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: Jul 12, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH that all the lights became illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle began to emit smoke from under the hood, the vehicle lost power, and additionally, the contact had a failure of power steering and brakes. The contact was able to safely coast off the roadway and stopped. The vehicle continued... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
BMW recalled our car twice to replace the hybrid battery. Purchase in late July 2020; first recall about August 2020; second recall about September 2021. BMW replaced the hybrid battery as part of the second recall. Since then the vehicle check engine light has intermittently illuminated. The service department has confirmed faults in the hybrid drive system but has not identified the cause of the... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2022
Loss of “E” clips on retaining pins for passenger pegs, retaining pins vibrate out of holes causing loss of passenger pegs while riding. Potentially causing serious road debris and loss of passengers footing could cause accident or serious bodily injuries to self or others Cause is normal riding. Dealer acknowledged problem as a common issue and replaced “E” clips but have no actual soluti... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2022
Loss of “E” clips for windshield retaining pins, causing excessive shaking of the windshield and disrupting visibility and creating the potential for the windshield to fly back into the rider.
Incident date: Apr 11, 2022
The engine and all electrical components including power steering spontaneously cutout while driving, usually while engine isnt being stressed at all, sometimes while idling. If the car is rolling, i have to restart the engine while driving and using manual power to steer. Obviously, this is a huge safety problem. I've just had the alternator and battery replaced, and they test fine. This has ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2022
The engine and all electrical components including power steering spontaneously cutout while driving, usually while engine isnt being stressed at all, sometimes while idling. If the car is rolling, i have to restart the engine while driving and using manual power to steer. Obviously, this is a huge safety problem. I've just had the alternator and battery replaced, and they test fine. This has ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2022
The engine and all electrical components including power steering spontaneously cutout while driving, usually while engine isnt being stressed at all, sometimes while idling. If the car is rolling, i have to restart the engine while driving and using manual power to steer. Obviously, this is a huge safety problem. I've just had the alternator and battery replaced, and they test fine. This has ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2021
On 11/23/2021 while driving the computer screen stated malfunction with personal protection device with in 10 seconds the rear of the car burst into flames the fire inspector from our insurance company traced the cause of the event to the fuse box neither BMW or the dealership will take any responsibility this car had never been repaired and only authorized dealership did yearly service
Fire
Incident date: Apr 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 530XI. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V564000 (Air Bags) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. Th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
After day to day use the seat belt stopped functioning. The mechanism to lock the seat belt is stuck and will not unlock to latch the seat belt properly. Ultimately the driver and passengers are unable to latch the seat belts at anytime.
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
My bmw start smoking from the inside then caught on fire it was a electric fire on the light module
Fire
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
My bmw start smoking from the inside then caught on fire it was a electric fire on the light module
Fire
Incident date: Apr 9, 2022
Rear cross traffic alert does not work. Almost got into collision multiple times when backing out of parking spaces. Dealer inspected and stated it is working as expected. No audio or visual alerts on system during various near collision incidents.
Incident date: Apr 8, 2022
Car has 15,000 miles and always stored in climate controlled garage. Drove it today and within 1/2 mile the electronic power steering failed making it very, very hard to steer. Shut vehicle off and restart and the problem goes away but only for a minute or two and then returns.
BMW
328I
(2008) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CRANKCASE (PCV)
Apr 8, 2022
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328i. The contact stated upon turning off the vehicle after driving for approximately 2-3 hours, she smelled a burning plastic odor inside and outside of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign N... Read more
Fire
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 not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a burning odor was detected and there was smoke coming from under the hood. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed w... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328i. The contact initially received a google alert on her smart phone for NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer was then notified about the recall and informed her that parts for the recall were not yet available. The contact then received a recall notice in the mail that stated that parts for the recall were unavailable. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2022
From a stop, the car will refuse to stay in either Drive or Reverse and jumps back into Park as soon as you take your foot off the brake pedal. Message center says the car is rolling, but it is NOT! My wife has been stuck twice in a situation where she could not drive the car. She tried the parking brake, but since it is not rolling, it does not help. The actual reason is that a door is ajar... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
The contact owned a 2008 BMW 528I. The contact stated that after parking, the vehicle flames were suddenly present coming from under the hood. The contact attempted to extinguish the flames but was unsuccessful and the vehicle was destroyed along with a second vehicle parked nearby. The fire department and police were called to the scene and reports were taken. During the incident the contact suf... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 10, 2020
The contact owned a 2010 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH the vehicle started to shake and vibrate, additionally smoke began to issue from under the hood. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to safely pull of the highway and shut off the vehicle, the smoke emission increased and the vehicle caught fire. The fire department arrive... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 3, 2018
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the engine started smoking and overheating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the power steering failed to operate as needed; however, the contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to several local mechanics and BMW specialists. The vehicle was dia... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
BMW HAS A RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE 328XI ABOUT THE PCV VALVE HEATER AND HAD SENT NOTICE OF THE NEED TO REPLACE AND IT HAS BEEN OVER 2 YEARS AND THEY HAVE NOT FOUND A REMEDY FOR THE FIX. THE BMW WARRANTY GROUP CONFIRMED A DATE ON MARCH 7, 2022 FOR THE REPAIR. UPON GOING TO THE HERB CAMBERS IN BROOKLINE, MA. THEY TOLD ME THEY DID NOT HAVE A REMEDY TO FIX THE ISSUE AND WILL CONTACT WHEN THEY HAVE A FIX... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
BMW HAS A RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE 328XI ABOUT THE PCV VALVE HEATER AND HAD SENT NOTICE OF THE NEED TO REPLACE AND IT HAS BEEN OVER 2 YEARS AND THEY HAVE NOT FOUND A REMEDY FOR THE FIX. THE BMW WARRANTY GROUP CONFIRMED A DATE ON MARCH 7, 2022 FOR THE REPAIR. UPON GOING TO THE HERB CAMBERS IN BROOKLINE, MA. THEY TOLD ME THEY DID NOT HAVE A REMEDY TO FIX THE ISSUE AND WILL CONTACT WHEN THEY HAVE A FIX... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2022
I went to park my mom's car. Tapped the brakes, moved up a little, tapped the brakes again-the brakes gave out and the car lunged forward at a high speed. The only reason I stopped was because a metal fence stopped me. Earlier in the day the car switched modes by itself from Sport to Economy. This is the 2nd time this has happened in this car. The first time my mom was parking in her drivew... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 6, 2022
I went to park my mom's car. Tapped the brakes, moved up a little, tapped the brakes again-the brakes gave out and the car lunged forward at a high speed. The only reason I stopped was because a metal fence stopped me. Earlier in the day the car switched modes by itself from Sport to Economy. This is the 2nd time this has happened in this car. The first time my mom was parking in her drivew... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 4, 2022
the left brake lamp continues to come on after changing the brake lamp and checking sensor - I dont know if the light is out or its another issue the brake lamp has been working fine , the warning is incorrect Also , the added safety features installed in the car and paid 1000's extra for no longer work due 3g phase out , Bmw claimed drivers can use their phones but they will not retro fit the ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2022
the left brake lamp continues to come on after changing the brake lamp and checking sensor - I dont know if the light is out or its another issue the brake lamp has been working fine , the warning is incorrect Also , the added safety features installed in the car and paid 1000's extra for no longer work due 3g phase out , Bmw claimed drivers can use their phones but they will not retro fit the ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2020
The contact owns a 2010 BMW X5. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, she saw smoke exiting the hood. The contact stated the low coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road and call for roadside assistance. The contact states the smoke detained independently, once she turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2022
I had two situations in which my car would unexpectedly lurch forward after coming to a complete stop with my foot on the brake pedal, and another case in which I could not place the vehicle in park with the DCT Shift lever malfunctioning and making the car undrivable.
Incident date: Mar 31, 2022
I had two situations in which my car would unexpectedly lurch forward after coming to a complete stop with my foot on the brake pedal, and another case in which I could not place the vehicle in park with the DCT Shift lever malfunctioning and making the car undrivable.
Incident date: Mar 31, 2022
I had two situations in which my car would unexpectedly lurch forward after coming to a complete stop with my foot on the brake pedal, and another case in which I could not place the vehicle in park with the DCT Shift lever malfunctioning and making the car undrivable.
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
I just purchased a bmw x3 2007 the 2nd week of March 2022. Immediately, after driving home and parking the car. I turned the car off and the car began to make a loud noise and the engine start smoking very bad. I contacted bmw via email, and was told that there is not a remedy to the recalls effecting my car. The bmw x3 2007 is my only form of transportation and bmw cannot fix the problem. Th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
I just purchased a bmw x3 2007 the 2nd week of March 2022. Immediately, after driving home and parking the car. I turned the car off and the car began to make a loud noise and the engine start smoking very bad. I contacted bmw via email, and was told that there is not a remedy to the recalls effecting my car. The bmw x3 2007 is my only form of transportation and bmw cannot fix the problem. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 750XI. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming a quart of oil at an excessive rate. The contact also stated that while driving at various speeds, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that coolant had been leaking from the engine; however, ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2020
Vehicle stalled on train track , on the highway, engine keep burning oil , when I press the gas it stalled and I have to press hard sometimes it moves sometimes it don’t
Incident date: Dec 3, 2020
Vehicle stalled on train track , on the highway, engine keep burning oil , when I press the gas it stalled and I have to press hard sometimes it moves sometimes it don’t
Incident date: Dec 3, 2020
Vehicle stalled on train track , on the highway, engine keep burning oil , when I press the gas it stalled and I have to press hard sometimes it moves sometimes it don’t
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
Common issue with 2016 BMW message populates secure vehicle with parking break when stationary. Have the problem checked my service center. This messages populates every time the vehicle starts and when vehicle turns off. Common issue with vehicle and this hasn’t been recalled.
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
WHEN STOPPED WITH FOOT ON BREAK, CAR ACCELERATES & RPMS ROAR. DEALERS COMPUTER UNABLE TO FIND PROBLEM, BUT DEALER SUGGESTS A BMW BATTERY OR REPLACING AN OUTSIDE POWER DOOR HANDLE, BUT NO GUARANTY
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
WHEN STOPPED WITH FOOT ON BREAK, CAR ACCELERATES & RPMS ROAR. DEALERS COMPUTER UNABLE TO FIND PROBLEM, BUT DEALER SUGGESTS A BMW BATTERY OR REPLACING AN OUTSIDE POWER DOOR HANDLE, BUT NO GUARANTY
Incident date: Mar 15, 2022
Back light malfunction numerous repairs
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
Failed component: Failure for a motor vehicle to signal the intention to perform a U-TURN maneuver. Safety at risk: U-TURN maneuvers often result in accidents that cause material damage, severe injuries and death of motorists, passengers, motorcycle riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians. These accidents usually happen due to the inability of drivers to properly signal or warn others of the inten... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2022
My digital gauges were frequently going off center in my vehicle. I scheduled service with the dealer however they did not have a loaner available for weeks so they scheduled the appointment for a few weeks out, my car subsequently completely died on the road and after a minute or two I was rear ended by a truck and the car was completely totaled.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 27, 2022
My digital gauges were frequently going off center in my vehicle. I scheduled service with the dealer however they did not have a loaner available for weeks so they scheduled the appointment for a few weeks out, my car subsequently completely died on the road and after a minute or two I was rear ended by a truck and the car was completely totaled.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be serviced, he was informed that the VIN was included in 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
Made an appointment to fix the issue by Recall and confirmed that the necessary part was in stock. When arrived at the dealer ( new country bmw in Hartford ct) told me that they didn’t have the part and not even inspect the car at all.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
I purchased this 2009 BMW K1300GT used from a dealer 3 weeks ago. He only let me do a short test drive around the block and it ran fine. I purchased it and began riding it daily to and from work, 48 miles round trip. There are 6 lights and 4 Stop sighs on my route. If I do a slow roll through a stop it comes close to stalling. If there are several cars ahead of me at a stop sign, or I hit a r... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
I purchased this 2009 BMW K1300GT used from a dealer 3 weeks ago. He only let me do a short test drive around the block and it ran fine. I purchased it and began riding it daily to and from work, 48 miles round trip. There are 6 lights and 4 Stop sighs on my route. If I do a slow roll through a stop it comes close to stalling. If there are several cars ahead of me at a stop sign, or I hit a r... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
I purchased this 2009 BMW K1300GT used from a dealer 3 weeks ago. He only let me do a short test drive around the block and it ran fine. I purchased it and began riding it daily to and from work, 48 miles round trip. There are 6 lights and 4 Stop sighs on my route. If I do a slow roll through a stop it comes close to stalling. If there are several cars ahead of me at a stop sign, or I hit a r... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 BMW X1. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rear liftgate door would erroneously open. During the failure, the lift gate door would open approximately halfway. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the key fob needed to be reprogrammed to press twice to open the liftgate. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The V... Read more