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: Mar 20, 2015
Engine lost power and when restart was attempted, it could torn turn over. Tried restarting 3 times with no success. After this, smoke started coming from the hood. I opened the hood and noticed a small flame at the driver side bottom of the engine compartment. Flame intensified and grew and eventually I extinguished with a fire extinguisher. I had just replaced the starter that same week and repl... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 12, 2023
3 tires developed sidewall 'tears' . All were on the right side of the car , 2 had less than 25000 miles and one had less than 500 miles (it was a replacement that I bought from the Ford dealer). Two exploded at low speed. Tire size 285/45R 22 114H
Incident date: May 12, 2023
anti-lock braking system has failed for the second time. First time was 2 yrs ago while under warranty. Truck only has 47430 mi on it.
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
I have 2019 Toyota RAV4. 69,000 miles. I had issue this week when I was driving and park. The gas given by it self after I park the vehicle. and today all of the sudden stop on the road. The dash board shows me EPS light, Battery sign.
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
I have 2019 Toyota RAV4. 69,000 miles. I had issue this week when I was driving and park. The gas given by it self after I park the vehicle. and today all of the sudden stop on the road. The dash board shows me EPS light, Battery sign.
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
I have 2019 Toyota RAV4. 69,000 miles. I had issue this week when I was driving and park. The gas given by it self after I park the vehicle. and today all of the sudden stop on the road. The dash board shows me EPS light, Battery sign.
Incident date: Mar 20, 2015
Engine lost power and when restart was attempted, it could torn turn over. Tried restarting 3 times with no success. After this, smoke started coming from the hood. I opened the hood and noticed a small flame at the driver side bottom of the engine compartment. Flame intensified and grew and eventually I extinguished with a fire extinguisher. I had just replaced the starter that same week and repl... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
A low oil pressure indicator appeared. Car began to sputter. Heard a loud boom under the hood. Car began to slow and would not accelerate. Engine died. Was able to get Car to the side of the road. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere, with our special needs child in the car with us. This is a potentially dangerous situation. Called for a tow to the dealership. Was told that the car could not be ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
There is a dark show that comes Dow 3/4 of the windshield when driving on a dark street with no street lights. This happens when the low beam are turned on, when you switch to high beam your visibility improves.
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The Power Transfer Unit(PTU) failed catastrophically at the rear pinion. This is available for inspection until it is repaired. This could have caused a major crash, at the time I was on the interstate only going 30-40mph and was able to get to the shoulder. But if I had been going faster there was a possibility of me pole-vaulting. Unknown The component is currently being inspected by the dea... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
In relation to NHTSA Recall Number: 23V342, Ford has failed to remedy issues around reverse Automatic Emergency Breaking. Whenever the 360° camera screen is blue, the system in place to prevent collisions also fails. There is no pattern of failure. Nearly 60% of the time the vehicle is driven an error related to 23V342 occurs.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2023
Rear view camara some time work and some time go to blue screen O not showing nothing In general useless
Incident date: Sep 30, 2023
During vehicle operation, on occasion, entire vehicle instrument panel goes dark and shuts off, which includes speedometer and warning lights. Cruise control deactivates and all displays and warning indicators de-luminate. System will turn back on and flash multiple error codes before returning to normal. Sync/navigation system will also go out.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2023
During vehicle operation, on occasion, entire vehicle instrument panel goes dark and shuts off, which includes speedometer and warning lights. Cruise control deactivates and all displays and warning indicators de-luminate. System will turn back on and flash multiple error codes before returning to normal. Sync/navigation system will also go out.
Incident date: Oct 26, 2023
I have a 2006 Toyota Tundra SR 5 with only 88330 miles. I had it inspected yesterday and was told that the truck may not pass next year due to the known issue of undercarriage rust. I had checked into this with Toyota in the past and was told that my particular truck was not covered by the recall for this rust issue. I am not sure why or how my truck was excluded from the safety recall but belie... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2023
Rotting Subframe prematurely
Incident date: Oct 25, 2023
Sporatically and randomly, the user instrument panel will make changes and adjustments automatically. For instance, it will switch to nativgation at full volume and state that "the navigation will be at this volume" (at max volume) when previously muted. It's alarming. It will also randomly call the last person dialed over the car speakers. It switches settings on its own and beeps during ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
My daughter and I were driving down a highway when we felt and heard a very loud boom followed by the sound of my rear glass falling into the back of my car. We drove to a safe location and notified the police of what happened as we were unsure if something or someone had done something to my car. The Franklin County Sheriff’s office did come out and take a report. We didn’t find any damage to... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
According to my mechanic, coolant has leaked into the cylinders of the engine. This is a common problem with this particular model the dealer Ford will not repair.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2023
My vehicle had a recall on my car hood because its loose. When you drive it when its windy it moves. I had recall fixed at a Honda dealership in Hutchinson Ks. Now my hood is loose again. I had to pull off the interstate yesterday to try to get it to latch because it was moving, and it was very windy, and I was afraid it was going to blow open on me. I wanted a whole new hood, and I was told I'd h... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle, he became aware that the interior lights were not functioning as needed. The contact also stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the high beam headlights were inoperable, even though the indicator light was illuminated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functional... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2023
Vehicle began to consume large amounts of oil, needing oil added several times a week, every 200-300 miles. Vehicle is now needing engine replacement due to oil consumption related issues.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
The rear glass exploded on its own while driving after using the defogger. There were no objects that hit it.
Incident date: Oct 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V945000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted 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. The manufacturer was made ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG EQE. The contact stated that there was a message stating that the camera view of the driver was obstructed and affecting the function of the feature. The contact was unsure of what cameras the message was referring to. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to identify the cause of the message being displayed. The vehicle had not been diagnosed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2023
I purchased a 2011 Acura TL with a salvaged title. The steering wheel airbag appeared to have been repaired with certain glue or epoxy after appearing to have been deployed by previous owner. However the airbag is fully intact. The Acura dealership refused to conduct the recall due to this issue. Would this warrant a refusal to be replaced by the dealership? Thank you
Incident date: Oct 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the instrument panel, radio, and A/C were inoperable. The contact also stated that the steering wheel had become firm. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was a faulty wiring harness, steering, instrument cluster, and additionally th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate and was jerking. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the clutch assembly was previously repaired and the TCM was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
3.3L V6 F-150 started to heavily vibrate when vehicle was started. Check engine light came on. Check engine code was cylinder 1 misfire. Coils and injectors were changed. It didn't fix the problem. Upon further investigation there was damage to piston. Full Engine replacement is required.
Incident date: May 10, 2023
As of yesterday 10/18/2023, the drivers seat belt would not connect, I forced it to connect, but the dash light indicator remains on. also, difficult to release. I'm concerned that in an accident the air bags won't deploy and worse I may be trapped in the vehicle. My mechanic told me that there were recalls on these Audi's, however I can't find any and the dealer said there is no recall and that t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2023
I was in an accident when my 2018 Chevy Equinox rear ended a stopped vehicle at a traffic light. There was significant damage to the front of my vehicle 12k plus. The emergency braking system did not activate, nor did the airbags. My wife experienced severe contusions to the chest area.we wonder why the emergency braking system or airbags failed to deploy.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
1. Door panel Issue. I have a 2012 911, and have noticed last year that the door panels have popped up on both sides, it looks like the glue has given way. It seems that this is a common issue for Porsche 911. 2. Keyless Entry Issue. I was not able to lock my car by pressing by the door handle's button. I was able to unlock the car. I then tried on the passenger's side and was able to lock it. I... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
On October 11th my wife’s EcoSport showed a check engine light, so we started to head towards David McDavid’s service. En route, the oil pressure light came on and the car died in the middle of the road right as schools were getting out. A White Settlement Police Officer kindly helped me push the car out of the middle of the road and it was towed to David McDavid Ford. The dealership confirm... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
2019 ford ecosport with around 48000 miles on it. Driving a trip of 40 miles within 20 miles of the trip the low oil pressure notification comes on. At the same time the car begins to loss power and we pull over to the side of the road. Take the car the the local ford dealership the concluded it was the oil pump and the engine needs to be replaced. Due to national back order I have been out of a c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 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 local dealer was contacted. 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 f... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2023
Car dies while driving at speed. Also will die at low speeds such as when turning or parking or waiting at a stop light. Sometimes have to wait before restart if dies at speed. If dies at low speed will start right back up. Dealer says no codes. Even when it died while on the techs computer he could not see a problem. These cars have been notorious for electrical problems due to Totally Integr... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
When on autopilot mode with traffic aware cruise control (TACC), the Tesla model Y car gets unexpected unpredictable random sudden slowing down with braking causing panic, inability to react, unsafe for the following car the rear. Appears to have unexpected unnecessary phantom braking unsafe for driver, passengers and the rear following car.
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V445000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V462000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Additionally, the contact stated that on several occasi... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
Power steering assist popped up on dashboard with no warning. The safety of me and my children were put at jeopardy because what if we were driving on road and the steering wheel locked up on us?
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
The contact owned a 2005 Toyota Sequoia. The contact stated that the vehicle had been taken to the dealer on August 7th, 2023, where a protective chemical coating was sprayed on the sub frame. The contact stated that after driving, he noticed that power steering fluid was leaking from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact’s brother who is an independent mechanic, inf... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2023
The car had been recently serviced through the dealer and had 66,000 miles (9 yrs old). It was 6k miles past warranty. While driving, the radiator hose exploded—loud noise, white steam, and all the warning lights came on and the car heated up. I had the car towed and was told that the radiator hose, the radiator and the head gasket had been destroyed and the engine would need to be rebuilt. The ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
No incident but ridiculous that Jeep/Mopar cannot find a remedy for this URGENT Fire risk after 3 years - it's time to fix this so the vehicles can be parked safely in doors - or not at risk when person is driving car.
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
I would like to file a complaint about the amount of time to fix recall 23V334. I received notice in June 2023 and is now October 2023 for a recall that can "result in injury or death to vehicle occupants."
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
When depressing the throttle, occasionally there is no response form the engine or a significant delay coupled with erratic engine revving behavior. When this happens the car has no drive power, but power brakes and steering are unaffected. The engine sits at idle speed. This has happened on multiple occasions when in or crossing traffic. The issue may present and then disappear after 15-45 sec... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while his wife was at a complete stop, the vehicle jerked upon acceleration with the Traction Control Malfunction warning light illuminated. The contact’s wife pulled over and discovered that the rear driver’s side tire was inverted inside the wheel well. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where the contact was info... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Audi Q5. The contact stated that after taking the vehicle to the dealer for service, the dealer determined that the vehicle was unsafe to drive due to severe rust on the rear subframe. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 75,200.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2023
See attached document from complainant
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed during a heavy rain storm, the vehicle lost significant motive power and was unable to accelerate above 40 MPH. The contact also stated that a message displayed, "Side detection system disabled," and the lane departure assist system activated, briefly steering the vehicle into oncoming traffic b... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed during a heavy rain storm, the vehicle lost significant motive power and was unable to accelerate above 40 MPH. The contact also stated that a message displayed, "Side detection system disabled," and the lane departure assist system activated, briefly steering the vehicle into oncoming traffic b... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2022
The factory 2020 Subaru Outback Wagon is built with a Thermo Control Valve that is, essentially, made out of a composite plastic. As this part is part of the engine cooling system, it is placed under both heat and pressure. While it controls the anti-freeze to the heater core in the passenger compartment, it is also attached under cover to metal fittings. While the car now has about 90,000 mile... Read more