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 379,511 complaints for FORD
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
My 10 speed transmission is not shifting correctly Especially on the expressway, going to cause me to get in an accident
Incident date: May 24, 2026
Body control module catastrophic failure resulting in electrical failure while driving. Horn would not turn off, hazards would not turn off, warning modules firing off messages, burning smell coming from engine compartment. Absolute safety hazard while driving.
Fire
Incident date: May 22, 2026
The trim around the windshield is dry rotted and falling off. Pieces fly off driving down the road which could be dangerous to other drivers and damage their vehicles.
Incident date: May 22, 2026
I’ve been dealing with some intermittent problems with my 2022 transit for a couple years now. Basically I’ll be driving on the highway and all the sudden I’ll lose gas control, and power braking and the dash displays a message that says “shift to neutral to restart vehicle”, battery icon flashes red and I have to coast to the side of the highway. The electronics in the car will still be... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
I’ve been dealing with some intermittent problems with my 2022 transit for a couple years now. Basically I’ll be driving on the highway and all the sudden I’ll lose gas control, and power braking and the dash displays a message that says “shift to neutral to restart vehicle”, battery icon flashes red and I have to coast to the side of the highway. The electronics in the car will still be... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
I’ve been dealing with some intermittent problems with my 2022 transit for a couple years now. Basically I’ll be driving on the highway and all the sudden I’ll lose gas control, and power braking and the dash displays a message that says “shift to neutral to restart vehicle”, battery icon flashes red and I have to coast to the side of the highway. The electronics in the car will still be... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
incident [XXX], Parking in front of Physical Therapy clinic, suddenly the motor revved and car shot across the sidewalk and went through the wall of the clinic. No one was there and no one was hurt. Insurance was notified. (Hartford) Googling Auro malfunctions for Ford Focus, I come across several things which could have malfunctioned and caused "unpredictable acceleration. Car had within... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
incident [XXX], Parking in front of Physical Therapy clinic, suddenly the motor revved and car shot across the sidewalk and went through the wall of the clinic. No one was there and no one was hurt. Insurance was notified. (Hartford) Googling Auro malfunctions for Ford Focus, I come across several things which could have malfunctioned and caused "unpredictable acceleration. Car had within... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 8, 2026
I am filing a safety complaint regarding my 2014 Ford F-150 XLT equipped with the 6R80 transmission. My vehicle previously received Recall 24S37 in 2024 for the known transmission downshift safety defect involving Output Shaft Speed (OSS) sensor signal loss. Despite completion of the recall repair, my vehicle is now exhibiting the same dangerous symptoms associated with the recall condition, incl... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
Unknown! sometimes the rear back up camera goes into a black screen and then once in drive the info screens stays black for about 30 seconds. the cars shifting is hard at times especially when going from slow to fast like for instance on a highway on ramp the shifting is very sluggish. the cupholder are a real hazard my cupholder bottomed out and my drink fell thru luckily there was no liquid in ... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
Unknown! sometimes the rear back up camera goes into a black screen and then once in drive the info screens stays black for about 30 seconds. the cars shifting is hard at times especially when going from slow to fast like for instance on a highway on ramp the shifting is very sluggish. the cupholder are a real hazard my cupholder bottomed out and my drink fell thru luckily there was no liquid in ... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
Unknown! sometimes the rear back up camera goes into a black screen and then once in drive the info screens stays black for about 30 seconds. the cars shifting is hard at times especially when going from slow to fast like for instance on a highway on ramp the shifting is very sluggish. the cupholder are a real hazard my cupholder bottomed out and my drink fell thru luckily there was no liquid in ... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2026
Unexpected hard down shift for no apparent reason at abourt 45-50 mph, hard, jerky up shifting at times, usually in the first few gears
Incident date: May 21, 2026
I bought this vehicle in mid April 2026 with 9,500 miles. It has the 1.5L Ecoboost engine. I drove the car for 3,000 miles and noticed the coolant was at ‘minimum’ and wondered why a car with so few miles is using coolant. I took the car to my dealer and they confirmed coolant intrusion into the engine due to a bad head gasket. The vehicle is now at the dealer waiting on either a new head gask... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
My truck transmission changes gears randomly while in motion. It is terrifying when it happens in traffic and the truck stalls and looses power then kicks back in with a loud noise. I stopped driving it since March of 2026.
Incident date: Mar 20, 2026
Coolant leaking into go engine. Causing erosion. Only 40,000 miles and been without car for 3 months now. Upon research this is a known issue. Confused why it wasn’t recalled with the number of people who appear to have been impacted.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
Se traba y se pone duro el "gobierno" junto con la cremallera electroasistida el volante no gira ni con el carro prendido, no eh echo uso de la campaña 15S18, nunca ah Sido asistido por el fabricante Ford, ni mucho menos lo eh metido a un taller de servicio independiente ni con aseguradoras y no me marco algún sensor del tablero antes de que me sucediera este problema con la "dirección asistida... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
Se traba y se pone duro el "gobierno" junto con la cremallera electroasistida el volante no gira ni con el carro prendido, no eh echo uso de la campaña 15S18, nunca ah Sido asistido por el fabricante Ford, ni mucho menos lo eh metido a un taller de servicio independiente ni con aseguradoras y no me marco algún sensor del tablero antes de que me sucediera este problema con la "dirección asistida... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
Se traba y se pone duro el "gobierno" junto con la cremallera electroasistida el volante no gira ni con el carro prendido, no eh echo uso de la campaña 15S18, nunca ah Sido asistido por el fabricante Ford, ni mucho menos lo eh metido a un taller de servicio independiente ni con aseguradoras y no me marco algún sensor del tablero antes de que me sucediera este problema con la "dirección asistida... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2026
While driving the car immediately downshifted and I could not accelerate. The Hill assist came on and service advance trac came on. This happened 3 times. The first time we towed it to the dealership April 17th, and they changed the oil and tested the battery secured wires and verified after the repair on April 26th. After we picked the truck up on April 26th it stalled on the highway on the home ... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2026
While driving the car immediately downshifted and I could not accelerate. The Hill assist came on and service advance trac came on. This happened 3 times. The first time we towed it to the dealership April 17th, and they changed the oil and tested the battery secured wires and verified after the repair on April 26th. After we picked the truck up on April 26th it stalled on the highway on the home ... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2026
While driving the car immediately downshifted and I could not accelerate. The Hill assist came on and service advance trac came on. This happened 3 times. The first time we towed it to the dealership April 17th, and they changed the oil and tested the battery secured wires and verified after the repair on April 26th. After we picked the truck up on April 26th it stalled on the highway on the home ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
My pillar are coming off to the point when it rains water get inside my car. It’s messed up my system in my car. I can’t close my sun roof and water comes down from my lights that’s above my head where you put your sunny sunglasses in. I been calling around and still haven’t got no where.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
My pillar are coming off to the point when it rains water get inside my car. It’s messed up my system in my car. I can’t close my sun roof and water comes down from my lights that’s above my head where you put your sunny sunglasses in. I been calling around and still haven’t got no where.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
My pillar are coming off to the point when it rains water get inside my car. It’s messed up my system in my car. I can’t close my sun roof and water comes down from my lights that’s above my head where you put your sunny sunglasses in. I been calling around and still haven’t got no where.
Incident date: Jan 12, 2026
My 2020 Ford EcoSport is subject to Safety Recall 23S64 for failure of the engine oil pump drive belt and/or tensioner. What component failed: The engine oil pump drive belt and/or tensioner failed, resulting in loss of oil pressure and major engine damage. Date of failure: Approximately [XXX] (Repair Order opened January 13 2026, mileage at failure: approximately 98000). Safety risk: This defe... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2025
Left for work. Started running funny, stalled-started-stalled-started on my street. Got on highway about 1/2 mile, check engine light & engine temp light came on. Got off highway and called a tow to SARASOTA FORD. Tech ran diag. for codes, codes found.: P1285( cylinder head over temp ), P0316(engine misfire ), P0304( cylinder 4 misfire ), P0303(cylinder 3 misfire ), P0302( cylinder 2 misfire ), P2... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2026
While driving on a straight road, flat surface the ball joint failed/broke causing the lower control arm to drop which in turn caused a collapse of the driver side front suspension. The front quarter panel sustained significant damage due to the collapse. It was all I could do to try and keep the truck under reasonable control. The control bar broke off, traveled under the truck causing some damag... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2026
The 2010 Ford fusion has 2584 complaints the second highest from 2010 to 2014; mine has been giving me intermittent issues for 3 years now and some times there is no error code and inspection cannot find anything wrong- but for 2010 year their has been none even though those years are the same generation car. Thats not fair stopping at 2011-the 2010 is the same car with the same issue-issue a reca... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2026
Vehicle experienced unintended transmission gear change without driver input from the gear selector. While driving, the transmission shifted unexpectedly into 4H even though the selector was not touched. This created a safety hazard due to sudden change in vehicle behavior, including: loss of acceleration, lurching and unexpected movement. Issue occurred at approximately 30 mph. Concern is potenti... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2026
Vehicle experienced unintended transmission gear change without driver input from the gear selector. While driving, the transmission shifted unexpectedly into 4H even though the selector was not touched. This created a safety hazard due to sudden change in vehicle behavior, including: loss of acceleration, lurching and unexpected movement. Issue occurred at approximately 30 mph. Concern is potenti... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2026
Vehicle experienced unintended transmission gear change without driver input from the gear selector. While driving, the transmission shifted unexpectedly into 4H even though the selector was not touched. This created a safety hazard due to sudden change in vehicle behavior, including: loss of acceleration, lurching and unexpected movement. Issue occurred at approximately 30 mph. Concern is potenti... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2020
The transmission is the 10r80 model and shifts erratically. should be recalled and rebuilt. i only have 40k miles but it jerks when shifting from park to reverse or reverse to forward and when driving it struggles to go into the correct gear causing delayed acceleration. i have to drive carefully to prepare in case the shift delay and i also have to take a lot of extra time parking to avoid the... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
When using the rear camera while towing a trailer, the image is partially blocked by a persistent message stating “full view not available”. This creates a safety issue as it obscures the driver’s view of the trailer and/or the trailer load. It is critical to be able to monitor the trailer and the load during towing to ensure a hazardous condition is not developing. I believe the rear view c... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2026
I have a 2019 Ford Edge Vin: [XXX] . My torque converter is going out and my warranty company doesn't want to replace because they say it was a pre existing issue. I know there are a lot of people with this same exact problem and I know there is an investigation into the problem. I need to know if there is any way this can be added to the recall list so I don't have to pay for this out of pocket.... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2026
Our 2017 Ford Edge Titanium had its engine check light go on at 60,788 miles on April 6, 2026. So we brought it into our local Ford dealership (where we purchased it new) the next day on April 7. We were told that diagnostics showed there was a coolant intrusion in one of the cylinders (2.0L Eco-Boost engine) and we would need to basically rebuild the engine (long block) for $9,900! This is very f... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
245/50R-20 pirelli scorpion weather active xl. Unknown cause. 5/22/2026 found bulge in passenger side front tire outer sidewall. Tire can be kept for inspection
Incident date: Feb 3, 2026
hello my name is [XXX] and I bought this 2014 Ford focus from a private dealer without being told what was wrong with the car for 4100 dollars and since I have had it it's been giving me problems it has a salvaged title.also it sounds like the inside of the hood is gurgling water ,sometimes it won't go in to reverse,it has a hard start the tcm module needs to be replaced and I guess it has someth... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2026
hello my name is [XXX] and I bought this 2014 Ford focus from a private dealer without being told what was wrong with the car for 4100 dollars and since I have had it it's been giving me problems it has a salvaged title.also it sounds like the inside of the hood is gurgling water ,sometimes it won't go in to reverse,it has a hard start the tcm module needs to be replaced and I guess it has someth... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2026
hello my name is [XXX] and I bought this 2014 Ford focus from a private dealer without being told what was wrong with the car for 4100 dollars and since I have had it it's been giving me problems it has a salvaged title.also it sounds like the inside of the hood is gurgling water ,sometimes it won't go in to reverse,it has a hard start the tcm module needs to be replaced and I guess it has someth... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
Back up camera works only intermittently.
Incident date: Mar 28, 2026
Vehicle experienced sudden severe loss of motive power consistent with Ford Safety Recall 23S64 (NHTSA Campaign 23V905000). Prior to repair, the vehicle entered limp mode and could not accelerate beyond approximately 30 to 35 MPH. Low oil pressure warning indicators and check engine light illuminated repeatedly. Engine produced abnormal grinding and strained startup noises. Vehicle also experience... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2026
Vehicle experienced sudden severe loss of motive power consistent with Ford Safety Recall 23S64 (NHTSA Campaign 23V905000). Prior to repair, the vehicle entered limp mode and could not accelerate beyond approximately 30 to 35 MPH. Low oil pressure warning indicators and check engine light illuminated repeatedly. Engine produced abnormal grinding and strained startup noises. Vehicle also experience... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2026
Vehicle experienced sudden severe loss of motive power consistent with Ford Safety Recall 23S64 (NHTSA Campaign 23V905000). Prior to repair, the vehicle entered limp mode and could not accelerate beyond approximately 30 to 35 MPH. Low oil pressure warning indicators and check engine light illuminated repeatedly. Engine produced abnormal grinding and strained startup noises. Vehicle also experience... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
When driving, the steering wheel became less responsive. The next day, we drove a few hundred miles and got gas. After turning the car back on, the steering became even less responsive, resulting in a lot of force being needed to be used in order to turn the vehicle. In addition to this, the car was extremely difficult to keep straight, making driving on a single-lane road extremely dangerous. We... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2026
When stopping for a redlight the 10r80 transmission locks itself into 10th gear. I have taken 7 or 8 actual videos for proof of that. Also when leaving a intersection the transmission runs up to the rev limiter in 1st gear then slams into 2,3,4 and 5th gear. Unfortunately I don’t have that on video because I am already moving when it happens. Also unfortunate for me is I called the local dealers... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
Component failed 1.6L Escoboost engine coolant intrusión into cylinders causing misfire and white exhaust smoke vehicle available for inspection upon request .safety risk:engine misfire and coolant loss cause sudden of power or ingine fire while driving. Recall 17S09 was issude for this exact defect .Ford SSM 46433 states this requires new engine assemby . Problem confirmed multiple repair shops ... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
Component failed 1.6L Escoboost engine coolant intrusión into cylinders causing misfire and white exhaust smoke vehicle available for inspection upon request .safety risk:engine misfire and coolant loss cause sudden of power or ingine fire while driving. Recall 17S09 was issude for this exact defect .Ford SSM 46433 states this requires new engine assemby . Problem confirmed multiple repair shops ... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
Component failed 1.6L Escoboost engine coolant intrusión into cylinders causing misfire and white exhaust smoke vehicle available for inspection upon request .safety risk:engine misfire and coolant loss cause sudden of power or ingine fire while driving. Recall 17S09 was issude for this exact defect .Ford SSM 46433 states this requires new engine assemby . Problem confirmed multiple repair shops ... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
NHTSA claim # 11739491 update 05/22/2026 Young Ford Ogden Utah is refusing to execute the remedy for open safety recall 23S12 on my vehicle. They are refusing to run diagnostics test to honor the recall without paying $100 and up fee.