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.
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
Showing 153,169 complaints for DODGE
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
While driving with auto-idle on the car, I stopped at the red light on the left lane by stepping on the break and Auto-idle comes on and the engine stopped while continue to step on the break. When the green lights comes back on, I release the break, but the car completely shut down and require me to power off the car completely and push the start button on the car again. It took a few tries for... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The failure almost caused a collision. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no error codes were retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there w... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
I have the airbag and check engine light on and the code SC212
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — POWER TRAIN
Jan 18, 2023
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
Vehicle will not go in reverse and will not accelerate
Incident date: Dec 21, 2022
The vehicles automatic emergency braking system falsely triggers under certain conditions. It most commonly occurs when the the vehicle travels under bridges in sunny, clear conditions. Presumably, the vehicle believes that the shadow cast by the bridge is an object when it is in fact just a shadow. After this happened three times in a 20 mile stretch, the vehicle displayed a warning light saying ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2019
While driving on the freeway into a tunnel during bright conditions while on Autopilot, the car unexpectedly braked heavily on a straight road, even though there were no debris or vehicles in front. Had to take immediate action since cars were driving around me. Similar event occurred when driving at night, luckily no cars were around me. During rain, automatic wipers did not activate. Required ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2019
Since I purchased this vehicle 2.5 months ago, the windshield wipers started chattering/making noise and not working properly after about 2 days. I brought the car in and the dealership replaced the wipers. The chattering started again shortly after, then the dealership polished the windshield. It worked well for about 2-3 weeks and now the wipers are starting to streak and chatter again. I hav... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sportage. The contact stated after his wife stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle accelerated independently and caused to crash the vehicle ahead of them. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The cont... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
When I put the car in park, I get the message "Shift to Park". It does not do it every time but it is happening more and more. I have to wiggle the gearshift or restart the car and shift to neutral to try it again. I am wondering about the safety issue and will the vehicle roll if I am not able to get the message to go away? I have researched this and it is happening on a lot of vehicles.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V650000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
Vehicle lost power steering while driving. Steering became difficult and unsafe while family was in vehicle.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
My brake rotors warped at 6900 miles. They were resurfaced and covered under warranty. The shop indicated that because I washed my wheels in the course of a 4 minute car wash 3 blocks from my house that I caused them to warp. The symptoms included very rusty view from eye level and shuddering on braking. This was the front axle. Today I took car in at 42000 miles rotors and pads have to be replace... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2013) — ENGINE
Jan 17, 2023
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Lincoln Corsair. The contact stated that the battery warning light and check engine warning light were illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, where the vehicle was repaired; however, while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure milea... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2021
Back up camera is blurry unable to identify objects. I know there’s been a recall on many of the back up cameras but none on my vehicle since I have a back up camera that is blurry and unable to identify objects. Clearly, how do I go about getting it fixed?
Incident date: Mar 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V907000 (Fuel System, Diesel) 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. VIN tool confirms parts not ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2021
Due to opening and closing the rear hatch, the wiring harness wires running from the car through the hatch break and fray causing many issues. One being the potential for exposed wires to spark and cause a fire. Others being faulty rear windshield wiper and faulty rear lighting. Brake lights, turn signals, running lights and rear interior lights causing a road hazard.
DODGE
CHALLENGER
(2020) — SERVICE BRAKES
Jan 17, 2023
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
While my wife was driving this vehicle at highway speeds she attempted to brake and realized she had little stopping ability. She managed to slowly get the vehicle to our home without having to be towed . I then inspected the vehicle and after taking off the drivers side rear wheel realized the brake line at the caliper had burst and allowed the brake fluid to drain out. Keeping in mind there was ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
The vehicle has been having misfires and power liftgate since owning the vehicle. The vehicle has been to multiple dealerships and I have to this very day put 15k miles on the vehicle. Needless to say GM has not been any help in getting the problem taken care of. I have sent GM video of the vehicle misfire. I finally have conformation that the vehicle has had 53 misfires.
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
The vehicle has been having misfires and power liftgate since owning the vehicle. The vehicle has been to multiple dealerships and I have to this very day put 15k miles on the vehicle. Needless to say GM has not been any help in getting the problem taken care of. I have sent GM video of the vehicle misfire. I finally have conformation that the vehicle has had 53 misfires.
Incident date: Apr 4, 2022
Flexplate rattle. Tsb from the lawsuits for years 2015 to 2018 days they have to replace the long block. Meaning I’ll have to replace either my transmission or engine and I have already replaced the transmission once in this car. There needs to be a recall and it cover ALL 6f35 transmissions.
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
The spot welds on the driver side door where the arm connects the door to the car broke. My window, locks, and side keypad now malfunction. In addition, my battery drains at night. I have taken my car to the dealership service center and body shop/collision center. My door will have to be replaced. There were no warning messages or symptoms prior to the spot welds breaking. The door doesn't prope... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2023
The driver’s seatbelt will not retract. Should I get into an accident or need to slam on my brakes, by seatbelt will not lock in place as it should. Due to this malfunction. This is a serious safety issue! Seatbelts are suppose to save lives, but how can it, if it’s not working properly?!?!? I contacted Chrysler/Dodge regarding this, they told me there was no recall. Which is shocking, since t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
The hood shake very bad when you get up to about 60mph. It scares me because I feel like it may come unlatched. I’ve complained to the dealers everyone I go in for maintenance. Anyone I know who has one of these vehicles have the same issue
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
My car (2016 Honda Pilot Touring) SHUTS DOWN due to the auto shut off feature at least once a month and I am very nervous to hand it over to my daughter in a next year when she is old enough to drive. I have been stalled out at intersections...it is irresponsible of Honda to not issue a recall. People are going to get into accidents if they can't start their car in the middle of intersections! Why... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2019) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Jan 16, 2023
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
My 2016 Tahoe just shut off on me and my daughter inside of the tunnel with heavy traffic. When I placed the gear in drive the vehicle roll back instead of moving forward. I was afraid because the traffic was steady moving. The emergency wrecker pushed my Tahoe to safety out of the tunnel. I had it towed to my mechanic he said it’s the transmission . The engine light came on afterwards. The deal... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2019) — POWER TRAIN
Jan 16, 2023
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
My 2016 Tahoe just shut off on me and my daughter inside of the tunnel with heavy traffic. When I placed the gear in drive the vehicle roll back instead of moving forward. I was afraid because the traffic was steady moving. The emergency wrecker pushed my Tahoe to safety out of the tunnel. I had it towed to my mechanic he said it’s the transmission . The engine light came on afterwards. The deal... Read more
DODGE
SPRINTER 2500
(2008) — ENGINE
Jan 15, 2023
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
MY VEHICLE (2016 C-CLASS 300) HAS A STRONG GAS SMELL WHEN THE VEHICLE IS COLD AND IDLING. SEEMS LIKE IT'S COMMON PROBLEM IN W205 C300 CARS. TAKING TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSTICS THERE IS A CLASS ACTION INVESTIGATION: HTTPS://WWW.SAUDERSCHELKOPF.COM/INVESTIGATIONS/AUTOMOTI VE/MERCEDES-C300-AND-GLA250- FUEL -SMELL-CLASS-ACTIONINVESTIGATION/ YOU CAN SEE MULTIPLE PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAM... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
Driving the car home from work, the engine temperature gauge started to go up high. I added coolant that same night. Went to the dealership for a check up. I was told the coolant was coming out from the back of the engine and will need to partial repair the engine. Only 75k miles in the engine and that was an estimate cause I could need a brand new engine. Now I’m stranded with out a car waiting... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
Electric power steering light has come on… when this happens the stirring wheel almost feels locked and when merging off the freeway this was a scary thing. Not sure how something like this can go out already and the car is only a little over 5 years old.
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
My 2012 Dodge Ram shuts off or stalls for no apparent reason. Sometimes upon starting, while going down the freeway (at freeway speeds), as well as speeds in between, This has happened with my family in the vehicle and even when we are towing our stock trailer with animals inside. This is very scary for all of us and dangerous for all those on the round around us. While we have not been involve... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2018) — POWER TRAIN
Jan 14, 2023
Incident date: Jan 14, 2023
Service shifter light comes on and all lights light up on shifter. This is a issue that I brought up about 2-3 years ago when I purchased the vehicle. Took it to dealership they replaced a cable and another part I believe. The issue is now happening again. My cruise control on the vehicle also does not always decelerate when it should and will speed up over the amount its set for.
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
The door lock on the driver's side stopped working. Door would not open from the outside: not with the key fob or with the key inserted in the lock. If the car was locked and then unlocked with the key fob, the only way to open the driver's side door was to get in the car through the passenger's side and open the driver's side door with the door handle. You could THEN pull the driver's side door c... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
My 2016 Chevy Silverado 1500 has just over 100,000 miles, and the transmission is slipping and making a clunking noise which is going to require replacement with a new transmission. I bought this truck with 48,000 miles and it's my daily driver. This truck was not used to haul trailers with heavy loads. There should be a recall for the transmission on the 2016 Chevy Silverado 1500. I had a 2008 Ch... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
The UConnect system in the 2020 Dodge Durango SRT has been compromised. the vehicle has experienced major safety concerns and life threatening issues for the driver. All components from body telemetry to speed control breaking fuel consumption electrical the brain itself the GPS the tracking equipment and software. Somebody a(hacker or Toyota) is remotely hacked and controlling the system just l... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 13, 2023
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
I was on the feeder road of a major freeway in Houston Texas at a stop the brake fully applied. The auto engine idle stop was enabled. When I removed my foot from the brake the engine did not restart. The lights, radio remained on but I was unable to drive my car or change the gear shift. Being on a freeway feeder was a dangerous place to be stalled and had to wait in major traffic for a tow tr... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — ENGINE
Jan 13, 2023
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
I was on the feeder road of a major freeway in Houston Texas at a stop the brake fully applied. The auto engine idle stop was enabled. When I removed my foot from the brake the engine did not restart. The lights, radio remained on but I was unable to drive my car or change the gear shift. Being on a freeway feeder was a dangerous place to be stalled and had to wait in major traffic for a tow tr... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2022
I purchased a kia turbo optima from bob's lamphere's beaverton oregon kia dealership 9 days later I felt the acceleration awkwardly bi wanted to return it or exchange but was told no contract was only within 5 days. I took it to kia dealership for diagnostic 3 times I had it for 9 months the last 6 weeks was the 3rd time until Feb 28th It was totaled by a uninsured motorist memes william benton pe... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk, and the transmission shifted to a lower gear. The contact stated that the "Transmission System Error" message was displayed. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the power steering became inoperable. The power steering service now and drive with care message was displayed after the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V086000 (Steering). ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2022
Had to replace the battery. Turns out the alternator was not charging the battery. I then replaced the alternator. The alternator was contaminated with oil from the VVT. The Variable Valve Timing Solenoid Assembly that is located above the alternator needs to be replaced also. Otherwise the oil leak will damage the alternator again.
Incident date: Jan 6, 2023
My engine is being effected by the recall. There is smoke and a burning smell coming from my engine. The Recall was issued March 2 2002 and today is January 11, 2022. My truck is driving worse daily and I can not get it inspected because it will not read my system.
Incident date: Jan 6, 2023
My engine is being effected by the recall. There is smoke and a burning smell coming from my engine. The Recall was issued March 2 2002 and today is January 11, 2022. My truck is driving worse daily and I can not get it inspected because it will not read my system.
Incident date: Oct 11, 2022
Unexpected acceleration ___ While stopped on a slight downgrade, RPM suddenly increased and vehicle lurched forward. Applying more pressure to brake stopped movement. I forced transmission into park. Took foot off brake, RPM still high. Tapped accelerator, RPM dropped to normal idle. Fortunately, there were no vehicles in front of mine and cross traffic was not present. Vehicle did not enter inte... Read more
DODGE
CHALLENGER
(2016) — VISIBILITY/WIPER
Jan 11, 2023
Incident date: Nov 10, 2022
Headlight assembly units had to be replaced. Low beam light essentially non existent. As a 77 year old driver need bright lights. Truly a safety hazard issue . Replacement of bulbs 2 times with no improvement. Was told need new assembly. Same problem with Acuras in other years but recall not issued for 2013 RDX. Why not? A defect in manufacturing that will cost me several thousand dollars ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2023
Wanted to report a problem with Tesla's map navigation and adaptive cruise control (what they refer to as "Autopilot). I haven't seen this reported in the media so wanted to report it here. The map navigation system is problematic, when navigating using the map on the freeway, it will reroute a different path because it somehow thinks I am driving on surface streets. It does this consistently. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2015
This airbag is supposed to last the lifetime of the vehicle and it has not. On top of it not lasting I am being charged to fix the airbag issue replacement and it is at fault of General Motors for not offering a lifetime lasting airbag.
Incident date: Jan 28, 2015
2011 Dodge Caliber Mainstreet - Subframe is completely rotted and broke away from the sensor control. Mileage - 121,000. $2,500 to repair, in the shop for 9 days, $800 for a rental. Never again with a Dodge. They are garbage. And from research, I see that many other people are having the same issue, yet no recall and Dodge refuses to acknowledge!
Incident date: Jan 28, 2015
Airbags: This vehicle has had a recall for a "Ram" emblem being placed over the airbag such that it becomes a projectile in an airbag depleyment. Dodge makes it very difficult to avail of getting it removed. I am not close to the dealership, I am very busy and somewhat disabled. Since the first notice arrived in the mail-- maybe three years ago-- I have returned the notices with a request for the... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate while the engine revved loudly. The vehicle then jerked forward while driving. Additionally, there was an abnormal rubber odor detected. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure recurred, and the ... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 10, 2023
Incident date: Nov 14, 2021
Dealer preformed NTB22-084 due to ABS lights. Since this TSB was preformed the ICC fails to brake the vehicle when it is approaching another car. Current stored DTC is C1A13-72. When the Frontier needs to brake automatically to maintain distance from the car ahead, the dash gets the following warning messages. Rear Automatic Braking System Fault see owners manual, Automatic Emergency Braking Syste... Read more