Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 40,555 complaints for BMW
Incident date: Sep 13, 2022
I was driving at approximately 60 MPH on the Freeway when I heard a loud bang, the car started to vibrate and shortly after that I realized I had a problem with a tire. The display indicated a tire with low pressure. I pulled over and saw the damage to the tire on the Driver left hand side. I brought the car to the dealer service department. I paid to have a new tire installed and I kept the damag... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the coolant temperature and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact then noticed smoke coming out ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2022
COMPANY IS SELLING REFLECTOR INSERTS THAT ARE NOT LEGAL. THE REMOVAL OF SAFETY DEVICE(S) IS SUSPECT AT THIS TIME. THE PART REMOVES THE REFLECTIVE SAFETY FEATURE AND REPLACES WITH A DULL BLACK INSERT PREVENTING REFLECTION OF SAID VEHICLE RENDERING A POSSIBLE SAFETY HAZARD. I DO NOT USE THE PRODUCT. THESE PRODUCTS ARE SYSTEMATICALLY AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE BY MULTIPLE VENDORS. PLEASE ADVISE. THIS IS ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lunged forward and jerked significantly. The contact released the accelerator pedal and the failure stopped temporarily. The check engine warning light and an unknown warning light were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The contact stat... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lunged forward and jerked significantly. The contact released the accelerator pedal and the failure stopped temporarily. The check engine warning light and an unknown warning light were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The contact stat... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lunged forward and jerked significantly. The contact released the accelerator pedal and the failure stopped temporarily. The check engine warning light and an unknown warning light were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The contact stat... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 1, 2020
Intermittently on startup/ignition, car electrical shuts completely down. No power to anything and key fob becomes locked in the ignition. After a few minutes the electrical comes back on on its own. This usually only happens in park on startup, however on one occasion, the electrical shut off for about 5 seconds as I was driving 70 MPH on the highway. Car went totally dark and I was fortunate... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2022
Due to the CRANKCASE VENTILATION (PCV) VALVE HEATER problem and BMW claiming they have no remedy for it yet, this has caused my engine to overheat smelling like burning electrical, The Container holding reserve antifreeze has broken off plastic components that may somewhere be in the cooling system. The valve cover gasket that was replaced only 3 years ago is beginning to fail and is leaking oil ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2022
Due to the CRANKCASE VENTILATION (PCV) VALVE HEATER problem and BMW claiming they have no remedy for it yet, this has caused my engine to overheat smelling like burning electrical, The Container holding reserve antifreeze has broken off plastic components that may somewhere be in the cooling system. The valve cover gasket that was replaced only 3 years ago is beginning to fail and is leaking oil ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2022
Unable to feel vibration in steering wheel for the lane departure warning system.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 BMW X5. The contact stated while driving at 30-50 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact also state... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 530XI. The contact stated that while driving in the snow, the vehicle overheated. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder. The engine overheated, and slow-down messages were displayed. The engine overheated and shut down immediately. warning indicator lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the thermosta... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
I was driving and something was burning under my hood
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
I was driving and something was burning under my hood
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The transmission's automatic gear selector indicator lights are no longer working properly. Without the indicator lights, it is difficult to determine if the vehicle is in Park, Drive or Reverse which is a MAJOR safety issue. This is apparently a well known issue with this vehicle model and no recall has been issued as of yet. There are no warning lights, the issue is confirmed by an independe... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The transmission's automatic gear selector indicator lights are no longer working properly. Without the indicator lights, it is difficult to determine if the vehicle is in Park, Drive or Reverse which is a MAJOR safety issue. This is apparently a well known issue with this vehicle model and no recall has been issued as of yet. There are no warning lights, the issue is confirmed by an independe... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
The contact owned a 2015 BMW X3. The contact stated while her husband was driving at 65 MPH with her in the front passenger seat, the vehicle stalled. A message indicating a power train malfunction was displayed. The contact's husband was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact noticed dark smoke coming through the AC vents. The contact stated upon opening the hood, her husband saw fire.... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
The contact owned a 2015 BMW X3. The contact stated while her husband was driving at 65 MPH with her in the front passenger seat, the vehicle stalled. A message indicating a power train malfunction was displayed. The contact's husband was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact noticed dark smoke coming through the AC vents. The contact stated upon opening the hood, her husband saw fire.... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 528I. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough starts and the failure persisted while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the motor mounts had collapsed and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the oil pan gasket was leaking and needed to be replaced. The contact was also informed that the fuel sending unit needed t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 BMW IX. The contact stated that three weeks after purchasing the vehicle, he was informed by the dealer that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V541000 (Electrical System) and that parts to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and remained in their possession. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact st... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
BMW M 3 parked in the driveway and had been turned off for several hours I was wax the car when I noticed a puff of smoke coming out of the air condition vent so I sat in the driver seat to investigate out of habit I close the door I planed to open the windows and the convertible top to take a look the car went into antitheft mode and locked me inside the smoke became thick quickly I tried to br... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 26, 2022
Passenger airbag warning lights on/off for about a year. Currently the car has 60,000 miles. When I mentioned to dealer, (car in for emission recall), I was informed that the occupancy detection mat was faulty and needed to be replaced ($1821.04). If not replaced, vehicle would not pass Mass State Inspection. Had the work done at BMW dealer to have it replaced, as the car is due soon for a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 128I. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there were unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the PCV valve had ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2022
STICKY STEERING AFTER CAR WARMS UP. STEERS LIKE A BOAT. DANGEROUS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR WINDING ROAD.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2022
Operating vehicle at 35 mph battery light flashing and motorcycle died. The battery was replaced a week before.I tried to restart and the instrument panel wouldn't show anything. I bike didn't restart. I checked battery cables everything tight.
Incident date: Sep 15, 2022
As I was pulling into my assigned parking spot in my building complex. Both me and my 6yr old daughter were in the vehicle. As I was pulling into my parking spot and went to brake and put my vehicle in park- my brakes locked, gave out and the vehicle continued to proceed forward. As it proceeded forwarded, I immediately kept trying to brake- but because the vehicle is all wheel drive it accelerate... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 15, 2022
As I was pulling into my assigned parking spot in my building complex. Both me and my 6yr old daughter were in the vehicle. As I was pulling into my parking spot and went to brake and put my vehicle in park- my brakes locked, gave out and the vehicle continued to proceed forward. As it proceeded forwarded, I immediately kept trying to brake- but because the vehicle is all wheel drive it accelerate... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 15, 2022
As I was pulling into my assigned parking spot in my building complex. Both me and my 6yr old daughter were in the vehicle. As I was pulling into my parking spot and went to brake and put my vehicle in park- my brakes locked, gave out and the vehicle continued to proceed forward. As it proceeded forwarded, I immediately kept trying to brake- but because the vehicle is all wheel drive it accelerate... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 27, 2021
I finance my car in 2016, the car was purchased at a third-party dealership, it only one previous owner. My car has two major recalls, BMW never notified me that there were any recalls and I never got any compensation such as fixing the car. Long story I lost my car in a car fire last year. My car was completely totaled and the car caught wire out of nowhere. I put an investigation through BMW of ... Read more
Crash
Fire
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
Passenger seat in 2017 BMW 5 series cars have a well known and not covered fault where in a loud chiming will go off requiring the passenger seatbelt to be buckled. This chime does not stop and continues until the seat belt is buckled. There is nothing in the passengers seat. The noise is very loud and distracting. It occurs at random including driving at highway speeds. Upon bringing th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
Passenger seat in 2017 BMW 5 series cars have a well known and not covered fault where in a loud chiming will go off requiring the passenger seatbelt to be buckled. This chime does not stop and continues until the seat belt is buckled. There is nothing in the passengers seat. The noise is very loud and distracting. It occurs at random including driving at highway speeds. Upon bringing th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
Passenger seat in 2017 BMW 5 series cars have a well known and not covered fault where in a loud chiming will go off requiring the passenger seatbelt to be buckled. This chime does not stop and continues until the seat belt is buckled. There is nothing in the passengers seat. The noise is very loud and distracting. It occurs at random including driving at highway speeds. Upon bringing th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the vehicle started to overheat and she was only able to drive the vehicle for a few miles. The contact stated that smoke was coming from under the hood and from the exhaust. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine, Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328XI. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (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 had... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2021
With under 90k miles on the vehicle, the car stalled on the highway. It was later diagnosed as a head gasket leak which caused coolant to leak into the combustion chamber thereby causing the vehicle to lose power. I contacted BMW North America and they did absolutely nothing to address the issue. They did have a computer related recall on the vehicle and I subsequently had it performed at one o... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 128i. The contact stated that on several occasion while driving, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact also stated that when she attempted to restart the vehicle, the engine failed to turn over. No warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the engine would randomly start. The contact stated that the electrical system failed to ope... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW R1200 RT Motorcycle. The contact stated that while starting the motorcycle, fuel was spraying from the fuel line. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer but the motorcycle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V471000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that oil was leak from the vehicle. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where she was informed that the oil leak was related to the PCV valve. The vehicle was taken to the ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2022
The motorcycle is unstable at speeds above 60 mph from excessive wind buffeting. The issue is made even worse when riding on freeways with semi-trucks. The steering starts to shake and the motorcycle feels out of control.
Incident date: Sep 21, 2022
The car was riding alittle rough and upon inspection I had seen that the inside aidewall of both tires on the inside wall of tire was gone..!
Incident date: Sep 18, 2022
The brakes failed at high speed. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection. The car hit a barrier and flipped on its roof. Yes, I and my passenger were both at risk of serious injury. No independent confirmation has taken place at this time. No warning lights indicated malfunction.
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 BMW 430I. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the warning message "Pull Over Vehicle Will Shut Off" was suddenly displayed and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the coolant hose was faulty and caused damage to the water pump. The coolant hose and water pump were replaced and the failure was remedied. Th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2022
YEARS OF MY 335D OVERHEATING AND STALLING AND DEALER CANT FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE. I’VE REPLACED INJECTORS, DONE CARBON BLASTING, REPLACED NOX SENSOR, REPLACED WHOLE BATTERY/ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. JUST RECENTLY REPLACED THE ALL BELTS, HOSES, AND EGR MODULE TO AVOID CATASTROPHIC RESULTS. AFTER REMOVING THE COMPONENTS YOU CAN SEE FLUIDS GOT MIXED AND EVEN GOT INTO MY TURBO ALL BECAUSE OF THE EGR WAS ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2022
YEARS OF MY 335D OVERHEATING AND STALLING AND DEALER CANT FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE. I’VE REPLACED INJECTORS, DONE CARBON BLASTING, REPLACED NOX SENSOR, REPLACED WHOLE BATTERY/ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. JUST RECENTLY REPLACED THE ALL BELTS, HOSES, AND EGR MODULE TO AVOID CATASTROPHIC RESULTS. AFTER REMOVING THE COMPONENTS YOU CAN SEE FLUIDS GOT MIXED AND EVEN GOT INTO MY TURBO ALL BECAUSE OF THE EGR WAS ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2022
YEARS OF MY 335D OVERHEATING AND STALLING AND DEALER CANT FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE. I’VE REPLACED INJECTORS, DONE CARBON BLASTING, REPLACED NOX SENSOR, REPLACED WHOLE BATTERY/ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. JUST RECENTLY REPLACED THE ALL BELTS, HOSES, AND EGR MODULE TO AVOID CATASTROPHIC RESULTS. AFTER REMOVING THE COMPONENTS YOU CAN SEE FLUIDS GOT MIXED AND EVEN GOT INTO MY TURBO ALL BECAUSE OF THE EGR WAS ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Coolant lines How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The car would state that it is overheating a month after oil change and fluids replaced Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Dealer confirmed that there is a coolant issue Has ... Read more