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: Aug 6, 2024
Water is leaking into the passenger compartment to the point of pooling, I am constantly having to shop vac water out but, I feel this could lead to the floor pan rusting out and the seats falling through the floor. This is a GM TSB issue so, GM knows about the problem. There are many other Saturn Aura owners who have experienced this issue.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
2013 Chrysler 300C rear video camera for driver stopped working. Unsafe backing up. Need help
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
Issue was with the boat trailer tire for VIN 405119BA2LC000663. Goodyear Marathon, ST205/75R14, DOT [XXX], 8/32 tread remaining. Steel belt failure. Tires pressure was set to 40 psi before trip. Failure occurred after 45 minutes on the highway traveling at 65 mph. Felt a bad vibration, then loud bang when air came out of tire. This tire is only 8 years old. I replace them at 10 years. INFORMATION ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
Air bag light came on about 3 weeks ago. Called dealership and they say no recalls. Says to bring car in and it will take 3 to 4 days to run diagnostics. I am a single car family and would need to get a rental for those 3 days. I am on a fixed income. Why 3 days just to run diagnostics
Incident date: Aug 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to immediately accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
When opening our power liftgate it opens fully and then falls back down at least halfway.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
The Active Fuel Management valves in cylinder 1,4,6&8 failed prematurely
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
Air bag sensor light comes on; took to Nissan Glen Burnie MD dealership and believed they rectified the issue (removing debris) and did a reset. Light came back on and took it to Nissan Bowie MD and they could not determine the cause and did a reset. Light came back on and took it to Nissan Bowie MD and B0020-13 code was returned resulting in having to replace seat and sensor (no issue with wiri... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact called two other dealers, Pizza Honda of Pottstown (629 N Lewis Rd., Royersford, PA 19468) and Main Line Honda Service (123 E Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, PA 1900... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the overheating warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving over a bridge. The contact stated that the failure was persistent while driving for four hours, returning home from a trip. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with tra... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (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 not made aware of the issue. The contact h... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2024
Bought vehicle used/as is from dealer about a month after air bag recall announced in 2023. Found out it is apparently illegal to sell a vehicle with an open recall. Dealer did not disclose the recall and I did not research unfortunately. It's been over a year now since air bag was recalled and still no fix and I live in a very hot state. Should never take this long to fix something so dangerous -... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2024
Bought vehicle used/as is from dealer about a month after air bag recall announced in 2023. Found out it is apparently illegal to sell a vehicle with an open recall. Dealer did not disclose the recall and I did not research unfortunately. It's been over a year now since air bag was recalled and still no fix and I live in a very hot state. Should never take this long to fix something so dangerous -... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the interior panoramic sunshade cover detached from the interior roof headliner and fell inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the sunshade cover needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the fail... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 BMW X5. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to start. Additionally, there was a burning odor on the inside and outside of the vehicle while the vehicle was occupied. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V576000 (Electrical System, Engine and Engine Cooling). No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
I have owned vehicle for 3 months. Noticed loud banging sound whenever brakes are applied at low speeds, on rough bumps/rough road. At times banging is loud enough to sound like vehicle hit something. No issues with braking currently. Not sure if noise is from ABS but sound is coming from front and back. Toyota inspected vehicle and said sound is the ABS activating..."totally normal for newer hybr... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
The StarLink touchscreen (which controls radio, etc. and includes vehicle systems monitoring) delaminates and then the system goes crazy If iPhone is plugged in, system starts randomly calling people, all the icons flash on and off as if being pushed, it pulls up random maps, and brings up vehicle maintenance information. All the weird flashing is very distracting and dangerous. I know Subaru was ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
Turn signal button on the steering wheel gets stuck occasionally (it is like a mouse button, and when this happens it cannot “click”). This effectively disables the turn signal and I am thus unable to indicate.
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
I was driving to lunch and without warning, my brakes failed when I approached a 4-way stop. With ABS, I was able to stop my vehicle safely in a parking lot. However, the when I turned the vehicle off, it would not start again. The vacuum pump seized and since it is driven by the exhaust camshaft, it destroyed the exhaust camshaft. It's been two weeks and I have been unable to acquire that part. I... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
I was turning a corner and as soon as I made the turn, the truck completely stalled. Lights were on and the screen was prompting me to step on the brake and press start even though the gear was on Drive. The gear wouldn't shift to neutral to at least remove the car from the busy street. The dash lights were flashing and as I tried to restart the car, it just made a grinding sound. Almost got hit b... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Triumph Scrambler 400 X. The contact stated that while riding approximately 40 MPH, the motorcycle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred three times. The motorcycle was taken to the dealer. The dealer had not yet completed the diagnostic test. The motorcycle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made awar... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the steering wheel seized, causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed power steering control module (PSCM) failure. The contact was informed that the power steering control modul... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2024
My car experience a sudden and catastrophic failure of the multipurpose camera, part number HP36160-THR-A81. Many of the safety features of my car are dependent on this part, which given the age and low mileage of my vehicle has obviously failed prematurely. The safety features impacted on my vehicle by this part failure include ACC, LKAS, Collision Mitigation and Road Departure Mitigation Systems... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
Adaptive cruise control frequently rapidly decelerates (phantom braking). This can occur on empty roads in excellent weather conditions, but happens every time I have used the cruise control. The rapidity of the deceleration creates a significant risk of being rear ended. I have stopped using cruise control as it is too dangerous. This has been a noted problem on multiple Tesla models for multiple... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2023
We were driving on [XXX] at the posted speed limit of 65 mph. The adaptive cruise control was activated and the predictive control turned on. We drove past a [XXX] sign and the car abruptly decreased speed down to the twenties. Had another car been following us, we could have been rear-ended. We soon encountered a speed sign posting a 65 mph limit and the car quickly accelerated to that spee... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
Our 2017 Honda Pilot (VIN# [XXX] ) was affected by Honda's recall to correct the vehicle stalling out at a stop, and having difficulty re-starting the engine. We had the recommended action performed at our dealer to update the engine software, which appeared to adjust the idle upwards. Since then, our vehicle has stalled less than before, but continues to have the same problem. In July 2024, ou... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
I randomly received an alert indicating “Front passenger safety restraint system fault” on my Tesla’s display. When I look this up, it indicates that the airbag may not deploy correctly in the event of an accident due to a seat sensor malfunction. When I contacted the service center, they quoted me at $1500 to repair this critical safety issue (involves replacing the seat sensor and reconfig... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware of a failure with the transmission. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled and was jerking with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with t... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Headlights flicker every minute or so. Sometimes every few seconds. Makes it appear that I’m flashing oncoming traffic or those I’m following. Appears GM has known about it for months but no fix yet. PIT6203A
Incident date: May 7, 2024
The car randomly loses power and stalls on the expressway and it states that something is wrong with the hybrid system
BMW
530I
(2024) - FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL:SOFTWARE:SIGNAGE/SIGNAL RECOGNITION
Aug 12, 2024
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
I own a 2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe, I purchased the vehicle new on [XXX] (purchased in TN, registered in VA). Since owning the vehicle it has been in the shop 9 times, most recently in the shop because it was completely dead and they found out the battery was leaking acid, this is the same battery they had just replaced a year earlier. It has lost all power and shut off several times, Jeep con... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
I own a 2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe, I purchased the vehicle new on [XXX] (purchased in TN, registered in VA). Since owning the vehicle it has been in the shop 9 times, most recently in the shop because it was completely dead and they found out the battery was leaking acid, this is the same battery they had just replaced a year earlier. It has lost all power and shut off several times, Jeep con... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while starting the vehicle and shifting to drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission shifter cable bushing had failed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the v... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Coachmen Nova RV constructed on a 2021 Ram Promaster 3500 chassis. The contact stated that the passenger’s side awning failed to lock securely. After driving for approximately seven hours in a rainstorm, the awning opened and flipped over the RV. There were no reported injuries. The awning arm then detached. The driver was able to pull over and left the RV on the shoulder... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Drove out of my driveway and 2 minutes later I hear a metal clink and my steering wheel pulled to the left. I was going 15-20 mph. Pull over and see the right rear wheel angled inwards. And see a metal piece broke off. Turns out the rear control arm broke for no apparent reason. Many others reported same issue and there was a recall on this for 2013-2014 SB-19-31-001 [XXX] but not years going ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Engine reduce power power keeps coming on been to 5 dealers they say 200 hundred and 1 to 2 days on it but can't pay that to them on fixed income. Had two strokes been to dealer to gets parts .and also parts stores still the same part from different places still engine reduce power keeps coming on. On 8/10. Had throttle body taken of and cleaned l am at wit end Had to with this car oh l mean le... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Engine reduce power power keeps coming on been to 5 dealers they say 200 hundred and 1 to 2 days on it but can't pay that to them on fixed income. Had two strokes been to dealer to gets parts .and also parts stores still the same part from different places still engine reduce power keeps coming on. On 8/10. Had throttle body taken of and cleaned l am at wit end Had to with this car oh l mean le... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
Sunroof would operate without touching switch, or fail to operate if switch was touched. Similar to 2022 Golf R recall: NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V542000 I took multiple videos of the problem and VW replaced switch module under warranty.
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
Service Advance Trac System warning light illuminated while driving about 60 MPH in gusty wind. Cruise Control and Hill Assist became inop. This happened twice on one 500 mile trip, both times in windy conditions. Both times, after shutting off engine for a few minutes, no warning light and all systems functioned normally again. Reading motorhome forums, this seems to be a common problem with Ford... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2024
I own a 2017 Chevrolet Volt and at about 90,000 miles on the odometer, my dashboard displayed a "Propulsion Power Reduced" message, and upon diagnostic scanning, error code P0401 was detected. This code indicates an issue with the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve. After further investigation, it has been determined that the EGR valve has failed and requires replacement. However, finding a sui... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered abnormally with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that all 4 VTC ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Mar 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was involved in a collision. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the accelerator pedal two days later, the vehicle lurched forward and hesitated to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. Additionally, the RPM was revving significantly. The check engine warning... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2024
The rear passenger door got stuck and did not open while we were inside. My son tried to open it and it was just stuck. The other 3 doors in the car opened fine. I locked and unlocked/turned the child locks on and off/ turned the car on and off and nothing would open the door from the interior. My son was stuck. I recorded 3 minutes of all these things going on. Finally, I could open the door from... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2024
Was driving on the highway, when the vehicle popped up the message and it caused either the emergency brake or the automatic collision detection brake to engage. It turned of when I applied gas. The brake issues remain, when I restarted the vehicle after 15 minutes of being off, no brake error was detected evening after pumping the brakes.
Incident date: Apr 29, 2024
My problem started about a year ago with the auto start/stop light coming on- said it needed serviced. They replaced my auxiliary battery. Mind you, my van was only about 2.5 years old at this point (bought it brand new). So then about a month ago, same warnings. Stop/start isn’t working. I get it inspected at the dealership, they say everything is fine. Well yesterday, my van stopped emergentl... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2024
Hello, I have received a safety recall notice (23V-858) from Honda back in February and another one in July. I have tried to get them to repair it a few times, but they said they do not have the part yet but should have it sometime in the fall. They are telling me that they are only fixing cars with issues at the moment, which I cannot with 100% certainty say my car has the issue they are talking... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
Acceleration or surge seemingly while transitioning from regenerative braking to friction braking. Observed numerous instances where at slower speeds, after removing my foot from the accelerator and beginning brake application, a surge or acceleration occurs. In these instances I ensured that my foot was NOT contacting the brake and accelerator simultaneously. There is a distinguishable surge in d... Read more