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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 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 2,215,138 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

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 1,596 complaints for FREIGHTLINER

Incident date: Oct 21, 2021

Fire from fuel pump engine failure catalytic converter issues from engine

Fire 3 injured

Incident date: Jul 28, 2023

The high beam does not work even after bulb replacement on the 2019 Elantra(the low beams work just fine). A sound of an actuator trying to work is heard coming from the engine with a slight flicker of light but no successful high beam is shown after engaging the high beam actuator on the wheel. This is detrimental to the safety of drivers at night which could lead to a crash, injury, or fatality.

Incident date: Jul 28, 2023

I kept having issues with the drivers seat belt not retracting properly (since purchased new) after use creating a tremendous amount of slack in the belt the next time it was used. I actually had to drive it several times with an extremely slack belt basically just hanging on my lap. Since this is a tri-point seat belt, in the event of a crash the entire belt would fail to keep the seat occupant s... Read more

Incident date: Jul 28, 2023

Dash light warning lights come on and causes the cruise control to stop working. A total of 6 fault lights comes on and also causes the Adaptive Cruise Control to not work. This is the 3rd Freightliner Cascadia that I have driven in the past 3 and a half years and every single truck has had the same problem. Freightliner has refused to acknowledge that there is a problem. Nobody seems to know what... Read more

Incident date: Jul 25, 2022

Computer will suddenly error out and cruise control, AEB, forward collision warnings, and lane keep assist are not available. A warning "cruise control unavailable" shows if you attempt to engage autopilot or FSD. No forward collision warnings, no auto slowing down. Not docked for close following. No visualizations made. Not resolved with soft or hard reboot. Sometimes will randomly will allo... Read more

Incident date: Jul 25, 2022

Incident date: Feb 14, 2023

TRAILER BRAKE SYSTEM NEEDS SERVICE, WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND BEEPING LOUD STARTER LAST MONTH 6-2023 , AND MAYBE THE BRAKE CONTROL MODULE IS BAD ? CODE C1117 CAME UP

Incident date: Jul 5, 2023

This recall, campaign number 22V-406, has been open for 13 months at this point. How long is it acceptable to still be waiting on parts and a plan from Stellantis to address a potential safety issue that warranted a recall.

Incident date: Jul 5, 2023

Incident date: Jun 1, 2023

The Auto Idle Stop system was engaged at a red light after exiting an expressway. When the light turned green, and I removed my foot from the brake, the transmission moved to neutral, and the engine would not start up again. I was unsuccessful in getting the car to start again by either pushing the start/stop button or adjusting the transmission to park. The battery indicator light was illumina... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2023

My Emplyoer has not fixed anything on the truck, the truck shouldn’t be operating, doesn’t meet DOT Regulations, I was told not to go into any scales or weigh stations, loses air and the air doesn’t build back up properly, I lost all air in my breaks while driving on the road

Incident date: Mar 3, 2022

The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal odor of smoke detected from the vents. The contact pulled over and the vehicle caught fire. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries or air bag deployments. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Mar 3, 2022

I see that there is a recall for the exhaust leaks on the 2019 model. But there is a service alert for all Chevrolet Traverse from 2018-2022. Why are repairs on covered on the 2019?

Incident date: Jun 28, 2023

I purchased my CRV from Roseville Honda about 5 years ago and recently 3 of my 5 lock actuators have gone out in the car making the doors unable to open. My vehicle is able to be inspected and I drive it daily. Upon research it was known when they had sold me my car that the actuators in these cars needed to be replaced and failed to do so or to tell me. Mine and my child's safety is at risk wi... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

In mid-May I was on my way to a funeral about 3 and a half hours away. While going about 80 mph on the interstate, several lights appeared and my car quickly decelerated and would not accelerate. Luckily I had just gotten past the barriers on either side and was able to over to the left of the interstate. I turned the car off, waited a minute, and turned it back on. There were no lights and it acc... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

I am concerned of the blind spot created by the size of the right and left support structures on either end of windshield. They also have a grab handle attached to them increasing the size. When at a stop and looking for cross traffic they create a blind spot of approaching vehicles. I believe this was why I thought no traffic was approaching when i entered roadway and then saw a vehicle app... Read more

Incident date: Jun 14, 2023

Eagle valley motors sold me an unsafe car I kept telling them that the brakes were bad the transmission fluid was dark and the engine oil was black the tires were bad it was in real bad need of a tuneup I wrote and told the bbb about it and they did absolutely nothing I told Carlos he will lie about it just like how they lied to the bbb about getting in touch with me these people need to be out of... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Chrysler 300. The contact stated that water was leaking from the rear passenger’s side of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that the window trim on the rear driver's side door had detached. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,0... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2023

Hard Phantom braking incident when using cruise control with no vehicles ahead or next to me.

Incident date: May 1, 2023

Hard Phantom braking incident when using cruise control with no vehicles ahead or next to me.

Incident date: May 1, 2023

The Automatic Emergency Braking System has activated at least 3 different times while I was driving. At each occurrence there was nothing in the roadway or travel lane. The vehicle came to an abrupt stop twice and slammed the brakes on but then released them a moment later once. In each event a very near collision with other vehicles was almost caused. There are other drivers that use this truck t... Read more

Incident date: Feb 15, 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact stated that after he purchased the vehicle, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the crank sensor was faulty. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was then taken to the dea... Read more

Incident date: Apr 20, 2022

Both drivers side and passenger sun visors in car slowly started falling and not holding up creating an issue with visibility.

Incident date: May 22, 2023

After picking up the jeep from the dealership (brand new), we drove to mass from NY. On the second day of ownership, we drove car to store. When i returned to the car to drive home, it would not start and just said charging error with many warning lights. Car had to be towed to the nearest jeep dealer. Car only had 200 miles on it.

Incident date: May 22, 2023

The rearview camera is so cloudy you can barely see what's behind you.

Incident date: May 17, 2023

I was driving on the highway and all of sudden my car started decelerating. I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed the brake lights were illuminated although I was NOT pressing the brake pedal.

Incident date: May 17, 2023

The heat and air conditioning unit having intermitant issue. Last year after 8 hr. Drive in 108 degree weather the air cond. unit started blowing luke warm, after air was turned off for 1 hr. It started working.Then stopped again several hours later. Then turned off again for 1hr. Then worked again.this problem still continues, as well as heater doing the same thing.Took to dealer they said they c... Read more

Incident date: May 17, 2023

Ascending Tehachapi Pass CA Hwy 58 Eastbound in the left lane grossing 45,000lbs and traveling at 55mph with cruise control ON. I was passing another slower moving truck(~35-40mph). Before I came along the other vehicle the highway curved to the left. The Collision Aviodance System(CAS) didn't alarm, however the cruise control cut power and Automatic Emergency Braking(AEB) hardbraked my truck red... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2023

Check engine light. Code showing P2682 and P26a3. There is an issue with the Thermo Control Valve for the MY21 Crosstrek. This is also affecting the Forester and Outback. See this thread: https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/ Subaru should replace and install the new part regardless if the vehicle is no longer under warranty... Read more

Incident date: Feb 28, 2023

Unknown

Incident date: Feb 28, 2023

Unknown

Incident date: Apr 29, 2023

I got a 2017 Kia Sportage May 2022 and in September 2022 I started having problems with it I have taken it to the Kia dealership 3-4 times once even by tow. I have been told by the workers at the dealership that the engine needs to be replaced (car has roughly 87,000 miles). I was driving it down the road and it made a noise and lost power I literally had to floor it just to go around 30-40mph. No... Read more

Incident date: Oct 21, 2020

Hood latch bolts fell out while driving and the hood flew up and broke the windshield. I was going down a hwy 60mph raining at night.

Incident date: Jan 1, 2023

My instrument cluster and infotainment system went black while driving. This means that I had no access to my speedometer, which I believe is a safety issue. Additionally, I had no access to my range estimate or any other vehicle information. No backup camera, no lane assist, etc.

Incident date: Nov 12, 2022

I loaned my F250 to my son to move his furnishings from his apartment in Chicago back to Iowa. Once he got on the interstate, the truck began to shake violently causing him to feel he would lose control of the vehicle. The only way to stop it was to pull over and stop the vehicle. This could have resulted in severe injury or worse. I am beyond furious, upset and am going to escalate this known pro... Read more

Incident date: Jan 27, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that coolant was leaking into cylinder #4 and that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 19-2208 (Coolant in Cylinders). The manufacturer was ... Read more

Incident date: Jan 27, 2023

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on three separate occasions, while driving at low speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact was able to turn off and restart the vehicle on each occasion. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and produced code: B1342. The vehicle was not rep... Read more

Incident date: Jan 18, 2023

The VIN number for this car is [XXX]. "Check engine" light was on and the car could not pass the inspection. We took the car to the mechanics and they found out " leak from fuel pump module" (please refer to the mechanics report for details) . Due to the safety concern, we have to fix it right away out of our own pocket. This particular VIN number is not included in the MHTSA ID: 18V934000. We... Read more

Incident date: Jan 18, 2023

While using the cars adaptive cruise control, or enhanced autopilot as Teala calls it, the brakes would engage randomly and unpredictability while driving highway speeds (phantom braking). There were no cars, objects, or any other hazards around to warrant this "phantom braking". This has happened dozens of times while taking road trips.

Incident date: Nov 26, 2022

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start as needed. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that anti-freeze was intruding into the engine. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The veh... Read more

Incident date: Nov 26, 2022

Incident date: Mar 22, 2023

Loud, consistent, cracking sound along the base of the windshield along dashboard. Sounded as if the entire windshield would crack and shatter. Happened at least 3 separate instances, seems to be temperature related and on longer car rides. Once during NE winter with heat cranking it began to make the cracking sound. It was terrifying as I was unsure if the windshield would shatter and implode on ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 22, 2023

Oil drained to warning level from full during a vacation. The oil leaked out around head gasket level onto every part of the engine below it and the movement of air caused oil droplets to fall on the exhaust and smoke and also coated entire underneath and most of rear hatch with oil droplets.

Incident date: Mar 22, 2023

The drive shaft fwd carrier bearing was missing 2 of the 3 bolt that hold it to the cross member. Being held with one bolt change the center line of the drive shaft moving towards the driver's side of the truck this resulted the the drive shaft rubbing on a air tank hanger. I do have pictures. It looks like the missing bolts where never installed.

Incident date: Mar 23, 2023

Experiencing transmission problems. Vehicle stuck in third gear - safety mainly at highways - can coase crash. and/or make harsh jerks at reverse gear - very dangerous. Confirmed by local Central Jeep Garage. Warning lamps first appear at June 2022, problem appeared at winter 2022 (Jan-Apr. 2022).

Incident date: Mar 23, 2023

Steering wheel gives resistance to movement, both left and right. This creates a safety hazard from oversteering.

Incident date: Mar 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The failure nearly caused a collision. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the dealer... Read more

Incident date: Feb 13, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at high speeds, the transmission experienced rough and erratic shifting while switching gears. Additionally, the transmission was slipping while driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 18, 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while utilizing the cargo area, he noticed water inside the vehicle behind the third-row seats. There was an abnormal moldy odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and inspected. The mechanic located water in the bottom of the seam under the third-row seat. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacte... Read more

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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