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 1,850 complaints for FISKER
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
The car completely died at a busy intersection with no previous issues. Ford states I need a new transmission.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
As you know, there are 4 recalls on the Fisker Ocean. 1. Vehicle shifts into park on its own. 2. Door handles have a recall that prevent exiting the vehicle. 3. I was made aware through the internet that my vehicle was subject to a recall due to Incorrectly Displayed Warning Lights/FMVSS 135,101, NTHSA Campaign Number 24V405000 and Loss of Power, NHTSA Campaign Number 24V40400. The recall no... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
I purchased this vehicle 3 months ago and it had a terrible smell and still does. When I got the car home I started cleaning and seen mold under the weather mats. 1 month after purchase the sun roof and sun shade stopped working. The smell got worse and I noticed every time it rains the floor is soaking wet. Massive amounts of water is draining into the car from the rear seats causing black mold. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
I purchased this vehicle 3 months ago and it had a terrible smell and still does. When I got the car home I started cleaning and seen mold under the weather mats. 1 month after purchase the sun roof and sun shade stopped working. The smell got worse and I noticed every time it rains the floor is soaking wet. Massive amounts of water is draining into the car from the rear seats causing black mold. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2024
Our 2016 Mazda CX 9 began leaking coolant and we took it to a shop who diagnosed it as coming from the cylinder head, requiring a very expensive repair or new engine. Luckily our engine did not sieze up while driving, but it easily could have with our baby and toddler in the car. Upon searching the internet I found countless reports from other CX 9 owners who experienced the very same issue at si... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
Driving along and engine power reduced causing car to slow significantly - like downshifting two gears. Lights / traction control lights came on dash. Errors flashed - "Traction Control Off", "Service Stabilitrak", "Engine Power Reduced" All of this not only caused a slight bit of confusion, but placed us in danger with the flow of traffic. A repair shop replaced the gas pedal, however issue persi... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Warning lights keeps coming up. Back up camera don't always work. Screen won't turn on when driving. Charge port open when driving. Also brake rattling noise from the brake pedal when coming to a stop.
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Vehicle jerks when moving forward or reverse. Vehicles feels as if it 's being rear ended going forward or being hit hard from the front going reverse. This jerking motion is exaggerated more when the steering wheel is turned left or right - very dangerous when parked near a vehicle front/back. The vehicle now also gives an error message to "service 4-wheel drive system" then a few seconds later t... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Despite following the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule and having the car serviced at authorized BMW dealerships, I am facing an engine failure that BMW has quoted $44,000 to repair. BMW is only offering $4,000 towards this repair, leaving us with an overwhelming out-of-pocket expense. My insurance provider has informed me that they will not cover the cost of these repairs, placin... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2024
Car will not move, gear selection is stuck in park since May 2024 when OTA software update bricked the car. Problem confirmed by Fisker Indianapolis, without resolution.
Incident date: May 15, 2024
N212328760 Recall preformed on 8/4/2022. Airbag warning light still coming on while driving! Evidently, my problem was never fixed.
Incident date: May 15, 2024
Driving vehicle and lost power. Vehicle will crank, but won’t start
Incident date: Jul 2, 2024
Vehicle encountered sudden loss of power steering while driving, nearly resulting in a crash. Vehicle steering tends to lock in a drifting angle, and recovery often requires a turn in the opposite direction of the intended direction to correct.
Incident date: Jul 2, 2024
In speeds above 50 mph, the drivers side mirror shakes and vibrates. This causes the picture to be extremely blurry, and makes it hard to discern other cars. I believe it to be a very real visibility issue for highway driving.
Incident date: Jun 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was difficult to turn and failed to function as needed. Additionally, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with steering rack failure. The contact was informed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
Door Fault error Front Passenger Door will intermittently open on its own.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
Seat, mirror, steering column pre-set driver adjustments do not come into proper driving configuration on a regular basis when starting vehicle. This is a dangerous situation when a malfunction does occur. Seat has tendency to squeeze driver torso into steering column and knees into dash. LH mirror inadvertently and unexpectedly tilts down toward the ground and ofter unnoticed. This makes for a d... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 0 MPH. The contact was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was restarted and worked as designed. The check engine and emissions warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 0 MPH. The contact was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was restarted and worked as designed. The check engine and emissions warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
I am writing to formally notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of a significant concern regarding Fisker Automotive’s failure to meet the deadline for a mandated recall and their neglect in providing me with a recall notice. As an owner of a Fisker Ocen One, I was made aware through Facebook that my vehicle was subject to a recall due to Incorrectly Displayed Warning Lights/... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while her husband was making a right turn from a complete stop at approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "Trailer Brake" and another message indicating a power steering failure were displayed. The contact stated that her husband pulled to the side of the road, turned off and restarted the... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while her husband was making a right turn from a complete stop at approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "Trailer Brake" and another message indicating a power steering failure were displayed. The contact stated that her husband pulled to the side of the road, turned off and restarted the... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2024
While driving on the highway, the warning “engine power reduced” came on and the car just started slowing to a complete stop. Smoke started coming from the engine and the rear, then came to a complete stop and has not started again. Was towed from the highway to a safe location and I was told by mechanic that it was leaking all engine oil and power steering fluid
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
I purchased the vehicle new . When I took it in for a factory recall there was damages to the vehicle and dealer blamed me for it. I purchased it brand new. The dealer has gone out of business and GM and the new dealer will not take care of the factory recall since the damages were done by original dealer that sold it. My air conditioner went out as well and they did fix that. But still not able t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
Car will not shift, I have to manually release it. It just started happening very randomly. I constantly have to release it with a screw driver.
Incident date: May 2, 2024
While shifting from 2nd into 1st gear prior to entering a turn, the gear selector lifter shaft snapped off, resulting in the bike getting stuck in neutral. This is an extremely dangerous situation for a motorcyclist and I have never heard of this situation in my 20+ years of riding. I was very lucky this happened while only traveling ~15 mph.
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
I have several service tickets open for my Fisker Ocean One that have not been addressed, many going back over 3 months. 1 - the vents on my Ocean are malfunctioning. They were supposed to have been replaced before the car was delivered to me in October 2023, but they were not. 2 - the car has randomly put itself into park on several occasions while I've been driving. It has happened while I have... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
The backup camera fails to show an image from behind the car over 75% of the time. The display in the car is black upon putting the car in reverse, within about 2 seconds a message displays “rear view camera is unavailable. Please contact your dealership.” The collision sensors (rear cross traffic) also does not work when the camera is not working. Looking at multiple online sites, as well as ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
The backup camera fails to show an image from behind the car over 75% of the time. The display in the car is black upon putting the car in reverse, within about 2 seconds a message displays “rear view camera is unavailable. Please contact your dealership.” The collision sensors (rear cross traffic) also does not work when the camera is not working. Looking at multiple online sites, as well as ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
Why a farm tractor have a full glass cab so the driver can see all around, no blind spot beside the frontal engine while a big truck, the cab is metal all around which makes impossible to see? Tire makers, the design of the sole makes the tire capable of grabbing a rock and throw it at high speed to other vehicles, breaking windshields, denting metal body.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2024
The ADAS system has stopped functioning completely for about a week now. I've performed a "soft" and "hard" reset of the system and it did not fix it. I have no blind spot warnings, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, etc. I am part of many online groups and many others are stating the same problem.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2024
The engine seized suddenly and put my family in danger. There are recalls on other kia engines and it is clearly an issue but KIA is not taking responsibility for it and has told us we must pay 13K for a new engine or they will give us $500 to "take it off our hands" --- this is wrong. We have kept the vehicle well-maintained and have all the records to prove this. It has just over 100,000 miles o... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger's side A-Pillar trim detached from the vehicle and flew off. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet availa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
I was forced onto the shoulder of the interstate by a vehicle that came into my lane. As I went onto the shoulder, I hit a pothole (there were several), and it split my factory rim in half, damaging my tire, also. It took me several days to find a reasonably priced replacement factory wheel as I could not afford $900 to replace one wheel that should have been able to withstand a pothole on the si... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
Car abruptly stopped for no reason on June 2. Thankfully I was pulling into a driveway, so only decelerated from 10mph, but still scared my kids. Blind spot detection and door open assist stopped working in January. Automatic wipers have never worked, ADAS Warning light has been on since January. GPS will stay on a single location for weeks at a time and not move. All of those have some level of s... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The passenger seat belt (behind the driver) has locked up and we are unable to lock the seat belt in place. It locked up from the top side - not the bottom side. Since it is locked up, it will not allow anyone to sit in the seat since it can not be locked in place. Due to the electronics in the seat belt, a body shop owner advised we contact Ford directly. There are no recalls on this issue an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was ma... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2024
2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, 49,250 miles. Vehicle has had transmission replaced once under warranty a couple of years ago. Last week, dashboard lights lit up and message read "“Stop Safely - Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon." I pulled off the road, shut it off, waited a few minutes, started it up and drove home. We were in-town going in-town speeds, so safety risk was minimal. Earlier that same da... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2024
Airbag malfunction. The warning on the car is PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION
Incident date: Jun 28, 2024
Received PO270 code which is speed output sensor which requires valve body and TCM to be replaced. Dealership stated that there should be recall but is not. Very common issue and Infiniti would not provide any help.
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
While driving through my work area with a line of cars in both directions at 25 mph, my car has issued multiple Forward Collision Warnings and then applied the Automatic Emergency Braking, which suddenly releases. This has happened several times in the same situation, causing me to nearly hit the cars to my right because I was unable to control the vehicle. I am now afraid of using this car on th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
We purchased a Honda accord ( VIN and details below) , and after few weeks ( within 380 miles of driving, the car stopped in the middle of the road with a whole bunch of DTC's lighting up. the DTC's were indicating brake system malfunction, Internal temperature high, LKAS Malfunction etc. Had to tow the car to dealership
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
We purchased a Honda accord ( VIN and details below) , and after few weeks ( within 380 miles of driving, the car stopped in the middle of the road with a whole bunch of DTC's lighting up. the DTC's were indicating brake system malfunction, Internal temperature high, LKAS Malfunction etc. Had to tow the car to dealership
Incident date: May 28, 2024
Several times I have experienced mechanical failure with car stalling in the middle of the road, requiring to power down and restart. This led to several near collisions. The message on the dashboard was indicating something like "Drive Motor failure."
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
Several times I have experienced mechanical failure with car stalling in the middle of the road, requiring to power down and restart. This led to several near collisions. The message on the dashboard was indicating something like "Drive Motor failure."
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
I get regularly scheduled oil changes but the car is making a noise like a rod knock
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
Engine failed due to apparent head gasket leak. Incident happened on [XXX] near Richmond, Kentucky. Failure of engine caused loss of speed and power. Fortunately, an exit was available to get the car off the road quickly. We had to tow the car home and replace the engine at a cost of $8,000. Kia has had to recall 4 cylinder engines for this year. They should be recalling the 6 cylinder engine a... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2024
When in traffic, if my car is in stand-still and I shift in my seat, the car puts itself into park. This is extremely dangerous as I am actively on a highway in park. I have to spend upwards of a minute trying to turn the parking brake off and shift the car back into drive. This is a continual problem that will not be fixed/addressed by attempts to contact the vehicle manufacturer. It happens ofte... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2024
While driving west on [XXX] thru Utah at 78 mph (speed limit posted 80) the car suddenly and almost violently applied full brakes and reduced speed to 50 mph before I could override by applying added pressure to the accelerator. There were no cars in front of me for over a mile, and the following cars were well back as well. This occurred late morning on perfectly dry pavement. There were few if a... Read more