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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 384,293 complaints for FORD

Incident date: Jul 18, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the driver’s side side-curtain air bag deployed unexpectedly. There was no injury reported. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

Incident date: Jul 18, 2026

I own a 2020 Ford Explorer Platinum equipped with Adaptive LED Headlamps. The passenger-side low-beam headlamp intermittently failed and would turn off while driving. The vehicle displayed the warning message, **"Check Headlamp System – See Manual."** Initially, the headlamp would occasionally begin working again after restarting the vehicle, but for approximately the past three months, the pass... Read more

Incident date: Jul 17, 2026

Recall 22V-760 was performed, but the remedy failed, the exact same safety code has returned, and the manufacturer is refusing to replace the failed hardware component.

Incident date: May 23, 2026

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after driving for 5 miles, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode, with the message "Service Traction" displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle operated as intended after cooling down; however, the failure recurred after driving 5 miles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with high resistance in the BCM harne... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2024

Incident date: Jul 23, 2026

I called the manufacturer, Nissan Consumer Affairs at [XXX] - After entering my VIN# the automated computer system stated there is no recalls for my vehicle, even though your NHTSA Vehicle Safety Website lists the following recall: February 09, 2023 Manufacturer Recall Number: PC947 NHTSA Recall Number: 23E-012 Recall Status: Recall Incomplete Please advi... Read more

Incident date: Apr 19, 2026

I had two very serious incidents. July 8th: Horn just started blaring unprompted. Locking/unlocking doors, turning motor on, disconnecting battery did nothing to stop it. I was trying everything and as I was trying to find the correct fuse to disable (it wasn't labeled), the horn burned out and started smoldering. If the car was not in my driveway AND I wasn't home, I believe a fire would have s... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Jul 23, 2026

With increasing frequency, at seemingly any condition or speed, a cluster of dashboard warnings, including power steering EPS, ABS, tire pressure TPMS, and others, flash on and stay on. Shortly after, the warnings appear power steering assist fails completely. This leads to uneasy and potentially dangerous circumstances as the car becomes minimally controllable as the physical effort required to m... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2026

When going up my 5% grade driveway the truck has slammed into “park” while moving two times. The car turns off as it slams into park and a “ service transmission” warning is on the dash. It leaves small skid marks from doing this while moving. It has 1790 miles on it. Dealer has had it a week and says they cannot duplicate the issue. Google search seems to indicate many trucks have had... Read more

Incident date: Jun 23, 2026

I dropped off my Jeep at Chris Crain Jeep Hot Springs AR on 7/15/26 due to a recall. At the time I dropped the vehicle off, the 4 wheel drive system was working properly and I had no warning lights on the dash. I always kept the 4 wheel drive in AUTO mode. They called on 7/16/2026 and said they completed the PTU update. I took possession of the Jeep but before I left Cris Crain parking lot I start... Read more

Incident date: Jul 22, 2026

What happened: A franchised Hyundai dealership installed aftermarket window tint on a new 2025 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Night Edition prior to sale without disclosing it as a dealer add-on. When the vehicle was brought in for an active manufacturer safety recall concerning the rear quarter-window glass, the dealership informed us that the official factory recall remedy (applying a protective s... Read more

Incident date: Jul 22, 2026

Incident date: Oct 14, 2025

The contact owns a 2001 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V444000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that upon further inspection, the underbody frame appeared to be rusted. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was confirmed that the underbody frame was rusted. The loc... Read more

Incident date: Jul 23, 2025

The contact owns a 2026 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle ran over a small wooden plank in the roadway, and the plank became wedged between the front passenger’s door and the body seal. The contact inspected the vehicle and became aware of a uniform one-inch gap between the body panel and each door on the vehicle. The gap was insulated by a pl... Read more

Incident date: Jul 23, 2023

Panoramic Ceiling exploded while driving. No one was around me nor was it in bad weather. My entire drive home the glass was falling into the liner and down the side of the car. The glass was dropping down on the liner and could have shattered all over the interior and the passengers had the liner not been closed. It could have also caused you to crash as it sounds like someone shot out a window w... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

With idle start/stop enabled, there have been multiple occasions where the system has not restarted, causing my wife to almost get into an accident with my two young daughters in the car. Honda has looked at it on two occasions and claims there is no issue. However when researching this online, it has let me to find a NHTSA investigation, as well as hundreds of complaints about this are found onli... Read more

Incident date: Jul 19, 2026

Our 2017 Ford Expedition, has been diagnosed with a failure involving the molded lead frame/transmission sensor assembly in its 6R80 transmission. We were advised that the failure can cause the transmission to unexpectedly downshift at highway speed, resulting in sudden deceleration and possible loss of control. Ford has recalled 2015–2017 F-150 vehicles equipped with the 6R80 for a substantial... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

Vehicle developed a hum when accelerating on July 5, 2026. Made an appointment with the dealership to have it diagnosed. They could not get me in until July 16, 2026. On July 15, 2026, the vehicle went into limp mode and had to be driven at an unsafe speed to the dealership to diagnose and repair the issue. There are 81,000 miles on the vehicle. The issue turned out to be a cracked catalytic conv... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

Driving at 75 miles per hour on highway. We Heard an explosion, and airbags deployed. There was no collision or front end hit, there was no warning lights or sounds, no deceleration. My husband was somehow able to pull to the side, we were not injured, except for the airbag hitting me in the head, egg noted. No EMS treatment. Police report confirms this, when towed, the tow guy noticed loud clang... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

Incident date: Jul 15, 2025

Vehicle was parked in a parking lot. When starting the vehicle and trying to put it into reverse, it would not backup. Vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. The transmission had gears stripped and was due to a failure of the shift module of the vehicle. The vehicle had under 67,000 miles on it. There were no issues with the shift module or transmission up until this point.

Incident date: Jul 16, 2026

Finally got car back from previous repairs and it was making a loud groaning noise all the time. Took it back to dealership and they said they had to repair the rack and pinion system and the gears were shredded. Employee says they now have another niro with the same problem as my original symptoms when transmission was replaced twice. Car has consistently had problems with the RPMs being incredib... Read more

Incident date: Jul 15, 2025

SEVERE THROTTLE DELAY & UNPREDICTABLE ACCELERATION When applying pressure to the accelerator pedal at intersections or traffic lights, there is a substantial "dead zone" delay where the vehicle fails to respond or move forward. To prompt movement in normal traffic flow, I am forced to depress the accelerator pedal to the floor. Once the engine computer responds, the vehicle suddenly lunges forward... Read more

Incident date: Jul 15, 2026

Incident date: Aug 7, 2025

Vehicle Safety Complaint I am submitting this complaint regarding my 2025 Cadillac XT4 because of a serious transmission failure that created a significant safety hazard. While driving on the interstate at approximately 60 mph, the transmission suddenly malfunctioned and the vehicle lost its ability to operate normally. The transmission appeared to disengage unexpectedly, causing a sudden loss of ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 19, 2026

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. 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 contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed a black image with the message “Please See Dealer for Repair" displayed, causing the vehicle to reverse into the rear of another ve... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Nov 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2024 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and attempting to place her [XXX] child in the rear passenger’s side seat, the contact touched the door handle, unlocking the door, and placed the bag with the key fob on the floor of the rear passenger’s side. The contact walked around to the driver's side door, and the door was locked. The contact ret... Read more

Incident date: Nov 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V312000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired; however, the contact was informed that the part to do the recall repair was on back order. The contact stated that the New York State Department of Motor... Read more

Incident date: Nov 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact stated was informed that the engine failure was caused by rod bearing failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1... Read more

Incident date: Jun 23, 2026

Blown head gasket at ~94k miles. Cost over $7k to replace with a used engine and Honda offered zero reimbursement assistance. This is a major problem on the 10th generation engines.

Incident date: Apr 8, 2024

COMPLAINT SUMMARY: CRITICAL SAFETY REGRESSIONS IN TESLA FSD SOFTWAREI am filing a formal safety complaint regarding severe, high-risk behavior regressions introduced across the last three consecutive builds of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software. These defects create immediate collision hazards, cause major route disruptions, and require frequent, urgent driver intervention to preven... Read more

Incident date: Apr 8, 2024

I parked my 22 Subaru Outback in my enclosed garage about 11:00 AM. I was in and out of the garage at least five times between 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM and in a room next to the garage the rest of the time. At 6:00 PM I went into my backyard. Upon returning inside the house about 7:30 PM I heard the car running in the garage. The car had remotely started sometime between 6:00-7:30.The keys had been ha... Read more

Incident date: Apr 8, 2024

While driving in the middle of active traffic, the vehicle experienced a sudden and dangerous loss of motive power. The first indication of a problem was the A/C abruptly blowing hot air. Immediately following this, the vehicle began violently shaking before the engine stalled completely. The low oil pressure warning light was triggered on the dashboard. Losing all acceleration in the middle of ac... Read more

Incident date: Apr 13, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, there was a misfire coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and, upon inspection, the contact determined that one of the ignition coils had failed. The contact purchased a new ignition coil, replaced the part, and resumed driving; ho... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2026

In troubleshooting a power failure in the slide and leveling hydraulic system in this Class A RV, an electrical issue was discovered with the main powerline being frayed and corroded due to its placement next to the gas tank. It appears the power line may have been arching against the fuel tank. This seems like a very dangerous situation and should be reviewed. No incidents happened due to the dis... Read more

Incident date: May 27, 2026

I am submitting this complaint because the driver's seat belt does not fit me properly despite using all available factory adjustments. I am an adult female who is 5 feet 2 inches tall. The driver's seat is adjusted to its highest position, and the shoulder belt height adjuster is set to its lowest position. Even with these adjustments, the shoulder belt crosses and rubs against my neck instead o... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

When we are idling (at a red light), the engine will suddenly stop. We believe this is the feature of the start-stop system used to save gasoline. We will then have to completely restart the car as the car has been turned off. This creates a huge safety hazard at intersections. We have asked Honda about it twice now and currently replacing the starter. Our car is a little over 3 years ago with abo... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

The sunroof shattered unprovoked driving at highway speeds

Incident date: May 20, 2026

My vehicle is experiencing a severe safety hazard where the emergency braking system suddenly slams on the brakes while driving in traffic, pulling into traffic, or backing up. When this happens, the car unexpectedly shuts off, and no warning lights or error messages appear on the dashboard. This has almost caused an accident multiple times, making the vehicle incredibly dangerous to drive. I prev... Read more

Incident date: Jul 18, 2026

Infotainment is unresponsive and also ghost touches on its own. It’ll turn on and blast the radio on its own, end phone calls, call people and switch out of navigation all which is extremely distracting. System was reproduced by the dealer, got replaced and the problem came back. Dealer says Honda tech line says that there is no fix but that it is in the works.

Incident date: Mar 17, 2026

Due to braking system electronic failure vehicle automatically disables safety features such as ABS, parking collision sensors disabled, traction control, and vehicle will automatically and abruptly go into P (park) when coming to a stop while braking. This can be caused by wheel speed sensors, brake control module, or communication failure to PCM. Engine codes U0418, U0415, and U1003 linked to pr... Read more

Incident date: Jun 2, 2026

This is at lesat the second time that our Odessey has failed to restart at an interesction following the start-stop system turning off the engine the when stopped at a red light. After a couple of moments of trying to restart, it started again.

Incident date: Nov 1, 2023

MALFUNCTION: In normal driving mode the stop lamp / brake lights do not shut off after releasing the braking controls. The stop lamps will shut off only after the accelerator pedal is used, or when the vehicle coasts below 10mph. SAFETY: 1) When descending mountain roads the stop lamps remain illuminated for extended periods of time. In some cases the stop lamps remain illuminated for hundreds or... Read more

Incident date: May 27, 2026

While towing my fifth-wheel trailer, I was descending a hill (I had my tow/haul switch engaged) when I noticed an issue with my vehicle. Upon reaching the bottom of the hill and beginning to decelerate, when applying gas to continue up the hill the vehicle shuddered noticeably. A warning light briefly illuminated on the dashboard and then turned off shortly afterward. Although the warning light we... Read more

Incident date: Jul 20, 2026

My 2021 Toyota RAV4 began experiencing intermittent shuddering and vibration at low speeds around May 2026. The condition occurred while accelerating from a stop or at slow speeds and became more frequent over time. Because the problem was intermittent, the dealership was initially unable to duplicate it. Independent inspection later found dark transmission fluid containing metal debris, indicatin... Read more

Incident date: Jul 15, 2026

On 7/22/2026 between 6pm and 7pm PST, I was driving my Tesla Model Y on I-405 southbound in Orange County, CA, between the Westminster Blvd exit and Exit 73, with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) engaged. The incident occurred at an express lane ingress/egress transition zone where a physical barrier separates the express and general-purpose lanes. While in FSD mode, the vehicle initiated a lane cha... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Jun 15, 2026

The steering wheel is sticky or “catching,” especially on straight away at higher speeds. This model was recalled for a similar issue in 2017-2018.

Incident date: Jul 22, 2026

**Incident Report — Tesla Model Y Safety System Failure** The subject vehicle, a Tesla Model Y equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology and advanced safety features, was involved in a collision at an estimated impact speed of 40–45 MPH. The vehicle's onboard recording system captured the incident and clearly documents the impact dynamics, vehicle speed at impact, and the contributing ... Read more

Crash 2 injured

Incident date: Jul 22, 2026

Crash 2 injured

Incident date: May 28, 2026

I brought my Chevrolet Suburban High Country in to the dealer pursuant to a recall for engine issues due to a manufacturing defect in connecting rods and crankshafts that can cause catastrophic engine failure. The service center changed the oil viscosity and fill cap and stated that the change should eliminate the issue. I have had persistent engine knocking upon acceleration since then and it is ... Read more

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Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

Read more from our blog