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: Jul 15, 2024
Upon starting the vehicle, the electronic dashboard comes on, declares “Reduced Driver Assistance” then about 15 seconds later, the entire dashboard goes dark and won’t come back on until the car has been shut down for several minutes. This sequence of events happens 95% of the time that I start the car. Upon restart, the dashboard will stay on about 40% of the time, the other 60% it shuts... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Grand Design Momentum. The contact stated that there was sawdust in the trailer and the frame was sinking. The contact stated that the cabinets were loose and were detaching from the frame. There was evidence that the frame was flexing. The contact noticed a lot of movement and bending with the frame. The contact stated that the front hitch and furniture were detaching from... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Grand Design Momentum. The contact stated that there was sawdust in the trailer and the frame was sinking. The contact stated that the cabinets were loose and were detaching from the frame. There was evidence that the frame was flexing. The contact noticed a lot of movement and bending with the frame. The contact stated that the front hitch and furniture were detaching from... Read more
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
In January 2024, the check engine light came on and we had an ignition coil and spark plug replaced. Less than a week later, the check engine light came back on and diagnostics showed a "misfire" on the same coil. The technician noticed the coolant was empty, refilled and found coolant entering the cylinder while engine was cooling. Engine had a "failed head gasket or cracked/warped head." Had t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
Incident 12/29/2024 while making a stop at a Stop sign while making a left turn steering wheel broke free with no resistance what so ever??? Turned off the vehicle opened the hood discovered the intermediate steering shafts had separated??? retaining bolt missing causing shafts to slip out of each other, putting my life & passenger's at high risk how this happened there is no explanation to this f... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
SERVICE BULLETIN # 14-002-14: Fuel tank "roll over" valve failed immediately after fill-up saturating the purge solenoid and dryer canister for the fuel vapor vent reburning system. This service bulletin described failure caused liquid fuel rather than vapor to be dumped into the intake manifold stalling the vehicle in traffic in unsafe conditions. The car was towed to Beamon Dodge at 1705 S. Chu... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
SERVICE BULLETIN # 14-002-14: Fuel tank "roll over" valve failed immediately after fill-up saturating the purge solenoid and dryer canister for the fuel vapor vent reburning system. This service bulletin described failure caused liquid fuel rather than vapor to be dumped into the intake manifold stalling the vehicle in traffic in unsafe conditions. The car was towed to Beamon Dodge at 1705 S. Chu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
When driving at least 45 mph+, the steering wheel "sticks" in a certain position. When trying to turn the opposite way, it takes more effort than normal, and it over corrects itself to a point of serious concern. I am afraid of my daughter's safety, as this is her car, and if she over corrects too much, it jerks in a way that would be in risk of an accident. This problem has gradually increased ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
2024 July summer time, the compressor started same issue as the temperature increased. All of a sudden, the car was started showing major “drivetrain error” and “high voltage battery error”. I have taken the car again back to the same dealership and this time the car was starting to show major system failures. I have kept BMW in the email loop and at the first instance itself I have called... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
Rear inner tail light on driver side is not working (34155-TZ5-H03). There is active recall on models between 2014-2019 but when checked my VIN it shows it is not covered. I went through the detail of recall and it can be clearly seen that the damage is same as shown in the recall. I will appreciate if someone can provide how do we know that my VIN was not impacted as there could be subcomponent w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
I received a letter in October 2024 about an inoperable fuel pump and a recall for the vehicle. However, after 3 months, the dealership does not have the fuel pump replacement pump and does not know when they will receive the part. As a result, I am still driving the car with the fuel pump issue.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
Placed 8 month old in rear facing seat at 8:30 pm, drove 20 mins home with a max speed limit of 55MPH. While pulling into the driveway we heard a very loud sound and my son cried out. After inspecting to see the issue the tether attachment has became unraveled and was under the tire. The base to secure the seat had popped open as well. This car seat has not been removed from the vehicle since it's... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing, there was a loud screeching sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed an unstated service on the vehicle, but the failure persisted. No further information was available. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed of an Exten... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
This happened on [XXX] in Oakland CA, it was a rainy day. I drove off the freeway and then parked the vehicle in the parking lot. The car was in idle mode. After about 10 minutes the engine started to stall, and then shut off completely. I tried to restart the engine but it failed. The dashboard showed an error message "Engine Stopped, Steering Power Low". I suspected that rainwater entered in... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX450H. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); 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 dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the iss... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The Mazda Connect touch screen in the center display may not accept touch commands properly or may operate by itself (ghost touch). The ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film of the touch screen may be corroded due to moisture, which may adhere on the lens of the touch screen during the cleaning process at the plant. The corrosion may allow the electrostatic capacity to vary without any input, causing the ma... Read more
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
While driving in stop and go traffic I heard a loud popping noise from the dash area and smoke started filling the cabin. I called a DC area dealer service dept and was told to exit the DC beltway and un plug the audio amplifier in the trunk left access door That stopped the popping noise and the smoke .
Fire
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
The contact owned a 2016 Chrysler 200. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact was made aware by another driver that flames were emanating from underneath the vehicle, prompting her to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. Upon exiting the vehicle became completely engulfed in flames. Local emergency services arrived and were able to extinguish the flames. No warn... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
My vehicle is leaking gas from hose and it was already repaired but still happening. Only getting worse and I saw that it's recalled twice however mine is saying no recalls.
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
The contact owned a 2011 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V001000 (Air Bags) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.
Incident date: Sep 4, 2024
While removing the padding of my daughters car seat to wash I discovered that one of the straps is cut/ripped almost halfway through. It appears that the same issue is starting on the other strap. The seatbelt harness strap is cut/ ripped halfway through. This could have resulted in serious injury or even death if we had been in an accident. I’ve contacted the manufacture but have not heard ba... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2024
Driving on an [XXX] near St Pauls NC at 70mph the engine shut off. Annunciator came on stop now engine is quitting. Check engine light came on. We were in a construction zone so there were barriers blocking the shoulders. We were in a high risk of someone behind ramming into us. We coasted to the exit which was 1/2 mile away. We exited at 2mph. We were very fortunate that no one from the rea... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
The low beam headlights are not bright enough for safe driving in normal weather. They register as not on. In rain and wet pavement - they are highly dangerous and it’s very difficult to see lane markings or for any distance in front of the car. At higher speeds on the highway - it’s even more concerning. I’ve had them checked when I bought the car for alignment and replaced the bulbs with... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2024
the passenger restraint system malfunction error came out several times since last month.
Incident date: Dec 29, 2024
We were sitting in a parking lot and the car was started, the steering wheel was very difficult to turn. Yes, the vehicle is available for inspection. No one’s safety was at risk. This is the first time this has happened, we have had the car since July 2024, we have not taken it to a mechanic yet. The vehicle has not been inspected yet. There was no warning light or other symptoms prior to this ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2024
The angle and possibly the material of the windshield catches a glare/reflection of the dash that heavily affects visibility for the driver. When there is a bright light shining on the dash it is almost impossible to see past the glare. This can be a real hazard as this obstructs the drivers view of the road.
Incident date: Dec 27, 2024
The new led headlights are to bright when driving at night. A lot of people are blinded by this product. Also it’s hard to see even when u have astigmatism and having the headlights in your eyes.
Incident date: Dec 27, 2024
Gas smell from outside car. Can smell under hood when opened also.
Incident date: Dec 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Civic. 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 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 n... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel was locked. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle per the owner's manual; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering gearbox needed to be replaced. The contact w... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 328i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts no... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2024
Car seat is Chicco Fit 360 rotating car seat The lever to secure/relesse the seatbelt is directly inline with my child’s feet while rearfacing. When he rides he is able to kick the lever and release it allowing the seatbelt to be loose while the car is in motion. This happens 9/10 times he rides in this carseat. The latch system uses the same lever to tighten/secure the belt to make it tight t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
I have a safety recall is with a Rear view camera that hasn’t had a solution.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 BMW 540i Sedan. The contact stated while driving at 45 MPH, the peripheral rear-view mirror detached and collided with the passenger's window. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2008 Lexus GS 350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the rearview mirror's reflective surface was fading, reducing rear-view visibility. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for a... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the instrument cluster became inoperable and the vehicle lost drive power while the RPMs were significantly high. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed an unidentified low speed. The power train warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he pulled to the side of the road on some occas... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
On [XXX], when I was driving the car at [XXX] at normal speed, suddenly my car accelerator stopped working (Not moving forward while giving the throttle) and I hardly managed to pull my car to the side from the middle row of the road and the car stopped its engine. I saw an indication in the tachometer -EPC. I waited for 30 seconds as I was panic, then I tried to restart the car, it started afte... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V444000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH exiting the highway, the vehicle lost power and stalled. The oil pressure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and inspected. The vehicle was restarted and the failure persisted.... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V444000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH exiting the highway, the vehicle lost power and stalled. The oil pressure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and inspected. The vehicle was restarted and the failure persisted.... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2024
Re: Two Honda Fuel Pump Recalls in 10 Months In 60 years of driving, I never had a recall on a car until February 2024. In the past 10 months, I have had 2 Hondas recalled for life-threatening fuel pump issues. 1) In 2019, I purchased my first Honda, a Civic. 2) In February, 2024, I received a recall on the 2019 Honda Civic for an improperly constructed fuel pump. I was told the car could j... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 228I. The contact stated that intermittently, while driving at undisclosed speeds and depressing the brake pedal, there was an abnormal odor of smoke. The braking lamp malfunction light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined the failure was related to the engine, engine cooling, and electrical system. The contact received notifi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 228I. The contact stated that intermittently, while driving at undisclosed speeds and depressing the brake pedal, there was an abnormal odor of smoke. The braking lamp malfunction light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined the failure was related to the engine, engine cooling, and electrical system. The contact received notifi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The rear LED license plate lights are corroded and need replacing. One does not work.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The rear LED license plate lights are corroded and need replacing. One does not work.
Incident date: Dec 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH onto a bridge, the vehicle suddenly experienced the "Death Wobble" causing the front end of the vehicle to severely shake and vibrate. The local dealer was contacted and indicated that the front dampener needed to be replaced but the VIN was not included in the manufacturer's extended coverage to repair ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda HR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that when attempting to start the vehicle, the contact would have to make several attempts ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
My car is equipped with the 2.4L ecotec engine and has insane levels of oil consumption. Since my last oil change 2000miles ago I've added 5 quarts of oil. A few days ago the car started making a ticking sound while driving, the car then began surging and tried to take off while i had my foot on the break, and started to overheat and then shut off at a light. I was able to restart the vehicle and ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2024
Front wheels are defective confirmed by certified GM dealership which causes unsafe operation of vehicle. Even though wheels are in pristine condition GM will not cover replacement wheels under their warranty. I spoke with GM about the service bulletins they put out regarding the 2020&2021 castings issues with those wheels causing the same complaints however GM still won’t cover their apparent m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2024
Front wheels are defective confirmed by certified GM dealership which causes unsafe operation of vehicle. Even though wheels are in pristine condition GM will not cover replacement wheels under their warranty. I spoke with GM about the service bulletins they put out regarding the 2020&2021 castings issues with those wheels causing the same complaints however GM still won’t cover their apparent m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2007 GMC Sierra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: (21V050000 (Air Bags) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.