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: Feb 8, 2024
Snow White Pearl paint is flying off of my car in big splotches.
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
On 11/18/2023, as soon as I started the vehicle, put it in reverse and let off the brake to back down the driveway, the car made a loud unfamiliar noise (like bzzzzzt) and suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated on its own. Nothing worked, brakes, automatic gear shift, gas pedal, and steering were all disengaged. It was terrifying to me and I was worried about anyone or anything behind me. At the s... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 4, 2024
The ABS hcu fails intermittently causing a loss of traction control, cruise control. this is the second time i will have to replace the this unit. i had to first replace it at the end of 2021 and it failed a second time in october 2023.
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
While driving on the freeway, last month mid to late Feb, My steering wheel started spinning in one direction,. The control arm on the right side of the vehicle came off of the car's right front wheel and I skidded to the side of the road at approximately 65 to 70 miles per hour. Fortunately, there was not an accident. The control arms were replaced and there were no further incidents. Regardless,... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
While driving on the freeway, last month mid to late Feb, My steering wheel started spinning in one direction,. The control arm on the right side of the vehicle came off of the car's right front wheel and I skidded to the side of the road at approximately 65 to 70 miles per hour. Fortunately, there was not an accident. The control arms were replaced and there were no further incidents. Regardless,... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
While driving on the freeway, last month mid to late Feb, My steering wheel started spinning in one direction,. The control arm on the right side of the vehicle came off of the car's right front wheel and I skidded to the side of the road at approximately 65 to 70 miles per hour. Fortunately, there was not an accident. The control arms were replaced and there were no further incidents. Regardless,... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2024
Car stops suddenly for no reason while on cruise control
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
Over the last several months my 2018 Ram 2500 is experiencing intermittent service abs traction control system issue. The lights on the dashboard will go on and off and it will "ding" when it does. I am very concerned from a safety stand point as I know this system is supposed to help with braking in an emergency and assist with keeping the vehicle under control in adverse road conditions. The tru... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The truck needs The catalytic converter
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
Power steering became very hard and got stuck suddenly while driving, very dangerous. Was very difficult to steer the car or move the steering even an inch. Good that was driving at low speed, otherwise could have been an accident. After 2 days it started showing warning message about power sterring but at time of steering got stuck there was no warning. In process to repair, it's very dangerous a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
Oil consumtion issue. Same issue on their 4 cylinder motor. No indicator to tell you there is low oil. Engine fails. In addition, they do not manufacture the engine for replacement. I was instructed, by law they have to manufacture parts for 10 years. It is within 10 years and they haven't made parts for this motor for some time now. I request that this be investigated, as from searching the inter... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
The driver side main support beam that runs the entire length of the trailer from front to back cracked. Also, many of the support beams that run the width of the trailer were twisted and nearly falling off. We had to replace the entire main support beam on the driver side as well as smaller supports that ran the width of the trailer. The first repair was in June 2022 for the smaller support beams... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
Ball joint going out known problem for these trucks and track bar also needing replacement already.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
While backing out of a short driveway and placed t to drive, the vehicle revved and started speeding out of control with brakes applied. The vehicle sideswiped a neighbors vehicle before crashing head on into a tree causing it to stop. I had jerked up the emergency brake and ripped the key out of the ignition. The replaced airbags did not deploy.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
Driving on freeway and car suddenly would no longer accelerate over 40mph. Pulled off the freeway and large amounts of white smoke was coming from the exhaust. Turned off engine, looked under the hood and saw engine coolant bubbling. Attempted to restart car and it would no longer start. The car was towed to a Kia dealership and diagnosed as head bolts backing out of cylinder head causing leak... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the electric power steering warning light was illuminated. The contact attempted to turn the steering wheel but was unable to do so. The contact stated there were other unknown warning lights illuminated, that were unrelated to the failure. The vehicle was at the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that he noticed that there was water leaking inside the trunk. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that water was leaking through both sides of the trunk lid. The dealer installed a gasket between the spoiler and the trunk lid. The contact stated that the failure later recurred. The contact noticed that the tire ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 29, 2024
I was driving my vehicle when it started putting at a red light. I was close to my place of employment so I drove it the few blocks there and parked it. When I went to start it on my lunch break I heard a bunch of rattling under the hood and it wouldn’t drive. I checked the oil and realized All of the oil had leaked out.
Incident date: Feb 29, 2024
ABS Control Module with well known defects. Needs to be recalled. [XXX] . Many, many customers are having this issue, including me. I was told that the part is not available after market and the Honda Genuine part was quoted to me at $3,000 with low labor cost to the repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Feb 29, 2024
ABS Control Module with well known defects. Needs to be recalled. [XXX] . Many, many customers are having this issue, including me. I was told that the part is not available after market and the Honda Genuine part was quoted to me at $3,000 with low labor cost to the repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
Dear National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction and concern regarding the Goodyear Assurance Weather Ready tires, size 235/45R18, installed on my 2019 Kia Optima SX. These tires have proven to be defective, failing to meet the standards of safety and durability promised by Goodyear. I would like Goodyear to refund for the defective tir... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Acura ILX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the white lines on the road appeared curved through the windshield. The contact then noticed that the windshield was distorted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the windshield was delaminating and needed to be replaced. The windshield was re... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the ongoing issues plaguing my car. This dissatisfaction is compounded by the fact that this car was brand new when I picked it up from the dealership, with no miles on it. Since then, I have encountered a series of concerning problems. At around 30,000 miles, the batteries required replacement, followed shortly by a transmission replacement at ... Read more
BMW
740LI
(2011) - SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE
Feb 29, 2024
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
There is a failure in the brake system. Either the HCU or ABS module has failed. the cost of repair is in the 1500.00 range. I have since learned that this was/is a problem with this year of vehicle and a class action was started. I'm looking reimbursement to the repair. Dodge should be covering a known safety issue. I haven't repaired it yet
Incident date: Feb 24, 2024
On [XXX] I stopped at a local gas station to refuel. Immediately after leaving the gas station I heard a loud noise and the car went into limp mode. All the warning light were illuminated and lots of white smoke poured out of tailpipes. The diagnosis was that the turbo had filled with oil destroying both the turbo and motor. Total repair costs were close to $17,000 for remanufactured turbo and mo... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly lost power, jerked, and the speedometer went to zero. The wrench warning light and air bag warning light was illuminated. Upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to shift out of 1st gear. The contact shifted the vehicle to manual drive mode, shifted to 2nd gear and then back to drive and ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
Last night, an incident occurred, which was previously reported to NHTSA. This morning, while driving to the dealership to address that incident, the vehicle's engine turned off while driving in hybrid/gas mode. The "D" was blinking on both the shifter and on the driver information panel. I was able to turn the shifter knob to put the vehicle into neutral, reverse, and park, but there was no chang... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
Last night, an incident occurred, which was previously reported to NHTSA. This morning, while driving to the dealership to address that incident, the vehicle's engine turned off while driving in hybrid/gas mode. The "D" was blinking on both the shifter and on the driver information panel. I was able to turn the shifter knob to put the vehicle into neutral, reverse, and park, but there was no chang... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2024
On the afternoon of February 6, 2024, as I was turning into my driveway to park in front of the garage, my car unexpectedly accelerated despite my foot being on the brake pedal. Despite my attempts to brake, the pedal didn't respond, causing the car to collide with the garage door and subsequently damage storage shelves and containers inside. My mother and two brothers were passengers, returning f... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 24, 2024
On the afternoon of February 6, 2024, as I was turning into my driveway to park in front of the garage, my car unexpectedly accelerated despite my foot being on the brake pedal. Despite my attempts to brake, the pedal didn't respond, causing the car to collide with the garage door and subsequently damage storage shelves and containers inside. My mother and two brothers were passengers, returning f... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Grand Design Reflection Fifth Wheel RV. The contact stated that the rear stabilizers remained significantly close to the ground while retracted. The contact was concerned that the issue could cause the RV to strike the ground while driving or reversing. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure m... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
The contact is an attorney who represented the owner of a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the client had taken pain medication and fell asleep in the driver's seat with the seat heater activated. The client slept for approximately seven hours and sustained severe burns the his lumbar region. The client was later admitted to the local hospital and treated for third-degree burns. The conta... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
The contact's friend owns a 1997 Buick LeSabre The contact stated that the hood was difficult to open and close. The latch was in the correct location. The contact stated that while her roommate was driving at 45 MPH, the hood opened and detached. The driver pulled over, and a 2012 Chevrolet crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. There were no reporte... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
The a/c fails to operate in hot weather. You can hear the internal fans blowing, but no air comes out when it is hot outside, and the car idles for a few minutes. Has been in the shop twice to fix this.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact's son owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while her son was driving approximately 50 MPH, the check oil and an unknown warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated, and stalled. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that an unknown part needed to be repla... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
Even though electronic parking brake has NOT been set when parking, upon leaving from parking space, electronic parking brake engages and vehicle feels and sounds as though parking brake has been applied. My concern is that parking brake may engage while driving at speed and loss of vehicle control could occur. This problem is intermittent and has occurred 6 or 7 times during the month of Februa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2024
In early February, from a stop, I made right turn and the car just coasted and a "gear box fault" warning message appeared. I was fortunate enough that no one was behind me and I was able to coast into an empty parking lot right around the turn where I shut off the car. I started the car and it drove fine. I carefully drove it home. I saw other incidents of this "gear box fault" happening to othe... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle did not accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated before accelerating. The contact stated that the failure started while the vehicle was in snow mode and then the contact noticed that the failure was occurring while in other s... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2024
My car was less than 6 months old when a crack began to appear in the windshield. It started at the base of the windshield by the hood. There was no impact and no reason for this crack to appear, it was spontaneous. It hampers my vision and must be replaced at my expense according to the dealership. I am reporting this because I'm reading about other Prius owners who have had a similar proble... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
Steering is "notchy" and seems to stick. It is most noticable at highway speeds where small left and right movements are very difficult to make, feeling like I am fighting the steering to keep the car from wandering around in the lane. The cruise control shuts off randomly and refuses to be turned back on until the car is shut off and back on. It turns off abruptly and causes the car to suddenly... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
My 2016 Optima started burning a quart of oil at 60000 miles I am now burning over 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. I took it to the dealership where I bought it from and was they would change my oil to do an oil consumption test and I was to drive it no more than 1000 miles. I brought up my warranty for engine replacement and was told yes I do have warranty. I drove it just under 1000 miles took ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
"ENGINE MAINTENANCE REQUIRED, VISIT YOUR DEALER" Message came up on dash display. Took it to the dealership for diagnostic inspection. They informed me that the coolant bypass valve needed to be replaced. After much research, I found that this is a common occurance on newer model Rav 4s. If the component is not replaced, I was informed that it could cause overheating and other engine problems. ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The hood and top of the car on multiple tahoes and suburbans with this body style and year have the clear missing I have family &friends same issue, as well as the bottom plastic piece by windshield wipers crack quick/loosen causing possible water to get in or defrost system to stall, also does not go through car wash systems many Chevy models in the 2017-2020 years have issue especially 2017/2018
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
While driving at highway speed with the sunvisor down, the visor suddenly became loose and hit me in the head blocking my vision. As I reached up to move the visor around, I realized that there was no tension on the swing arm and the visor would swing from the driver side window all the way to the windshield, this caused me to keep one hand on the visor when the sun was coming through the driver s... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
The headlights are stating headlight low and triangle with a exclamation ⚠️ appears.
Incident date: Dec 18, 2022
I've been experiencing repeated instances of my 2021 Jeep Cherokee Latitude Lux 4X4 shutting off while I'm driving, without any warning lights. The message "Shift to P to start" appears on the screen. On several occasions, the car shut off unexpectedly, almost causing accidents. Despite multiple visits to the IG Burton service department, no fault codes were found. Chrysler told them to replace th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
Vehicle stalled and shut off 5 times while driving in past month. Took it to VW Dealership. They said low voltage on battery could make the stop/start feature not able to restart car. They also stated fuel injector #3 error was showing on diagnostic machine. After replacing battery, spark plugs, and gasket ($2300), dealership says that fuel injector error still showing and would cost $1400 to repl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
Vehicle stalled and shut off 5 times while driving in past month. Took it to VW Dealership. They said low voltage on battery could make the stop/start feature not able to restart car. They also stated fuel injector #3 error was showing on diagnostic machine. After replacing battery, spark plugs, and gasket ($2300), dealership says that fuel injector error still showing and would cost $1400 to repl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
My vehicle has randomly had the emergency brake assist applied when there was nothing in front of me. Thankfully there were no vehicles behind me & the times that there were it was residential roads that are 25mph. If this continues to happen it could cause an accident, having my vehicle go from 45-55mph to a complete stop with zero warning & no ability to continue driving until the alert disappea... Read more