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: Sep 13, 2020
The contact owns a 2012 Buick Lacrosse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) 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 local dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2021
2012 BUICK LACROSSE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO REAR TOE LINK SUSPENSION SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAFETY RECALL FAILURE. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE IN A TIMELY MANNER AS THE PARTS WERE ON BACK ORDER. THE CONSUMER BOUGHT THE PARTS AND HAD THE VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE MANUFACTURER, BUT WAS DENIED FOR U... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2021
Waiting for recall to be repaired. Local dealer indicated unable to get parts.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2021
The contact owns a 2022 Buick Envision. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the garage while he was working in the yard with the vehicle fob in his pocket. The contact stated as he walked into the garage, he noticed that the vehicle was running on its own. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact sat in the driver's seat, put his seatbelt on, depressed the brake pedal, pus... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2021
The contact owns a 2022 Buick Envision. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the garage while he was working in the yard with the vehicle fob in his pocket. The contact stated as he walked into the garage, he noticed that the vehicle was running on its own. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact sat in the driver's seat, put his seatbelt on, depressed the brake pedal, pus... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact's son-in-law owns a 2012 Buick Regal. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer who stated that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was no... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Buick Envision. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph when the contact was struck by a semi-trailer which resulted in the side air bag not deploying. A police report was taken the contact sustained broken ribs on the left side and sought medical treatment. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and then towed to an insurance lot. The manufacturer was not informe... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 5, 2021
Vehicle was no start. Dealer found fuel pump relay bad on 10/05/201. Next time using vehicle same problem. On 10/20/2021 dealer service department diagnosed bad fuse box. The fuse box is located under the rear passenger seat. It was extremely hot and melting. Fortunately no fire, this time.
Incident date: Oct 31, 2021
Defrost doesn't always work. Can't see too drive when this happens. Thought there was a recall.
Incident date: Oct 6, 2021
Loud engine rattling noise on startup of 3.6L v6 then check engine light came on. Carl Black GM Buick dealer replaced valve actuator solenoid, but engine still making the rattling noise on startup. Danger of timing chain and valve phasers not synchronizing causing valve interference with pistons and engine damage and failure in high speed traffic on Atlanta GA freeways and 2 lane side roads.
Incident date: Oct 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Buick Lacrosse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) however, the dealer informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not ex... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2021
Power steering went out while driving roughy 45/50 mph. Unknown reason why it went out.
Incident date: Jun 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Buick LaCrosse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) 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. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had n... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the airbag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
In reference to this vehicle, I purchased this car from Burns Honda in February 2020. I replaced the battery less than a year of having this car. I then had my engine light come on and my car was skipping, it completely stopped while driving. Several times, it jumped when I would go over 65 MPH. I took it to the dealership that same night and they continued to tell me nothing was wrong with it. I ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
In reference to this vehicle, I purchased this car from Burns Honda in February 2020. I replaced the battery less than a year of having this car. I then had my engine light come on and my car was skipping, it completely stopped while driving. Several times, it jumped when I would go over 65 MPH. I took it to the dealership that same night and they continued to tell me nothing was wrong with it. I ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2021
At least 3 or 4 times, the car has remotely started itself while the key fob is in my pocket. Two times, the car was in my closed attached garage. To remote start the car, I would have to press and release the lock button on the fob, then hold down another button for four seconds. At times while I am working around the house or garage, I hear the car beep, indicating that my movements pressed the ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2021
The contact owned a 2001 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled upon the depression of the accelerator without warning. The contact stated that a black smoke began to emit from the engine as he was able to pull into an independent mechanic shop. The contact immediately exited the vehicle as flames began to emit from the vehicle's engine. Employees from ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 19, 2021
While we were merging onto the highway, the steering wheel locked! I was going 50 MPH and I couldn't move the steering wheel left or right. We almost got into an accident, but I pulled my hardest on the wheel and was able to pull over. I shut off the car and turned it back on and it was OK, but under the wrong circumstances, this could've ended up real bad. Are there similar complaints on this veh... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2021
Drove to the store, transmission was hard shifting and then wouldn't hardly move at all. Almost got hit three x!! Very tramatized. How is it that on just one of many web pages 400 people had this problem 140 complained about it! that's just one website! how has this problem not been fixed and recalled?
Incident date: Oct 21, 2021
Drove to the store, transmission was hard shifting and then wouldn't hardly move at all. Almost got hit three x!! Very tramatized. How is it that on just one of many web pages 400 people had this problem 140 complained about it! that's just one website! how has this problem not been fixed and recalled?
Incident date: Oct 21, 2021
Drove to the store, transmission was hard shifting and then wouldn't hardly move at all. Almost got hit three x!! Very tramatized. How is it that on just one of many web pages 400 people had this problem 140 complained about it! that's just one website! how has this problem not been fixed and recalled?
Incident date: Oct 11, 2021
Brake seemed as if it had a sound when purchased but dealership said it was inspected. I now find that it leaks fluid and I spent over $600 to replace the pump. Now as the dealership was diagnosing and repairing a separate issue they've notified me that there is a failed steering rack. The power steering rack repair is estimated to be $2,000. As this is a definite safety issue I am reporting in h... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Buick Encore. The contact stated while the vehicle was in the park with the engine running, the contact felt a bump from the vehicle and the vehicle began to slowly move forward. The contact depressed on the brake pedal very hard for the vehicle to stop. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times afterward. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagn... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2021
Sunday at 11 ish am eastern time I started the vehicle to get grocery items. The mileage was approximately 68680. The tire pressure warning light and air bag light came on along with the alerts to service air bag, side view collision, tire pressure, parking assist was shut off. The radio began to randomly shut off and reboot and the lower controls (heated seats, gate lift etc.) would not work, als... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2021
Sunday at 11 ish am eastern time I started the vehicle to get grocery items. The mileage was approximately 68680. The tire pressure warning light and air bag light came on along with the alerts to service air bag, side view collision, tire pressure, parking assist was shut off. The radio began to randomly shut off and reboot and the lower controls (heated seats, gate lift etc.) would not work, als... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2021
Sunday at 11 ish am eastern time I started the vehicle to get grocery items. The mileage was approximately 68680. The tire pressure warning light and air bag light came on along with the alerts to service air bag, side view collision, tire pressure, parking assist was shut off. The radio began to randomly shut off and reboot and the lower controls (heated seats, gate lift etc.) would not work, als... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated while at a standstill, the vehicle failed to start-up. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The car runs fine right up until it doesn't. You can be driving down the highway and all of a sudden lights start flashing on and off and it dies completely and slams on the breaks all at once! It's dangerous especially in the dark! You have no flashers or breaklights to warn other cars you are even there! Sometimes it won't even start setting in the driveway. You just have to wait a little bit an... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Regal. The contact stated that moisture had entered the vehicle's headlight module which caused the headlights to dim while in operation. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where he was given three options on how to repair the vehicle, all three options included him paying out of pocket for the repair which he declined. The manufacturer had been notified of... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2021
We bought our used buick envision essence in Feb 2021 from Scott Robinson Honda, Torrance, CA with 6,489 miles and 3 month warranty. The night we drove it off the lot the floor behind the driver's seat was wet and we thought it was from the prep (including shampooing the carpet) they said they had to do before we drove it off the lot at 9:00 p.m. The next day found that the matts in front were s... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Buick Regal. The contact stated that while driving at night, the illumination from the headlights was very dim. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that condensation had accumulated in both headlight modules causing the failure. The dealer was notified of the issue and informed her that they would call her back. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Encore. The contact stated while driving the computer shut down without warning. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who stated they were unable to duplicate the failure due to the computer shutting down. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified however, no further assistance was provided. The contact was concerned about being inv... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Buick Encore GX. The contact stated that while at a stop sign, the RPM was fluctuating from 0 to 3,000 RPM. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact mentioned the failure recurred multiple times with the vehicle being unable to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dea... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Buick Lacrosse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified however... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Buick Lacrosse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified however... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2021
See GM Bulletin # 15-na-051 Vehicle died, required tow, found out due to fuel pump relay per bulletin cited above. Rear seat bracket interfered with fuse box, disabling vehicle requiring tow. Vehicle repaired at owners cost. Due to safety factor involved, the seriousness of the situation, for what portion of the costs of repair will the manufacturer be responsible?
Incident date: Oct 2, 2021
See GM Bulletin # 15-na-051 Vehicle died, required tow, found out due to fuel pump relay per bulletin cited above. Rear seat bracket interfered with fuse box, disabling vehicle requiring tow. Vehicle repaired at owners cost. Due to safety factor involved, the seriousness of the situation, for what portion of the costs of repair will the manufacturer be responsible?
Incident date: Oct 2, 2021
See GM Bulletin # 15-na-051 Vehicle died, required tow, found out due to fuel pump relay per bulletin cited above. Rear seat bracket interfered with fuse box, disabling vehicle requiring tow. Vehicle repaired at owners cost. Due to safety factor involved, the seriousness of the situation, for what portion of the costs of repair will the manufacturer be responsible?
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
Driving under 40mph on two-lane road next to the lake. We heard a noise and thought we blew a tire. My husband tried to get the car under control and avoid going into the lake. The driver-side rear tire was not flat but was very "crooked". Vehicle was not driveable. Tow truck towed to dealership. Police and tow truck driver inspected the vehicle. No warnings. Upon receipt of recall notice, ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
The right side power mirror changes position by itself, it only seems to occur when starting vehicle. It will change even if the correct position is entered into the memory. It happens numerous times in a day or not at all. And I took it in for service, the dealer said there is nothing wrong, we cannot duplicate the issue. So they could not fix it.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Buick Lacrosse. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V764000 (Suspension) 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 local dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failu... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
February 2021 Electronic parking brake activated while vehicle moving without being activated. Vehicle slid to a stop. This is a major safety issue for both the driver and other vehicles on the road as the vehicle is braking on its own and locking the rear wheels. Service parking brake light illuminated. Vehicle was brought to Jim Curley Buick GMC in Lakewood, Nj. Parking brake module was repl... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
February 2021 Electronic parking brake activated while vehicle moving without being activated. Vehicle slid to a stop. This is a major safety issue for both the driver and other vehicles on the road as the vehicle is braking on its own and locking the rear wheels. Service parking brake light illuminated. Vehicle was brought to Jim Curley Buick GMC in Lakewood, Nj. Parking brake module was repl... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2021
I WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION ON THE FRWY GOING 63MILS PER HR. MY CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS. THIS CAR HAS 6 AIRBAGS "STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES"WHICH NONE OF THE 6 AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. I THINK THEY ALL ARE DEFECT AIRBAGS.
Crash
3 injured
Incident date: Sep 30, 2021
While driving home from work, my car, lost power a few times. Though, the maintenance malfunction light did come on, it was while the issue was occurring. I mention this because, in the car’s manual, it states that the light will come on BEFORE the malfunction takes place. I finally made it home, however, the car did continue to lose power while driving. The next morning I took the car to my mec... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2021
While driving home from work, my car, lost power a few times. Though, the maintenance malfunction light did come on, it was while the issue was occurring. I mention this because, in the car’s manual, it states that the light will come on BEFORE the malfunction takes place. I finally made it home, however, the car did continue to lose power while driving. The next morning I took the car to my mec... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2021
While driving home from work, my car, lost power a few times. Though, the maintenance malfunction light did come on, it was while the issue was occurring. I mention this because, in the car’s manual, it states that the light will come on BEFORE the malfunction takes place. I finally made it home, however, the car did continue to lose power while driving. The next morning I took the car to my mec... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2020
The contact owns a 2010 Buick Lacrosse The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V764000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified. The con... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2021
PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAILED, COST $600 REPAIRED, WITH ONLY 56,500 MILES, IT GAVE A CODE OF b0022, AND A SERVICE BULLETIN DTC B0022, SAFETY ISSUE WITH THIS CODE B0022 THE SEATBELT AND AIR BAGS WILL NOT WORK IN EVENT OF A COLLISION, YES BY A INDEPENDENT SERVICE CENTER, SERVICED AIR BAGS MESSAGES AND RED SEATBELT WITH AIR BAG LIGHT ON. THIS SHOULD ME A RECALL DIE TO GM KNOWS THAT THEIR IS A ... Read more