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 15, 2024
Vehicle has the 2.0 EcoBoost Turbo engine. The original engine produced same issues, mechanic found coolant intrusion at around 78,000 mi and replaced it for around $6,000 out of pocket in March of 2023. Logged everything with the local Ford to ensure new engine warranty stayed intact. Now the replaced engine is experiencing the same and also more concerning issues. Starting in Late January early ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2024
On July of 2024 I received a Safety Recall notice 24S37/NHTSA Recall 24V444. I had no issues but I went to have my vehicle verified for recall and Duval Ford said I did. After I had the recall repair was done my truck began acting erratic so I took it back to Duval Ford three times before my truck became undrivable.On 1/10/2025 Duval Ford Could not dispute my Claim.They repaired my transmission a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2024
On July of 2024 I received a Safety Recall notice 24S37/NHTSA Recall 24V444. I had no issues but I went to have my vehicle verified for recall and Duval Ford said I did. After I had the recall repair was done my truck began acting erratic so I took it back to Duval Ford three times before my truck became undrivable.On 1/10/2025 Duval Ford Could not dispute my Claim.They repaired my transmission a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2025
SOS emergency call button doesn't work. Even though button is show green and technical people at dealership said there are no problems. I actually pressed the button and it said the call can't be made.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2023
Bought 2025 Subaru Forester in January 2025. Within 300 miles of driving brought it back to place I bought it, complained about constant vibraton in Sterring wheel at high speeds around 55 - 65 MPH. They said the wheels were out of balance, they re balanced them and the problem was resolved, BUT IT WASN'T. I brought it back to them At 600 miles they looked it over and took it for a ride they said... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2025
Steering Rack Needs Replaced As Per Moses Honda In West Virginia Where I Purchased It New In 2021. 3,ooo repair. It is out of warranty by 10 Months and it has only 28,500mi. Moses honda is trying to help in this matter with American Honda. No Recall on this year. the steering is becoming more difficult as i keep driving it..........
Incident date: Apr 7, 2025
No sound when object is in area of vehicle when backing up.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2025
No sound when object is in area of vehicle when backing up.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH on the highway, there was smoke coming from under the hood. There was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and the vehicle stopped. The TPMS and engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was not contacted. T... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH on the highway, there was smoke coming from under the hood. There was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and the vehicle stopped. The TPMS and engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was not contacted. T... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
Currently own a 2018 Chevy Suburban with a lifter issue in the engine. This is a known issue with Chevy as many vehicles have experienced this problem from zero to over 100k miles. Chevy has not issued any help or support with customers with this issue. My vehicle is well maintained I get oil changes frequently and have never not done a required service when needed. When I notice an issue I immedi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact's husband stated while driving 60 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle failed to respond. The Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with a possible sensor failure or transmission failure. The vehicle was not taken to the d... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
I received notice of this safety recall, and contacted Ganley VW of Bedford, 250 Broadway Ave, Bedford, OH 44146, (888) 650-9208. They scheduled an appointment for me to have my airbag fixed per the recall, but then they cancelled my appointment because the parts were on backorder with no foreseeable date to fix the issue. They said they'd call me when they could schedule, but it has been months a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); 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 not experi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
I am writing to report a safety related issue with a 2004 Toyota Tacoma that I purchased from an auction on 12/21/2022. The vehicle has an expired recall that I believe has not been properly addressed, potentially affecting the safety of the vehicle. I have attempted to resolve this issue through Toyota's customer service and local dealership, but I have been informed that the recall is no longer ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera display failed to function, and the display screen was black. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
04.22.25- back to back stalls on left hand turns within a 1 mile trip First stall landed me in a ditch less than foot from an oak tree. Coasted a bit before a sudden stop. Second stall allowed me to make it to side street before it abruptly stopped. Prior drive previous day had no issues and no warning lights.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
04.22.25- back to back stalls on left hand turns within a 1 mile trip First stall landed me in a ditch less than foot from an oak tree. Coasted a bit before a sudden stop. Second stall allowed me to make it to side street before it abruptly stopped. Prior drive previous day had no issues and no warning lights.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 BMW I3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and the air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel filler had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
The contact owned a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated the fuel tank located on the driver's side had caught on fire. The vehicle was extinguished by the Fire Department. A fire report was filed, and a fire report number was provided. A police report was filed. The contact received... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
Unrepaired recall. No remedy available for over 8 months, with manufacturer acknowledging that there could a vehicle fire in some cases.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The vehicle brakes stopped working on the highway moving at 75 MPH. It felt like the brakes were locked mechanically after all the vehicle electronic fault codes appeared in the dash. The incident occurred [XXX] traveling down a highway right after a vehicle battery charge at a charging station. While driving, all error lights came on, including turtle mode, high voltage battery pack fault, front... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The back up camera on my explorer has been experiencing intermittent failure for about the past month. It started by occasionally losing the parking lines while I was in reverse, and has progressed to a black screen while I'm in the process of backing up. Sometimes it's just a glitchy image, and sometimes it goes in and out while in reverse. The component has not yet been inspected. There were no ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2025
Center screen went black and is completely inoperational. Cannot utilize any center screen functions including headlights and rear backup camera. Took vehicle to dealer and they diagnosed as a bad display control unit, which is on backorder.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
Shortly after having vehicle serviced at Toyota the engine maintenance light came on. Imagine my surprise at learning that many other Rav4 owners have the same exact issue right around the 65,000 mile mark. But regardless I toke it to the Toyota dealer to have them diagnose the issue and under the advisement of the technician opt in for the repair so that my car “wouldn’t have more serious pro... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
Shortly after having vehicle serviced at Toyota the engine maintenance light came on. Imagine my surprise at learning that many other Rav4 owners have the same exact issue right around the 65,000 mile mark. But regardless I toke it to the Toyota dealer to have them diagnose the issue and under the advisement of the technician opt in for the repair so that my car “wouldn’t have more serious pro... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
-Stalled while driving -Loud clanking upon start -No diagnostic info was accessible -Replaced Cadillac converter, was glowing red -Once replaced still hot, 10,000-20,000 degrees -
Incident date: Apr 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while reversing, the back-over prevention camera screen failed to function as intended. The back-over prevention screen displayed a black screen. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with computer and electrical system failure. The contact was informed that the back-over prevention assembly, instrument cluster, and... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while reversing, the back-over prevention camera screen failed to function as intended. The back-over prevention screen displayed a black screen. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with computer and electrical system failure. The contact was informed that the back-over prevention assembly, instrument cluster, and... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Maverick. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicles driving behind contact were getting too close. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V095000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor rep... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2025
The contact owned a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while his girlfriend was driving through an intersection at 20 MPH, another vehicle ran a red light and crashed into the vehicle, causing a T-bone impact. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The other driver was treated for an arm injury(arm unknown) by paramedics on the scene. The next morning, the contact's girlfriend went to ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Sep 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine unexpectedly shut off. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The engine oil warning light as intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but no cause of failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure re... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V896000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made awa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the instrument panel failed to illuminate as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact believed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V652000 (Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mil... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2025
No incident. Just a gripe... The last emissions recall they ran absolutely killed my gas milage.... It dropped off like 4-5 miles per gallon immediately following the update.... What is the point of emissions updates if they cause you to burn 20% more fuel... 😩
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
On Saturday (April 19th), I looked at my rear tire, passenger side, and noticed a bolt inside my hub. After seeing that I parked my vehicle. This morning I called Al Packer Ford East, told them I had this issue and know its a recall, the lady told me I needed to drive my vehicle in for them to be serviced, when I told her it was unsafe, she well that not my problem.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
I just bought a 2008 Chevy Corvette convertible and parked in the garage. The next morning the garage has distinct smell of gas throughout the garage. If my heater to the house would have kicked on the house would have blown up. This is a safety issue which should be addressed by Chevy. After researching the issue, it seems to be a common issue, which should be a recall. Even after moving it ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2022
My 2012 Cadillac SRX gets water into the back of the car when it rains. There is a module in the back which when it gets wet shuts off all the electrical components in the car. The rain enters the car and gets trapped in the wheel well and all through the other components in the rear of the car. I have had this happen before and repairs cost up to 1000.00. General Motors needs to be accountable an... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2025
I was driving on I 95 and my check engine light came on, then the transmission light came on followed by No hill assist light.As I was driving home all of a sudden without warning my SUV dropped to 10 miles an hour while driving at at speed of 55 miles per hour.. For safety reasons I pulled over on to the shoulder, shut the SUV off a waited , and then I restarted the engine. The same lights ca... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2025
I was driving on I 95 and my check engine light came on, then the transmission light came on followed by No hill assist light.As I was driving home all of a sudden without warning my SUV dropped to 10 miles an hour while driving at at speed of 55 miles per hour.. For safety reasons I pulled over on to the shoulder, shut the SUV off a waited , and then I restarted the engine. The same lights ca... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2025
I am reporting an unresolved safety recall (NHTSA Recall Number: 25V202) on my 2025 BMW X3 (VIN: [XXX] ). The recall is related to a defect in the electrical connection between the starter-generator and the positive battery cable. This could lead to engine stalling while driving, or in extreme cases, a fire due to overheating and smoldering. The defect creates a serious safety risk to both driver ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
My steering all of a sudden was stiff and I can barely turn at low speeds. Not safe due to uncontrolled steering. I replaced the pump thinking that would fix it, and it did not. I’m taking it to a dealer after the holiday weekend. No warnings at all.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
Just got my car I’m financing (used) It’s been giving me problems since I got it slow acceleration, overheat . , engine stalling Start and go Option isn’t working . Can I have a professional assist me with a recall maintenance please
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
Just got my car I’m financing (used) It’s been giving me problems since I got it slow acceleration, overheat . , engine stalling Start and go Option isn’t working . Can I have a professional assist me with a recall maintenance please
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
At highway speeds, while steering wheel is centered, steering “sticks”, when turning to the right. It takes some effort to get it to go past this sticking point then feel a pop in the steering and it lets go. Just like the recall says, but this vehicle as well as many others are affected. Yet still no recall on them
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V896000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed, but... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 119,000, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 128,000.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); 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 not made aware of the issue. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
I was driving and the lower ball joints on passenger side broke causing the axle to brake the car lot i got car from said they replaced everything well it happened again and the ball jounts were the same ines that were on there before..Now my rack and opion broke