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 28,307 complaints for BUICK
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at unknown speeds, the check engine warning illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was an error code related to a coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The contact called the local dealer, who informed him there was no recall coverage. The vehicle was not diagnosed ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
While driving the PU with my camper in tow, the ABS and Service electronic bakes system warning were displayed on my dash. Then they went out. This process repeated several times over the next 3-4 minutes. Then the warning lights came on and stayed on. It remained that way until I parked on the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. I checked the undercarriage for any signs of any visible da... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Airbag failed to deploy on a complete front end collision with a -28 maximum delta-v, longitudinal (MPH [km/h]) at 100 milliseconds. Front airbag warning lamp was "Off"
Crash
2 deaths
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH the check engine light illuminated. The contact stated that he had scheduled service with a local dealer for a state inspection. The contact asked the dealer about the check engine warning light illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant had intruded into the engine block... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The engine light and oil light were coming on and the engine was making horrible noises. My wife called me and we had it towed to the nearest dealer, Allentown KIA. The paperwork we received from KIA stated if those 3 things occur, get towed and the dealer will look the car over over. According to the paperwork that we received it could be possible for the engine to be replaced and in addition, a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The instrument panel on this vehicle has failed and gone blank. Same issue as noted in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V652000
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving at 25 MPH, the front driver's side air bag and the driver's side curtain air bags suddenly deployed without impact. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent or dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was awaiting a response from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approxim... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 BMW I7. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle became inoperable. The contact engaged the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V104000 (ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2024
Vehicle keeps throwing error code P2138 there is a current known issue that GM is aware of see notice 070604019F. Water gets in the electrical connections of sensors and is an issue as it causes check engine light and can decrease power of the acceleration of the vehicle which is a safety hazard. My vehicle has been with the dealer now for a third time for same issue. They’ve had it for 3 week... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
it is well know fack that rear bolts for axle and all part tend break ford replace them once with what ? bolts that still break so probems was never fix, now as ford did this as was no recall they refuseing replace bolts a 2ed time to fix there error, wich lead to many cars being damage so bad ford has refuse to fix them leaveing the people holding the bag more so when car wreckes, probem is ford... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
Our 2108, Ford F-250, Lariat model with extended cab, the sunroof brackets (plastic) broke and the sunroof can not be opened or closed, and became loose. The brackets that hold the glass in place are made of plastic and they deteriorated to the point where they would no longer hold the glass in place. This is possibly a safety concern as the glass may detach from the roof and cause injury in the c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
Sudden unintended acceleration I was pulling next to a curb as I was parking. My speed was approximately two or three miles per hour. My right foot was on the brake slowing the vehicle. My right hand was at the two o'clock position on the steering wheel. My left hand was not on the steering wheel. The cruise control was not engaged and had not been engaged for at least ten or fifteen miles. We had... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Stalling, Oil pollution, electrical issues. The car shut off on me in the middle of the highway!
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
Upon opening the sunroof, two metal pieces flew off while driving and now the sunroof will not shut. The metal that flew off could’ve hit a car behind me. The car is available for inspection, Upon request. Online and saw other people with similar stories and issues With the Palisade. I then called the dealer/repair shop and scheduled for repair roughly a week and a half out which was the earlies... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
October, 9, 2024 BMW USA Customer Relations, Recall Services Ms. Ikevia, Thank you following up. My 2021 claim regarding the 2011 BMW Z4 Vanos Bolts recall has been pending since April, 2021. My Z4 almost destroyed itself, after having been left off your recall list. December, 2023 BMW USA provided me written notice my VIN had been added to the recall list so I will be reimbursed for the costl... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the low coolant pressure warning light was illuminated. Upon closer inspection, the contact had not seen any leaks, but the coolant level was very low. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into in the engine. The vehicle was not repaired due to the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
We purchased a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe SE ULTIMATE from Hampton Hyundai in December of 2019. The vehicle has the V6 3.3 Liter Lambda II motor. At the time of purchase it had 44,969 miles on it and we paid roughly $27,000 for the vehicle and associated service package. We routinely had the vehicle serviced according to the recommended service schedule. In early 2022 we realized that the engine began... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
Heated steering wheel failed. Components and/or wiring melted. This was discovered about 5 months ago and it took that long to get replacement parts because they were on back order. This is a common issue in RAM trucks. If you google you can find the issue in many different articles and Forums, yet no recall on it. Fix is over $1400. It believe the fix is changing a clock spring if it isn't ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
I was sitting inside my home when all of the sudden I heard a loud boom, walked outside and saw my 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee on fire. The fire started in the front and moved to the back of the vehicle. The engine had been off for about 2 hours and vehicle was sitting in the driveway. My son's car seat, stroller and many other belongings were ruined in the fire. A police report was not filed, but a ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
I was sitting inside my home when all of the sudden I heard a loud boom, walked outside and saw my 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee on fire. The fire started in the front and moved to the back of the vehicle. The engine had been off for about 2 hours and vehicle was sitting in the driveway. My son's car seat, stroller and many other belongings were ruined in the fire. A police report was not filed, but a ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
I was sitting inside my home when all of the sudden I heard a loud boom, walked outside and saw my 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee on fire. The fire started in the front and moved to the back of the vehicle. The engine had been off for about 2 hours and vehicle was sitting in the driveway. My son's car seat, stroller and many other belongings were ruined in the fire. A police report was not filed, but a ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 30, 2024
Total engine failure and rebuild due to faulty head gasket component from ford. Vehicle went from running good to all of a sudden having smoke when starting, engine light came on. Immediately had inspected and was told total head gasket/engine failure.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2024
Total engine failure and rebuild due to faulty head gasket component from ford. Vehicle went from running good to all of a sudden having smoke when starting, engine light came on. Immediately had inspected and was told total head gasket/engine failure.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2024
The rear/front camera sometimes stop working or froze and have to turn off the car, to reset, usually happens when it rains
Incident date: May 10, 2023
I have problems consistent with SI B11 07 14- VANOS gear bolt breaking. BMW lied and said that the problem affected only 200,000 cars when in reality it affected a lot more cars. I am losing oil at a slow rate but after than normal oil loss of a healthy engine and have no external leaks, meaning there is an internal leak. I have a metallic rattling noise as well. These problems are consistent with... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2024
Transmission needed a full replacement
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The infotainment system on the Mazda consistently glitches causing vehicle settings to be changed while the vehicle is in motion or stopped. The volume changes, navigation settings change, maintenance settings change including door settings and any setting that can be controlled by the touch screen. If a phone is connected to the system it will make calls and stop volume on system. Additionally, w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
Please refer to NHTSA recall 24V104. BMW (and NHTSA) have known about this safety issue for 7 months or more. Yet, BMW has done absolutely nothing to resolve the problem. What is it going to take to get BMW to place a reasonable priority on this? Deaths? Severe accidents? The recall was issued 2/12/24. It is now 10/2/24. I continue to drive a vehicle affected by the recall. I do not feel ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
Please refer to NHTSA recall 24V104. BMW (and NHTSA) have known about this safety issue for 7 months or more. Yet, BMW has done absolutely nothing to resolve the problem. What is it going to take to get BMW to place a reasonable priority on this? Deaths? Severe accidents? The recall was issued 2/12/24. It is now 10/2/24. I continue to drive a vehicle affected by the recall. I do not feel ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The vehicles stabilitrack keeps coming on for no apparent reason.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
I noticed that the car window glass broke without any external impact, and there are no signs of external damage. I suspect this may have been caused by stress fractures due to improper assembly. From what I understand, stress fractures often occur at the edges without any signs of external impact, which matches this situation. But Tesla service refused to admit this is a flaw of installation and ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2024
I bough this truck certified preowned from Jenkins Chevy of Homosassa. Big mistake. The truck has been in the shop more than on the road. The truck keeps refusing to start. We replaced the fuel pump and it ran for a few days then wouldn't start again. i replaced the fuel pump again thinking it was a faulty pump. ran for a few days again then stopped. i took it to the closest repair shop ( not ford... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
BSM works when it want to and sometimes not at all
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
The CP4 fuel pump began failing with the truck just over 100K miles. When taken in for routine service there were traces of metal shavings in my fuel. This is a widely known problem with the CP4 and is still being used in Ford trucks. The cost of repairs is substantial. The best case is you catch it early and it only costs between $3-6,000. If I had not caught this and the entire fuel system had b... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
Been dealing with this backup camera blue screen for the last year. I pay too much money for this not to be working. Someone came out yesterday to fix it but it’s still doing the same thing.
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
Instrument cluster randomly will be blank. Which prevents the driver from seeing travel speed, battery level, etc.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
I was driving down the interstate when the top trim panel of my grille flew off my truck. The piece flew into the traffic behind me, and fortunately, no one was injured. If there was a motorcycle behind me, the rider could have been severely injured or killed. The piece that flew off is located just above the grille and below the front edge of the hood. Multiple people have reported the same issu... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Canyon. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer, and it was determined that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
The safety airbags exploded and burning my face and the passenger side passenger it was very hard and his arm and the of explosion of the airbags she was spraying and burning the face and was
Crash
Fire
2 injured
Incident date: Jun 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Insight. 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 called another local dealer, Sloane Honda Service (9903 Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19115); but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
Front passenger side brake line (plastic) burst - causing no braking on vehicle. This happened when parked and just starting to drive vehicle out of carport. Vehicle was towed to service center (Car Fix Western Ave Knoxville, TN), damaged confirmed by tech. Both front brake lines were replaced, system flushed and tested. Incident occurred [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
Signal on to turn right. Turn completed and left signal turned on by itself. Driving on freeway, cruise set 65mph, lane keep assist turns off without warning. Veered into shoulder unexpectedly.
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the water pump was leaking. The contact added coolant. There was cool air being distributed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was a water pump leak and that the water pump needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagno... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
Loss of drive power and rough idle. Intermittent no start due to voltage drop. Suspected shorted egr valve causing multiple parts on the same circut to go bad. Brought the car to dealer for the 6th time due to loss of power while driving and rough idle. Asked for a diagnostic of the egr valve due to matching symptoms to the egr recall of the 2024 venue which is the same part number installed in ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
Loss of drive power and rough idle. Intermittent no start due to voltage drop. Suspected shorted egr valve causing multiple parts on the same circut to go bad. Brought the car to dealer for the 6th time due to loss of power while driving and rough idle. Asked for a diagnostic of the egr valve due to matching symptoms to the egr recall of the 2024 venue which is the same part number installed in ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
Loss of drive power and rough idle. Intermittent no start due to voltage drop. Suspected shorted egr valve causing multiple parts on the same circut to go bad. Brought the car to dealer for the 6th time due to loss of power while driving and rough idle. Asked for a diagnostic of the egr valve due to matching symptoms to the egr recall of the 2024 venue which is the same part number installed in ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
When traveling at low speeds, 10-15 mph, and coasting (no accelerator input) then pressing the accelerator there is no response. The engine will not rev up and the truck will not accelerate for a good 6-8 seconds. It happens usually in parking lots or when making low speed turns onto street intersections or pulling out of driveways. This is dangerous, as pulling in front of traffic then having no ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
Power reduced to lower engine temperature message appeared on the dashboard. Stopped and saw coolant seemed empty. I filled it up to the max line. The next day it was empty again. It’s been 2 days and I filled it again today.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
Took my 2013 Pathfinder to Steve Shannon Tires and auto center to fix (what I thought was the issue) a wheel bearing. They called me later in the day informing me they could not replace the wheel bearing because my rear sub frame is rotted.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
On 9/20/2024, the dashboard on my 2022 Honda accord flashed 11 information alerts, including brake hold system problem, emissions systems problem, electric power steering, vehicle stability assist, hill start assist problem, adaptive cruise control system problem, collision & road departure mitigation braking system problem, TPMS, brake system problem. I purchased car with less than 50 miles on it... Read more