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: Apr 1, 2022
The exhaust manifold bolts on both sides of the engine warp due to two different metals being put together under heat. Steel and aluminum expand at different temperatures. This causes the bolts to break off of the exhaust manifold creating an exhaust leak into the engine bay. Yes, this can be inspected upon request. The safety of myself and the general public is at risk due to the exhaust leak i... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2022
VERY BAD DESIGN OF MUFFLER. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS. THE MUFFLER HAS A HOLE ON TOP. THAT HEAT EFFECT THE BATTOM TRUNCK, THE HOOD GET MELTED, HEAT SHEILD GET BURNED AND THE ROAD ASSISTANT TIRE GET MELTED AS WELL. I WAS LUCKY I WAS ABLE TO SMELL IT. ALSO ALL BODY GET VERY RUSTED AND LOOK HOURRIBLE.
Fire
Incident date: May 23, 2022
VERY BAD DESIGN OF MUFFLER. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS. THE MUFFLER HAS A HOLE ON TOP. THAT HEAT EFFECT THE BATTOM TRUNCK, THE HOOD GET MELTED, HEAT SHEILD GET BURNED AND THE ROAD ASSISTANT TIRE GET MELTED AS WELL. I WAS LUCKY I WAS ABLE TO SMELL IT. ALSO ALL BODY GET VERY RUSTED AND LOOK HOURRIBLE.
Fire
Incident date: May 23, 2022
VERY BAD DESIGN OF MUFFLER. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS. THE MUFFLER HAS A HOLE ON TOP. THAT HEAT EFFECT THE BATTOM TRUNCK, THE HOOD GET MELTED, HEAT SHEILD GET BURNED AND THE ROAD ASSISTANT TIRE GET MELTED AS WELL. I WAS LUCKY I WAS ABLE TO SMELL IT. ALSO ALL BODY GET VERY RUSTED AND LOOK HOURRIBLE.
Fire
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2013) — ENGINE
May 24, 2022
Incident date: May 3, 2022
Engine misfire, check engine light P0306, P0304, P0302 due to left side head needing replacement.
Incident date: May 23, 2022
I was dropping my kids off at school this morning and we had been in the car only 2 mins and just before i get to the school i hear a loud noise and i get whacked in the back of the head with the driver headrest. We had not hit anything, no wreck,nothing it just busted open. -driver headrest -no one was hurt but it could have hurt me. -we have seen others post online with same issue -it has not y... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2022
The drivers side seatbelt is coming unlatched while operating the vehicle. This happens sometimes with very little tension and almost always when a more sudden stop is needed. I have researched online and this appears to be a recurring problem with this vehicle specifically. I attempted to have it repaired but the cost was over $700 which I am completely unable to afford. In my opinion, an item as... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Dart. The contact stated while his friend driving approximately 60-70 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but emitted a loud popping sound. The contact's friend depressed the brake pedal all the way to the floorboard but the vehicle hesitated to respond, causing more than a 10-feet in stopping distance delay. The warning message "Braking System Failure" was displayed. ... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2022
Cradle connected to front suspension is corroded and cracked. Causing wobble in steering wheel.
Incident date: Mar 7, 2022
My Uconnect radio back up camera does not work 100 percent of the time and radio dails 911 when car is on and ghost touching while driving anywhere. I have taking the vehicle to a dodge dealership and they are well aware of the issue and problems that are happening with the Uconnect radio system and are unable to fix safety issue unless item is recalled my wife safety has been placed at risked du... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was restarted and operated as designed. During the failure, there were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Additionally, while depressing the brake pedal a clicking... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was restarted and operated as designed. During the failure, there were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Additionally, while depressing the brake pedal a clicking... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was restarted and operated as designed. During the failure, there were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Additionally, while depressing the brake pedal a clicking... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
May 22, 2022
Incident date: May 21, 2022
Drivers sliding back door stuck in lock position. Will not unlock or open even manually. I have two special needs kids and I bought the double doors for safety in a crash. (Previous vehicle I had to climb through the window to get kiddo). Will not manually open. Used a fix of pushing the lock to unlock position and hitting the unlock on my key fob and it finally unlocked and opened. Need to at lea... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 22, 2022
Incident date: May 21, 2022
Drivers sliding back door stuck in lock position. Will not unlock or open even manually. I have two special needs kids and I bought the double doors for safety in a crash. (Previous vehicle I had to climb through the window to get kiddo). Will not manually open. Used a fix of pushing the lock to unlock position and hitting the unlock on my key fob and it finally unlocked and opened. Need to at lea... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
May 21, 2022
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
Back passenger sliding door. Door makes a buzzing noise when the car is locked or unlocked. Actuator is going out or faulty
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 21, 2022
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
Back passenger sliding door. Door makes a buzzing noise when the car is locked or unlocked. Actuator is going out or faulty
Incident date: May 19, 2022
It is well known in the Dodge Durango community that the main tail light housing on these vehicles was not properly sealed from weather elements. Over the course of time, water intrusion will cause areas of the tail light to burn out, gradually leading to the entire system to fail. Dodge is well aware of this but does not offer any repair outside of warranty period if this happens on factory hou... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the spoiler detached from the vehicle without warning. The contact stated that no cars were damaged and no one was injured due to the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were both notified of the failure and both informed her that the failure was not covered under recall or warranty. The contact took the v... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V739000 (Electrical System) and 16V352000 (Air Bags) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.
Incident date: May 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V739000 (Electrical System) and 16V352000 (Air Bags) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.
Incident date: May 18, 2022
In Muskogee County.By the grace of God, I finally gain control of my vehicle, after applying the brakes that failed on me, to avoid an accident, I pulled over to inspect my vehicle. I did a walk around inspection and noticed left rear side a puddle of oil on the ground, a oil leaks right next to the fuel tank inside the frame. After getting into my vehicle I noticed, my ABS light come on. So, I ha... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
I was driving down to road and the the k member (subframe) rusted all the way through
Incident date: May 18, 2021
The long rear tailgate lamp (called the CHMSL) suffers from water intrusion which results in LED failure. This is a reoccurring issue. I am now trying to get this lamp replaced for the 4th or 5th time (yes, I've lost track because it's ridiculous!) Dodge should do a recall and hold the lighting manufacturer accountable as it is a common problem over many years of vehicles. Why should the consu... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2022
1. Unknown, but podsibly the following: shifter mechanism, transmission linkage, and/or some other mechanism 2. The key is not releasing upon parking, this happens in dangerous areas and in compromising locations that have put my life at risk. I was unable to leave my car and a man with a knife approached me while I was facing this issue. It has happened several time and has happened another tim... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, she heard a clicking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that there was smoke coming from underneath the passenger’s side hood. The contact stated that she did not notice any warning lights being illuminated. The... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2022
The headrest safety system deployed while parked overnight. It is only supposed to activate during a crash.
Incident date: May 13, 2022
on May13th I was slowly pulling into my garage : as I was slowly easing my foot off the brake (but still in contact with the brake pedal), the car suddenly accelerated. I pressed my foot hard on the brake but was unable to stop the car. It was traveling very slowly with only about 5 feet to go when it suddenly accelerated. It struck the water heater which is situated against the rear wall of the g... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 1999 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to function as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the timing belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was appro... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2012
We have a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel crew cab pickup that occasionally after hitting a bump or on rough roads the steering mechanism or suspension develops an uncontrollable harmonic vibration with one or the other front wheels bouncing. The only way to stop the vibration is to come to a complete stop. In heavy traffic it could be a serious safety issue. The condition is well known to Chrysler... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2012
We have a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel crew cab pickup that occasionally after hitting a bump or on rough roads the steering mechanism or suspension develops an uncontrollable harmonic vibration with one or the other front wheels bouncing. The only way to stop the vibration is to come to a complete stop. In heavy traffic it could be a serious safety issue. The condition is well known to Chrysler... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 20 MPH. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was purchased to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the head gasket and throttle body had failed. The contact stated that the vehicle was repair... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 20 MPH. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was purchased to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the head gasket and throttle body had failed. The contact stated that the vehicle was repair... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
The contact owned a 2013 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the vehicle began to deaccelerate its speed and multiple warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated she saw smoke exiting under the hood and parked on the side of the road. The contact was able to exit the vehicle with her 3 children before the vehicle exploited into flames. The contact stated no one was inju... Read more
Fire
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — STRUCTURE:BODY
May 17, 2022
Incident date: Aug 10, 2021
Passenger side rear door is making a buzzing noise! will cost over $500 to fix. After researching multiple other van owners are having this same issue this should be recalled this vehicle is only 6 years old !!
Incident date: May 17, 2022
Too many electrical problems, the key fob, the ignition won't start until several tries I've had a new starter put in but constantly told it's the electrical component, the car shift gears on its own, told again it's the tcm module electrical problems, the batter dies within a year of getting a new one. Abs system problems, crank shaft system problems, the horn beeps on its own, it's so bad I have... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2022
The active headrest restraint deployed in the vehicle with no collision. It deployed randomly. It looks like there is a broken part inside the headrest. I just bought the car. I have complained to the dealer because it wasn't like that when I test drove it but I saw it after I bought it and was driving it home. Could have happened during the final detailing.
Incident date: Feb 4, 2021
Airbag warning dash light comes on intermittently. The Takata airbag recall has been corrected, but the light still comes on. This warning light first appeared on, or about 6 months ago. I have not taken this vehicle back for dealer to re-inspect the issue. The obvious concern here, is whether or not the airbag will fail, when needed, or the airbag might deploy inadvertently.
Incident date: May 17, 2022
Engine stalled while driving 3-5 times. Almost caused a collision
Incident date: May 17, 2022
Engine stalled while driving 3-5 times. Almost caused a collision
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
May 17, 2022
Incident date: May 17, 2022
Passenger side rear siding door will no longer open manually, using the button on fob or using the open door button at the top near the overhead console. This poses a safety issue not allowing passengers to exit the vehicle as the door will not even open manually. Appears to be in lock position and will not move.
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 17, 2022
Incident date: May 17, 2022
Passenger side rear siding door will no longer open manually, using the button on fob or using the open door button at the top near the overhead console. This poses a safety issue not allowing passengers to exit the vehicle as the door will not even open manually. Appears to be in lock position and will not move.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
Tensioner for timing chain broke at highway speed truck stalled with no control or power steering to steer or breaks to immediate stop instead had to slow roll lucky live in small farm town with low population not alot of traffic could have been bad. Took to dealer dodge service department they noticed oil pan gasket was leaking when removed oil pan the tensioner and timing chain pieces were all i... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2012) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OIL/LUBRICATION:PIPES, HOSES, AND FITTINGS
May 16, 2022
Incident date: May 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked at his residence, he lifted the hood and notice that the oil filter housing was cracked and there was a puddle of oil on the transmission casing. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notifie... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
My 2019 Dodge Durango is experiencing rear 'racetrack' lighting issues as thousands have. Many are complaining same issue. Poor design allows water to get into LED assembly and shorts it out. When this happens not only does the allumination of the LED go out.. But so does the license plate light. This not only creates a illegal situation but a hazard in night driving. You take the mounting bolt ou... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
My 2019 Dodge Durango is experiencing rear 'racetrack' lighting issues as thousands have. Many are complaining same issue. Poor design allows water to get into LED assembly and shorts it out. When this happens not only does the allumination of the LED go out.. But so does the license plate light. This not only creates a illegal situation but a hazard in night driving. You take the mounting bolt ou... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2018) — ENGINE
May 15, 2022
Incident date: Apr 28, 2022
My 2018 dodge grand caravan had a check engine light come on indicating a cylinder 2 misfire. I took it to my dealership to find out If it was just the spark plugs. After multiple days of back and forth calls they informed me it was the cylinder head it's self and that the cost would be around $3700 to fix if warranty chooses not to cover the repair. My child is wheelchair bound and we have been f... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2022
My engine is not cooling while my vehicle drives more will the transmission cool down now my transmission won’t work the correct way
Incident date: May 7, 2022
My engine is not cooling while my vehicle drives more will the transmission cool down now my transmission won’t work the correct way
Incident date: May 14, 2022
2017 Charger UConnect system going crazy due to delamination problem causing driver to take attention from the road. Dodge knows of this issue but has not issued a recall.