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 15, 2025
I was driving on the interstate and there was an explosion to my sunroof.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2025
I own a 2015 GMC Canyon that developed repeated and serious fuel-system and engine problems beginning around 56,000 miles. The vehicle experienced fuel contamination (water in the fuel system), multiple fuel injectors failing and sticking open, repeated misfires across several cylinders, and engine stalling/shutdown while driving. The truck was towed multiple times and repaired repeatedly by an a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2025
My vehicle is subject to an active AIRBAG SAFETY RECALL. The recall has been open for 112 days. The authorized Land Rover dealer has confirmed that the manufacturer does not have repair parts available and no repair completion date has been provided. Although the vehicle is technically drivable, it is unsafe due to the airbag defect. The airbag system may fail to deploy properly in a crash, incr... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2025
1.What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? EPC light is on, car stalled on highway towed in Audi Dealership Jan/2023, On August 18, 2025 The vehicle experience catastrophic engine failure, electrical issues, coolant system defects,and currently inoperable and safety risk. 2.How was your safety or safety of others put at risk? vehicle stalle... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2025
1.What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? EPC light is on, car stalled on highway towed in Audi Dealership Jan/2023, On August 18, 2025 The vehicle experience catastrophic engine failure, electrical issues, coolant system defects,and currently inoperable and safety risk. 2.How was your safety or safety of others put at risk? vehicle stalle... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2025
1.What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? EPC light is on, car stalled on highway towed in Audi Dealership Jan/2023, On August 18, 2025 The vehicle experience catastrophic engine failure, electrical issues, coolant system defects,and currently inoperable and safety risk. 2.How was your safety or safety of others put at risk? vehicle stalle... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2025
Power steering light came on and I took my 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee (3.6L) to Cape Coral Chrysler Jeep Ram and they said it would be $3929.89 to fix for me. Replace Steering Rack and Pinion. This is a SAFELY ISSUE and I feel I should have to pay that much to fix a 2023!!!
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission failed to shift properly and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 43 MPH, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the brake pedal became inoperable and required several pumps before the vehicle was able to stop. The contact stated that... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2025
Vehicle experiences sudden Auto-Park engagement, hard shifting, and loss of gear engagement. Code P0700 present. Issue began after A/C compressor failure. Safety risk includes sudden deceleration and loss of control.”
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
85,000 miles bought new. Was having hesitation and power issues, experienced increased fatigue the longer I drove. Took it in for service at 85,000 miles and the turbo PVC valve was bad as well as the catalytic converter. I’ve never had a catalytic converter go bad on any vehicle in my 42 years of driving. Cost = $2,000 for just the catalytic converter and extended warranty covered. Advised at t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
For about a week and a half my car had made a high pitched wheezing/hubbing sound when started cold. This occurred at all temperatures cold and warm. Yesterday December 13th I went to run some errands and about a mile into my drive my 2021 3lt 3.6 V6 Chevrolet Blazer lost the ability to power itself. There was no electrical problem however the power train lost power all gears drive and reverse. I ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
2014 Honda Accord Hybrid purchased new, completed all routine and recommended maintenance over its life. - The passenger side drive shaft failed on May 5, 2025, pulling into our driveway, and it fell out of the bottom of the car onto the pavement. - The driver’s side drive shaft failed on December 4, 2025, leaving a shopping center parking lot, and it fell out of the bottom of the car onto t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
2014 Honda Accord Hybrid purchased new, completed all routine and recommended maintenance over its life. - The passenger side drive shaft failed on May 5, 2025, pulling into our driveway, and it fell out of the bottom of the car onto the pavement. - The driver’s side drive shaft failed on December 4, 2025, leaving a shopping center parking lot, and it fell out of the bottom of the car onto t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2025
Approximate date 10/7/2025. Driving 20mph clear daylight sunny conditions in right lane,another vehicle in left lane put on right blinker to merge in front of me into my lane. The merging vehicle was 3 car lengths ahead and had plenty of space to merge. Merging vehicle was only half way into right lane when without touching the brakes and no warning alarm the wheels locked up completely,skidding... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2025
Complete electrical issues, starting with no start up, after jumping power steering went out. Was in shop for 2 months and had an electrical fire internally, while not running.
Fire
Incident date: Dec 15, 2025
Forward collision, Adaptive cruise control and all enhanced safety features related to the camera and front of vehicle sensor stopped working. Vehicle warning lights and messages do light up for every start. Only option has been to have a $2,500 repair bill for a 6 year old vehicle to install a new camera system by the dealer. This a well known manufacturer issue among owners. Infotainment system ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
I leased a new 2024 Jeep Wrangler Sahara from Gengras CJDR in Fairfield, CT. I received two catastrophic recall notices from Jeep on Nov. 24th, 2025 and was notified of a third catastrophic recall when speaking to Jeep Customer Care on Nov. 25th, 2025. The first recall notice, # 68C/NHTSA25V-741, pertains to the car's high voltage battery. The HV battery in my vehicle "may become damaged during ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2025
Engine failure which required a full engine replacement. The vehicle is unmodified and the engine was replaced under warranty. The certified Chevrolet dealer that replaced the engine confirmed that the issue was the same bearing failure that is impacting the 6.2L L87 V8 engines. The engine in my Camaro is a 6.2L LT1 V8, which is not covered under the current L87 recall. The first indicator of the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2025
Been hearing a clicking noise from my front end of the prologue for quite some time. Keep having it written off that it’s nothing. However I see people having complaints and getting the vehicle serviced. Also my charger door compartment has been replaced 2x and is almost headed in for a third replacement. Buy back investigation has been launched by Honda. No news since July
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
Back windshield exploding on its own with use of defroster!
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
Following ongoing unresolved ADAS and Pre-Collision Assist failures that have required repeated service visits and manufacturer engineering involvement, my vehicle underwent a master modem/system reset while in dealership custody. After this reset, vehicle access, safety alert history, and diagnostic data were erased, preventing verification, monitoring, or reconstruction of safety-critical events... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
Engine derated when towing travel trailer putting us in an unsafe situation during heavy traffic. No warning other than display on dash reading “reduced acceleration - drive with care”. Took immediately to dealer and they confirmed “thrust bearing failure” manufacturer defect and showed us Field Service Bulletin 25-NA-307 dated 9/30/25.
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4XE. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V741000 (Electrical System) and 25V766000 (Engine); 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 made aware of the ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
The contact owns 2017 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The check engine warning light and the low coolant level warning light were illuminated. The contact stated that a bystander assisted in pushing the vehicle into a parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
The tailgate control module has been water damaged and needed to be replaced twice. My local Honda dealership was unable to correct the issue and stated that it is due to a water leak in the frame of the vehicle/tailgate. The dealership has identified the tailgate control module as the cause of the electrical issues causing the battery to die, and advanced safety features to malfunction. Warning... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
Digital gauge cluster goes completely blank. Will come back on intermittently and then goes blank again for extended periods of time.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
My vehicle recently began displaying the error messages “Service High-Voltage System” and “Reduced Acceleration – Drive With Care.” Since these warnings appeared, my vehicle’s heating system no longer works at all. This defect creates multiple serious safety hazards: 1.No heat in cold weather: Temperatures in my area are currently around 42°F, and the cabin cannot warm up. This creat... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
My vehicle recently began displaying the error messages “Service High-Voltage System” and “Reduced Acceleration – Drive With Care.” Since these warnings appeared, my vehicle’s heating system no longer works at all. This defect creates multiple serious safety hazards: 1.No heat in cold weather: Temperatures in my area are currently around 42°F, and the cabin cannot warm up. This creat... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
My vehicle recently began displaying the error messages “Service High-Voltage System” and “Reduced Acceleration – Drive With Care.” Since these warnings appeared, my vehicle’s heating system no longer works at all. This defect creates multiple serious safety hazards: 1.No heat in cold weather: Temperatures in my area are currently around 42°F, and the cabin cannot warm up. This creat... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
Have had several issues with this truck and there seems to be a lot of similar issues: 1. Hemi tick - Had to have the exhaust manifolds replaced because they were cracked for no apparent reason... happened right after warranty was up 2. Alternator (etorque) started whining and had to get it replaced after 100k miles gently driven. Could have left me stranded. 3. Visor falling out (Very Dangerous)... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
8-speed automatic transmission failing. Noticeable whining sound that increases with acceleration, however no warning lights or messages. Metal shavings found in fluid upon inspection by independent mechanic. This is exactly in line with the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by plaintiff [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFOR... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2025
Original owner of a 2021 GLE, purchased on April 21, 2021. The vehicle is currently 4 years and 6 months and 22 days old with approximately 49,000 miles. Despite meticulous adherence to all scheduled maintenance performed and no warning lights activated the vehicle suddenly shutdown and would not restart. According to MB maintenance department it suffered a catastrophic and complete engine failur... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
The contact rented a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at unknown highway speeds, the lane departure malfunctioned. The vehicle was jumping while driving and became uncontrollable. The steering wheel had unknown damage. The wheel cover was removed, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that there seemed to be a torque sensor issue, the tires had low tread and the tir... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
The door latch assembly. It continues to show warning lights that my doors are still open when they are not. As well as my key fob when pressed twice, my car will not make any audible sounds. It continues to drain my power and kill my batteries. Have had my engine replaced due to engine recall. I have also had my hood latch replaced from a recall. My car sound be eligible for the door lock assembl... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware of a fuel-like odor coming from the driver’s side of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the sealed seam had failed and the fuel tank needed to be replaced. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2025
I have an open safety recall that has no available fix. My dealership confirmed they cannot repair it and advised me it may be unsafe. Because I cannot safely operate the vehicle, I am requesting a manufacturer buyback or financial assistance toward a replacement vehicle. Please escalate this to a case manager.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
I purchased a used 2019 Kia Optima from a dealership in January 2025 with 103,000 miles. 11 months later it's burning oil. Every 2 weeks I have to add a quart of oil. I took it to my mechanic and they found cylinder 4 has been burning oil. They also found a technical service bulletin related to engine oil consumption. They recommended replacing long block assembly. They referred me to a Kia deale... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
Power steering failure - unexpected. Made vehicle difficult to drive
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 RAM 3500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service brakes activated, and the vehicle slid and crashed into a deer. The contact stated that the deer appeared instantly. The brake pedal was depressed; however the vehicle failed to stop, and the vehicle crashed into the deer. The ABS and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The co... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 8, 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
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: Sep 25, 2025
I purchased the Audi Q4 Etron new. The issue that I'm bring up is 'self-acceleration' I had the intial incident 10/2025 where the car self accelerated (Audi Case open) but can't reproduce which almost pin a kid between my vehicle and another vehicle. I was able to react quickly to prevent a death. Second time 'self-acceleration" was on 3/27/25. My son pulling into garage with my sitting next... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 25, 2025
I purchased the Audi Q4 Etron new. The issue that I'm bring up is 'self-acceleration' I had the intial incident 10/2025 where the car self accelerated (Audi Case open) but can't reproduce which almost pin a kid between my vehicle and another vehicle. I was able to react quickly to prevent a death. Second time 'self-acceleration" was on 3/27/25. My son pulling into garage with my sitting next... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 25, 2025
I purchased the Audi Q4 Etron new. The issue that I'm bring up is 'self-acceleration' I had the intial incident 10/2025 where the car self accelerated (Audi Case open) but can't reproduce which almost pin a kid between my vehicle and another vehicle. I was able to react quickly to prevent a death. Second time 'self-acceleration" was on 3/27/25. My son pulling into garage with my sitting next... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 10, 2025
My 2019 Toyota RAV4 experienced a dangerous electrical and transmission failure that ultimately caused the vehicle to stall while driving and made me lose control. For several weeks before the incident, the vehicle showed subtle hesitation when accelerating but no warning lights. After the car stalled and spun out coming off the Ben Franklin Bridge onto I-76 near downtown Camden, police responded,... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2025
My 2019 Toyota RAV4 experienced a dangerous electrical and transmission failure that ultimately caused the vehicle to stall while driving and made me lose control. For several weeks before the incident, the vehicle showed subtle hesitation when accelerating but no warning lights. After the car stalled and spun out coming off the Ben Franklin Bridge onto I-76 near downtown Camden, police responded,... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2025
While entering my garage (video available)The 2023 Hybrid Rav 4 accelerated on its own when I was braking to put it into reverse to back up to realign to park in my space. I was hitting the brake and the brake lights were on the dashboard while the car keep accelerating hitting the garage wall.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 16, 2025
Water pump started leaking antifreeze at 23000 miles. Dealer replaced part under warranty.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
Truck looses gear when pulling into traffic. It will shift out of gear and only allow coasting. At speeds of 40 MPH and higher it will down shift causing dramatic reduced speed with no brake warning to other drivers behind. It will also randomly loose power. It will have delayed shifts squealing tires upon shifting and excessive jerking that is uncontrollable.
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
I have a 2021 Chevy Suburban with the L87 6.2L V8 engine. At 7k miles, we have lost propulsion, leaving the car undrivable. resulted in the dealer replacing all 16 lifters under a recognized bulletin. I never received extended 6yr 100k mile powertrain warranty as described in the bulletin. Since then, There have been 3 other issues with loss of propulsion, resulting in replacement of fuel ... Read more