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: Nov 8, 2023
Check engine has failed. Glow relay stuck on or knock sensor or engine warranty. I don't know. Kia service will find out what's wrong with my car.
Incident date: Dec 25, 2023
Since purchasing the car new, my brakes squeal and make a grinding noise. They don’t stop well and the noise doesn’t stop until I drive the car for a while. This happens every time I drive my vehicle. I have taken it to VW service and they say that it is normal for those kinds of brakes.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
The vehicle’ Full Self driving control malfunctioned two times. This vehicle delivered to me on Aug 31, 2023. The recent full self driving malfunctioned on Dec, 16th, 2023. The vehicle was on self driving mode and about to get into a near fatal crash. I had immediately intervened and avoided the crash. This caused damaged to front passenger side tire and wheel apart from mental trauma to myself... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
The vehicle’ Full Self driving control malfunctioned two times. This vehicle delivered to me on Aug 31, 2023. The recent full self driving malfunctioned on Dec, 16th, 2023. The vehicle was on self driving mode and about to get into a near fatal crash. I had immediately intervened and avoided the crash. This caused damaged to front passenger side tire and wheel apart from mental trauma to myself... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
Sticky steering wheel! Driving straight on a flat road but you need to make sure your grip is good because it steers by itself!
Incident date: Jun 10, 2016
ABS/HCU is a known issue for failure. Mine is intermittently flash alerts for service/problems. 1000’s of people are having these issues. Where is the recall? This is a safety issue, is it not.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2016
Front wheel left tie rod had loose bolt. Around 3000 miles with no warning. Could hear clicking sound when breaking and accelerating from a stop. Was inspected and tightened. Steering stick or glitches for first .5 inch or so of turning, especially at high speeds. No warnings. Safety was at risk. Around 4000 miles. Was inspected and waiting for steering rack replacement.
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
Going over a bump at 45 mph or greater results in the death wobble. Will not stop shaking until the vehicle slows down.
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
Going over a bump at 45 mph or greater results in the death wobble. Will not stop shaking until the vehicle slows down.
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
Going over a bump at 45 mph or greater results in the death wobble. Will not stop shaking until the vehicle slows down.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that on four occasions while driving at various speeds, the driver's door swung open unintendedly. Additionally, the contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into reverse, there was a blue screen displayed. The contact stated that the trunk would not open to allow the reverse camera to be repaired. The vehicle was taken to an indepen... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
Steering assist disabled comes on while driving and Steering locks up and shuts everything off,and then starts back. Very Very dangerous on the road not knowing where or when you're not in control of the vehicle. When this occurs engine stops,no brakes.
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
I had just got gas and the vehicle took longer than usual to start/turn over. I was leaving the store and sitting at the stop sign that is on a small incline. When I proceeded to go, my truck shook a few times, cut off, and I had no control of the vehicle. The brake pedal would not push down and my vehicle began rolling backwards. There was a car behind me that started honking his horn because I w... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2023
All of the safety system and efficiency systems had failures which made us take to our local Honda dealership for evaluation. After the first visit we were told that they could not find the problem, although they saw all of the error messages. The error messages appeared again 3 days later so we took it back to our local Honda dealership. This time one of the service reps had seen that problem ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
When driving I’ve noticed small catches that happens when I am driving. For example If I am traveling in a straight line for a few seconds and have to make a correction( i.e. going around a corner) in my steering, the steering wheel requires a little more effort in order for the car to adjust the direction of travel. My car has 8,44 miles.
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the brake warning light was illuminated. The brake pedal was engaged and continued to depress independently. After turning off the vehicle, an abnormal sound was detected. The contact stated that while driving, there was a line on the screen. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was referred to the local dea... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
While driving uphill, the car lost power, beginning to spurt and stalling. Then the car was not able to accelerate while car kept spurting and stopping. It was a dangerous situation as this happened while we were driving, in the middle of the road, while going uphill. Thankfully it was at night and there were no cars behind us but if there was we would have clashed into it. Towed the vehicle to th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
About 3 months ago, I took this car in after receiving a recall notice for unexpected acceleration while on adaptive cruise control even though this was an issue I had never experienced before. But on monday, driving in stop and go traffic in light rain (intermittent wipers on slow setting), all of a sudden the car started accelerating directly towards the car 20 feet or so in front of us; the br... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
To Whom It May Concern at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), I am writing to urgently express my concerns about the latest software update for the Tesla Model 3’s autopilot system, which, in my view, significantly compromises safety. As a Model 3 owner for over two years, I have generally found the vehicle and its features to be reliable and safe. However, the recent up... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
To Whom It May Concern at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), I am writing to urgently express my concerns about the latest software update for the Tesla Model 3’s autopilot system, which, in my view, significantly compromises safety. As a Model 3 owner for over two years, I have generally found the vehicle and its features to be reliable and safe. However, the recent up... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
Lose of power when accelerating out of parking lot. This now has happened 3 times with no warning light coming on in the car and vehicle is regularly maintained without issues.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
My power tailgate control unit is fried due to a leak in rear driver side.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
WINDSHIELD CRACKED EASILY WITH A SMALL PEBBLE ON 2/2023 MIDWAY UP THE WINDSHIELD ON PASSENGER SIDE. SIZE WAS ABOUT QUARTER/ .25 CENTS. THE VEHICLE WAS LESS THAN 1 MONTH OLD. WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED IN APRIL 2023 BECAUSE TOOK 2 MONTHS TO GET A NEW WINDSHIELD. ON 12/15/2023 TRAVELING UNDER 40 MPH ON A STREET NOT A HIGHWAY A ROCK/PEBBLE HIT THE WINDSHIELD MIDWAY UP ON THE PASSENGER SIDE CREATING A RO... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
My car fail to start or move after a charge, have to get it tow to dealer, My rear strut making a popping noise dying the summer n winter the noise limited There a puddle of water on my passenger rear left side floor
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
My headlights provide no useable light to drive at night I have to use my high beams. So I avoid using this car at night when possible. It is my understanding that there was a recall on a similar problem of the Acura. 2014-2015 Acura RLX 11, 2014 – Acura will voluntarily recall approximately 9,700 model-year 2014-2015 RLX vehicles in the United States to replace the both headlight assemblies,... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
APIM unit and plastic body components 2014 Explorer, Sync2 v3.10 Symptoms: Malfunction of power window controls, radio controls, rear camera and vent controls. The APIM also controls many other safety functions, such as safety lanes, park assist, backup guides, gps, cruise control, trailer/tow information, and other warnings/features. It is notable that Ford has issued recalls for the APIM due to ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2023
Both front IWE’s are in question. When it’s cold out like below 32 degrees, I driving and hear a grinding noise. Sounds like a bearing type noise when they are stuck engage and one free spinning. The dealer told me if I hear noise again to engage/press 4high. The noise went away but not fixed.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
Check engine light is on with only 300 miles. AC RPMs go up but it won't accelerate. Code P2615 - 00 Apparently this is happening to all manual Versas year 2023+ and Nissan refuses to do anything. Car can just die in traiffic
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
The rear side passenger window busted from the bottom. Only top half of window remained while driving down the road. No warnings. I only knew this was possible with car due to Facebook group and others having this happen to them. Big bomb sound no one else on road car is 2022 bought September 2021. Handling its 3rd winter in the state we got it.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The taillight continues to fail without warning (no warning lamps came on) causing unsafe conditions on the road which can result in a serious accident. The taillight fails and the brake light and turn signal lights would not work. I have replaced it several times and now Harley Davidson says this part is no longer manufactured. Please note that this is an ongoing problem, and that the said tailli... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
The radio makes a loud pop & makes me jump as it goes on & off whenever it wants to. As this happens, the dash light turns off, the heater/ac turns off, the signal lights stop flashing, & when the turn signal is activated it makes a loud static noise that flashes through the speakers. It is a safety issue because it's distracting & it's dangerous for signal lights not to work properly. The car onl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
I would like to know if the vehicle was in the flood of 2020 1st of all. I've had this vehicle in Many times before I was told there was no maintenance work done prior to me buying it from a dealer. Been addressing a bad odder upon starting the vehicle for over a year. The smell is in the cab also. Now being told it could be the catalytic converter @ 51,000 miles on the vehicle. I've already spent... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
Was at a drive in window and car turned off and couldn't restart. Windows and lights would work but car wouldn't restart. Could of been driving and would of crashed. Had 3 people family in car. It was 9 pm had to have towed to nearest auto mechanic place 150.00. They are diagnosing and that is 186.00. This is a scary thing and going to BBB and filing a complaint I'm mad as he'll. Have had inspecti... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started to lose motive power. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced due to the oil pump failing and the belt being loosened which caused engine fa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated while driving at various speeds with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle was shifted to park and turned off. After waiting for several minutes, the vehicle was restarted and regained power; however, the vehicle was sputtering while starting. The check engine warning light illuminated with... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel System Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. 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 sta... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
On July 12, 2023 Safety recall 23TA08 was issued and it stated that dealer cannot sell, offer for sale, or introduce or deliver for introduction in interstate commerce a new motor vehicle under Title 49, Section 30112 of the United States Code. But the next day on July 13, 2023 Larry H. Miller American Toyota in Albuquerque, NM sold the new car to me (agreement is attached) but didn't deliver it (... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
-The engine shut off while I was driving the vehicle and gave me a message to please start the engine manually by putting the car in park. This happened 6 times in 2 days including twice in traffic on the highway. The dealer said the issue was due to the evap canister being saturated and debris in the n80 valve. - This put me at risk of being in a serious accident as my car had no power. I had to ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
-The engine shut off while I was driving the vehicle and gave me a message to please start the engine manually by putting the car in park. This happened 6 times in 2 days including twice in traffic on the highway. The dealer said the issue was due to the evap canister being saturated and debris in the n80 valve. - This put me at risk of being in a serious accident as my car had no power. I had to ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
Engine failure due to rod bearing. Unknown. Yes. Inspected by mechanics. No there were no warning lights. Vehicle started knocking and then oil light flashed every few minutes after the knocking. No check engine lights.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The car showed engine check light and auto start error. I took it to the dealer (Nissan bertera Auburn) and the said one of the ground wires had corrosion and they had fixed issue. i paid for the fix. After driving for 2 miles error came back. Dealer asked me to drive back. When I got back they said technicians are done for the day and I should go to nearest dealer the following day. Car is 22675 ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
In 2023 at around 90,000 miles on our 2018 Ford Escape started leaking coolant into the engine cylinder. To resolve the issue, the long block needs to be replaced placing substantial financial burden on us. Ford has indicated that we do not qualify for any financial assistance and the engine replacement cost for our 5 year old car falls entirely on us.
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
The truck randomly started flashing service electrical anti skid braking system. It will go on and off randomly and other times stay on all the time. It will not allow cruise control to work and I’m guess my ABS will not work either if I need it. I bought the truck with 132K miles on it and the light starting coming on at 134K miles. I don’t want to possibly injury others or myself is the ABS ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stopped, turn the vehicle off, and then opened the door to reset the system. The contact restarted the vehicle and started to drive under 50 MPH to prevent the failure from reoccurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer seven times and di... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
The dealership is telling me I need to take the vehicle even though they cannot fix the recall. This is a liability to society and myself. Peoples lives are at risk. There is a fire risk recall pn the HV battery
Incident date: May 15, 2020
This vehicle has the new "signature" Honda headlights. The low beam has two illuminated lights which oncoming drivers mistake as high beams. They flash their high beams at me to inform me that I am driving with high beams turned on when I am not temporarily blinding me and creating an unsafe situation. I live in a rural area with mostly single carriageway roads and this happens almost every time ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
Vehicle died suddenly in traffic 2 times. Was able to restart after a short while. Was a serious safety issue as I was at highway speed 1 of the 2 times. Vehicle is now at an independent garage. 40k miles. Not under warranty. Has not been inspected or diagnosed yet. No warning lights or codes showing.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
Vehicle died suddenly in traffic 2 times. Was able to restart after a short while. Was a serious safety issue as I was at highway speed 1 of the 2 times. Vehicle is now at an independent garage. 40k miles. Not under warranty. Has not been inspected or diagnosed yet. No warning lights or codes showing.
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
The active head rest restraint deployed on the driver side while driving. The plastic holding the rod failed causing this to happen. Not very safe and concerned about the passenger side deploying.