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 21,483 complaints for CADILLAC
Incident date: Nov 14, 2020
The steering column sticks in the up position. The electric motor will not move up or down. Not being able to correctly adjust the height of the steering column is a safety issue.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2020
Blinding headlights from so many new vehicles and aftermarket headlights put in older vehicles. The extreme brightness of these new lights are a serious safety hazard to all drivers whether the vehicle is coming toward you, behind you and shining in your rear view mirror, or passing you and shining in your side view mirror. I have to hold my hand up to my mirror to block the extreme brightness so ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2020
During the time we have owned this car, it exhibits random and sudden deceleration events when operating AutoPilot (adaptive cruise control) on highways and freeways. The events are not explainable by presence of any notable present or potential hazard. The risk presented to and by surrounding (following) vehicles is so significant that it renders this function unusable. Saturday, April 1, was ... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2021
My 2023 Ford Bronco has these "Advanced" wipers that automatically stop wiping when they think the windshield is dry or think the wiper motor may be damaged. When driving in heavy rain and you put the wipers on High (or even Low), they automatically switch to Intermittent after about 1 minute. They actually stop wiping at a high speed and pause between wipes for several seconds. In order to keep t... Read more
CADILLAC
ESCALADE NA
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Apr 7, 2023
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Bright headlights stopped working.
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Dakota. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V352000 (Air Bags) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair; however, two weeks after the repair, the passenger’s side air bag warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the rec... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2023
Steering wheel is sticking when making minor adjustments at low to high speeds. When turning the wheel, initially there is higher than normal amount resistance that only last for a moment causing a driver to jerk the wheel. Issue keeps becoming more exasperated.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2023
The vehicle steering wheel locked up and several error warnings were displayed on the dashboard. We had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership.
Incident date: Mar 29, 2023
Bike was running and suddenly lost power and the D drive disappeared. All switches in the handlebars ceased functioning. I confirmed all controls ceased functioning. Engine kill switch position made no difference. Periodically the bike would flash back into P mode and the switches would work, and, I could enter D but without the ability to accelerate. This period would last maybe 5-10 seconds befo... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2023
My wife and I were at the beach when the truck started jerking really bad. I knew from the motion that transmission was locking up. We stayed 2 nights until we tried to make it home and it would slip in and out of gear. Transmission Maintenance light came on and once we made a complete stop. It acted as it didn’t want to move then would take off like a rocket. I’ve seen several models have rec... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
Daughter was driving at roughly 20 miles an hour when right front suspension collapsed causing her to lose control and striking a parked vehicle. Lower part of strut that connects to drive shaft was sheared in half causing complete loss of steering. The tire was pushed back against the the fender well which in my estimation caused tire to blow. Parts are available for inspection. A tire blow out a... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 2, 2020
Car flipped 3 times, it is a mangled mess and not one airbag deployed. This caused injuries to the driver, if any passengers would have been in the vehicle they would have been killed.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 70-75 MPH, the rear seat warmer overheated and burned the seat and the blanket on the seat. The contact called the dealer who stated that the seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated while the passenger’s side front seat was occupied. Additionally, the contact stated that the seat belts chime reminder would not engage as needed, and the seat belt warning light would illuminate while the seat belts were securely buckled. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
Door locks don’t work with fob intermittently. Often times, failure door can only be locked/unlocked manually by toggled physical mechanism, or by use of key, never buttons or fob. Passenger using said door would have difficulty opening door in the event of emergency, or at least delayed in doing so trying to find the toggle. Issue has not be replicated by either dealer or other professional. ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
While driving down the highway the steering feels like it sticks in place. When I put more pressure on the wheel to correct in my lane it unsicks and the vehicle over corrects sometimes causing me to go outside of my lane. This is a safety risk for myself and others because when the stearing wheel sticks it is difficult to make fine corrections on the highway going 55mph+ resulting in me going o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
Accelerating onto hwy and vehicle jerks then flashes “service hybrid system” and “battery low” (as in the vehicle battery not electric mode charge. Pulled up to a stop light 2 min later and automatic breaking locks up and the vehicle completely locks and shuts down. Unable to reset/turn off/on or shift. Had to be towed to dealership.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
Oil pressure sensor code P0522. The engine oil pressure sensor fails before and after oil changes. This causes the oil temperature to sporadically increase and decrease psi drastically from 20 to 110 psi and vice versa. This has been confirmed with multiple OBD2 sensors along with the check engine light constantly on.
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
The ABS and Traction Control lights constantly blink on and off while driving, causing cruise control to shut off and an audible ding inside the cab, every time the lights flash. I am concerned that since the ABS module is malfunctioning, that the brakes may lock up or not engage when they are supposed to, and I will not have anti lock feature if I happen to need it. Aside from the annoyance of t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
There is an active service bulletin for 2017 Chevy Colorados. My vin does not fall under that service bulletin. I started two case numbers with Chevy. My truck is in the shop for ref service bulletin # 18-NA-355. Same problem and the same fix. Mine got so bad the control arms need replaced. Please add my vin to the service bulletin so Chevy will take responsibility for their manufacturing mess... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
Trunk popped open and will not close. Power rear gate latch control needed to be replaced. Couldn’t fully open or close trunk while driving or even after stopped
Incident date: Mar 21, 2023
Defective front passenger seat occupancy sensor. The defective sensor makes the passenger airbag unusable, sacrificing passenger safety.
Incident date: Mar 21, 2023
The steering becomes sticky on the freeway, seemingly on a recurring basis. It seems to be 30-40% of freeway trips. It feels like a malfunction with power steering.
Incident date: Mar 21, 2023
Driving freeway with much traffic. Engine suddenly quit and nothing worked. Had to coast into a safety shoulder and was almost wrecked in the process. There was no warnings on the instrument panel. Car had been routinely serviced. According to Kia Service, the engine froze due to oil sludge (used synthetic oil). The engine is actually a 2016 model. Mileage is 134,682. Event was 2/623.
Incident date: Mar 11, 2022
The car was parked in my driveway overnight and developed a cracked windshield without any viable impact from an outside object. The crack is midway up.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2017
The rubber lining around my windshield is falling off. It’s breaking into parts all across my windshield and is coming apart. It’s my understanding this is a common problem with my year make and model.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
On my way to work early morning dark outside the water pump which is timing chain driving failed fluid poured out causing smoke and hard to see out the windshield causing me to have to pull to the side of the road not able to safely see, dark road no traffic 30 miles away from home mechanic told me 3000.00 $ to fix the problem ford should of never built a vehicle like this knowingly that the water... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
Intermittent "Shift to Park" message started to show up when attempting to turn off vehicle. GM does have a special bulletin 19-NA-206 but doesn't have the coverage stated in it. There is also class action law suits as well so this is a common concern.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
Intermittent "Shift to Park" message started to show up when attempting to turn off vehicle. GM does have a special bulletin 19-NA-206 but doesn't have the coverage stated in it. There is also class action law suits as well so this is a common concern.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2020
The brakes on this Ram Promaster 2500 failed 100 percent with the pedal going to the floor and not returning upwards. This occurred without warning. The drivers' safety and the safety of cross traffic were at extreme risk. With no brakes, the vehicle crossed through a T intersection and came to an abrupt stop after crossing a ditch and then becoming lodged into a concrete drainage structure. T... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 12, 2020
Abs and traction control lights are illumated when towing a trailer it would turn off trailer breaks I have taken it to auto shops and they state its the abs module or hydraulic control unit. When normally driven abs will be intermittent and can pose a safety hazard.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2020
When car is driven above 40 mph the steering wheel sticks. Extra effort is required to maintain midline steering. Extra effort is required to break the persistent sticking pattern, which can cause loss of control.
Incident date: Mar 16, 2023
The following is an account of what happened when the SUV's brakes failed, which caused serious damage to the 2022 Hyundai Tucson (the "SUV") and also damaged two other vehicles. On February 15 in the afternoon, The SUV was traveling approximately 20-30 mph and was rolling up to a red light. There were about 6 car lengths between the SUV and the next vehicle as driver started pressing the brakes.... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. While driving at an undetermined speed, the vehicle became sluggish and lost motive power. The contact stated that the oil level was 3-quarts low. The contact added oil as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the mec... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
My dash is bubbling up. The topsy the windshield needs replacing.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
Vehicle is designed in such a way as to allow moisture accumulating in drivers side floor mat and carpeting to wick upward and be deposited on the primary vehicle wiring harness located in the drivers side kick panel. The moisture collected travels down into the backside of the various female connectors and corrodes the conductors and receptacles that result in short circuits between the various ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
Vehicle is designed in such a way as to allow moisture accumulating in drivers side floor mat and carpeting to wick upward and be deposited on the primary vehicle wiring harness located in the drivers side kick panel. The moisture collected travels down into the backside of the various female connectors and corrodes the conductors and receptacles that result in short circuits between the various ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
Tire size 285/45r22 got into freeway this morning and the outer sidewall just separated on the lr tire no warning, tires looked good 7/32 tread left even wear and tire pressure was correct. The other tires look good on the outside but so did the one that came apart the car has tpms and the tires were never run low or had any repairs. The outside tread block at the sidewall peeled off the tire
Incident date: Mar 10, 2023
The contact is a fleet manager for a business which owns multiple 2019 Mercedes Benz Sprinter Vans. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the SRS warning light would remain illuminated due to the metal driver side seat frame tearing under the seat and also the driver side seat material becoming worn and open were the airbag is located. In addition the front driver side door would no... Read more
CADILLAC
SRX
(2015) - FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:EVAPORATIVE EMISSIONS:HOSES/VALVES/SENSORS
Mar 13, 2023
Incident date: Jun 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle was pushed into the driveway after stalling on the street. The vehicle was taken to an independent dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a leak in the evaporative emission control and EVAP purge valve. The contact stated that the check engine warning ligh... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated while driving approximately 62 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The brakes, ABS, engine, and traction control warning lights were illuminated. Upon pulling over, the brake pedal was depressed but the brake pedal was firm, and the vehicle was slow to respond. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnose... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2022
Vehicle had a sudden loss of engine power while at speed traveling on the highway. We were able to safely pull over, and after a few minutes restart the vehicle. After additional driving we encountered the issue again, at speed on the hoghway, however the vehicle did not shut down properly and would not start after repeated attempts. The vehicle would show the ignition was on 'run' however would e... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2021
Engine is using oil and having to put oil into the car in-between oil changes. Usually when I am having to add oil, the cars life shows 58% or when my spouse tells me there is a knocking sound coming from the engine when it is started up. Tried to contact a dealership about this and they don't want to help.
Incident date: Oct 4, 2022
The touch screen is only working sometimes and then is very slow. Causing unsafe driving conditions.
Incident date: Oct 4, 2022
March 10,2023 2019 Ram 2500 Cummins 6.7L Diesel I picked up my truck from the dealership this morning, after they did the outstanding CP4 fuel pump recall. I drove the vehicle home (approx 20) miles. Parked the car in the driveway for about 3 hours. Then took a short trip to the store. After the store, when leaving the parking lot I noticed an electrical/plastic smell. Within in seconds s... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
On Sunday, February 26, 2023, as I was en route to my home in Liberty Hill, Texas, I heard a noise from what seemed to be under the hood. The noise sounded somewhat like a card in bike spokes. No warning lights were lit. When I arrived home, I had a neighbor listen to the noise. His opinion was that it sounded like the rods & to take it to a mechanic. I had a friend take me to the nearest garage/... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The second tow captain rear seats are not bolted securely. The seats both rock forward and back. I brought it up to Tedla service and the representative came back with, The car is 6 years old. So does that mean Tesla Model X captain seats begin to fail after 6 years? The other issue is a steering issue. When I steer left or right I hear a clunking noise. It's not related to the control arm as i... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The second tow captain rear seats are not bolted securely. The seats both rock forward and back. I brought it up to Tedla service and the representative came back with, The car is 6 years old. So does that mean Tesla Model X captain seats begin to fail after 6 years? The other issue is a steering issue. When I steer left or right I hear a clunking noise. It's not related to the control arm as i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that she noticed water markings located on the inner hood lining of the vehicle and water had saturated the trunk of the vehicle. As a result, the alarm started to malfunction. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a body shop where it was determined that water had entered the vehicle by the windshield enclosure. T... Read more