Consumer Safety Complaints

Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 deaths.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 Reported 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 2,215,138 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

Clear

Showing 67,120 complaints for CHRYSLER

Incident date: Dec 15, 2023

Received important safety recall on 14th November 2023, I called Kia dealership and corporate office to resolve and got the answer that the remedy is not available. It’s been more than 45 days since I received a letter, I am not parking my car in my garage, or neither driving secondary to concerned of fire, risk and injury as indicated in later. I went to local Kia dealership as I was instructed... Read more

Incident date: Dec 28, 2023

The contact owned a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a squeaking sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the front suspension system was faulty and needed to be replaced. The front suspension system was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 28, 2023

Truck stalls when slowing to a stop and continuing to drive before fully stopping. The truck shuts down and the emergency brake is activated. It needs to be switched to Park, restarted, emergency released and then switched to park. Being stalled on the road has been dangerous.

Incident date: Dec 28, 2023

Problems reside in the total integrated power management module. TPIM whereas vehicle will shut off while driving. No indicator lights to give warning before the vehicle shuts off. Has on occasion shut off and recovered power multiple times within a minute This is a very dangerous scenario to conduct a road test or have someone confirm the issue on the road.

Incident date: Dec 7, 2023

During regular use of the radio and head unit, at times the touch screen or controls, dials, buttons will be unresponsive. The Android Auto software tends to malfunction and will randomly disconnect and the audio will blast, full volume at the driver with the inability to control the volume other than to pull over and turn the vehicle off or manually power down the radio. This has happened on seve... Read more

Incident date: Dec 19, 2023

Subject: camry rear window (defogger), tint film badly bubbling with poor or zero visibility Dealer: Al Hendrickson Toyota 5201 W Sample Rd Coconut Creek, Florida 33073 Phone: (954) 972-1100 Website: https://www.alhendricksontoyota.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp_sales Amount Paid: 0 It is about my 2010 Camry bought new in 2010. It is sparsely driven (about 4 months in... Read more

Incident date: Dec 19, 2023

My car trunk could not be closed right after the year I bought it in July, 2020. I went to the dealer Crown Lexus in Ontario, Southern California. They fixed it. Now it is happening again, I can not close the trunk by touching the button on the trunk or in the car to the left of the driver’s wheel. My husband and I went to see our younger son and grandson in Richmond near San Francisco via ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 23, 2023

I was driving on the highway and was notified by passing motorists that there was smoke coming from my vehicle, I proceeded to pull to the shoulder and parked my vehicle. When parked, I noticed flames coming from the engine compartment and under the vehicle. I proceeded to get as far away from the car and that when the fire became enraged and fully engulfed my vehicle. The fire department arrived ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Nov 13, 2023

Engine O2 sensors failing caused car to go into limp mode when attempting to enter a very busy hi way. Key was stuck in the driver's side door. Could not unlock it. Had to call a locksmith. This left me on foot away from home. Key stuck in the ignition. Would not go into park or start. Car has to be towed home.

Incident date: Dec 21, 2023

I lose steering like the recall says, would like dealer to fix this as part of existing recall

Incident date: Dec 21, 2023

Check engine light on. Engine coolant over temp Took vehicle to dealer, the verdict was; Removed all spark plugs & using bore scope detected coolant intrusion in cylinder 3. Needs long block assy.

Incident date: Jun 1, 2023

The fire risk in the engine compartment recall has been issued for this vehicle since May 2023. The remedy is supposed to be available by Oct 2023. Yet at my recent visit to the dealer for the recall repair in Dec 2023 revealed that no remedy is available. The owner of this vehicle is forced to operate the vehicle with the risk of catastrophic engine failure and subsequent fire. It is a major safe... Read more

Incident date: Dec 13, 2023

Failed parts . #1 abs module #2 steering box & intermediate shaft #3 balljoints .available anytime for inspection? # 1 risk brakes locking up or soft pedal #2 steering wheel back and forth to stay on highway #3 knuckle fall off failed balljoint all causing an accident.. all independent shop for all components. Dealer for steering ?? Abs traction lights

Incident date: Oct 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the front driver's side interior door handle was fractured. The contact was unable to open the door from inside the vehicle. An independent mechanic inspected the vehicle and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notif... Read more

Incident date: Oct 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, coolant leaked onto the front passenger’s side floorboard. The contact stated that the coolant leak was underneath the glove compartment area. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was advised to have the vehicle taken to the Volkswagen dealer. The contact visited... Read more

Incident date: Oct 2, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. 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 manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not... Read more

Incident date: Aug 19, 2023

My Kia Sorento uses roughly 2-4 quarts of oil every week or 2. The smell of oil is so strong in the car it’s almost unbearable. Just this week the the alert about a door being open is going off and the locks are malfunctioning. It locks and unlocks at random and it keeps sayings a door is open when it isn’t. The cruise control also stopped working.

Incident date: Dec 20, 2023

The thermo control valve (TCV) went bad at 54,000 miles. The result is that none of the safety features work anymore. Collision detection, Eye-Sight, lane change warnings, anti-skid, etc. all go offline when the TCV goes out. We can drive the car but it now has no safety features.

Incident date: Dec 20, 2023

The 2018 Honda Accord Hybrids suffer from a critical electrical design flaw which has left me stranded in dangerous positions on the roadside multiple times. In a normal gasoline powered vehicle, when the ignition is on, the engine is running and the alternator is generating current to charge the battery and keep it in good health. However, with Honda's Hybrid system, even with the ignition on the... Read more

Incident date: Dec 13, 2023

I was driving the vehicle and stopped at a Sonic drive thru. I shifted the car into park and I began to hear a very loud creaking noise. When I shifted the car into drive, the car wouldn’t move. I called a Firestone mechanic and he concluded that it was the CV belt that is connected to the transmission. Regardless, only a transmission shop could handle this issue. I called CARMAX AUTO, and spoke... Read more

Incident date: Dec 13, 2023

Car got a check engine for failed turbochargers at 71000 miles. Mercedes refused to acknowledge and get the problem addressed.

Incident date: Dec 13, 2023

While driving early in morning on local highway (70mph speed limit), car flashed "Service Charging System" shut off the engine and power to the vehicle including acceleration, and check engline light illuminated. Thankfully early hours made it possible to drift to side of road to put car in park. Engine light illuminated dash and dash flashed "shift to P to start." Car would not shut off after pre... Read more

Incident date: Mar 1, 2023

Twice I had all kinds of safety alerts were scrolling on May 2nd ans august 7th.. First it was a fluid leak and cable. Second there was a piece of metal in the brakes. ABS sensor full of grease. Now sometimes Brakes is flashing for no reason (like going uphill) and if I need to brake at a higher speed on the freeway, the brakes make a sound of pots and pans rattling. As I have no confidence in the... Read more

Incident date: Dec 18, 2023

I have Grand Cherokee SRT 2014 I am from Saudi Arabia. I was driving my vehicle in the right lane at a speed of 40 miles. There was a vehicle in the second lane that swerved onto my vehicle and forced me to crash into a light pole. The airbags did not deploy as the vehicle stopped due to the impact and not the brakes. I was hit while driving, and because I was wearing the seat belt, my rib cage ... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Dec 18, 2023

The driver side seatbelt does not retract. It has to be physically pushed back into the device so extra seatbelt is not hanging out. If one were to stop, the locking mechanism would have seatbelt slack in it so it wouldn’t restrain the driver immediately.

Incident date: Dec 18, 2023

While trying to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle electrical system turned off the vehicle and turned back on. When turning back on, it flashed through a series of error messages. One time was while in stop and go traffic and I was able to coast onto the shoulder and restart the vehicle. A second incident was in the middle of a busy intersection. Having had this shut down before, I was able to q... Read more

Incident date: Dec 17, 2023

While driving, a warning came on my dashboard that I was unfamiliar with as it had never come up before. It informed me my oil pressure was low. I called someone familiar with cars and they told me I may need an oil change. As there were no gas stations near where I exited, I continued to my destination another ten minutes from when the warning came on during which my car began making a rattling/g... Read more

Incident date: Dec 7, 2023

While driving the headrest exploded into the back of my head. It felt like someone had just punched me in the back of the head. This happened yesterday, and I have not yet had it inspected by anyone.

1 injured

Incident date: Dec 4, 2023

One of the oil cooler lines on this truck is leaking oil from the crimped area where the rubber hose connects to the metal part. The GM Authority website says the dealer should fix this at no cost to the vehicle owner be because it is a GM issue on 2019 Chevrolet Silverados and 2019 GN Sierras. I called them and the lady looked up my VIN and said my truck isn’t included in this issue, but clearl... Read more

Incident date: Dec 1, 2023

Ford is refusing to actually fix the engine fire problem on the 22 Ford Maverick hybrid that I own and it keeps saying that they are going to have an update available in December they did this before couple months back instead it was going to be in October they keep changing the date and I'm having to drive around risking my life in a vehicle that could catch on fire and explode they even tell me ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 1, 2023

Incident date: Dec 17, 2023

ABS light and Traction control light turn on and off constantly

Incident date: Dec 10, 2023

After parking and turning the car off, when restarting the vehicle the shift lock would no longer release to shift out of park. In order to shift out of park it requires the shift lock clip to be removed, a screw driver placed down and pressure applied to release the shifter. The vehicle was taken to the dealership to be assessed and owner was told it was the BCM and the entire component would n... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 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 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 was made... Read more

Incident date: Jul 12, 2023

My vehicle has repeatedly required being jump-started after sitting for a period of time. Recently it has become a safety issue because the engine is designed to turn off at times in order to traffic to improve fuel efficiency. After research, Subaru has a known issue with the DCM system used to power the optional (subscription based) Starlink system. This system uses 3G signals to provide emer... Read more

Incident date: Aug 23, 2023

The contact owns a 2023 BMW X1. The contact stated that when the vehicle is on any slight incline, when parked, when the vehicle was placed in reverse (R) or in drive (D) the vehicle will roll backward or forward for about one or two feet before the vehicle responds to the accelerator pedal and the transmission gear selected. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 12, 2023

All systems failed, including all lights, speedometer, ALL ADAS - this happened in more than one occasion. When I put the car in park it still registered to be in drive mode. Safety of myself and others at risk- the headlights and brake/taillights went out while driving in the dark. Brake assist went out while I was on a steep downgrade, the speedometer went out completely. Also the car indicated ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 19, 2023

Alarm started and Hybrid brake check warning instructed to pull over and do not drive. This happened while driving down the road. The car lost power and would not accelerate. The brakes were gone and were making a grinding noise.

Incident date: Nov 10, 2023

While driving at approximately 55mph on the highway, I was required to brake for a merging vehicle who decided to make a lane change at the last second. I used my breaks, and my car did not break correctly. Instead, the car pulled the the right and locked up, it felt as though I had lost control of the car. When I went to my mechanic, I thought it was a break issue. Instead, it turns out the wh... Read more

Incident date: Dec 9, 2023

I've had a recall on this truck for years? No parts or fix available. Why?! This needs to be fixed. Who do I cpmlain to?

Incident date: Dec 1, 2023

Sticky steering. After warm-up and driving, the steering ‘catches’ in curves and if not caught, it will stay in a turning position. Does this turning either direction and in any Driving Mode. Acura of North Austin refuses to look into it, stating, after driving it 5 miles over a 4-day period, they can’t seem to replicate the issue and now refuses to work with me toward a solution. This steer... Read more

Incident date: Dec 1, 2023

On September 22,2023 I was entering my vehicle on the drivers side, I got in the seat and shut the door and my rear view window immediately shattered.

Incident date: Dec 1, 2023

On two different occasions and in two different places my vehicle stalled.Once on a highway in a traffic jam and once coming off a highway exit on my way home. In both cases the vehicle simply lost power. It is a 2019 Pacifica Touring L. I looked it up and saw similar complaints concerning the hybrid model but none for a non-hybrid. The vehicle is available for inspection. It is an extreme safe... Read more

Incident date: Dec 9, 2023

Water pump leaking and needs to be replaced. Can cause engine failure and lead to being stranded on highway. Multiple forums have people with the same issue. No warning lights have come on. I took the vehicle in for another issue and they pointed out the leak to me.

Incident date: Dec 9, 2023

Incident date: Sep 4, 2023

I took my vehicle to jenkins kia-ocala back in march and may of this year for my check engine light lashing on and off and acceleration issues, car shaking, and excessive oil spilling into my spark plugs. The 1st time I took my vehicle to this location i was told to "drive my vehicle until it no longer had any motor oil to "allow the motor to lock up" to then be approved to have my vehicle engine ... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2023

Rear window on truck door exploded and shattered in 50 degree weather while parked. There was no collision or impact to the window. There is a softball sized hole and the entire window shattered in driveway. The Car is a year old.

Incident date: May 15, 2023

Vehicle continuously suffers a total loss of power (engine shuts off) while driving, creating obvious hazard to the user of the car and other drivers. This continues to happen without warning and often while driving through intersections and other dangerous situations. No warning lights precede these events. We brought the vehicle to the Subaru dealership and, after testing/diagnosing the problem,... Read more

Incident date: Dec 9, 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 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 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly hesitated. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the cylinder head was damaged and n... Read more

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 ... 71 72 73 ... 1342 1343 Next

Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

Infrastructure

Public Health

Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

Read more from our blog