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: Oct 17, 2025
On October 17, 2025 at approximately 3:15 PM in the parking lot of a shopping mall at 2040 Lomita Blvd, Lomita, CA, our 2025 BMW iX M60 suddenly accelerated forward unintentionally while the driver was attempting to park. The vehicle made a loud “whirring” sound as if the motor engaged on its own, and it lurched forward rapidly without any acceleration input from the driver. The car traveled o... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
Bearly 60 k miles and transmission is going out I got a Toyota because it was reliable did all the required maintenance and Toyota won’t even help
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
The contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350. The contact stated that while his mother was driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the brakes failed to function as intended. The brake pedal was depressed down to the floorboard. The contact's mother used the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The ABS warning ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
Since the airbag was not fixed, it has caused PVC meltings as well as leakage
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
Since the airbag was not fixed, it has caused PVC meltings as well as leakage
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Honda Prologue. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the steering wheel. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure mostly occurred while turning the steering wheel to the left. The contact also stated that the failure occurred after driving for an extended period. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
Subject: Rear Differential Mount Failure and Driveshaft Breakage — Sudden Loss of Vehicle Control at Highway Speed Complaint Summary: While driving at highway speed, I experienced a sudden and extremely loud bang from the rear of the vehicle. Immediately afterward, I lost complete control of the rear end, accompanied by violent clanking and grinding noises from the driveline area. The gearbox t... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 1, 2025
Subject: Rear Differential Mount Failure and Driveshaft Breakage — Sudden Loss of Vehicle Control at Highway Speed Complaint Summary: While driving at highway speed, I experienced a sudden and extremely loud bang from the rear of the vehicle. Immediately afterward, I lost complete control of the rear end, accompanied by violent clanking and grinding noises from the driveline area. The gearbox t... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 10, 2025
Electrically, the time will not stay set at the correct time.Nor will the date. Other issue is there will be a loud roaring sound when driving. This happens frequently, there are no codes that pop up. No, one is sure what the loud roaring is.
Incident date: Oct 18, 2025
I was driving normally to work and the vehicle stalled without warning and became difficult to steer. The dashboard displayed “engine stopped, steering power low”. The vehicle was stalled in the middle of the roadway and could not be restarted for 10 minutes. This was a very dangerous way to stop and then not be able to restart. People had to get out of their vehicles and help me push it out o... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2025
The engine and fuel pump system failed while driving the vehicle. It is available upon request to inspect. I just towed it to the shop today on 10/22/25 to get a full inspection. My sister and I were put at risk while driving towards a hill in San Francisco. It was on a busy main road when suddenly the vehicle began to jerk and thud back and forth. While I pushed the gas pedal, I began to question... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop smoothly. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, the brake pedal had an abnormal feeling. The vehicle was not diag... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
There have been many times when driving, specifically over bumpy ground, but it has also happened over smooth/dry ground, where it feels like the anti-lock brakes suddenly kick in when they are not supposed to causing an inability to brake. You have to take your foot off the brake and brake again. This has caused several close calls of rear-ending someone or running through a stop sign or light.... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2025
The issue first appeared during my initial test drive before purchase in 2019. The salesman stated it was a low-battery issue from the car sitting on the lot. Since then, the same problem has recurred multiple times. The vehicle displays multiple warning lights — “Electric Powertrain Fault,” Check Engine, EPS, and VSA — with reduced power, jerky acceleration, and temporary loss of throttl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming engine oil, and there was no indication of an oil leak. While a friend was driving, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was pushed to the side of the road. The next day, while driving at unknown speeds with the hazard lights activated, the vehicle began making an abnormal sound and then stalled. The TPMS and ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sputtering sound coming from the vehicle. After several attempts, the vehicle was able to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with starter failure. The contact was provided with the following DTC: 0012240600. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2025
Start stop/ Battery/ Engine lights all came on and warning messages said, stop start unavailable and some electrical power loss. Vehicle was taken to dealership for repairs. MGU was defective (Motor Generator Unit). Was informed parts were not available back ordered. 5000 units on order no available parts.
Incident date: Oct 18, 2025
In July 2025 recall #25V467 was issued on my vehicle. The safety risk of this recall is that at any point fuel can accumulate near the engine or exhaust components and ignite resulting in an under-hood fire “increasing the risk of injury”. It has been over 3 months now and no remedy yet. Since that recall came out, I am scared for my safety and the safety of my children and anyone else who rid... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that shortly after an oil change was performed, the "Low Oil" icon was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced excessive oil consumption, and the oil dipstick indicated that the engine oil level was low. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the fail... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2025
Many 2025 Hyundai Tucson owners have reported significant issues with the driver attention warning feature, particularly when using cruise control and wearing sunglasses, leading to safety concerns and frustration. Common Complaints Constant Alerts: Many drivers have experienced the driver attention warning activating unnecessarily, especially while using cruise control. Users report that the syst... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2025
Safety was compromised by drivetrain instability and a federal recall involving a starter motor defect that poses a fire risk. Despite this, BMW of Arlington has refused to authorize repairs or allow BMW of Austin to complete the necessary work—even after a $13,565 drivetrain failure diagnosis. On October 4, 2025, our 2022 BMW 840i became inoperable due to worn splines in the rear differential a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2025
Safety was compromised by drivetrain instability and a federal recall involving a starter motor defect that poses a fire risk. Despite this, BMW of Arlington has refused to authorize repairs or allow BMW of Austin to complete the necessary work—even after a $13,565 drivetrain failure diagnosis. On October 4, 2025, our 2022 BMW 840i became inoperable due to worn splines in the rear differential a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2015
The transmission shifts hard in low gears. I have done research, and it seems like this is a common problem that a vast amount of these vehicles have. I honestly think that this is has to be looked into for a recall. There is countless information on the web with videos, other owners, and transmission businesses explaining about it.
Incident date: Oct 20, 2025
The steering locked up could not turn or straighten car out. All electrical things lights air conditioning gas light just went haywire and is still not working. The shifting system I guess is what u call it started slipping out of gear like going into natural or first gear and nothing else. Several cars had to serve to keep from getting hit at 70+ miles an hour and I had no control other than to h... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2025
While driving through a construction zone on Route 81 at 55mph the car suddenly braked extremely hard to 30mph. It was very sudden and slammed me so my seatbelt activated. Fortunately no one was behind me. There was no one in front of me. Concrete lane barriers were on my left side. I have gone through this construction zone many times before and have never had this happen. If this had ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2025
I just purchased the vehicle with the airbag alert on, as well as the seatbelt alert. It seems there’s no recall for this vehicle. Please advise that you should reconsider the limited recalls and include the 2010 Armanda with the “platinum” package.
Incident date: Oct 13, 2025
There is an issue with the brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies that causes this vehicle to brake poorly. These parts are known to malfunction in Lexus CT 200h models and recognized by Lexus/Toyota. This issue needs to be extended into a recall for the vehicle due to the danger it poses while braking. Lexus/Toyota have acknowledged the issue via their letter: Customer Support Program 21... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2025
Recurring System Failures: My vehicle has exhibited intermittent and unpredictable system malfunctions, including engine stalling, braking issues, and electronic system failures. These pose serious safety risks and have made driving increasingly hazardous.continual tire pressure monitor reset light warning after reset 100 % measurement successful. rebalance all tires light reappear distant same sp... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2025
Recurring System Failures: My vehicle has exhibited intermittent and unpredictable system malfunctions, including engine stalling, braking issues, and electronic system failures. These pose serious safety risks and have made driving increasingly hazardous.continual tire pressure monitor reset light warning after reset 100 % measurement successful. rebalance all tires light reappear distant same sp... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2025
A bike rack that I purchased from 1UP USA in February of 2025, failed while attached to my car and carrying 2 ebikes. The incident occurred on Monday, October 13th, 2025. While driving home the bike rack disengaged and fell backwards, causing the bike rack to hit the road. I was driving on a 2 lane road with traffic approaching me and behind me. There was no place to pull off the road. Myself an... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact previously received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical Systems). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was only inspected for the plug connector, and a protective shield was installed. The contact stated that the vehicle was not inspected for the water pump as part of the recall. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2025
Road Departure Mitigation Error See Dealer Followed by Lane Departure Error See Dealer when making sharp left or right out of a parking space or backing out of a parking space and making hard left turn or right turn. There are numerous comments on Honda Blogs and Reddit but the local Dealership Pohanka Honda of Salisbury says they can't fix it unless it shows an error- online it looks like the R... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2025
While driving forward at approximately 20MPH, the automatic emergency brake system activated, causing the vehicle to come to a stop. There were no vehicles or other object in front of the vehicle that should have caused the automatic brake system to activate. This has been an ongoing problem with this vehicle. The system cannot be turned off or disabled by the driver. This system engaging on its o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2025
New Vehicle - less than 10 miles - Driver Door Closure Issue - Vehicle Turns Off. Ferman BMW stated its a Safety issue. Door Alignment Issue.
Incident date: Oct 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the infotainment display unit was inoperable. During the failure, the back over prevention camera display was inoperable along with the front and rear window defrosters, and blind spot monitoring system being inoperable. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and the contact was inform... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2025
Sun roof shattered unprovoked in 2 month old vehicle while driving slowly in parking lot. We didn't know what happened at first but then opened interior lining and the shattered glass fell into the cabin; nobody was hurt. when we took this to dealership, we were told this wasn't under warrantee and we had to get it fixed independently. I filed a complaint with Toyota Care but they denied covering ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that while driving 10-15 MPH, the driver and passenger side air bags deployed independently. A dealer and an independent mechanic were contacted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact sustained injuries to the head and neck. No medical attention was required. No police report... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 25, 2024
complete loss of steering control while driving , after a turn or without a turn. It feels like the steering wheel completely disconnected from the wheel control.
Incident date: Oct 5, 2025
Windshield washer sprayer fluid runs off top of windshield causing bugs and dirt to be smeared making it difficult to see clearly through the windshield. This is a constant problem. No matter how long I spray it doesn’t help.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while reversing, the back-over prevention screen displayed a blank screen. In addition, the back-over-prevention screen was frozen on the blank screen. The contact stated that due to the failure, the contact could not adjust the heating control or any safety features. The contact's husband had medical appointments, and the contact stated t... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2025
mY TRUCK HAS TWO ISSUES . BACK UP CAMERA IS FAULTY AND THE DEALER REFUSED TO REPAIR. iT WAS GOING ON AND OFF AT TIMES WHICH IS A PROBLEM WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO BACK UP AND NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT. THE TRUCK BRAKE PEDAL GOT STUCK AND IT WAS CAUSING MY TRUCK TO REV UP AND DOWN I WAS ABLE TO GET IT HOME AND IT COST ME THOUSANDS TO FIX AT THE DEALER. RED MCCOMBS DEALERSHIP ON I 10 IN SA TEXAS IS WHERE I... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2025
UConnect update was pushed and car shut off while driving saying to put in park and turn back on. Vehicles engine literally shut off twice while driving all due to a system update.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
My backup rear camera does not work more than half the time. The screen will go black or just not change at all and it will also say camera unavailable contact dealership. I have not been able to take it anywhere to get it looked at due to money issues. No warnings or anything. Just started one day in July 2025 and has kept doing it ever since.
Incident date: Oct 13, 2025
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2014 Ford E-350. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 92,801. The contact later discovered that upon contacting the local DMV that the mileage was 114,252.
Incident date: Oct 13, 2025
MY STARTER MOTOR OVERHEATED AND MY CAR WOULD NOT START AND MY CAR INDICATED THE FLUIDS AND COMPONENTS WERE OVERHEATED - MY DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED THE PROBLEM WITH A VIDEO THEY SENT ME. IF I WAS STILL DRIVING THE CAR, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO ME MY DAUGHTER AND HUSBAND IN THE VEHICLE. i CALLED MY SERVICE REP AND THE DEALERSHIP IS LOOKING INTO IT AS MY VIN DOES NOT HAVE THE RECALL. NO... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2025
My vehicle is a 2022 Polestar 2. For model years 2025 and below within the State of California, Polestar does NOT include the drive shafts (from electric motors to the wheels) as part of their 100K drive train warranty. And for model years 2026 on-wards within the State of California, Polestar will include the drive shafts (from electric motors to the wheels) as part of their 100K drive train wa... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2025
Car was taken in for service for a water pump recall. When I receive the car back there is a radiator photo on the dashboard as if there is low coolant. After returning the car to BMW they are stating that the water pump part that was fixed has nothing to do with why there is now a coolant leak from the back of the radiator. The fuel leak is coming from the fuel pump.