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 41,082 complaints for BMW
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
We had a complete tire blowout of the rear driver tire in the desert, the temperature was 108° ambient. Toyota did not mention to us nor did the dealership that the car does not have a spare tire. We were 50 miles from any service Including cell service, I had to walk a mile to find cell service meanwhile two of our kids experience heat exhaustion. It took four hours to get the Vehicle towed. In ... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Aug 30, 2024
While driving reduce engine power light came on and the brakes gave out. I weigh 250 lbs and took all my strength to get brakes to stop car. I tow it and mechanic showed me vacuum brake pump blew up and went into engine. He replaced that and timing chain but still needed work. Towed it to dealer and it needs a new engine $11 000. The dealer informed me they see this alot. ! Why has GM recalled som... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2008 Smart ForTwo. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V273000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); 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 manufacture... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2024
Premature rusting on brake and fuel lines which lead to further issues with driveability and saftey. This us caused by the same defects leading to the Premature rust on the subframe that can cause a serious wreck on the interstate.
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
I have 2020 Subaru Outback and have had 14 windshield replacements/repairs. The windshield has spider cracked out of nowhere and has been unable to take the smallest impact without cracking in multiple locations. I have submitted multiple complaints to Subaru and was informed the issue is unique to my vehicle, but the car has never been inspected by Subaru, regardless of countless requests to do s... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2024
The car's display panel which I use to carplay to navigate google map randomly calling people on my contact list and randomly make commends such as play media or search maps as if I touched the panel screen to commend. The incidents happened while I was driving which caused me lost google map and almost lost control of the car since I tried to cancel the phone calls I didn't make. This is safet... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The camera system intermittently was cutting out. After researching it is apparently a known issue. I took it to my mechanic and what is "common" is a loose wire. This is not the case with my vehicle. It is a broken wire connection. Therefore neither my camera display or hands-free communication system work, they have no power.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
Driver window won’t go up & front passenger window won’t go down.
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the A-pillar trim on both sides of the windshields started to detach. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated that parts were not yet availab... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
At around 36,500 miles, my Toyota Corolla began experiencing issues with the coolant bypass valve, leading to engine overheating. This malfunction has significantly impacted my ability to drive safely, as the vehicle displays a notification every five seconds, obstructing my view of the digital speedometer and making it difficult to accurately monitor my speed. The issue was not indicated by a che... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
At around 36,500 miles, my Toyota Corolla began experiencing issues with the coolant bypass valve, leading to engine overheating. This malfunction has significantly impacted my ability to drive safely, as the vehicle displays a notification every five seconds, obstructing my view of the digital speedometer and making it difficult to accurately monitor my speed. The issue was not indicated by a che... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The rear view camera was glitchy for a few years until finally becoming completely disabled due to the car play system malfunctioning. I have blind spots on each side of the back of my car that do not allow me to check for oncoming traffic when backing out. This also includes looking out for pedestrians. It has come to my attention that this may be a manufacturing issue as multiple clients have co... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2024
Brake Booster Brake Serví Unit faulty Making noise, took t mechanic and I was told there is a technical service bulletin on this. I called Audi of Danbury and I was told there is no recall. I was told by my mechanic it can cause car t run bad and die.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the two outside cabs were smoking. There was smoke detected near the fuel tank. The contact stated that there was an abnormal odor of diesel and DEF detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. While drivi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that on two occasions while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the message to" Shift to Park and Restart" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled but was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to a dealer during the first failure ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that on two occasions while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the message to" Shift to Park and Restart" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled but was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to a dealer during the first failure ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V1480000 (Exterior Lighting) 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 ex... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
It happened several times already. My F150 Tremor randomly has extremely loud electrical sound POP through the speakers followed by the loud static, no matter I listen to radio or connect to android studio. It's super dangerous to hear this while driving.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
Car is over heating. Replace water pump and thermostat. Car still over heating. Bad water pumps.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the brake pedal needed to be depressed to the floorboard to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure became persistent. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated but... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2024
Front passenger safety restraint system fault error. They tried fixing and it started the next day again. Now they want to replace this along with my airbag. This seems to be a consistent issue reading forums online. This is a manufacturing defect and major safety issue.
Incident date: Apr 14, 2024
I have Tesla’s FSD software that consistently tries to enter closed highway ramps where the flags, lights and barriers are clearly marked as “do not enter”. I have reported this to Tesla a dozen times with no improvement or response. I’m sure there will be retaliation for this but I am sick and tired of swerving to avoid a fatal collision. Too many other safety issues with FSD to document... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, there was a hesitation, and the vehicle surged forward before coming to a stop. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact became aware of TSB 0059/23, NHTSA ID Number: 10244133 (Electrical System, Air Bags, Service Brakes) for the 2021 - 2022 Toyota Highlander. The vehicle was ta... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized, causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the power steering control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, several unknown warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. In addition, the contact stated while at a stop, the transmission shifted into neutral independently. The vehicle was to... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond and made an abnormally loud sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where an oil change was performed; however, the failure persisted while driving. The contact stated that the followi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
A couple of days before taking my vehicle to get serviced, I started noticing some concerning factors about an issue going on with the vehicles fuel system. When putting fuel in my car, the gas odometer wouldn't match with what the car was marking the gas miles to be. It would fluctuate throughout the day, in the morning it would mark 174 miles of fuel and in the afternoon it would somehow say I h... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the horn was inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
The power steering cut off and on intermittently and occasionally making it very difficult to steer. This is the same problem that was recalled on 2015 models. The 2016 Colorado has the same parts as the 2015 and yet they will not recall I have been told at this is a two to $3000 repair my truck has 29,000 miles on it, and this should not be happening.
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the message that the "Vehicle Will Shut Down" was displayed and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to call for help and had the vehicle jumpstarted. The contact stated that the vehicle failure was intermittent but became a recurring failure. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local deal... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Accord. The contact stated while reversing out of the driveway at an undisclosed speed, the back over prevention camera failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the images displayed were not clear and the screen showed colorful art. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
The contact owns a 1997 Ford F-250. The contact stated that the fuel strap failed and there was a hole in the fuel tank. The contact stated that there was fuel leaking from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V385000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 00V231000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to ... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2024
The center display consul keeps changing the display. About 6 months ago it appeared to look like water was in the display. By the time I got to the dealer the screen was clear. I was told to take a picture if it happened again. I had approximately 26,000 miles on the car at the time. About a month later the screen went totally dark. I shut off the car and it restarted with a clear screen. About a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
I was going 70 with my child in my car and The car seemed like it lost communication and I was on a highway with cars moving around me and almost hitting me . Car engine overheats after I’ve taken it to jeep several times.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
At 8:00 PM, driving 70 MPH on [XXX] from Dallas to Houston, Texas, multiple warning lights and messages illuminated on the dash. Other than a low fuel warning, there were no other warnings or messages at the time of the incident. The warnings and messages displayed were "AWD Error", AEB system OFF, RAB system OFF, slip indicator or VDC OFF, master warning light, and "Engine Malfunction Power redu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
Intermittent issues with the cruise control system and the ABS electronic braking system. The lights will flash on and off and the beeping is constant. If beating on the side of steering wheel will allow you to turn cruise control, then the ABS system will be okay for unknown reasons it will start flashing again and cancel the cruise control and the system will start flashing check the ABS electro... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2024
My truck is a 2014 with only 53,000 miles on it. I bought it used in 2016. (it was still under factory warranty) When I tried to get my truck inspected last month the shop told me the frame had holes and cracks in it, was not safe to drive and needed repaired/replaced. I did some research and found SB 19-NA-255 regarding my truck. This issue seems to be a wide spread issue with that truck. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Battery would be completely drained overnight if the doors are not locked.
Incident date: Aug 22, 2024
Looking under my truck, I found that the front Gas Tank Strap had fallen down from the vehicle frame mount. During further inspection of the vehicle it was that the gas tank strap mounting point has rusted through and that the strap has pulled thru the rusted point. The front of the gas tank has fallen down and pushed the gas tank strap into the drive shaft. Th only thing supporting the gas tank i... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
Leaking antifreeze. The car has the same issues for Recall number po84.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
Apparently there has been a leak in the engine and was not retaining any oil. We’ve tried to fixed it but it wasn’t fixed properly. My safety and others were at risk by the car shutting down at any moment. I have not taken it to the dealer yet. I am willing to do an inspection at a dealership for a better understanding on the issue.Check engine light came on about a month ago and I kept trying... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
Drivers door Arm assembly that limits door opening. First it started to have a small 'click' when closing. Then it had a loud clicking and snapping noise. Tried to lubricate assy. Didnt help. The next day, the door wouldn't close. Inspected the arm and found it detached from the door at the welds. In order to drive vehicle i unbolted the arm at the door jam and removed the two nuts from the arm a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
Engine coil and fuel injectors are bad. Injector 8 went bad, followed by 6&7. The next just went bad. Was told only so many available at dealership because of on going problems.
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
Engine coil and fuel injectors are bad. Injector 8 went bad, followed by 6&7. The next just went bad. Was told only so many available at dealership because of on going problems.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2024
This car it was in the garage. I almost never use it only sometimes to go in the store and this cannot happen. The car who passed just 46,000. Steering Rack: Power steering rack and electronic power steering fluid - Power steering is very notchy. Upon inspection of vehicle found power steering rack leaking from the passenger side seal. Recommend replacing rack and bleeding power steering system. T... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2024
This car it was in the garage. I almost never use it only sometimes to go in the store and this cannot happen. The car who passed just 46,000. Steering Rack: Power steering rack and electronic power steering fluid - Power steering is very notchy. Upon inspection of vehicle found power steering rack leaking from the passenger side seal. Recommend replacing rack and bleeding power steering system. T... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
I was driving slowly yesterday in a parking lot area and the electrical system on my 2019 CRV Touring sent messages that the brakes, power steering, and engine were shutting down. I lost some power steering capabilities and the brakes were not working normally, but were partially working. I called the dealer who was nearby and they said if I could drive it, to try to get to the dealership. I wa... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
We were driving down the road in downtown Greenville, SC, and the left side window fell out of the camper. The man behind us waved us down and told us the window had fallen out and was hanging on the side of the camper. When we pulled into a parking lot, the window fell and smashed onto the ground, breaking into small pieces. After speaking with Lippert and Forest River, this is a known problem, a... Read more