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 1,421 complaints for GENESIS
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
My husband was getting off the highway when a car ahead of him braked suddenly. He attempted to hit the brakes, but the car did not stop. The automatic stop crash feature did not turn on. The abs did not work. Ultimately, crashing into the car ahead of him. Manufacturer Safety-related recall issued NHTSA #23V-174 Recall #FE5 2020-22 Multi-Model Door Mirror Glass Safety Recall Status: Remedy Avail... Read more
Crash
2 injured
GENESIS
G80 ELECTRIFIED
(2024) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jul 7, 2023
Incident date: Apr 3, 2023
Honda Ridgeline's "Auto High-Beam Headlights" do not work as advertised. They do not automatically engage high-beam headlights when appropriate. When this features rarely engages, the high-beams often disengage quickly - which distracts the driver and creates a temporary dangerous situation. I believe that this can be fixed with software.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2022
On July 4, 2023, my kids and I were in Tifton, GA shopping. My car just cut off in the middle of the road. The only way I could get it to turn back on was by turning the car completely off and then turning the car back on. I was in the middle of the road and almost got run over. My car had gas in it and wasn't acting up prior to this happening. I believe that this problem has to do with the fuel... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, while the brake pedal was depressed, it floored, and the vehicle failed to stop. Additionally, another vehicle hit the contact's vehicle on the driver's side; however, the air bags failed to deploy. The contact and her son were injured and received medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle w... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
Our 2018 VW Atlas will randomly shut the engine off even with auto start/shut off disabled. This has happened 5 times in 3 months. It has done so on the highway and on main streets putting our family of 6 at risk of being in an auto crash every time. The brakes have automatically came on 2 times. Forward collision sensors come on with nothing in front of us which also puts the breaks on and makes ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Got a recall letter about an electrical shortage May 11.Called the dealer and customer care, both told me that there was nothing they can do about recall as there is no solution; however, my recall cause a serious safety issue as it can start a fire with ignition on or off. Its been almost 60 days no solution; therefore I would like to replace my vehicle as there is nothing they can do to fix it a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
I'm concerned that if I'm in an accident and the driver airbag inflates metal fragments will pass through the airbag and into the interior of my vehicle and possibly kill me or my passengers. I've called a GMC dealer and they can't do anything because the parts aren't available at this time to repair. I called GMC customer assistance and they said there's nothing they can do at this time. I called... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
THIS VEHICLE HAS ELECTRICAL ISSUES. THIS VEHICLE WATERPUMP FAILED TWICE WHICH I HAD TO REPAIR THIS VEHICLE GIVES WARNING SIGN’DRIVE SYSTEM MALFUCTION’ CODES DIRECTING TO TURBO CHARGER BUT IT IS ACTUALLY THE WASTEGATE THATS THE ISSUE-WHICH I HAD REPLACED AFTER THROWING A NEW TURBO. THIS VEHICLE HAS ISSUES WITH THERMOSTAT WHICH I HAD REPLACED TWICE. I HAVE PAYED ALL REPAIRS OUT OF POCKET AND UN... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
THIS VEHICLE HAS ELECTRICAL ISSUES. THIS VEHICLE WATERPUMP FAILED TWICE WHICH I HAD TO REPAIR THIS VEHICLE GIVES WARNING SIGN’DRIVE SYSTEM MALFUCTION’ CODES DIRECTING TO TURBO CHARGER BUT IT IS ACTUALLY THE WASTEGATE THATS THE ISSUE-WHICH I HAD REPLACED AFTER THROWING A NEW TURBO. THIS VEHICLE HAS ISSUES WITH THERMOSTAT WHICH I HAD REPLACED TWICE. I HAVE PAYED ALL REPAIRS OUT OF POCKET AND UN... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 2500. The contact received notification NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V835000 (Power Train) and 23V060000 (Electrical System) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
My 2015 Suburb Forester accelerates by itself.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally stalled while at a stop light and while decelerating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the transmission, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
odd random surge while lightly breaking and slowing down. Very scary and concerning. Braking while coming to a stop sign or light, it surges forward while brakes are applied. It happens several times a week while driving short distances
GENESIS
G80 ELECTRIFIED
(2023) - ENGINE
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: May 16, 2023
Driving on 2 lane, car suddenly went dead at 60 mph . Able to get off road. Cranked back up. Checked for code and fuel tank had vacuum lock. Checked with ford. There is a recall on that but not my vin number. Took to Ford garage x4 paid eval. Fee of $159 twice to diagnose. No success. They replace fuel door and clutch total bills approx $500. Last failed attempt to fix the problem revealed more tr... Read more
GENESIS
G80 ELECTRIFIED
(2023) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: May 16, 2023
Driving on 2 lane, car suddenly went dead at 60 mph . Able to get off road. Cranked back up. Checked for code and fuel tank had vacuum lock. Checked with ford. There is a recall on that but not my vin number. Took to Ford garage x4 paid eval. Fee of $159 twice to diagnose. No success. They replace fuel door and clutch total bills approx $500. Last failed attempt to fix the problem revealed more tr... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
This is the second report filing about the trunk lid closing without initiating the automatic closure. In order to keep this record accurate, the vehicle was brought into the Mercedes Benz dealer, (where it was purchased), on May 23, 2023. The service advisor came to the car to instruct me on how to use the mechanism. He was unable to operate it correctly either. The car was also brought in for ot... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking and hesitating. On another occasion, while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the transmission downshifted, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle would no longer accelerate forward and failed to reverse. During the failure, the message "transmission fault" was displayed. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
My 2012 Fiat 500 has had the same problem twice now. While driving, the clip attaching the clutch pedal to the master cylinder assembly breaks and disconnects. The pedal will go to the floor and stay there, and it becomes impossible to shift the manual transmission. After replacing the entire master cylinder assembly, to repair this issue, it just happened again months later. The last time it happ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the clutch was slipping. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact previously received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V116000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the failure was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
Vehicle door would not open with Key Fob. All the lights started flashing with a clicking sound coming from the dashboard area. The Instrument Cluster goes blank. Service Trailer Brake Message keeps going off and on with no trailer connected. Technician Diagnosed Electrical Fault Per TSB 18-NA-161. The negative battery cable showed excessive voltage drop as a fault. The Technician inspected gro... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V650000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was 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 not... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2023
There is an active recall on this vehicle: NHTSA: 22V556, Canadian: 2022-368 22V556, 2022-368 - LCI AWNINGS 20E-055 It was inspected and I was told there is nothing wrong with it, now a month later it is failing and no one wants to help me! I have uploaded pictures of the failing awning! How do these companies get away with this? If it is a known defect why are they not forced to replace the defec... Read more
GENESIS
G80 ELECTRIFIED
(2023) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 28, 2023
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
repeatedly, i have had my car brake harshly when travelling anywhere from 30-55 mph while using adaptive cruise control. there is nevere anything in the road or a car anywhere nearby to warrant a dramatic braking. the decelertion is harsh and alomst caused someone behind me to hit me on 2 occasions. i have repeatedly told Tesla about this and mostly gotten a nebulous response about "hardware" or '... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
The steering is loose and rattles. Difficulty with car control over 40 mph. Mechanic said they didn't see a safety issue but there is a broken part in the steering mechanism. No warning lights.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Brake lights do NOT come on when decelerating in I-PEDAL mode and Level 3 regen brake modes, perhaps more. The car should instead generously apply brake lights by default anytime deceleration occurs via regen braking.
Incident date: May 1, 2023
There is one spot on HWY 29 near me in Lake County CA where the car while driving on autopilot always sees an obstacle ahead and warns of an immediate collision. There is however, nothing in the road it is just the road dips down (a bit like a helter skelter) and the car does not recognize it. It is replicable and happens every time that highway is driven.
Incident date: May 15, 2023
Vehicle steering sticks and at times and locks while vehicle is in motion on highway and roads. Requires max effort to return to center and at times vehicle tries to follow lines on highway even with adaptive cruise control and lane departure system turned off. Very unsafe steering with almost a few accidents due to loss of control.
Incident date: May 9, 2023
Vehicle was being driven in a construction zone on the highway when the CMBS (collision mitigation braking system) error message appeared on the dashboard. This is the 2nd occurrence of this issue (1st occurrence also happened while driving through construction zone) When error occurs all advanced safety features (auto-emergency braking, lane keep, etc) become disabled. I believe there is a fund... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2023
The "cone of light "projected forward by the headlights is too narrow. When turning right or left from one dark road onto another dark road, one cannot determine if it is safe to turn. The light cone is blocked by the escutcheon around the headlight, which are set inward too deep. In addition, the light intensity of the main beam is insufficient for proper night driving on dark roads, Note:this ca... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2023
New battery, plugs and wires, new alternator. It will run for 5 seconds after jumping, then lights pop on and it dies. When jumping the negative also throws a spark while trying to start.
Incident date: May 9, 2023
My wife was dropping my kid in the school drop off line. The speed was probably about 5 mph. The Tesla suddenly went into a sudden spontaneous acceleration. When my wife tried to brake, the brakes did not work. There was no forward collision warning beeping sound that went off, which is supposed to. It hit the vehicle in front and finally hit a fence. so, both the accelerator and brake malfunction... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 9, 2023
My wife was dropping my kid in the school drop off line. The speed was probably about 5 mph. The Tesla suddenly went into a sudden spontaneous acceleration. When my wife tried to brake, the brakes did not work. There was no forward collision warning beeping sound that went off, which is supposed to. It hit the vehicle in front and finally hit a fence. so, both the accelerator and brake malfunction... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
UNKNOWN. Brakes have temporary failure midway through braking. The pedal feels like it drops and the car ceases to brake. You press down hard quickly, and it takes a second for the car to then brake again. Naturally the car jerks, at time throwing people forward and locking seatbelts. This happens most frequently going downhill, and happens at a variety of different speeds. Dealership says there i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2023
Speedometer went completely blank and not able to see anything on that which includes safety features like blind spot monitoring and land departure. Also multiple time screen freezing issue causing absence of rear view camera.
Incident date: Feb 22, 2023
Speedometer went completely blank and not able to see anything on that which includes safety features like blind spot monitoring and land departure. Also multiple time screen freezing issue causing absence of rear view camera.
Incident date: Feb 22, 2023
Speedometer went completely blank and not able to see anything on that which includes safety features like blind spot monitoring and land departure. Also multiple time screen freezing issue causing absence of rear view camera.
Incident date: May 6, 2023
Once again I caught on video my car trying to suicide me (a Jeffrey Epstein (not a typo I'm in fear for my life) witness) by turning off all safety features and attempting to drive me directly into oncoming traffic. Tesla has REFUSED to repair or replace my car. They have done EVERYTHING they can to prevent me from getting service for months. Reschedule after reschedule, 'we cant reproduce the pro... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2023
Once again I caught on video my car trying to suicide me (a Jeffrey Epstein (not a typo I'm in fear for my life) witness) by turning off all safety features and attempting to drive me directly into oncoming traffic. Tesla has REFUSED to repair or replace my car. They have done EVERYTHING they can to prevent me from getting service for months. Reschedule after reschedule, 'we cant reproduce the pro... Read more
Incident date: Apr 9, 2022
On 3/10/2023 my vehicle suddenly starting trembling and shaking profusely! It terrified me severely. I immediately called my mechanic and it was towed in to be repaired. I was told it needed a tune- up. Towing, 3-Direct Ignition coils replaced, 6-spark plugs replaced and 1- fuel injection plenum gasket set replaced. Four weeks later on 4/16/2023 a warning sign of a backwards meeting parenthesis ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while his wife was in a parking lot, she inadvertently depressed the accelerator as she was driving out of the parking lot, she crashed into a light pole with the front end of the vehicle in the center. The contact stated that the hood was crushed back to just before the front wheel wells. The front bumper was also crushed by the... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 4, 2023
I actually own two GMC's one is a 2018 GMC sierra and this vehicle and they both have transmission problems. This vehicle has 100,000 miles on it and the transmission is gone, you want to charge 70,0000.00 for a vehicle that has a sup par transmission and to replace it cost over 6000.00. The sad thing is when I pulled up to the dealership and told the sales manager and shop manager my problem th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
In rare circumstances, the user may be able to initiate navigation using the built-in infotainment system while the vehicle is already in motion. Other safeguards already exist within the Genesis maps system to prevent the driver from starting navigation while driving. This software issue should be corrected.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Vehicle started to fill with smoke. I exited vehicle to look in the back seat when all of a sudden the rear window exploded causing glass to come flying at me. There was a recall for this exact same issue, however gm says this vehicle is not included in it. Obviously there are more vehicles that need to be recalled!
Incident date: Oct 18, 2022
The contact owned a 2018 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that the vehicle was stolen while parked in front of her residence. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to a dealer and the Anti-Theft Logic and Sticker Upgrade per NHTSA ID Number: 10233650 (Electrical System) was performed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2023
Engine temporarily shut itself off by itself in the freeway as I was slowing down pressing my brakes because of the cars in front of me in traffic hour. The car flashed a “coolant temperature too high” message then immediately turned itself off for a minute. The engine/coolant temperature gauge was normal the whole time I was driving (in between the cold and the high sign). But even then it f... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
Vehicle has been well maintained. It has 71,xxx miles. With no warning or indication of problems, we had complete transmission failure. It worked fine, we exited highway and it was noisy. Within 2 miles, the transmission was slipping (jerking van) and then totally went out (won't accelerate at all). Still no warning lights. Towed and repair center said complete transmission failure. Looking o... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Audi Q8. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V516000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that an unknown dealer was 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. ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V703000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that he contacted the dealer who stated that the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2023
abs trac control going crazy dealer repaired under warranty about 15k drove approx 2k and same issue no longer under warranty tried to buy parts none available. truck doesn't start correctly when the lights are on and when driving there is a dinging as lights flash on and off.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Land Rover LR2. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. While driving at an undetermined speed, the brake caliper detached from the vehicle. Additionally, the GPS was blinking. The ABS, engine, and battery warning lights were illuminated. The transmission fault and low engine performance messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic ... Read more