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: Feb 13, 2025
In August 2023, while driving on the interstate during rush hour, a critical engine component fell out of my vehicle, leaving me stranded in a dangerous situation. The car was towed to the dealership, where I was informed that a piston had fallen off the engine, requiring a full engine replacement. Now, in January 2025, my vehicle has once again failed—this time shutting off completely while I ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
Hydraulic, power assist:vacuum
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
Fuel module failure while driving, engine stalled and would not restart.., while at highway speed. Very dangerous situation!!!!! Tahoe was towed to dealership kept for. 1day. Chevy dealer replaced fuel module. We have owned 6 different Tahoes starting with the year 2015 to 2024. The fuel module failed on the 2021, 2022 and now the 2023!!!!!!! Makes us question if we should purchase a new Tahoe eve... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
The door lock actuator for the front driver door failed twice. The first time it failed, the car would not unlock from the outside. All other doors would unlock. I had my kids in the back of the car and I was trying to get inside the car to drive and it wouldn't open. I had to pry off the cap covering the keyhole on the door with a screwdriver and then insert the blade key and manually turn the a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
On a normal trip to work the dash light lit up then gave me these warnings. Service ESC, Service Trailer brake, Brake system Failure-62 mph top speed, steering assist reduced. Dashboard lights that were on, ABS Check Engine, Brake, Traction Control. When I tried to slow down the power assist was gone on the brakes, I had a little braking when I pushed the pedal all the way to the floor as hard as ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
On a normal trip to work the dash light lit up then gave me these warnings. Service ESC, Service Trailer brake, Brake system Failure-62 mph top speed, steering assist reduced. Dashboard lights that were on, ABS Check Engine, Brake, Traction Control. When I tried to slow down the power assist was gone on the brakes, I had a little braking when I pushed the pedal all the way to the floor as hard as ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
The valves, pistons, head gaskets are all affected and malfunctioned. They caused burning of the oil and loss of coolant. I took it to the sister dealership of where I purchased it to track the leak and they stated that it was fixed. Upon picking it up and driving it to my home and then right back to the dealership (apprx 12 miles) the truck was making big enought plumes to where it was making oth... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
while i was driving the truck lost power and i could not turn on my 4 way flashers when i was on the side of the road. when i called ford and asked if i would replace the battery if i would get compensation they told me no even though there is a recall
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
The power tail gate stopped working on 1/28/2025. After diagnosis the power tail gate and it's controls on passenger side rear control panel it is observed that there is water on the controls module. Part 74970-THR-A12Control Module for tailgate has been taken out and found that the water coming though it's sockets. The $200 new control module will temporarily fix the issue but the defective re... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at 25-50 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact's son test-drove the vehicle and experienced the same failure. The contact attempted to depress the accelerator pedal and believed that there was no gasket on the fuel pump. Th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
NHTSA recall campaign numbers for the software recalls are 24V865000 and 24V623000, or others can be found in this link for 2023 Fisker Oceans [XXX] . I had to pay out of pocket for the water pump recall work (receipts provided in file upload). Also, all the software updates to address software recalls have not been done and i've been waiting. I've been getting constant safety alerts ranging fr... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2024
Vehicle stalls when started, after vehicle is up to temp the rpm’s fluctuate and vehicle misfires. I was driving down the road when all of a sudden the car went into limp mode I couldn’t do anything and me and my son almost got run off the road but after a few minutes of pressing the gas pedal it finally started to move. Dealership is unable to fix problem because they can’t even figure out ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
NO RECALL IN PLACE 1. Seat harness airbag light sensor (LEFT SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT OPEN, Sensors in the front seat make sure that the airbag deploys). NO RECALL IN PLACE 2. Fuel Vapor Purge and PCV diaphragm valve cover
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
When turning on the child safety locks, the doors repeat a clicking sound for a few minutes sounding as if the doors are locking. After the noise stops, the dashboard shows the message "child safety lock failure". My small child has been winding the window down since I cannot lock the windows and doors properly. I am afraid she will get a body part caught in the window or open the door while drivi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
Hello, My car has had an active recall since last year and several dealerships state they don’t have the part to repair. Including regal Honda in Lakeland, FL who I’ve asked to call me when the part becomes available. This car also has defects with the wired CarPlay which intermittently cuts out even after trying over Apple 10 cables. Also, I’ve had the steering wheel replaced due to the le... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the entertainment, cruise control, and TPMS turned on and off without application. The horn was inoperable. The seat belt, air bag, and tire warning lights were illuminated. A tree fell on the vehicle, and the sunroof was leaking. The contact stated that there was an abnormal amount of fuel outside ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact stated that while at a stop, the vehicle lunged forward and stalled. The vehicle was restarted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
I came out in the morning and the whole inside of my car had smoke damage, There seems to be what looked like a wire issue that has caused a fire in the center council of my nissan . Thank god by the grade of god the fire went out by its self . I do not want this to happen to anyone else
Fire
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Infiniti Q50 Hybrid. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the steering wheel was turned left and right; however, the steering wheel failed to function as intended. In addition, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel had seized. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but then became a per... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
On one occasion, the doors locks failed to respond to multiple unlock attempts (using the buttons on 3 of the handles and using the remote). After 5 minutes or so, the door locks finally responded to a command from the key fob to unlock.
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
ABS system failure. Unable to repair the ABS control module because the part is not available making the passenger rear wheel lose traction while starting to move and driving at highway speeds causing the rear of the vehicle to fishtail on dry roads. Even with new tires installed.
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
There are several things that go wrong with this car. One is the headlights. I’ve had to change them several times over the span of a year. It also burns an insane amount of oil. I have to change it every 2k-3k miles and even at that point it’s almost out, even with an extender put in it. I’ve been told by numerous mechanics that I should just get rid of the car and they only run into this i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
There are several things that go wrong with this car. One is the headlights. I’ve had to change them several times over the span of a year. It also burns an insane amount of oil. I have to change it every 2k-3k miles and even at that point it’s almost out, even with an extender put in it. I’ve been told by numerous mechanics that I should just get rid of the car and they only run into this i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 BMW 430I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Coolant Low" message was displayed, prompting the contact to add coolant to the coolant reservoir. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The low coolant warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mec... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
My vehicle has 55K miles, and you can not see your headlights shining out front of the vehicle at night. It looks like you only have on running lights. Please note the headlights do not have any problem with lens oxidation.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
*Error "High Engine Temperature Stop Safely" Known issue - available for inspection *Engine may blow up *not yet *not yet *Yes - see above
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine suffered a catastrophic failure, including a bottom-end bearing failure, causing the camshaft to seize, the flywheel to shear off, and metal to spread throughout the engine, cooling system, and radiator. This also tripped the main fuse, resulting in an electrical short. The failed engine i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine suffered a catastrophic failure, including a bottom-end bearing failure, causing the camshaft to seize, the flywheel to shear off, and metal to spread throughout the engine, cooling system, and radiator. This also tripped the main fuse, resulting in an electrical short. The failed engine i... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Sequoia Hybrid. The contact stated that upon driving and arriving at her destination, the contact became aware that the tow hitch protective cover was missing. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that it was a known failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
On [XXX], my 2024 Honda CR-V Hybrid experienced a sudden loss of acceleration while driving on the highway, creating a dangerous situation where I was unable to merge or maintain speed. This put me at immediate risk of an accident as other vehicles were traveling at normal highway speeds. This issue arose less than 136 miles after my vehicle underwent recall repairs on [XXX] at Superstition Sprin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
At approximately 67,000 miles there was a loud bang and the passenger side rear coil spring was broken.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at slow speeds in stop-and-go traffic, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was unable to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway; however, bystanders assisted in pushing the vehicle to a safe location. The vehicle was unable to be restarted. The contact stated that an unknown warning light w... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-30. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the interior rear mirror loosened and eventually fell from the roof of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined, and the vehicle was not yet repaired. Additionally, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Critical Brake System Malfunction" was displayed. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2025
The car stalls while the vehicle is in motion and has difficulty starting. The car stalls each time after it comes to a complete stop at lights or a stop sign makes it very dangerous
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park(P), the tailgate independently opened during rainy or inclement weather. No warning light was illuminated. Upon further inspection, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V060000 (Latch/Locks/Linkages); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The local dealer was no... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
I’m reaching out with an urgent issue regarding my 2021 Nissan Armada Platinum, which is part of our ongoing lemon law case, Case # 2023-1489 Division B (Avoyelles Parish, La.) I began experiencing electrical issues with the vehicle early on, around 10,000 miles. The initial problems included all the screens going black and remaining unresponsive for extended periods. Additionally, the sensors ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
I was driving on road going speed limit during the day, came around a curve, vehicle was stopped, slammed on brakes and turned wheel but still hit rear of vehicle. No collision warning or auto brakes engaged.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
I was driving on road going speed limit during the day, came around a curve, vehicle was stopped, slammed on brakes and turned wheel but still hit rear of vehicle. No collision warning or auto brakes engaged.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Feb 4, 2025
Car shakes in drive, car shakes when accelerating, transmission issues, rear differential had to be replaced.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
My Acura mdx 2016 is well maintained, only 42500 miles,bought brand new from dealer, problem started 6 months ago, accelerator, rpm goes up even on 20 miles driving, and car just stops and gear goes to park mode..dealer inspected, they said transmission needs to be replaced, contacted NCDS, their respond I passed the warranty of 7 years, not covered. Dealer charging 7100 to fix issues.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
My Acura mdx 2016 is well maintained, only 42500 miles,bought brand new from dealer, problem started 6 months ago, accelerator, rpm goes up even on 20 miles driving, and car just stops and gear goes to park mode..dealer inspected, they said transmission needs to be replaced, contacted NCDS, their respond I passed the warranty of 7 years, not covered. Dealer charging 7100 to fix issues.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
Loss of heat due to radiator leak. I found A192219310 out on the NHTSA site for Chevy TRAX used as Maven vehicles, but nothing about radiator issues on my GM account in the warranty section. .My car is a 2017 with 49251 miles. Light driving. The dealer was not aware of any issues with radiators. If I had known of the issues I would have had a pressure test sooner.
Incident date: Feb 2, 2025
The head rest cracked. It available for inspection. This is the second car seat, of the same brand that’s done this in the exact same area for us. My child’s safety was put at risk because the head rest cracked. The foam piece. Chicco has been contacted about this, multiple times.
Incident date: Feb 2, 2025
Honda CRV has a software glitch where all warning lights start flashing. This has happened 3 times in past one year . Dealer wanted $150 to $200 for diagnostics . When I checked internet there are multiple users who are having this issue . When I contacted Honda they said they can do nothing as it’s not an active recall issue . The entire system needs to be updated by Honda free of charge for ex... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not accelerate unless I restart engine.
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not accelerate unless I restart engine.
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
Daytime running light safety hazard led not working Tbone accident in waiting yes yes yes Dash warning light malfunction the internet is overwhelmed with complaints on these AUDI s
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V298000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle a week later, the brake warning light and the check engine warning light were illuminated, and the message "Take to Service Center" was displaye... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
The oil in the engine constantly sludges even with regular maintenance with full synthetic oil, I went over a pot hole and two of the rear lights went out and won’t go back on even after replacing bulbs and wiring harness, and the worst of all is the suspension, the lower control arm and the trailing arm both have gone out after only 20k miles of light mostly highway driving, this car offers not... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Vehicle has vibration at speeds of 40 and above. Vehicle shifts harshly and feels as if it’s constantly searching for a gear. You can feel transmission clunk when it shifts. Upshifts and downshifts at cruising speeds.