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 28,115 complaints for BUICK
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Turned car on, dashboard read 2 errors of "rear cross traffic sensors fault" and "blind spot monitoring fault". They cleared, drove the car, while driving the dashboard and infotainment went dark. Drivetrain and brakes still functioning but without speedometer and state of charge. Was able to turn around and go back home. Attempted reboot, so far nothing has fixed it.
Incident date: May 1, 2023
ABS module is bad with trouble code U3000-49 ABS MODULE internal problem. ABS system is disabled and also Traction Control Function is disabled. ABS module is on Nationwide back order. This is a safety concern as the ABS system is not functioning
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
[XXX] my car i just bought and financed was damaged. Carfax shows incident in Waco Tx. I financed my car 07/2024. Went and had my oil and tire rotation and found out my front Sub Frame is cracked and bent. This was never reported to carfax Jenkin Nissan found the problem.. I attached the last owner on carfax where the incident happened INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AC... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
[XXX] my car i just bought and financed was damaged. Carfax shows incident in Waco Tx. I financed my car 07/2024. Went and had my oil and tire rotation and found out my front Sub Frame is cracked and bent. This was never reported to carfax Jenkin Nissan found the problem.. I attached the last owner on carfax where the incident happened INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AC... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
When I park the vehicle doesn’t recognize that I switched my gear to park and it won’t let me turn my vehicle off and when I have my foot on the brake it feels like sponginess
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
A few years ago I was told my fuel injectors needed to be replaced. Last month, I was told that my suspension needed to be replaced and it wore out. Shortly after that my struts were leaking and making noise. I do not drive my car over rough terrain, just regular street driving and I get my vehicle maintained regularly.
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Honda Element. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V436000 (Electrical System, Trailer Hitches) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The contact was advised by the local dealer that the vehicle was not eligible for recall repairs due to the title being salvaged and that the part was not an attachment for the vehicle. The ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, it was later discovered that the rear liftgate window had shattered without impact. The cause of the failure was not determined and the window was later replaced by the local Satellite company. Approximately two years later while the vehicle was parked and turned off the failure reoccurred. The ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Azera. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH the vehicle was losing forward momentum. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The low oil warning was illuminated. The contact had to leave the vehicle at the side of the road. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 70-75 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The front of the vehicle began to jerk. The contact was able to pull over to a rest area before the engine seized. The vehicle failed to crank up. The contact used a scope to see if the camshaft was moving. The low pressure and engine light were illuminated. The vehicle was taken... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
Error code p0494 conducted upon check engine light coming on.
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
Error code p0494 conducted upon check engine light coming on.
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
When driving on the freeway at night in intermittently foggy conditions, I attempted to adjust the automatic high-beam controls on the center console screen in the vehicle. During this attempt, as I was selecting to deactivate the auto lighting function, ALL of the vehicle lights shut off at once, and the console and screen-based instrument cluster went completely black. I attempted to stop the ve... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2024
Transmission slips when changes gears and jolts at times into gears with a heavy jolt and sound. Slips multiple times throughout the gear changing process. Occasionally jumping down from gear 9 to gear 1.
BUICK
REGAL TOURX
(2018) — FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Dec 23, 2024
Incident date: Dec 22, 2024
The vehicle has been occasionally stalling starting early 2024, maybe sooner. I had the fuel pump recall done recently. The vehicle is still stalling, and it seems to be getting worse. The stalling happens when driving at speed, even over 70+ mph. No warning lights. But rpms drop to almost zero for a few seconds and accelerator is unresponsive. Then it comes back after a few seconds. This is dang... Read more
BUICK
REGAL TOURX
(2018) — POWER TRAIN
Dec 23, 2024
Incident date: Dec 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the rear wheels seized. The contact had to release the accelerator pedal to self-correct the failure. The contact stated that the failure occurred twice. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V797000 (Power Train); but ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
I am filing a complaint regarding a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu that I purchased from a dealership on November 22, 2024. The vehicle was advertised as being in “excellent condition” at the dealership’s site. During the test drive, I raised concerns about potential transmission issues, but the dealership assured me that the vehicle was “clean” and safe to drive. Unfortunately, this assurance t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2024
Truck was lowered to the entry/exit position using the adjustment buttons for the factory air suspension while in park when picking up my daughter from school. When attempting to raise the truck back to the normal ride height setting, the rear of the truck raised but the front did not and will not. Also the rear will not lower back down to match the front now either.
Incident date: Dec 21, 2024
Power Steering As I was making a right hand turn the red warning power steering icon flashed on the dash and I was unable to complete the right hand turn and proceeded to drift in to the oncoming traffic lane and ended up on the sidewalk facing the on coming traffic lane. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed at this time The vehicle or component has not been inspected at this time Thi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the speedometer dropped to zero, and the ABS, traction control, and parking brake warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the doors failed to lock, and the brake lights remained illuminated after the vehicle was turned off. The contact needed to manually lock and unlock the doors using the fob key. T... Read more
BUICK
PARK AVENUE
(2003) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Dec 18, 2024
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
Driving short distance home when the bottom of Mercedes GLC 300 caught fire without warning or notification. I was unaware when a good Samaritan screamed out your car is on fire. Pulled over and she helped me out. Seconds later the car exploded into flames and the car was demolished.
Fire
Incident date: Apr 12, 2024
It is about 50 degrees clear, with no rain. I drive onto the highway and hear what sounds like a gunshot. The Rear window explodes, and then glass flies all over the car; I roll down my window, and then glass goes everywhere, and all my stuff in the car flies around. I pull over and assess; this is the same thing that happened to me last year. The window randomly exploded. I called my insurance co... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
While sitting idle in the parking lot at work, I suddenly got a "engine off steering power low" warning on my vehicle. The check engine and power steering warning lights came on. I could no longer operate the vehicle. When trying to restart the vehicle, it started up but the entire vehicle began shaking and the engine shut off again. I have researched this problem on Toyota and Rav4 forums online,... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
While sitting idle in the parking lot at work, I suddenly got a "engine off steering power low" warning on my vehicle. The check engine and power steering warning lights came on. I could no longer operate the vehicle. When trying to restart the vehicle, it started up but the entire vehicle began shaking and the engine shut off again. I have researched this problem on Toyota and Rav4 forums online,... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that when he stopped the vehicle and had shut the vehicle off but had left the vehicle in drive (D) and had not engaged the parking brake, the vehicle rolled forward. The contact stated that this was also occurring when he had stopped the vehicle, turned the vehicle off and placed it in reverse (R) without engaging the parking brake... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
2 years ago, I took my vehicle to the dealership that I bought it from, because I was given notice that there was a recall to the fuel injector system, and my scheduled maintenance was due. The dealership performed the maintenance and fixed the recall, and I drove the car home. The very next day I started the car and noticed that it took 2 key turns to start and didn't think too much about it. Sin... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
My vehicle is undrivable. Multiple times per trip the check engine light comes on and I see multiple messages come on the driver information center. These are: Service ESC Reduced Power Service Adaptive Steering System The codes that come up are: P0089 for low fuel pressure P00C6 This results in an immediate speed reduction nearly causing multiple collisions with people following me on the h... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Genesis G80. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power for approximately 2-3 seconds. The contact stated that there was a loud thump when the transmission shifted gear. The vehicle was taken a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission was shifting rough between 2nd to 3rd gear and 4th to 5th gear. The contact was... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
While driving on interstate 140 doing about 70 we heard a loud noise and then we also heard the wind coming above the cover to our sunroof. After stopping to examine what happened it appears that our sunroof was damaged and cracked by either and outside force or possibly a spontaneous explosion as has been reported elsewhere on the Internet. We had the glass replaced when we got to our destination... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
1. Other: Turn signal - when turning right with the signal activated, once you straighten the wheel, the turn signal stalk will reset to the middle but will activate the left turn signal. 2. Adaptive cruise control - For no reason the brakes will activate, there is no vehicle in front and the windshield is clean. 3. Blind spot warning - These BSW indicators will go off at random with no vehicles b... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
1. Other: Turn signal - when turning right with the signal activated, once you straighten the wheel, the turn signal stalk will reset to the middle but will activate the left turn signal. 2. Adaptive cruise control - For no reason the brakes will activate, there is no vehicle in front and the windshield is clean. 3. Blind spot warning - These BSW indicators will go off at random with no vehicles b... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
The Service Air Bags indicator has been on for 3 years and I have tried to get this taken care of with Buick, East Side Madison as I have indicated on another complaint form December 06 2024 NHTSA ID Number: 11629225. Now, today my daughter tried to open the door and the car's electrical system went haywire and would not let her out. I had to manually get a key to unlock the door. The electrica... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact's neighbor owned a 2019 Ford Transit. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds to the end of his street in the cul-de-sac. The brakes were sticking. The contact stated that there was an abnormal ticking noise detected. A neighbor walking her dog alerted him about an abnormal sound emerging from the vehicle. While driving over the curb, approaching the driveway, the vehicle s... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 11, 2014
While driving on the highway, the check engine line came on and my Tucson started loosing power. I quickly moved into the right lane and was able to exit the highway and pulled over. I had previous issues with the vehicle and was told it was the 1 & 2 ignition coils that were replaced. I assumed it was the same issue for the 3 & 4 ignition coils. They were also replaced but the issue was not resol... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2014
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: 10058388 (Transmission Cont... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
My daughter is 20 months old and I thought it was a fluke but not she 100% know how to unbuckle the chest clip. We will be driving down the road and she will undo the chest clip and wiggle out of her seat. I have reached out to Evenflo and got no help. Yesterday alone we were in the car for 2 hours and she continuously would unbuckle and try climbing out while driving. She isn't old enough to unde... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
Vehicle over-revs in cold weather. Engine runs excessively fast (4250 RPM) at highway speeds and around 3000 RPM when just sitting. Often times if I pull over and restart the car it will correct itself. This results in MPG as low as 22. The internet is full of examples of people with the exact same problem. I have seen no examples of the problem being solved. The engine will operate correctly in ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
My daytime running light is inoperative and no longer works. This one small LED strip on the passenger side light requires a $2,300 full headlight replacement, which is unreasonable for any consumer given the scope of the issue. My vehicle is only four years old, and several other customers are experiencing this same issue.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
The Gear Shift Selector is stuck in Park. Being forced to use the manual override in order to drive, reverse or place car in neutral every time the car is being used. This is ridiculous!
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
The Gear Shift Selector is stuck in Park. Being forced to use the manual override in order to drive, reverse or place car in neutral every time the car is being used. This is ridiculous!
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
The brake system ABS module/sensor malfunctions- yes it is available for further inspection. Safety is an issue due to the ABS indicator light on. Yes, the problem/issue has been confirmed by a dealership. No inspections have occurred other than the dealership. The only warning is the light indicator for the brakes, parking ABS.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
When the vehicle is in reverse and you are backing the emergency brake suddenly comes on practically giving you whiplash. This happens randomly and without any obstruction or reason for the emergency brake to come on. It has happened many times. This morning it slammed the emergency brake on 4 times in a row I didn't think I was going to be able to back up as it kept kicking the emergency brak... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue 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... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Hard time shifting from low gear to high gear when accelerating. Would shudder. In cruise control at 55 or higher would surge faster, slower. Finally, in cruise control, at 70 mph lost high gear, downshifted, rpms went very high. We slowed to a stop Pulled over, turned car off. Restarted. No forward gears, only reverse.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Fuel smell in & outside of vehicle after fuel fill, being a retired Master Technician I decided to investigate this and after removing the the fuel tank access door under the rear seat I was shocked to see that on an 8 year old vehicle the fuel sender retainer is completely rusted out. An overfill, an aggressive maneuver or small collision could prove disastrous with this condition pending! I hav... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2024
while driving my car on 3 different days the car slowed down, and the lights came EPB on, on the dashboard the EPB light came on the check engine light came on , forward collision light, auto hold light, slippery road light , and caution light with a ! mark.
Incident date: Mar 13, 2024
It appears that just 85000 miles this engine is starting to consume engine coolant. I am afraid this is going to lead to major engine repair costs.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
My Acura ILX 2020 has less than 40.000 miles and has a mechanical problem that can not be fixed and it is dangerous for my self and others. In my opinion this is related to the stearing of the car and it is very dagerous knowing that you take your car to be repair and the dealer does not know how to fix it. It makes clicking noise when turning. It is a rattling type noise coming from what sounds ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2021
My car frame floods every time it rains. This flooding includes my sunroof drain clogging. As a result of the water retention in my car’s frame, my cars safety system controller units are being corroded and thus I DO NOT have any reliable safety monitoring system. I have looked into this and this a COMMON complaint for Toyota 2019-2021 Rav4 sunroof cars. I have had the sunroof drain cleared mult... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle seized in gear. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to reverse. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into park or drive. The check engine warning light flashed on and off. The wrench symbol was displayed. The powertrain inactive message was displayed. The contact stated th... Read more