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: May 14, 2026
RE:Safety Complaint - Defective FCIM Causing Hazard Flashers to Activate Randomly May 22, 2026 To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally complain about a serious electrical defect affecting my 2012 Ford Edge involving the Front Controls Interface Module (FCIM). The vehicle’s hazard flashers activate randomly and repeatedly without warning, even when the vehicle is completely off and pa... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
The vehicle's electrical system intermittently fails while driving. The entire instrument cluster and electronics shut off (speedometer, gauges, and all warning indicators go dark) while the engine continues running. On one occasion this occurred at night on a highway, with sudden loss of dashboard and electrical function until the vehicle could be pulled to safety, rendering the vehicle essentia... Read more
FORD
TRANSIT CONNECT
(2021) — FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
May 22, 2026
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
Automatic braking system module System went out mid drive and Locked up the front right and back left brakes making vehicle immovable in the middle of the highway. Towed to a dealership where they had to remove and replace ABS module no warning lamps were present. No prior symptoms before failure.
FORD
TRANSIT CONNECT
(2021) — SERVICE BRAKES
May 22, 2026
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
Automatic braking system module System went out mid drive and Locked up the front right and back left brakes making vehicle immovable in the middle of the highway. Towed to a dealership where they had to remove and replace ABS module no warning lamps were present. No prior symptoms before failure.
Incident date: Apr 11, 2026
My 2020 Ford Explorer XLT sustained a major transmission failure at 94,574 miles without any warning lights. On a 200 mile trip home from Long Island NY to New Jersey the car began to jerk when changing from highway speed to a complete stop due to traffic. As we slowed down the jerking was more pronounce. When reaccelerating the car again jerked forward and at sporadic times did not respond. ... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) — SUSPENSION
May 22, 2026
Incident date: Apr 26, 2026
Front end of vehicle suddenly started to shake violently when accelerating. Issue was reproduced any time when accelerating. No warning was indicated by the vehicle. Car was undrivable above 50 mph. Vehicle had 25K miles. Dealer reproduced issue. Diagnosed it as a catastrophic failure of both CV joints and front bearing(s). Dealer would not release vehicle as it was undrivable due to extreme saf... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) — STEERING
May 22, 2026
Incident date: Apr 26, 2026
Front end of vehicle suddenly started to shake violently when accelerating. Issue was reproduced any time when accelerating. No warning was indicated by the vehicle. Car was undrivable above 50 mph. Vehicle had 25K miles. Dealer reproduced issue. Diagnosed it as a catastrophic failure of both CV joints and front bearing(s). Dealer would not release vehicle as it was undrivable due to extreme saf... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2023) — VISIBILITY/WIPER
May 22, 2026
Incident date: May 9, 2026
Recall 24S51 from Ford says that 87,000 Maverick trucks have had the wiper motor fail due to moisture getting into the housing due to a sealant problem with the supplier. The recalled VINs can have a free inspection and replacement. I believe my VIN is also impacted by this problem because 37 months and 31,000 miles into my car, my wipers failed. I was driving in light rain and the wipers would... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2026
Steering wheel will not turn. Tried to reset but that did not work. Mechanic diagnosed it as a power steering rack failure. Steering rack needs to be replaced.
Incident date: Jul 3, 2025
. The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V347000( ); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
I had problems with the brakes at first (system pressure). Than it was a powertrain failure. Followed by Turbocharger wastegate failure. It affected the vacuum system, brakes, and acceleration ability. Brakes became firm, but not stopping as well when applied. Had extreme loss of power trying to get up to speeds to enter highway & interstate at 60 then 70 mph. Dealership ended up replacing turbo w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, however the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated and the engine seized. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The independ... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2026
While pulling into my parking garage at work I put my 2017 Ford Fusion into park to open the door and scan my card. When I tried to shift out of park the gear shifter indicated a shifting fault that required service. The car was towed to a Ford Service Center where the problem as diagnosed to be the shift control linkage, specifically the shift cable bushing. I have come to understand that this pa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Flex. The contact stated while reversing, the rear view camera screen displayed a blue screen. In addition, the error code indicated that the rear view camera display was unavailable. The failure occurred intermittently. The dealer was made aware of the failure, and the contact was informed that the parts were unavailable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
I brought my Ford EcoSport into the Baxter. Ford, in Papillion, Nebraska, because it was malfunctioning, the oil pressure got real low and my car was not accelerating like it should Also I advise them that there is an open recall on the vehicle. As well and I that the recall and the engine malfunction are related. They told me that it wasn't, and I'm sure it was. Then, they advised me that after s... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
Contacted ford about recalls 26S28 and 19V075 and they report that my vehicle is out of the warranty period for repair. They were advised that this is under a NHTSA recall and still refuse to honor the NHTSA safety recall stating that it is outside the window for replacement. Again advised them that this is a NHTSA recall and they still refuse to honor it. My vehicle is inoperable due to this.
Incident date: May 22, 2026
Contacted ford about recalls 26S28 and 19V075 and they report that my vehicle is out of the warranty period for repair. They were advised that this is under a NHTSA recall and still refuse to honor the NHTSA safety recall stating that it is outside the window for replacement. Again advised them that this is a NHTSA recall and they still refuse to honor it. My vehicle is inoperable due to this.
Incident date: May 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V544000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not 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. The contact had... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2026
The rotary gear shift knob occasionally gets stuck and refuses to rotate back to Reverse (R). This intermittent failure has occurred 3 times within this month. The dashboard does not show any warning lights or error codes during the incident. This is a severe safety hazard as it could leave the vehicle stranded in traffic or unable to back away from danger. Took the vehicle to the Ford dealership(... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted, while the check engine warning light and service warning light were illuminated. The contact stated that the RPMs rapidly increased from approximately 1,500 RPM to 5,000 RPM. The contact also stated that the gear indicator lights became inoperable. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2025
Total engine failure in the Ford Explorer XLT 2.3L ecoboost.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2025
Total engine failure in the Ford Explorer XLT 2.3L ecoboost.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Bronco. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine warning light illuminated and the engine seized. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start as intended. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2024) — FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
May 22, 2026
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Bronco. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V4670000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2018) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
May 22, 2026
Incident date: May 11, 2026
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2018 Ford Expedition. The vehicle was purchased through a dealer sale. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy per a Carfax report. At the time of purchase per the title, the vehicle mileage was 56,562., However, the Carfax report stated that the mileage was 195, 253 on 3/2/26. The contact stated that the current approximate mileage was unknow... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2026
No power steering hard to turn left and right
Incident date: May 21, 2026
NHTSA recall 23V-162/Ford recall 23S12 Vehicle suffered secondary failure of recall remedy part which caused an immediate loss of braking ability. Ford dealer refused a safety tow unless I paid for it upfront which forced me to use my personal roadside insurance. After calling local dealer to assure vehicle had arrived after being towed, dealer said they couldn't look at vehicle until Tuesday ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the trailor lights and the brake lights failed to function as intended. No warning lights were ullimunated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a malfunction with the trailor brakes and service brakes. The contact was informed that the parts were unavailable. The vehicle was no... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle at an undisclosed speed, the AC was being used at 70% power when suddenly, the AC no longer gave cool air and the airflow was weak. The contact stated this happens when he drives the vehicle longer than a 4 hour period. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it could not be diagnosed due to no being able to dupl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Flex. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V951000(BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made a... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact received a recall notification, 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention) however the parts were unavailable. The dealer was contacted, the contact was informed that the parts were unavailable. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced any failure regarding the unrepaired recall repair.
Incident date: Jan 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V544000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part for the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the remedy to be available. The contact stated that while coming down a parking lot ramp at approximately 5 MPH and applying the brak... Read more
FORD
TRANSIT CONNECT
(2021) — POWER TRAIN
May 22, 2026
Incident date: May 19, 2026
The transmission hasn't been working correctly for the last 2 years. It was constantly shifting incorrectly, lagging, stuttering, and making driving difficult. It finally just stopped in the middle of traffic and would not move. It threw a diagnostic code of P0751, which we learned was related to a known issue with the vehicle, TSB 25-2550. The vehicle is now not drivable and had to be towed b... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2025) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 22, 2026
Incident date: May 21, 2026
I have been having issues with the vehicles audio speakers for a few months now, having random momentary bursts of full volume static noise, as well as sometimes consistent static noise that doesn’t stop for up to 30 mins even after the vehicle is turned off. On 5/21/26 this happened once again, turning vehicle off didn’t work. The static sound stayed playing even after the truck was turned of... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 3, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the transmission experienced erroneously down shifting and upshifting, gear skipping, aggressive down shifting, and erroneous shifting from the park to drive positions. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission lead frame needed to be replaced and programmed. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
During operation of my 2015 Ford Edge Titanium, the vehicle experienced intermittent loss of acceleration and multiple electronic warning messages. While driving, pressing the accelerator pedal would sometimes result in little or no vehicle acceleration. The RPMs fluctuated abnormally and the vehicle appeared to enter a reduced-power condition. Warning messages included “Hill Start Assist Unavai... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
During operation of my 2015 Ford Edge Titanium, the vehicle experienced intermittent loss of acceleration and multiple electronic warning messages. While driving, pressing the accelerator pedal would sometimes result in little or no vehicle acceleration. The RPMs fluctuated abnormally and the vehicle appeared to enter a reduced-power condition. Warning messages included “Hill Start Assist Unavai... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
During operation of my 2015 Ford Edge Titanium, the vehicle experienced intermittent loss of acceleration and multiple electronic warning messages. While driving, pressing the accelerator pedal would sometimes result in little or no vehicle acceleration. The RPMs fluctuated abnormally and the vehicle appeared to enter a reduced-power condition. Warning messages included “Hill Start Assist Unavai... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
After having to have my vehicle towed to & held by the dealership for a total of 3 months altogether over the course of two separate engine rebuilds due to a national recall on faulty oil pump parts, my vehicle's check engine light came on & gave a message that there was an issue with the emissions system. I am now experiencing multiple engine system faults EVERY SINGLE TIME I refuel my vehicle wh... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
After having to have my vehicle towed to & held by the dealership for a total of 3 months altogether over the course of two separate engine rebuilds due to a national recall on faulty oil pump parts, my vehicle's check engine light came on & gave a message that there was an issue with the emissions system. I am now experiencing multiple engine system faults EVERY SINGLE TIME I refuel my vehicle wh... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2026
After having to have my vehicle towed to & held by the dealership for a total of 3 months altogether over the course of two separate engine rebuilds due to a national recall on faulty oil pump parts, my vehicle's check engine light came on & gave a message that there was an issue with the emissions system. I am now experiencing multiple engine system faults EVERY SINGLE TIME I refuel my vehicle wh... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2024
APIM real‑time clock failure. Dealer refuses repair, states ‘software issue’ for 16 months. Clock resets instantly to 12:00, cannot retain time. Will also blink sometime to current time and then immediately back to 12:00. This displays both on my head unit as well as my heads up display.
Incident date: May 18, 2026
I am filing a safety complaint regarding repeated windshield cracking on my new 2025 Ford Bronco. I purchased the vehicle approximately 2 months ago. Since purchase, the vehicle has experienced 3 separate windshield cracks under normal commuting use only. The vehicle has not been used off-road or in extreme driving conditions. The most concerning issue is that after the windshield was replaced, th... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
Formal Complaint – 2018 Ford Fusion 1.5L EcoBoost – Engine Block Defect Statement of Issue:I am writing to report a premature engine failure on my 2018 Ford Fusion 1.5L. The vehicle is exhibiting all symptoms of the well-documented "coolant intrusion" defect described in Ford Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 22-2222. Despite following all recommended maintenance intervals, the engine block h... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
Formal Complaint – 2018 Ford Fusion 1.5L EcoBoost – Engine Block Defect Statement of Issue:I am writing to report a premature engine failure on my 2018 Ford Fusion 1.5L. The vehicle is exhibiting all symptoms of the well-documented "coolant intrusion" defect described in Ford Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 22-2222. Despite following all recommended maintenance intervals, the engine block h... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2026
Vehicle is very hard to steer, will not reset when restarting the vehicle. two dash messages; advance track warning and power assist failure. I have not attempted to drive on road due to difficulty of steering the wheel. I am afraid the vehicle is uncontrollable at this point and needs to be towed to a repair facility. Not sure if this incident is linked to the recall under 14S06 for ford recalls.
Incident date: May 18, 2026
Vehicle is very hard to steer, will not reset when restarting the vehicle. two dash messages; advance track warning and power assist failure. I have not attempted to drive on road due to difficulty of steering the wheel. I am afraid the vehicle is uncontrollable at this point and needs to be towed to a repair facility. Not sure if this incident is linked to the recall under 14S06 for ford recalls.
Incident date: May 12, 2026
Stopped at a Light and took off thru the intersection and car made a loud bang noise then no power and kept bogging out, pulled into parking lot and stopped then car wouldn’t move. Shut car off then restarted it and put into reverse and car drive forward, put in neutral and car still drove forward, couldn’t get it to go into reverse, now the motor is tilting back to fire wall like motor mounts... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2024
My car Transmission dual clutch went out in 2024. Car makes a loud winding noise car hesitate when stops Yes,confirmed by dealership and Coleman's transmission. Yes, by the manufacturer. No warning lamps or messages.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2025
Recall letter was sent October 2025. It is now mid-May 2026 and Ford does not have parts available for this recall. That is not reasonable. The safety recall is nhtsa 25v695 for the rearview camera.