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: Jan 3, 2024
I was driving and my car just randomly slammed on the breaks going through an intersection. There were no cars ahead of me for my car to use the brake censor and there were no cars behind me so I was lucky and did not get rear ended. This happened for a split second then my car was normal again. It stopped so quick and the car made a noise at the same time. I was concerned on why it did that ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
Knocking sound in engine confirmed by dealership service center to be a spark knock in the engine. No fix available and the service center stated "is a common problem in Impreza."
Incident date: May 10, 2023
On [XXX] I was I came out of a store and made a right turn to enter onto a very very busy bustling street. As I tried to accelerate, my car had absolutely no acceleration and just stopped. I pulled into a vacant lot and drove around and decided to try it again. The same thing happened. I was surrounded by cars going 80 mph and this could have gone very wrong. I called for a tow…they came the nex... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
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 not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacture had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms par... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to coast off to the side of the roadway and attempted to restart the vehicle. After several attempts the contact stopped and waited for approximately 30 minutes and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illum... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The vehicle's steering wheel vibrates regardles driving on highways/freeways and/or city streets. It happens since day 1 of ownership and has been owning for 4 months now. The vehicle's screen got blacked out twice when it was moving; thus, i couldn't read speed and perfom other functions such as turn on AC and/or heat. The regenerative braking/one pedal driving sometimes does not work. It some... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2021
At 3,000 miles, my 2023 Van (purchased new) developed significant reduction in power and acceleration. The transmission also shifts incorrectly (too late, resulting in higher then normal RPM's) and then abruptly downshifts upon stopping. When going uphill, the van obtains a max speed of about 35-40MPH, forcing me to travel on the local Interstates on the shoulder with my hazards flashing so oth... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
I experienced so called Phantom braking several times. First time it happened i wasn't aware about this and look up online and realized that this is a known problem and Tesla is aware of this. It is a safety issue when traveling on highway the vehicle unexpectedly slows down by about 20-30 mph. I complained to Tesla but they only gave me generic answer w/o any solution and plans to fix the problem... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2023
The vehicle's paint is literally peeling away from every horizontal and connected vertical surface. Without paint on metal, rust is happening, weakening the metal structure of the vehicle. have reached out to Honda USA and they informed they had no responsibility for the paint, yet the service writer at my local Honda dealer said that my vehicle's paint, Pearl White, has been peeling off Honda ve... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was hesitating at start up, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a code reader determined that there was an engine misfire. Upon investigation, the dealer linked the failure to Technical Service Bulletin (19-2346) after it was discovered that coolant had leaked ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
I can feel my steering wheel sticking to the left and right. It's not the lane departure assist, it just sticks. I've taken it to my dealership twice and both times they admit they feel it sticking but says they don't have an answer. Looking this up, it sounds like there are several other HR-V owners with the same problem. Driving on a highway in a windy city, it takes a lot to control the car but... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2016
I am writing to bring to your attention a persistent issue I have been facing with my 2014 BMW i3, VIN: [XXX] . Unfortunately, I have been experiencing an airbag and/or seatbelt alert problem identified as "Driver Restraint System Malfunction" with the error code 930904 displayed on the dashboard. I have attached supporting documentation, including images and information from the BMW Service Bulle... Read more
Incident date: Dec 24, 2023
On the Dash the amber ABS light came on as well as the red Brake light and they stayed on for a couples and I took it to the shop and they said it was the "Steering Angle Sensor" and they changed it and the lights came back on a day later and they took another look from head to toe and they couldn't find a reason why the ABS and Brake Lights were staying on and now its only intermit after four wee... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
Was driving and the accelerator/has pedal stopped working. A wrench indicator came on. The engine stopped working. I pulled to the side of the road and the engine started shaking. I turned the engine off then restarted it. It functioned fine. This happened twice in 2 days. It's the electronic throttle body. Ford won't fix the issue for free. It has 44k miles on it. An obvious manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2023
Case Synopsis: My ownership includes three Hyundai Hybrid vehicles: two 2020 Sonata Hybrids and one 2022 Tucson Hybrid. Each of these cars has consistently manifested engineering defects, predominantly overheating, within a year of purchase. These persistent malfunctions have led to the vehicles being inoperable and beyond repair. As a result, we have endured financial setbacks from negative equit... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2021
It was very cold and the vehicle was moved to the drive from the street and left running by [XXX] in Eagle, CO. It was loaded with ski gear and driven 28 miles to Vail by [XXX] . It was unloaded and driven one mile to a parking lot, parked, and turned off. After skiing the keys were not found so the truck could not be started and five passengers were stranded in Vail. Eventually the keys were fou... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
Dealing with intermittent service brake system messages for over a year now. Light is constant now which means my ABS / anti skid/ and cruise control no longer function. Believe this is the ongoing HCU / ABS module known issue. Frustrating going into the winter months with such a heavy vehicle and loss of safety feature with no fix from Ram.
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Driving normal when i lost control of the throttle jeep went into limp mode, the ETC , traction control, and check engine lights came on, got a uo4o1 code, if i was on the interstate could have been bad when it went into limp mode, the electronic throttle control was bad
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Driving normal when i lost control of the throttle jeep went into limp mode, the ETC , traction control, and check engine lights came on, got a uo4o1 code, if i was on the interstate could have been bad when it went into limp mode, the electronic throttle control was bad
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Driving normal when i lost control of the throttle jeep went into limp mode, the ETC , traction control, and check engine lights came on, got a uo4o1 code, if i was on the interstate could have been bad when it went into limp mode, the electronic throttle control was bad
Incident date: Dec 4, 2023
The car proceeds by itself and does not stop even when brakes are engaged. This happened 2 times. Once in reverse and once forward, both caused severe damages to the car. In the forward incident, the driver was wearing seat belt but air bags deployed with impact.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
The contact's husband owns a 2016 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that she turned on the hazard lights. The contact then turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle responded as needed. The contact state... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V312000 (Structure); 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
Check engine light keeps coming on even after dealer says it is fixed. Keeps throwing codes evaporative emission system problem.
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
Was traveling at 70 mph and applied the break and engine rpm went up to 3500-4000 and I was in D. The dealership couldn’t replicate the issue and claims nothing is wrong. Also when you put the ac or heater on floor the air still blows out the top vents.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
I currently own a 2020 Buick Encore since new with only 18,389 miles on it. Recently, I noticed on the Buick Encore that it lacked stopping power. Upon checking the air in the tires for winter I noticed that the rear brake rotors were severely rusted. And then I decided to further inspect the rotor surfaces. I removed the left rear tire and noticed that the back side surface was severely corroded ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while his wife was driving and stopped at a traffic light, the light turned green, and the contact's wife depressed the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The check engine warning light illuminated, and the engine seized. The vehicle became inoperable in traffic on a busy street. Additionally, the other... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
the vehicle has a permanent cylinder 2 misfire. the misfire has at times produced an unexpected change in the vehicle's acceleration which could be dangerous in certain traffic conditions. The vehicle has been inspected by an independent service center who determined that the source of the misfire is either a mechanical component inside the engine or part of the valve train. I have been told th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
FAULTY OIL FILTER HOUSING-KNOWN TO MANUFACTURE , causing vehicle to SHUT DOWN, oil sensors not working, shut down on main hwy, potential fire hazard with oil all over vehicle under carriage and in valley top of motor . THIS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM that no-one wants to address i'm on my 3rd housing and all oem mopar parts( PLASTIC)at tune 1200+, PLEASE INVESTIGATE MAKE THEM STOP USING PLASTIC PART... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. Additionally, the vehicle failed to exceed 3000 RPM. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a general failure with the transmission. The dealer informed the contact that ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
The ABS and Traction Control lights flash and ding on/off intermittently. Sometimes the lights on the dashboard come on as soon as I leave the driveway and sometimes it takes several miles. But once they flash on and ding on the dashboard, the lights flash on and off intermittently for seemingly no reason at all. I am not sure if this is due to an electrical issue, a hydraulic control unit issue, ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
The ABS and Traction Control lights flash and ding on/off intermittently. Sometimes the lights on the dashboard come on as soon as I leave the driveway and sometimes it takes several miles. But once they flash on and ding on the dashboard, the lights flash on and off intermittently for seemingly no reason at all. I am not sure if this is due to an electrical issue, a hydraulic control unit issue, ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The rear side passenger window busted from the bottom. Only top half of window remained while driving down the road. No warnings. I only knew this was possible with car due to Facebook group and others having this happen to them. Big bomb sound no one else on road car is 2022 bought September 2021. Handling its 3rd winter in the state we got it.
Incident date: Oct 20, 2023
Horn randomly blows while driving and while parked with engine off. Only solution is to remove fuses to disable horn. No way to blow horn now to alert other drivers of a dangerous situation.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle suddenly shifted into park, after which the vehicle went into LIMP mode. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle was unable to shift out of park and displayed the "Automatic Emergency Braking Unavailable" message. The traction control, start-to-stop, and hill start assist warning lights were illuminated. ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
ABS electronic braking system failure.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Delay in acceleration. It is an intermittent issue. Noise when gear is changed. Coming from a stop or slow down, pushing the accelerator pedal slightly, the car does not respond. Pushing the accelerator pedal further down the car jerks(responds), accelerates but faster than needed/desired. The accelerator pedal needs to be released, push the pedal again to increase the speed to as needed/desire... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
My engine began to leak and burned oil to a point where it needed oil changes much frequently than normal. Within 2 months of being made aware of the leak, I began to hear knocking noises. Once I return again to the dealership I was made aware now I needed a new engine. How is it that I've had my vehicle serviced only at a Hyundai Motor dealership and once my warranty is out, I now need an engine?... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2023
Hello -- 1) My wife explained to me that the acceleration would rev very high on rpms but no power -- ( 1st & 2nd especially) then the check engine light came on -- I drove it to check and there was something very wrong -- unfortunately I could find no dealers w\o a full months wait or more -- Then on the Friday after Thanksgiving she came home & said she had no brakes -- I take it for a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the engine / it stopped while I was driving / dealer charged me $2000 for a replacement engine, then after that my Power steering gave out , My ESC turns off and on / car jumps while driving my whole dashboard goes crazy How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the car stopped whi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
There are several safety related issues with the 2023 Tesla Model S 1) The horn is a tiny raised marking on the steering wheel (right side), and not like in "normal" car where pushing/hitting the center of the steering wheel will activate the horn. This is unsafe, since in emergency the driver automatically hits the center, and does not have time to look for the time horn "button" 2) The turn s... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
Our car was recalled on 07/03/2008, recall #08V303000, for problems relating to a number of types of mechanical and electrical malfunctions. One was the "(3) OBD SYSTEM MAY CAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE INCORRECTLY; AND (4) THE SPEEDODOMETER MAY BE OUT OF TOLERANCE" This vehicle has had a malfunctioning "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT", that needs to be corrected. It prevents the car from being p... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
Our car was recalled on 07/03/2008, recall #08V303000, for problems relating to a number of types of mechanical and electrical malfunctions. One was the "(3) OBD SYSTEM MAY CAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE INCORRECTLY; AND (4) THE SPEEDODOMETER MAY BE OUT OF TOLERANCE" This vehicle has had a malfunctioning "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT", that needs to be corrected. It prevents the car from being p... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2023
My Vehicle stalls for no reason. The engine power is redused, stabilitrack, and traction control lights come on. The vehicle stalls in the middle of traffic. The brake and steertng wheel don't work when the engine stalls. The seatbelt and airbag light comes on. I went to get that repaired and the dealer told me that the repair time period had expired.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
Car suddenly had a knocking sound, check engine light came on and as I was driving, the car loss power suddenly died and woudn't start back up. Mechanic diagnosed that head bolts came loose and damaged engine. Has been at mechanic since 11/27 with the engine being rebuilt. Aprox cost at $7,600.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that the windshield sealant on both the driver’s and passenger’s side of the windshield had begun to separate from the body of the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V516000 (Visibility) and linked the recall to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The dealer was notified of the recall... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Available for inspection upon request. Please do! Loss of power. Reported same issues a year ago. Brought to dealership, sold on other services that did not solve problem. Opened a case with Hyundai. No solution. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Random loss of power. Hyundai ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
Upon arriving at my job after a 50 mile commute, I noticed my engine making abnormal noise followed by an oil pressure engine light. After researching the symptoms, I found it is well documented that there is an issue with the Ford 1 liter ecoboost wet belt system. 2 Ford SSM bulletins (48093 and 49726) describe a wet belt tensioner failure followed by the oil pump belt shedding teeth resulting in... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Available for inspection upon request. Please do! Loss of power. Reported same issues a year ago. Brought to dealership, sold on other services that did not solve problem. Opened a case with Hyundai. No solution. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Random loss of power. Hyundai ... Read more