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 1, 2025
I was having intermittent starting issues. After a starter recall was done, things got worse. Idrive will not turn off and car wont start draining battery. Battery was replaced and car still having idrive and start issues. It would not start after being hot. I was told extended warranty is not covered and that the center console was the problem after diagnostic. They want approximately $3000 to re... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
I was having intermittent starting issues. After a starter recall was done, things got worse. Idrive will not turn off and car wont start draining battery. Battery was replaced and car still having idrive and start issues. It would not start after being hot. I was told extended warranty is not covered and that the center console was the problem after diagnostic. They want approximately $3000 to re... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
I've never taken my 23 crosstrek off the pavement I'm driving down hyw and my rear struts break my crosstrek has 38 thousand miles on it and it's only 3 and 1/2 years old I've owned many cars were if drove hundreds of thousands mile and none of them broke there struts going down the hyw
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 328i. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated, and multiple warning lights were illuminated. The contact then stated that the vehicle lost power and would not restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the water pump and electrical plug connector had failed and needed to be replaced... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2025
Approximately 10 minutes into an ordinary drive home from work, the engine abruptly began making extremely loud noise, as if metal or bricks were being thrown inside the engine. Within moments, the engine rapidly lost power and then completely shut down. At no time did any warning lights, engine lights, or malfunction indicators appear on the dashboard prior to or during the failure. This incid... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
Was at work parked in my 2023 Nissan Rogue at 5:30am today,when rear back windshield exploded. Sounded like a gun shot, defroster was off, temperature was about 29 degrees.
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 BMW X5. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine service. The contact stated that during the inspection of the vehicle, the dealer discovered that the water pump was beginning to leak coolant onto electrical circuits, inside the engine compartment. The dealer recommended the water pump replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
The vehicle is affected by manufacturer recall R25C8 (NHTSA 25V-655), which identifies a risk of battery overheating and potential fire during fast charging. The recall instructs owners not to use Level 3 (DC fast) charging because the vehicle’s battery system may enter a failsafe mode or experience thermal issues under high-load charging. This significantly restricts normal operation of the veh... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that while driving at high speeds, the vehicle independently drifted into another lane, and the contact slightly lost control of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a dealer; however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The contact recently discove... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
Vehicle shurtter cause toque converter issue with all Toyota Highlander
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
While driving, the vehicle immediately went into full unintended acceleration without any input from the accelerator pedal. I removed my foot completely from the pedal, but engine RPM increased to full 7000 rpm’s and the throttle was stuck there. The vehicle surged forward unexpectedly. The car spun in circles 180 degrees and wouldn’t stop. This was a sudden and unpredictable event. This crea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
While driving, the vehicle immediately went into full unintended acceleration without any input from the accelerator pedal. I removed my foot completely from the pedal, but engine RPM increased to full 7000 rpm’s and the throttle was stuck there. The vehicle surged forward unexpectedly. The car spun in circles 180 degrees and wouldn’t stop. This was a sudden and unpredictable event. This crea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
Fuel Injector issue - diagnosed at Mike's Automotive, a NAPA AutoCare Center by ASE certified technician. Codes were P0430 and P219B which indicates fuel injector issue. The Emmissions System Problem check engine light goes on and off at random times, reduced fuel economy by almost 5 mpg, hard shifting, stalling. All symptoms are in line with the recall for 2019 Honda Pilots however my VIN is not ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
[XXX] Problem: Multiple tire blowouts causing safety hazards and air-suspension damage Complaint Summary: My 2024 BMW i7 has experienced multiple tire blowouts, including the most recent , two within days of each other (12/8/2025 and 12/10/2025). On 12/8/2025, BMW replaced the right rear tire and advised me that the vehicle was safe to drive. Two days later, the left rear tire suffered the s... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2025
TEMPERATURE GAUGE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND TEMPERATURE SHOT UP TO RED LINE. WAITED ON SIDE OF ROAD FOR 20 MINUTES TO COOL DOWN THEN RETSARTED AND DROVE 10 MINUTES BACK TO MY WORK AND TEMP GAUGE REMAINED IN NORMAL TEMP AREA. EXPLAINED TO MY MECHANIC AT WORK..HE CHECKED IT OUT AND SAID IT WAS COOLANT INTRUSION PROBLEM AND ENGINE WAS PROBABLY SHOT.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2025
This vehicle is affected by NHTSA Recall 25V644 (starter motor – fire risk). The recall remedy has been listed as “Remedy Not Available” since September 25, 2025, and remains unavailable more than two months later. BMW did not notify me about this safety recall. I only discovered it after a third-party platform automatically deactivated the vehicle due to the open recall. In addition, this... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2025
This vehicle is affected by NHTSA Recall 25V644 (starter motor – fire risk). The recall remedy has been listed as “Remedy Not Available” since September 25, 2025, and remains unavailable more than two months later. BMW did not notify me about this safety recall. I only discovered it after a third-party platform automatically deactivated the vehicle due to the open recall. In addition, this... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2025
In January 2024, Ford issued Safety Recall 23S64 / NHTSA Recall 23V905 for my 2018 Ford EcoSport for critical engine oil pump failure causing loss of engine power AND power braking assistance - a defect that has caused crashes and injuries. Parts were not available until August 2025 (19 months later). This defect caused catastrophic engine damage in my car requiring complete engine replacement. M... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2025
While on a stretch of two lane highway with no shoulders I got some flashing error messages that were too quick to read, then the car made the shutdown sound like when you turn the car off, and said “Goodbye” on the screen. The gas pedal was unresponsive, pulled itself away from my foot. The screen showed what it normally shows when you turn the car off - option to charge immediately or precon... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2025
We’ve taken the vehicle to two different Infiniti dealerships (Sewell and Crest) multiple times due to engine rattling, vibration noises, and propulsion issues. Unfortunately, we haven’t received any resolution or fix for these problems. We tried to upload a video with sound as reference but the platform doesn’t allow us to. We experienced similar issue that resulted in total engine failure ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2025
Battery tempature warning-Constant banging sound while driving. Know EV defect per BMW, No fix in place.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
My 2015 Tesla Model S has a serious safety issue where the vehicle suddenly reverts to Park while driving and will not stay in Drive. I had the car serviced at Tesla’s Austin Ridgepoint location, and they documented that the issue was “resolved” and “validated,” but the problem continues exactly the same. Tesla replaced the rear motor speed sensor, performed tests, and charged me $522 f... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
ABS control modules are all out of stock, everywhere. This issue is becoming more and more common. I cannot replace the module or have it rebuilt because of a chip shortage, and I do not have ABS on my truck anymore.
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 BMW 330I. The contact recently purchased the vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The message "Drivetrain Malfunction" was... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that there was a slight hesitation while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the ABS warning light intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. The contact stated that while accelerating up an incline, the hesitation was more noticeable while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that during the failure, the contact fel... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2025
While driving the Electronic Power Steering Rack stopped working. I pulled over and inspected to see if there was any damage to it. Everything looked good, but the power steering was still not working. I turned vehicle on and off a couple times until the Electronic Power steering Rack started working again. This put me and other drivers in danger as I could not steer my vehicle freely without usin... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2025
In the middle of driving, multiple warning lights came on in the car and the steering became very stiff, which made it difficult to steer the car. We brought the car to the dealer service station and they identified that the crank pulley system had a failure and the vibration damper needed to be replaced. Apparently, this issue also resulted in the engine not properly charging the car battery, w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2025
Just had my 2019 GMC sierra 1500 Denali engine fail. My truck has 75k miles oil changed regularly no codes, issues or dash lights. Recently had it at GMC I Folsom California for a rear window replacement. Full inspection with no issues and nothing found wrong. Sunday 12/7 with my girlfriend and son in the truck about to get on the freeway felt a weird shift as I got on the freeway on-ramp. As I we... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
Driving a loud bang was heard from the back of the car. Stopped to check, no obvious physical issue. A warning light came on, it was described as an issue with the air flap. Started driving again, it worked for a few 1000 feet. The car went into a limp mode while an arterial road, in the dark, slowing to not more than 20 mph on a 45 mph road putting driver and child passenger as well as other vehi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormally loud engine camshaft bearing sound coming from the engine. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and after three days, it was determined that the camshaft bearing had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the vehicle was jerking forward while depressing the brake pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the pedal depressed to the floorboard. The contact also stated that the "Service Stabili-trak" warning light was recently illuminated on the instrument pa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2025
Car shows a turtle image on dash and will not go faster than 30mph nor will it fully charge without dealer intervention. This happens when it's cold. There's also a clicking sound when turning as well that's a whole other issue.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V534000 (STRUCTURE) and 25V636000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were 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 made aware of the issue... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2025
Emissions light came on took to dealer. All the fuel injectors need replaced with 84,000 miles. Carbon buildup dealer has done many should be a recall but there isnt.
Incident date: Oct 13, 2024
Under regen braking the car has very loud ticking in the rear and feels as if the axles are sheering themselves. Looking into the issues with other owners the culprit is the ERAD motor turns to recoup the energy. It looks like this component is used in a wide variety of Volvo based vehicles like this one and other models report the same issue. The worry comes with failure, as this is a braking com... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
I have been having issues with shift to park message for a yr now and it just gets worse and do not have the funds to pay for it myself bu5 see that it is a recall and gm is covering cost for other makes models of my same yr for same issue takes sometimes 20 minutes to mess with my shifter until I can finally park my car where it shuts completely off. This is a safety risk as 1 it could roll away ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
Clicking noise when Hard turn right and left. Dealer says expected behaviour.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
The contact's daughter owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for the recall repair; however, the dealer found no signs of contamination and installed a water pump connector cap. The contact stated that a month after the repair, the engine was... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
2019 Ram Laramie 1500 instrument or cluster panel goes blank or speedometer goes blurry and unreadable.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
On 12/5/2025, while driving my 2025 BMW X3 at approximately 35 mph on Milwaukee Ave (IL Route 21) during rush-hour traffic, the vehicle displayed a “drivetrain malfunction” warning and immediately lost propulsion; the engine completely shut down. The vehicle could not be driven under its own power and remained stopped in traffic with a minor child passenger present, creating a traffic hazard a... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
On 12/5/2025, while driving my 2025 BMW X3 at approximately 35 mph on Milwaukee Ave (IL Route 21) during rush-hour traffic, the vehicle displayed a “drivetrain malfunction” warning and immediately lost propulsion; the engine completely shut down. The vehicle could not be driven under its own power and remained stopped in traffic with a minor child passenger present, creating a traffic hazard a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2025
I rear ended another vehicle and my airbags did not deploy.
Crash
3 injured
Incident date: Oct 3, 2025
• Third-row seat in my 2020 BMW X7 failed during normal operation and trapped my [XXX] daughter between the seatbacks. • She sustained injuries to her legs (documented in photos). I injured my arm while trying to free her. • Approximately 10 people witnessed the incident. • Seat would not move or release electronically or manually—no functional emergency release. • Multiple BMW system... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V741000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that there was an abnormal sound coming from the rear suspension after the vehicle was purchased. The vehicle was repaired several times; howev... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 435I. The contact stated that while the vehicle was turned off, the battery discharged abnormally. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the water pump had remained running unexpectedly when the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2025
My 2022 Tesla Model X has two recurring safety-critical defects that remain unresolved despite multiple repair attempts. 1. Airbag / Restraint System Failure (RCM2 / OCS Defect): The vehicle frequently misclassifies the front passenger seat. It shows a passenger when the seat is empty and activates passenger seatbelt warnings incorrectly. Recently the vehicle displayed: “Front passenger safety ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Acura TLX. The contact received notification of a manufacturer’s recall: 2062837681, for the crankshaft bearing, and took the vehicle to the dealer for the repair. The vehicle was repaired; however, three weeks after the repair, the vehicle started making a knocking sound while accelerating or while idling. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
I have repeatedly had electrical failure in the vehicle in the form of a "Reduced Power Alert" which renders the vehicle with significant limitation to drivability. This places the vehicle in "limp mode" and this frequently occurs on the highway. Once this Alert appears the vehicle has limited propulsion, limitations to steering and braking as well as other electrical systems. It has been to th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
The contact owned a 2023 BMW 525i. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the mouth of the garage, his foot slipped off the brake and onto the accelerator pedal, and he drove through the rear garage wall into the kitchen and crashed into the concrete block. The electrical circuit was damaged. The brake and accelerator pedals were too close together. While driving across the street, his f... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 2, 2025
My 2016 Mercedes Benz C300 started giving off funky fumes last year in 2024, now the fumes have turned into the smell of gas in 2025. Everytime that I call the dealership on Rockside Rd./ Broadway, located in Bedford Ohio, they give me an excuse as to why it's not their responsibility to correct the issue. What can I do?