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 384,293 complaints for FORD
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. No warning light was illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
On December 27, 2025, while using the vehicle’s Automated Park Assistant feature to reverse into my assigned parking space in my enclosed residential garage, my 2025 BMW X6 failed to detect a fixed concrete structural column directly in its path. Rather than braking or alerting me (the driver) to the obstacle, the vehicle accelerated into the column, causing rear bumper damage. No warning was is... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and 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 manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle to correct the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel Sys... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2026
On multiple occasions the infotainment system/central control system has gone black and rebooted while driving without any prior notification or warning. The front two USB ports indicate they are producing 12.2 volts; however, as soon as anything is plugged in, they become disabled and will not work. The warning lights indicating the front passenger seat belt is not in use randomly turn on when th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2026
Car uses excessive amount of oil! We have had the timing replaced and now it’s stating the P0420 catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 1.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
Issue occurs in [XXX] during normal daily driving, including while reversing and operating the vehicle at low speeds. The malfunctioning touchscreen interferes with safe vehicle operation in parking areas, residential streets, and regular traffic conditions. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
Issue occurs in [XXX] during normal daily driving, including while reversing and operating the vehicle at low speeds. The malfunctioning touchscreen interferes with safe vehicle operation in parking areas, residential streets, and regular traffic conditions. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
The contact owns a 1993 N/A Chrysler New Yorker. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing longer braking distances and that the ABS and check brakes warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer and was unable to determine the cause of the failure because the dealer did not have the proper tool for the diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2025
Driving on the interstate. Did not see or feel anything in the road. Airbags deployed and wrecked.
Crash
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
Description of Safety Defect: While operating the vehicle at approximately 25-30MPH and make a right turn, the vehicle experienced a sudden and total loss of power/engine stall, accompanied by a "Check Engine" light and a "Reduced Engine Power" notification. This resulted in a near-collision on a public roadway. The vehicle's steering and braking response were significantly compromised during thi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2026
Transmission started bucking at 50k miles, the problem has gotten substantially worse at 60k miles. Rough downshifting and upshifting in low gears. Will slam into gears 2-3 often and cause driver and passengers to lurch forward. Will cause very rough acceleration at times and causes a danger in traffic given the speed becomes unpredictable. Transmission does not know what gear to be in even after ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2025
the rear camera on this car has been having issues for well over a year. The dealership says they are well aware of the issues and that it's common but there is nothing they can do about it and that I just need to wait for an update to eventually come. They do not know when the update is coming. This has been an ongoing issue that is a big safety issue. The rear visibility on these cars is bad to ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
the evaporative emissions purge pump or an ECM calibration fault code P0521
Incident date: Mar 15, 2026
Year 2019, code P1101- vehicle hesitates while drive, will reduce power while driving, while sitting idle at a stop the car will die and I will have to restart the vehicle. Multiple times while driving on the highway at 70mph my car has all of a sudden either reduced power causing the car to jerk and shudder very hard or has lost all power completely and forced me to pull over while avoiding other... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
While charging the vehicle, we heard a loud pop. After starting the vehicle there was a warning to check the electric vehicle system. The car max speed was limited to about 20mph while driving home (it was night and the dealership was closed). The following morning while driving the car to the dealership, a new warning came on to stop the vehicle. A few minutes later, a new light came on showing... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Maverick. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. There was a fuel odor on the exterior and interior of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a fractured fuel seal. Th... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2022) - ENGINE
Mar 18, 2026
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
Vehicle experienced a sudden and total loss of propulsion while driving due to an internal failure of the rear electric motor. The dealer diagnosed it as 'coolant intrusion' into the motor unit. This is a known manufacturing defect in the 2019 e-tron (TSB 2073858/2) where internal seals fail, allowing coolant to destroy the motor. This created a high safety risk on the highway. Audi is refusing to... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
Vehicle experienced a sudden and total loss of propulsion while driving due to an internal failure of the rear electric motor. The dealer diagnosed it as 'coolant intrusion' into the motor unit. This is a known manufacturing defect in the 2019 e-tron (TSB 2073858/2) where internal seals fail, allowing coolant to destroy the motor. This created a high safety risk on the highway. Audi is refusing to... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2026
The contact owned a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. No warning lights illuminated. The contact pulls over to the right side of the road, exits the vehicle, and notices flames coming from the engine, and smoke starts coming inside the vehicle. The contact mentioned that a bystander gave him a ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
Parking brake malfunction indicated. Ford CSP 22P31 covers repair of the issue for vehichles with a manufacture date before 3/15/22. My vehicle reached the US on 6/22/22. Ford has offered to cover a small part of the repair, but won't include me in the fix due to manufacture date. So Ford ended the program, NEVER FIXED THE ISSUE, and now won't offer to repair my car.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
Driving car and then all of the sudden a critical battery alarm appeared and I lost the ability to go above 23 mph. It ended up being the ICCU that needed to be replaced.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
Driving car and then all of the sudden a critical battery alarm appeared and I lost the ability to go above 23 mph. It ended up being the ICCU that needed to be replaced.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
Steering is sticky (resistant as though in a notch) when turning the steering wheel to the right or left beyond 30 degrees at highway speeds, or beyond 90 degrees at parking speeds. Issue seems more prevalent when turning left than right. Lane keep assist is off at all times. The steering system issue is a safety concern, as loss of control at highway speeds could cause a crash. Diagnostic by loca... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2026
The contact's wife owns a 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50-60 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The driver pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that unknown engine valves had collapsed, and there was possible camshaft damage. The contact was ad... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2026
This 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLC 63 AMG has experienced repeated and escalating warranty defects involving engine performance, loss of acceleration, air suspension failure, and now inoperative advanced safety systems including blind spot and active brake assist. Despite numerous repair attempts at authorized dealerships, including extensive engine teardown and cylinder head replacement, the manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2025
This 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLC 63 AMG has experienced repeated and escalating warranty defects involving engine performance, loss of acceleration, air suspension failure, and now inoperative advanced safety systems including blind spot and active brake assist. Despite numerous repair attempts at authorized dealerships, including extensive engine teardown and cylinder head replacement, the manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2025
I was driving on the highway when all of a sudden, no warning signs, no sounds/car shaking, anything, my car started lighting up with break system, engine light, parking sign, etc. I didn't know what was going on so I pulled over. When I pulled over, I checked the parking break to see if I might have hit it and I didn't. Then the car wouldn't go. The check engine light and all the break system lig... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2026
This is regarding a ABS unit that under the part number for this Vehicle it shows it meets the recall but it is not listed under vin number in order to get repairs correctly completed for this vehicle. Vehicle was diag. and confirmed issue at a local auto repair shop. ABS warning msg, is present on display, engine light on due to abs pump, as well braking issue is also present. When running part n... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2026
I was sitting in the car with the car cranked on and then all my warnings lights and messages started flashing and blinking. The car was also idling on it’s on. I was scared because this has never happened before. So after looking for leaks under the hood , looking online to make sense of what was happening, turning it off and back on . I slowly drove to the Honda dealer down the street with my... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
My 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid experienced a complete electrical system failure at approximately 15,933 miles, resulting in a no-start condition. The failure involved the vehicle’s electrical distribution system. An authorized Ford dealership (Autos Vega Ford) diagnosed that voltage was not reaching the Body Control Module (BCM) due to a fault in the battery cable and wiring system. The repair re... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving over a bumpy road surface at 5-10 MPH or at higher speeds, the front end of the vehicle shuddered significantly. The vehicle was taken to Firestone, where it was determined that the front stabilizer coupling rod had failed. The contact related the failure to Volkswagen Campaign Number: 40R1; however, the VIN was not in... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
The car will not stop giving me the warning “travel assist currently not available”. It comes and goes randomly and I tried turning off all the travel assist features but it still keeps beeping. Sometimes the alarm goes on and off dozens of times per minute (yes, very frequently). I already took my car to VW dealership, they updated the software, the problem got better for a few days but came ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
Losing all power to the brakes.
FORD
POWER TRAIN
(9999) - BACK OVER PREVENTION
Mar 18, 2026
Incident date: Sep 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank image. The contact stated that the vehicle was turned off, and while attempting to start the vehicle, the rear-view camera functioned as needed. The failure was an intermittent failure. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The failures occurred while the outside temperature was belo... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2025
The vehicle's rear brake lines (both left rear and right rear) had ballooning present. The issue was initially identified by an independent mechanic during brake pad and rotor replacement on all four wheels. The ballooning was subsequently confirmed during an inspection by a Subaru dealership technician. This issue posed a safety risk, as the compromised brake lines could rupture under braking pre... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
Transmission (10r80) shifted rough, leading to no 1-4th gear and no 10th gear or reverse. Had to do a rebuild of the transmission @80k miles and it still shifts ruff/clunking into gears
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
Transmission (10r80) shifted rough, leading to no 1-4th gear and no 10th gear or reverse. Had to do a rebuild of the transmission @80k miles and it still shifts ruff/clunking into gears
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
The battery has had a recall since October 2025 with no repair update at all. The battery degeneration has cause serious issues and has almost left me stranded multiple times. I haven’t been able to charge at most charging stations due to the limiting of fast chargers and it is very time consuming when I do.
Incident date: Mar 3, 2026
Shift to Park warning comes on when the car is turned off and it is in park. When we park the the car and shift the car to park and turn the car off the warning "shift to park" comes on and the electrical systems will not disengage. The radio stays on, the car can not be locked, and the doors ding loud alarms if you try to exit the car. The only fix is to sit in the car for several minutes and fli... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
1/24/26 -- While driving ~25-30mph (~2 miles from start of trip) car produced “Engine Management System error” and within a minute or so “Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely” warning and went into electric only mode, limp mode. Turning off the car and turning back on temporarily enabled the gas engine to run. Dealer reviewed fault codes and stated vehicle was now running correctly. ~800 m... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
My vehicle is subject to an active safety recall (NHTSA #25V-636) issued in September 2025 involving the engine starter. As of today, no remedy has been provided by the manufacturer. Due to the safety risk associated with this recall, I do not feel safe operating the vehicle and have been forced to keep it parked and unused for an extended period of time. This has caused significant financial ha... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
My vehicle is subject to an active safety recall (NHTSA #25V-636) issued in September 2025 involving the engine starter. As of today, no remedy has been provided by the manufacturer. Due to the safety risk associated with this recall, I do not feel safe operating the vehicle and have been forced to keep it parked and unused for an extended period of time. This has caused significant financial ha... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
Check engine light is on almost constantly on my car. It might turn off and stay that way for a couple of days, but always comes on again. Dealership had made two attempts to "fix" it by just clearing the faults. However, according to the service department the reason why check engine light came on was "faults for loss of communication to powertrain electronics and brake electronics" which i think... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. When the vehicle was purchased, the contact requested the Retrofit/Activate Heated Steering Wheel option. When the vehicle was delivered, the contact realized that the option was missing from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer suggested that the contact read the manual to learn how to turn on the Retrofit/Activate Heated Steering Wh... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
The automatic lift gate started failing and became misaligned causing the back lift gate to be unable to be closed and damaged my passenger rear tail light as well due to the malalignment issue resulting in having to drive without the back gate fully shut until I can afford the 2k cost quoted to fix it. My research shows this is a very common issue with the rav4's in this production cycle
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 BMW 440I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a hissing sound coming from the vehicle, and there was white smoke coming from the engine compartment and the exhaust system. The vehicle went into LIMP Mode, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
While driving on the road the vehicle started sputtering and stalled! We pulled to the side of the road and tried to start the car but it rolled and would not start. We called a a mechanic who had it towed and found out that the fuel pump and the fuel control board had failed. Both have been replaced and the truck seems to be working again. Heard several other persons had this issue with their GCM... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
Car lost propulsion in the middle of the road and would drive over 20 MPH. ICCU failure, which nearly caused me to get into an accident.
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - WHEELS
Mar 17, 2026
Incident date: Mar 16, 2026
These rims outter lip have a poor design and when hitting a pot all the outer lips add additional pressure and the rim causes the tire burst This is the 2nd time this has happened to me. In 2 the years I had the car. The first time it happened was in NY state