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 1, 2023
In April 2023 I was advised via a letter from Mopar of an important recall concerning the “High Pressure Fuel Pump” in my 2022 Jeep Wrangler. The correspondence warned that a failure of the fuel pump could result in a catastrophic crash without prior warning. The letter also indicated that “a remedy for this condition is not currently available”. Having not heard from the manufacturer for... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The spot welds on the drivers side door are broken causing the door to not close properly and the window to not function
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
My steering wheel sticks after driving and the engine has a change to get warm. Once I go over 25 mph and the sticking begins I have to constantly over compensate to stay in my lane. This issue has made it nearly impossible to stay in my lane on highways and speed above 55mph.
Incident date: Aug 3, 2021
My steering when out and says check power steering on dash
Incident date: Aug 17, 2021
Cruise control works erratically when turned on at times I can't set the speed, othertimes it won't cancel using the cancel button the only way to cancel it is to tap the brake pedsl or turn the cruise off, sometimes it will not turn on and at other times it works as it should.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
High beams stopped working around 60,000 miles, changed the bulb but did not fix it. Had Kia dealer inspect it and said the entire unit would need to be replaced but Kia did not consider it a safety issue so all costs would be bore by me. Clearly this is a safety issue that needs to be remedied by Kia.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
My carbon fiber composite roof is delaminating and separating. There is a risk that the degradation of the roof will become so bad that it will separate off my car while driving and may hit another car. This is a common problem with bmw i3 roofs. It is crazy that the entire roof panel can structurally fail but because it isn’t steel/rust bmw isn’t worried about it.
Incident date: May 3, 2021
Carbon fiber roof panel is bubbling and coming apart. BMW reports this is a structural component of the car and is designed to take impact stresses, however my vehicle and others, the roof is deteriorating and BMW does not acknowledge the issue.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
Good Afternoon, the problem that I have encountered for is is that the rear camera does not work all the time a blue screen appears and I am not able to see what is behind me and that can cause me to have an accident. I do not feel safe
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
I was trying to make right turn from Mcdonald's but suddenly, unintended acceleration, Tesla went into the intersection and hit the other side of car. - The emergency brake did not work and as a result of the accident , there was a severe damages in the front of the Tesla.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
I was going on my way to work on the freeway at approximately 65 miles per hour, suddenly I felt as if my car shut off will driving and I lost power. I pressed on the gas Pedal as I was pulled into the emergency lane to the right of the freeway, the gas pedal did not work. I pulled to the side and I shut the car off. I waited about 20 minutes and I turned the car back on.
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
No warning light or nothing just out the blue started knocking and shaking violently lost power almost got hit by a tractortrailer. It has been confirmed from independent shop #4 rod bearing spun and paper thin this happened on interstate 81 near UVA medical center the date was 8-2-2023
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently jolted forward. The vehicle was able to stop while the brake pedal was depressed. No warning light was illuminated. The failure recurred while the contact was driving to the residence. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmiss... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a rattling sound present coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle failed to properly accelerate, and the vehicle stalled on several occasions. Additionally, the vehicle had experienced excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was diagnosed at the local dealer and determined that the catalytic conve... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a rattling sound present coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle failed to properly accelerate, and the vehicle stalled on several occasions. Additionally, the vehicle had experienced excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was diagnosed at the local dealer and determined that the catalytic conve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
While traveling experiences slight vibration in which passenger side tire PULLED oncming lane, nonemergency brakes were applied not notification of crossing outside of lane, passenger side tire blew out, causing to hit a Culvert and all airbags deployed with passenger air bag off. The vehicle would not start.
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
While traveling 70 mph down a straight highway my power steering jerked and became inoperable with no prior indications or warnings. The Service Power Steering indication came on afterwards. I was able to regain and maintain control with great physical exertion and difficulty. If my wife, daughter, or someone with a weaker stature was driving, the results could have been catastrophic. I checked al... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
We have a recently purchased Jeep L with 5200 miles on it. Never off road, just a family commuter. Today my wife was driving the car for the second time and the power steering went out completely and it was very hard to turn the wheel. A bunch of other likes came on like the adaptive cruise and active lane management and front collision icons. The dash was lit up with warning including a large ste... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
at approximately 48,000 miles driven the check engine light turned on when car was taken to the mechanic, code p052e71 came back as the problem, which means crankcase breather hose had to be replaced. the cost was almost 2000 dollars.
Incident date: Apr 16, 2023
ABS and Traction Control warning lights on dash, go off and come back on. Truck was in cruise control with exhaust brake on and tow/haul mode engaged. ABS/Traction control light flashed on, truck dropped out of cruise control, exhaust brake came on car following the truck almost collided with my rear bumper. This is a dangerous situation, it is also affecting the cruise control. The dash board... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The main power relay for the hybrid battery shorted out causing the safety plug to also short out. I was driving down the road in a rural location and an error message came up on the screen saying hybrid system error, pull over immediately, and the car would not restart after I pulled over. The car was towed to the dealer and the dealer said that the power relay and the safety plug were shorte... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
Driver seats heat up on its own. Windows go up and down on its own. Front collision sensor beeps with no cars nearby. Wipers issues. Back up camera issues.
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
Is the pearl white paint peeling off the car all over I cannot drive it in the rain. The paint falls off. I cannot wash it but paint peels off the car only has 42,000 miles on it. I bought it brand new it started in July I have went to several dealerships and Consumer affairs, and no one seems to help me. It is all over the Internet. This is not due to any warranty. This is a product before it was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
Transmission shifted into neutral while driving at highway speed
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
Upon start up the HVAC fan speed reduces by self and will not increase by own in auto mode.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
I was driving on driver assistance mode. Instead of following the curve to my left-hand side, the car drove off the road and hit a power line pole on the passenger side. The car was totally destroyed. I reported to the company and asked for an investigation about the incident, but I was told that they couldn’t get the car and investigate it. I think for the driver assistance function, similar to... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
Was driving car on highway and car stopped no excelleration nothing just stopped. Pulled over with no visible signs of anything wrong. Car would not start. After a few moments car started drove down highway about 10 miles to my home car stopped again but this time would not start at all. Gave code for power train.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
I was using Tesla autopilot today while driving from corpus christy to Fulshear. Multiple times it slammed the brake on the freeway even if there was no one in front of me at all. This caused lot of panic to all of us specially passenger seat folks. It was extremely scary and could have resulted in long pile up on the highway.
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
On August 11th, 2023, at approximately 12:50 pm, I drove my 2015 Jeep Cherokee into my houses’ garage and parked. I went inside my house to meet an air conditioning repairman. No sooner than a minute or two had passed that I immediately heard noises coming from my garage.The noises sounded like mechanical in nature. It almost sounded like a washing machine agitating. I opened my side door of... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
On August 11th, 2023, at approximately 12:50 pm, I drove my 2015 Jeep Cherokee into my houses’ garage and parked. I went inside my house to meet an air conditioning repairman. No sooner than a minute or two had passed that I immediately heard noises coming from my garage.The noises sounded like mechanical in nature. It almost sounded like a washing machine agitating. I opened my side door of... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
On August 11th, 2023, at approximately 12:50 pm, I drove my 2015 Jeep Cherokee into my houses’ garage and parked. I went inside my house to meet an air conditioning repairman. No sooner than a minute or two had passed that I immediately heard noises coming from my garage.The noises sounded like mechanical in nature. It almost sounded like a washing machine agitating. I opened my side door of... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
While driving 45 mph on a straight stretch of a state road, I hit the brakes multiple times and decelerated so I could take the hard right exit and then make an immediate sharp left in a residential area. As I moved to the exiting lane, I turned on the right turn signal and eased off the brake. The car revved HARD, accelerated immediately and the cruise control icon + 58 mph began flashing on th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
Sticky steering wheel, feels notching while driving
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
I purchased this car in January of 2021 and in April of 2022 the passenger side front window A pillar trim flew off while driving down the highway. Since then, the same thing has happened to my driver’s side A pillar exterior trim, and just this week (August 2023) the B pillar trim that also held my keyless entry keypad has also flown off while driving down the highway. I’ve joined a “5th G... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
Front suspension arm dislocated while driving (at 15mph). Could have been fatal had I been on the highway. Bolt connecting suspension was not broken, must have just come loose. I believe this is similar to the recall notice 21V-835, but that only covered years 2019-2021. My car is a 2018, one of the first ones released. This should have also been included in the recall. Tesla told me my car is o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
May 5th 2023 my car was broken in to.The back passenger window was broken out and the steering column was tour out .The car was undrivable. The car was towed May 18th to Nalley Hyundai.I just got my car back today Aug 11. I understand Hyundai is suing TikTok I was given a number.She said when they go to court.When .
Incident date: Jul 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, he became aware that the display for the rear view camera only displayed the top half of the image. Potentially compromising rear-view visibility. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the rearview camera programming, but a remedy was not yet available. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact called the dealer; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a diagnostic test was performed. The contact was info... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
Error message that AWD, and associated sponsors are not functioning. This is failure of AWD Module LX6Z 7P238 AANP. Ford has issued a minimum recall/service warning (but not all 2020 Escape models). All warnings and assistance related to AWD are incapacitated/not functioning, including auto parking brake.
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
Error message that AWD, and associated sponsors are not functioning. This is failure of AWD Module LX6Z 7P238 AANP. Ford has issued a minimum recall/service warning (but not all 2020 Escape models). All warnings and assistance related to AWD are incapacitated/not functioning, including auto parking brake.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
While driving down the road my vehicles ABS and Traction control light go on and off, most of the time the lights are stuck on. Causing the vehicle to not have ABS and traction control during the rain and snow months of the year an further more the cruise control does not work. At this point the truck is unsafe to drive in all conditions as it does not retain its safety braking systems, I will no... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
The transmission/clutch causes the car to sputter when accelerating which is so dangerous at red lights. When I went to the mechanic he said this is happening to does focuses all over so this sounds like a universal ford thing.
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
The ABS Module Failure All of the dashboard light are on due the a Faulty ABS Module, YouTube and other Honda forums reported the same problems. The ABS Module is poorly designed The connectors are very thin and they break apart with the vehicle vibration, the Abs dashboard light, Steering control dashboard light, Traction control dashboard light,TPMS dashboard light all are in the ABS Module co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 used to haul a 2018 Keystone Passport Ultra Lite Grand Touring. The contact stated that the thermostat in the RV failed to operate as needed. The RV was taken to the dealer, where the thermostat was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The RV was taken back to the dealer, where the thermostat was replaced a second time. Additionally, the contact stated th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 used to haul a 2018 Keystone Passport Ultra Lite Grand Touring. The contact stated that the thermostat in the RV failed to operate as needed. The RV was taken to the dealer, where the thermostat was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The RV was taken back to the dealer, where the thermostat was replaced a second time. Additionally, the contact stated th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, he noticed the rear fender had detached and fallen onto the ground. The contact stated that the driver's side front wheel well had also detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the parts were put back in place using adhesive. The contact stated that the front fender had detached pre... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
My key does not unlock or lock my passenger or rear doors. So far it only unlocks the driver door. I have to get in and unlock the doors manually. The key fab works but the door sensors do not respond. I looked it up and this has been a common problem reported for the 2019 Nissan Altima along with other electrical problems. I’ve had to replace the battery twice. This is a 2019 vehicle which I pu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
Recently discovered that water intrusion in the back of my vehicle is coming from cracks (longitudinal and transverse) on its roof. The roof has no other damage that would have caused the cracks Upon discovery, I took it to my local MB dealership and the attendant that looked at it said he had never seen such cracks and know the cause. I followed up with the Mercedes Benz corporation, who requeste... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
•Ford Case number: CAS-44375296-L5Y1S2 •2018 Ford F150 XLT-Purchased brand new •25,000Miles •Only Services with Full Synthetic •Only Fueled with 91 Octane •Truck has been babied, no off roading, no hauling heavy loads, no towing etc. Short Commutes only. •Reluctant to buy the 3.5LEcoboost-Dealer said it was a great Engine •In 2021 Returned to Broadway Ford where purchased for Cam ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
My front passenger door actuator has failed. This door cannot be locked/unlocked with the remote or by pressing any lock/unlock button. This prevents the driver from being able to lock all the doors or the front passenger from being able to quickly exit the cabin unless the manual unlock switch is known and applied. This is the 5th door actuator that has failed on this vehicle. I'm the origina... Read more