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: Mar 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 BMW X1. The contact stated that the emergency call error light illuminated the instrument panel. In December of 2024, the contact received notification regarding an extended warranty coverage for the battery to be replaced. The contact was unable to immediately take the vehicle to the dealer due to other reasons. Once the contact was able to take the vehicle to the dealer, ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Ford F-350 SD. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that there was a misfire in cylinders #6 and #8. The dealer later determined that the misfire was in cylinders #6 and #7. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The f... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the ve... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V838000 (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 vehicle made an abn... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V838000 (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 vehicle made an abn... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
This is my 2nd complaint...Uconnect never did return my call as they promised they would....now our Uconnect is so bad it makes driving a safety concern. After starting our Ram the Uconnect keeps trying to call a number ....we have no idea what number it is but it continues dialing....we can not turn it off so if we need to drive this vehicle this is what we have to put up with....very distracting... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
Airbag lights have been going on and off ever since I took it into to get my airbags recalled and Subaru will not take a look at it with out me signing a form saying I am liable to pay 200 dollars if it happens to be anything else unrelated to the recall warranty.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the gear shifter was shifted into park; however, the gear shifter failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed shift to park gear. The contact stated the dealer had not provided a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2015 Chrysler 200. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into park. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact indicated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V090000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed about the powertrain recall. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2025
Vehicle has code C0063-64ABS. Also has a problem with the restraint control module and ABS module causing the front tires to lock and make the car slide. I was about to get into a car crash on Oct 24,2024 because the cars front tires locked and just slide from one side to other the steering wheel went loose and I wasn't able to control the car I took it to ford dealership where they told me that i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2025
Body: Paint around door hinges is bubbling. Vehicle was purchased new in 2019, vehicle is not near salt water or driven in, harsh offroad conditions. Vehicle has been garaged daily since purchase and has 44,000 miles on it. Electrical: Instrument cluster reboots and blanks out and speedometer stops working while driving. This vehicle was not included in previous recall #FCA 30B, but the symptoms ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that coolant would evaporate from the engine without warning. The contact stated that no warning lights or visible signs of a leak were present. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
1) The bottom portion of the DRL LED strip in the driver's side headlight is no longer working. I can send pictures upon request. 2) There is an NHTSA service bulletin (19-042) for 2017 Honda Accord Hybrids (all trim levels), but Honda says my VIN isn't included in this bulletin. Even though my 2017 Accord Hybrid has the same failure as the vehicles included in bulletin. A Honda representative tol... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
Sunroof is not closing
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop while driving 55 MPH while depressing the brake pedal. The contact pressed the button that immediately shifted the transmission to park, and the vehicle came to a stop. The contact drove the vehicle to a safe parking space. After safely parking the vehicle off-road, the check engine and brake assist warning lig... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the "WRENCH" symbol was displayed. The contact was unable to shift the transmission into drive(D). The contact had to wait for approximately 15 to 20 minutes before attempting to restart the vehicle before shifting into drive(D). The contact stated that the failu... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated and failed to shift into reverse(R). The vehicle failed to start intermittently and required several attempts before starting. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed a failure with the fork actuator in clutch A, and the clutch master needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The 4WD light keeps coming on and going off. This issue is reported all over the internet with Jeeps. It started about 60,000 miles, which is also reported as a normal mileage of failure. When the 4WD light is on the vehicle loses stability control which could result in an accident in anything other than dry road conditions. Why is this issue not a recall? A lot of the complaints online seem ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
Driving and slowing down accident brakes and frontal collision and airbags didn't go off
Crash
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
Driving and slowing down accident brakes and frontal collision and airbags didn't go off
Crash
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the instrument cluster flickered and failed to function as needed. In addition, the contact stated that the instrument cluster displayed a black screen. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistan... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
There is oil leaking. Other 2013 Ford Escapes have the exact same issue and there is a recall for those vehicles but not mine. This seems to be a problem for all 2013 Escapes. These are costly repairs that have been caused by a defect in manufacturing. My vehicle only has 115,000 miles, I should not have this problem. Please help. There is already recall for this year and this problem.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 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 not 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 ex... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
When vehicle is put into Park I keep getting a "Shift to Park" message and cannot turn off my vehicle. I cannot lock the door.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The vehicle one week after purchasing has had a tapping noise coming from engine and a rattling noise as well that you hear from the inside of vehicle. I have taken vehicle to two separate GM dealers. The first being where vehicle was purchased and they did not log in visit and basically said nothing could be done until engine breaks. The second dealer was only able to duplicate the rattling nois... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver’s and passenger’s side A-pillar trims detached from the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The check engine light came on a few months ago and my mechanic informed me that the vehicle has a recall issues for it. No remedy has been identified and the car is not operable as doing so may result in the car catching on fire. BMW has no timeframe for when they will be fixing this issue.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
Based on driver operator report, Vehicle suddenly stalls on the road/freeway. Dash panel indicates a warning message: "Engine Malfunction Power reduced Service now". I am managing a fleet. Our Company is Golden Route Operations in Las Vegas, NV. We have 35 units of this year and brand model.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
Hard shifting up and down through the transmission shifting sequence. Multiple clutch friction codes and powertrain warnings from Ford service advisor on 3/10/25. Check engine light on. Vehicle mileage 58,735 under warranty but no communication from Ford Motor Company until we brought the vehicle to a dealership. 5-6 week projected repair process at this time. TSB’s on the 10R80 and 10R80 MHT tr... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328I. 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 check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Chrysler 200. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, with several unknown warning lights flickering. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the fail... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2024
All seat belts of the company that produces seat belts for commercial vehicles in Turkey Kocaeli Kartepe location in FORD TRUCK otosan Turkey, Mercedes Splinter, Grammer Seat systems, ISRI Turkey, ISRI France, Brussa seat systems with vehicles in the UK, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Romania, Poland, all of the seat belts installed in the vehicles are risky. There is a risk that these seat belts and ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2023
On [XXX] my vehicle displayed an engine light on the dash. The light went on and off randomly throughout the day. The vehicle was hooked up to a computer that said there were no issues and everything was fine. On [XXX] I drove the vehicle over 240 miles to Pittsburgh and back with no lights. At one point the vehicle did make a loud noise for the drive but I took it out of cruise control and everyt... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
I am reporting a potential safety issue with my Tesla Model X. When the vehicle is placed in reverse with the steering wheel turned to full lock, it unexpectedly initiates self-movement without any driver input. I raised this issue with Tesla Service, and they responded with the following statement: "We are aware of this and [it is] currently a known software characteristic at this time. It is u... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Steering is sticky when making SLIGHT correction. Happens every time I drive. The speed does not matter. Happens at all speeds.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
Sometime I have power steering and sometime I don’t have power steering assist sometime came back and was driving and car just took my wheel to left itself on [XXX] 2 times on same spot was coming out of highway didn’t have no cruise or self driving On all was off INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Mar 9, 2024
Transmission shifting drags out in some gears and shifts very hard, and slips at times. The truck has died while shifting three time on the highway, once in heavy traffic. The gear indicator has went from 10th gear to 1st gear while slipping on the freeway.
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Cadillac CT6. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the wheels locked up. The traction control warning light was illuminated. Additionally, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission shifted hard. The 4WD service message was displayed. The contact received notification of Manufacturer Recall Number: N242480630 (Power Train)/NHTSA Campaign... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V011000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that there was smoke entering the cabin of the vehicle through the vents from the engine. The... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V011000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that there was smoke entering the cabin of the vehicle through the vents from the engine. The... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Acadia. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aw... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle after a rainstorm, there was an excessive amount of water inside the vehicle on and around the front dashboard. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the front windshield bonding agent had failed, resulting in heavy water leaking inside the vehicle. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
Engine block suffered coolant intrusion into #2 cylinder. Engine died suddenly. Car was losing coolant at alarming rate for weeks/ months ahead of time.
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The contact stated that the passenger, who was seated in the rear passenger's seat, advised the contact to stop the vehicle. The contact stopped and parked the vehicle. The contact and the passenger exited the vehicle. The contact stated the engi... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
Not often, but at least 1-2 times a year at slow speeds, the brakes fail to function. The pedal feels odd, and unresponsive usually under 5mph parking lot type speeds. Have to place car in park in order for it to stop. Had to dealer when I first got it almost 3yrs ago but they were unable ro duplicate. Restarting the car resolved issue for the instance and it could be a year before it happens ag... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, the driver’s side mirror was vibrating abnormally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the vehicle was diagnosed and it was determined that the screw securing the mirror had loosened. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not ... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2024
Check Engine light came on and car was taken to the shop where it was diagnosed to have diagnostic codes PO302 and PO316 - at which time the mechanic informed me that the spark plug had "ceased" and could not be removed - upon further research, found out that this is an issue with the 1.5L Ecoboost motor and that there was a program to replace but based on mileage/age, could not be replaced. The ... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Fire
Incident date: Mar 6, 2025
I dropped my vehicle off for transmission service maintenance with no engine issues and no check engine light. The Cadillac dealer called me the next day and said the check engine light was on and the engine was bad and needed $12,000 repair due to faulty bad designed lifter's and camshaft also stated this is a well know defect in the engine and they have replaced many 6.2 engines. Vehicle has 59... Read more