went bad. Vehicle shut down on the high way. I have been without my car for nearly a month as the part is on back order, and there is no ETA for the part.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
Driving down the road when sensors stopped working. Car read electrical system malfunction and engine shut down. Had to coast to the shoulder. This is a known safety issue, and should be completely recalled.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
Driving down the road when sensors stopped working. Car read electrical system malfunction and engine shut down. Had to coast to the shoulder. This is a known safety issue, and should be completely recalled.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
Driving down the road when sensors stopped working. Car read electrical system malfunction and engine shut down. Had to coast to the shoulder. This is a known safety issue, and should be completely recalled.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Audi A6. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V155000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount time for the recall repair. The local dealer was notified of the recall notice and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The ma... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
While out of town the car gave an electrical system fault with a yellow warning saying find a dealr soon. Then shortly after the warning went red and while driving all systems in the car started to shut down. Steering, transmission, throttle, dash, everything went crazy. Need to to cross 2 lanes of traffic to get off main road where there was no shoulder to pull onto a side road, very scary wit... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
While out of town the car gave an electrical system fault with a yellow warning saying find a dealr soon. Then shortly after the warning went red and while driving all systems in the car started to shut down. Steering, transmission, throttle, dash, everything went crazy. Need to to cross 2 lanes of traffic to get off main road where there was no shoulder to pull onto a side road, very scary wit... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
While out of town the car gave an electrical system fault with a yellow warning saying find a dealr soon. Then shortly after the warning went red and while driving all systems in the car started to shut down. Steering, transmission, throttle, dash, everything went crazy. Need to to cross 2 lanes of traffic to get off main road where there was no shoulder to pull onto a side road, very scary wit... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
Right rear tire has worn excessively compared to other tires. There is a recall for this issue on some 2021 Audi Q7 but ours what not part of that recall.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
Right rear tire has worn excessively compared to other tires. There is a recall for this issue on some 2021 Audi Q7 but ours what not part of that recall.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2022
On November 8, 2022, I was driving my vehicle to the Audi Arlington dealership to service an "Electrical System Malfunction" alert that had recently appeared. Approximately one mile into my drive the car completely shut down while driving. This happened while I was proceeding through an urban intersection. All systems shut down on the car simultaneously, including every screen, hazard lights, engi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
Purchased a 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus in June of 2022, I only had it for about a month and the light came on asking me to put a quart of oil in it. After adding oil the light went off, Well it has done it two more times since the first time. While having the car serviced in August I asked the service associate why does it do that, I was told that that's just what they do. That made no sense me, So... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
An "Electrical System Malfunction" warning, check engine light and the battery light came on. Was informed to notify service. Few hours later multiple system failure started to appear. Dashboard went dark and I was unable to tell the speed of the vehicle. The window rolled down on it is own. After coming to a stop the vehicle was unable to start again. Dealer informed me the "affected parts" are ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
Vehicle reports Electric Malfunction and then suddenly start getting all warnings like all controls (like steering etc) disabled and vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. Had to get it towed and taken to dealership. They do not have a fix for this problem and no estimates on how long it will take to fix the issue and get the car back.
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
Vehicle reports Electric Malfunction and then suddenly start getting all warnings like all controls (like steering etc) disabled and vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. Had to get it towed and taken to dealership. They do not have a fix for this problem and no estimates on how long it will take to fix the issue and get the car back.
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
Vehicle reports Electric Malfunction and then suddenly start getting all warnings like all controls (like steering etc) disabled and vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. Had to get it towed and taken to dealership. They do not have a fix for this problem and no estimates on how long it will take to fix the issue and get the car back.
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
While driving, all the warnings came on the dash. "Electrical Malfunction", "Child seat belt malfunction", "Start/ stop malfunction", "Steering Wheel malfunction" "Power Brake malfunction" and when I came to a stop, the car completely stopped. I could not put it into neutral to push it out of the road so my car blocked a lane on a highway making it very dangerous. 2 service reps from 2 different ... Read more
AUDI
A6 ALLROAD
(2021) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Dec 1, 2022
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
Audi has failed to come up with a repair for recall 22V742. My car consistently shows 1/4 tank of fuel when it’s actually near zero.
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
The infotainment system is damaged resulting in the display screen being blacked out. All of the safety features including rearview camera, parking assistance, Hands-free phone, and all other vehicle settings are not available. There are multiple warning notifications on the dashboard indicating a malfunction in the interior lighting, lane change, and parking systems. Even before the screen went... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
The infotainment system is damaged resulting in the display screen being blacked out. All of the safety features including rearview camera, parking assistance, Hands-free phone, and all other vehicle settings are not available. There are multiple warning notifications on the dashboard indicating a malfunction in the interior lighting, lane change, and parking systems. Even before the screen went... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
The infotainment system is damaged resulting in the display screen being blacked out. All of the safety features including rearview camera, parking assistance, Hands-free phone, and all other vehicle settings are not available. There are multiple warning notifications on the dashboard indicating a malfunction in the interior lighting, lane change, and parking systems. Even before the screen went... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Audi E-Tron. The contact stated while at a complete stop at a traffic light in the middle of an intersection, the vehicle lunged 2-3 ft. forward. A message indicating a possible forward collision was displayed. The vehicle then turned off independently. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving; however, the failure reoccurred while at a complete sto... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
Two issues: 1. We have needed to repeatedly replace brake booster. 2. Passenger side rear spring has broken and dealer is indicating the driver side should also be replaced.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
Two issues: 1. We have needed to repeatedly replace brake booster. 2. Passenger side rear spring has broken and dealer is indicating the driver side should also be replaced.
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
I was accelerating on the on ramp on to a major freeway (65mph limit) to merge on to traffic. As I was crossing into the left lane the car suddenly went into an electrical malfunction. All warning lights came on and I was limited to under 2k rpm when pressing on the accelerator pedal. I was forced to coast off to the right shoulder amidst heavy traffic. This was extremely dangerous as i had no... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
I was accelerating on the on ramp on to a major freeway (65mph limit) to merge on to traffic. As I was crossing into the left lane the car suddenly went into an electrical malfunction. All warning lights came on and I was limited to under 2k rpm when pressing on the accelerator pedal. I was forced to coast off to the right shoulder amidst heavy traffic. This was extremely dangerous as i had no... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q8. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V516000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not e... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
Audi Presense kicked in so violently on the 280E freeway towards NYC from Northern NJ, that my 15 y/o son now has a significant cervical spine injury, necessitating medical evaluation and treatment. The brakes were so abruptly applied by Presense that we thought we had been hit by a car, but had not been in an accident. This is very dangerous, and now my son is injured, despite no accident occur... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
On expressway, rear-ended and pushed into car in front too, so hit on both ends and no airbags deployed in the Audi Q7. Four vehicles were involved and the other three cars all had airbags deploy. Both front passengers hit their heads. Driver has whiplash and passenger has forehead skin abrasion. The car was always serviced by Audi only and was not on the airbag recall list. It apparently should b... Read more
Crash
60 injured
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
I had just purchased a used 2019 A7 Prestige and the next day (April 1st) while coming back from an appointment 7 miles away I had five electrically related failures in a very short time frame. The last error message was ominous so I was glad I was in my driveway when it happened. When the spoiler failure happened it automatically popped up. In addition to all these failures the AC was not working... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
I had just purchased a used 2019 A7 Prestige and the next day (April 1st) while coming back from an appointment 7 miles away I had five electrically related failures in a very short time frame. The last error message was ominous so I was glad I was in my driveway when it happened. When the spoiler failure happened it automatically popped up. In addition to all these failures the AC was not working... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
I had just purchased a used 2019 A7 Prestige and the next day (April 1st) while coming back from an appointment 7 miles away I had five electrically related failures in a very short time frame. The last error message was ominous so I was glad I was in my driveway when it happened. When the spoiler failure happened it automatically popped up. In addition to all these failures the AC was not working... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2021
After water damage to the bottom level of the seat an electrical fire started. It burned through and melted the plastic facing on the right side of the seat near the seat adjustment mechanism releasing toxic fumes we have so far been unable to abate. The manufacturer has been unresponsive in addressing this hazard. The damage is available for inspection. The toxic fumes are a health hazard as ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 28, 2021
After water damage to the bottom level of the seat an electrical fire started. It burned through and melted the plastic facing on the right side of the seat near the seat adjustment mechanism releasing toxic fumes we have so far been unable to abate. The manufacturer has been unresponsive in addressing this hazard. The damage is available for inspection. The toxic fumes are a health hazard as ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q5. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, she noticed that after driving several miles, the fuel gauge displayed that the vehicle was full. The contact then stated that the fuel gauge remained on full although her fuel tank was close to empty. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q5. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, she noticed that after driving several miles, the fuel gauge displayed that the vehicle was full. The contact then stated that the fuel gauge remained on full although her fuel tank was close to empty. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
The water pump was leaking while I was on the highway and smoke came out from the engine blocking my view. Had to make an emergency maneuver and pull over immediately.
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
The water pump was leaking while I was on the highway and smoke came out from the engine blocking my view. Had to make an emergency maneuver and pull over immediately.
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
Start system malfunction causes the car to randomly lose ALL power and roll back when at a stopped, causing the car to be disabled and unable to start again. Faults indicate a failure of the 48V belt driven starter generator. Parts to repair defect are severely back ordered, taking months to obtain.
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2023) - ENGINE
Nov 26, 2022
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
WA15AAFY9P2019936 New Car with ReCall beign sold by the dealer.