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 125,830 complaints for HONDA
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
Driving on highway at 65, traction control light, airbag light, parking light, bcw warning, all came in at the same time. I was able to pull off to the side and re start engine to clear the lights. As soon as I got up to 40 lights one by one flickered on until up to highway speed and then all flickered and dash dings. Two independent shops ran diagnostics and noted that only battery was dead. Re... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
On XXX while driving at approximately 5mph in a parking lot my Genesis GV70 shifted from Drive to Park by itself causing the car and my wife and I to lurch forward and come to a stop! The car would not come out of Park and a warning came up after the fact saying to contact immediate service. My wife and I were in the car and there were no injuries. If this occurred at a higher rate of speed on a b... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
COMPLAINT SUMMARY: [XXX] / ENGINE THERMAL FIRE RISK / WARRANTY DECEPTION My 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe (2.4L GDI Engine) is experiencing severe powertrain degradation under the known Theta II engine defect class-action framework. On November 7, 2025, the vehicle logged a Permanent Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P1326 via an independent scan, indicating catastrophic internal rod bearing wear. On XXX,... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
Navigation system does not place the car in the correct location. The location will shift and "float" while trying to navigate. Toyota has acknowledged that the navigation failure is due to a firmware issue with no current available solution or repair. We have tried working with the dealer with repeated visits, a certified letter and arbitration with NCDS.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
While driving at highway speeds in the passing lane, the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control with EyeSight malfunctioned. The system suddenly emitted a forward‑collision warning beep even though the lane ahead was completely clear. Immediately after the warning, the brakes engaged forcefully on their own, causing abrupt and unexpected deceleration while overtaking another vehicle. This created a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
While driving at highway speeds in the passing lane, the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control with EyeSight malfunctioned. The system suddenly emitted a forward‑collision warning beep even though the lane ahead was completely clear. Immediately after the warning, the brakes engaged forcefully on their own, causing abrupt and unexpected deceleration while overtaking another vehicle. This created a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
While driving at highway speeds in the passing lane, the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control with EyeSight malfunctioned. The system suddenly emitted a forward‑collision warning beep even though the lane ahead was completely clear. Immediately after the warning, the brakes engaged forcefully on their own, causing abrupt and unexpected deceleration while overtaking another vehicle. This created a... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2026
The steering feels sticky and resists turning while driving. It feels like it sticks before turning and makes a slight noise during steering. Please inspect the steering system and check for any recalls, service bulletins, or software updates.
Incident date: May 16, 2026
car suddenly overheated leaving myself and two children stranded on the interstate. it's a confirmed cylinder 3 coolant intrusion that is a well known documented issue. diagnosed and confirmed by the dealership. I was unaware of this issue, I thought buying a certified pre owned car meant it was in perfect shape, not a ticking time bomb.
Incident date: May 16, 2026
Hello, The auto start stop function on my vehicle has malfunctioned. The vehicle will turn off when coming to a stop and I am not accelerating (making turns). The vehicle also would not remote start. This happens even when the auto start/stop function is off. When taken to my local Volkswagen for diagnosis, they stated a new battery was needed and that I also had a gas tank issue ( stated that i... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2026
Left rear trailing arm mount has rusted and trailing arm is not intact.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2026
Transmission has harsh shifts all the time this is dangerous and well known by ford
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
This malfunction occurred twice while driving in town and on interstate. Car went into low power mode due to fuel pump and fuel injectors failing. Stopped running and would not restart.
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
On my 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (VIN: [XXX]), the driver's side halogen headlight suddenly stopped working. When I attempted to replace the bulb, I discovered that the headlight connector/pig tail had melted on one side, one of the electrical wires had burned completely through, and there was a strong odor coming from the rear of the headlight assembly. This was not simply a burned-out bulb... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
This is a follow up submission to NHTSA case #XXX. Organization Under Complaint: Hutchinson Kia, [XXX] Complaint Summary: The dealership is utilizing unfair and deceptive financial gating practices to avoid its legal obligations under a federal safety recall. The dealership refuses to look at or evaluate a vehicle subject to an urgent fire-risk HECU safety recall unless the consumer first authoriz... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
Car does not unlock with keyless key fob. This is too often an issues to overlook. Car will just keep locking and eventually nothing. I have been stuck outside in thunderstorms, a huge safety concern, rain, snow and uncomfortable situations. This causes me to be more soaked, wetting the car and fishing out my keys getting items inside wet. Key is mostly in pocket because its a keyless entry car, o... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2026
The car is suffering random shutdown and intermittent times. The battery is no longer holding a charge and when it shuts down this places me at extreme risk. Ford is unable to fix it so this is no longer happening without replacing the High Voltage battery - battery from ford alone is 11k. I cannot be the only one who is dealing with this car doing this.
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
I am the original owner of a 2022 Kia Telluride. Since approximately late September/early October 2025, the vehicle has experienced an intermittent engine stalling condition while stopped and idling. I first reported the issue to my Kia dealership on October 8, 2025, when the vehicle had approximately 59,761 miles. At that time, I advised the dealership the engine had already stalled twice within ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
The control panel /radio panel has had a glitch or blacked out screen where it wouldn't come back on for a few hours and I could smell electrical or plastic burning after it did come back on after that the radio started changing channel on its own while screen glitched on and of with saturated static wrench on my dash comes on periodically. The tires pressure unit never has the same amount of air ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2026
My 2022 Kia Seltos is burning through oil at a very high rate. I was reading that there is a recall for 2021-2023 Kia Seltos for this exact issue with the engine, but my vin from my vehicle is not listed on the recall. I spoke with Naperville, IL Kia and they advised I would have to buy a new engine.
Incident date: May 1, 2026
Recurring front passenger safety restraint system fault causing incorrect occupant detection for airbag deployment. Failed and was ‘repaired’ 3 times since 2024, including 2 consecutive failed repairs of the same part within the last 3 months. Tesla service advisor also mentioned informally this is a common issue. Tesla is now refusing further no-cost repair despite both recent repairs remaini... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2026
I own a 2014 Fiat 500L with 60,000 miles. The vehicle is actively suffering from the dangerous safety defect described in Recall T19/17V192000 (engine limits itself to idle speed and zero acceleration from a stop, even when the gas pedal is fully pressed). The local dealer and Fiat corporate refuse to address it because they claim a software update was performed historically. The initial remedy ha... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2026
I, as well as other owners of 2017–2018 Toyota Highlanders and 2017–2018 Siennas are experiencing serious transmission issues—including high-pitched whining, erratic shifting, clunks, hesitation, and premature failure. My 2017 Toyota Sienna has the UA80 8-speed automatic transmission at issue and started whining upon acceleration in March/April 2026 timeframe. It has always had the clunking ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2026
On XXX, less than 24 hours after an authorized Porsche dealer released this 2024 911 as a successfully completed repair with the diagnostic codes cleared and no root cause documented, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power while traveling at highway speed. It entered limp mode with severe deceleration and displayed a red engine control error, forcing an emergency lane change across traffic to reac... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
Fuel tanks swells up, causing surroundings plastics to break and seat latch comes undone while riding. Very unsafe that seat comes out of the latch become of fuel tank swollen. Rear part of seat lock/latch attached to the fuel tank. Expanding of the fuel tank causing the latch/lock of the seat comes out.
Incident date: May 27, 2026
There wasnt a passenger side seat belts Legal Violations by LBurg Auto Sales (2016 Chevy Trax KRS 189.125(2): State law strictly prohibits a dealership from selling any modern vehicle without working seat belts for all passengers. Federal Safety Standards (FMVSS 208/209): Mandates functional three-point seat belts. Selling a car with a missing passenger seat belt violates federal law and m... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2026
While making a right turn, vehicle suddenly lost all power and shut down for several seconds. This is a safety issue, stalling out in front of oncoming traffic, etc. No warnings lamps, messages appeared. No dealer inspection yet. Numerous other owners on message boards have reported the same issue occurring with their vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2026
Brakes went stiff and hard to push no warning light. I was driving on the interstate with my daughter. Was stuck out of town with no breaks.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2026
I have a big problem with this van’s brakes I couldn’t brake when I was driving on the freeway it didn’t brake properly and so dangerous and I was terrified luckily didn’t get into accident I complained about this issue to the nhtsa about this Chrysler Pacifica
Incident date: Jul 10, 2026
COMPONENT; likely the transmission SAFETY revs went to almost zero on highway. Transmission seemed to stop the truck. Then intermittent on and off transmission. Seriously struggled to get the truck off the highway momentarily no ability to control speed: then on and off with the acceleration. Very scary! sudden drop in speed on the highway could have caused an accident with no brake lights on P... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
Check engine light came on XXX. Engine coolant level was extremely low, shuddering "start" several times the previous week. My 2017 Ford Escape 2.0L EcoBoost Turbo engine, with only 38,245 original miles has the well known and documented issue with the 2.0L EcoBoost block with the P0302 misfire code. Numerous TSB's have been issued about this (some are TSP 19-2346 and TSB 22-2229). The engine cool... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
The engine cylinder head developed an internal coolant leak, allowing coolant to enter the combustion chamber. This caused engine overheating and smoke coming from the tailpipe while driving. A dealer performed a coolant pressure test confirming coolant leaking into the combustion chamber, and wet/dry compression testing on all 4 cylinders showed low and inconsistent readings consistent with cylin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
The engine cylinder head developed an internal coolant leak, allowing coolant to enter the combustion chamber. This caused engine overheating and smoke coming from the tailpipe while driving. A dealer performed a coolant pressure test confirming coolant leaking into the combustion chamber, and wet/dry compression testing on all 4 cylinders showed low and inconsistent readings consistent with cylin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2026
The engine, power steering, stabilitrak, and reduced engine power (vehicle would essentially die while driving at random times). My safety AND others were put at risk when I am traveling down the road/interstate and the engine just cuts out and am no longer able to accelerate to any speeds, causing me to have to pull over to the shoulder WITHOUT ANY ENGINE POWER. Yes, the problem has reproduced an... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
While driving the car, the electronic power assist steering stopped working, making it extremely difficult to steer and drove straight into a curb. Was able to slowly back the car up then very carefully drove to the local shop. Thankfully, no pedestrians were walking on the sidewalk. Power assist unit failed which caused a very unsafe driving condition. It required two strong arms to muscle the st... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
On the morning on 7/10/26 I was driving 30mph around a gentle turn and the brakes activated briefly. I also received a dashboard notification to brake. The weather conditions were sunny and probably around 80 degrees. There was no one in front of me and the closest car, in oncoming traffic was around 40 feet away. The safety risk was my car temporarily applied the brakes but did not stop complet... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
My wife was driving her 2019 Ford Edge Titanium when the transmission started to shudder and clunk. Then the car completely shutdown in the middle of a busy intersection. This transmission failure at such a low mileage (less than 70,000 miles) is unacceptable and the risk of losing control of the car poses a safety concern.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2026
This is for the trailer, your system couldn't recognize VIN or license plates ST 205, 75R15
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
The starting and idle systems are faulty. The van will not start up again after parking. There is no pattern and no cause we have found. Sometimes it happens 3-4 times in a week and other times it happens once in a month. Sometimes after stopping at a stop light or stop sign, the van will not respond to the gas pedal and will simply idle into an intersection which has almost caused several acciden... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
Radiator fan failure. At around 47000 miles the radiator fan gave out. Ours caused our car to overheat on the highway and start smoking. We took it to a repair shop and got it fixed for between $1000-1500. At that time, we saw plenty of users reporting the same issue around the same mileage mark. It has now been two years since that repair and our fan is starting to squeak and make noise again lik... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
Battery failed and Battery will not charge. Car has 39,000 miles and is a 2024. Has been at the dealer for 3 days. Was driving to [XXX] from [XXX]. Will have to fly back and get the car if a repair is able to be made. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Jun 15, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Lexus NX 300H. The contact stated that the brake pedal was soft and had low performance. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle was slow to respond. The message “Braking Power Low - Visit the Dealer” was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was informed t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2026
The contact rented a 2026 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving and merging onto traffic on a highway, the brake pedal was slightly depressed and the vehicle overcorrected the brake, and abruptly stopped, causing the vehicle to be rear ended. There were no injuries sustained. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was driven away from the scene and was returned to the rental agency... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 13, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Accord. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. Occasionally, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle jerked hard. Additionally, the contact stated that the message "Emissions System Failure," "Engine Overheating - Turn off Immediately," and other unknown messages were displa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2026
While driving, a vehicle attempted to pass three cars at once. At the last minute, the person saw an oncoming car approaching and quickly came back to the other lane, cause the three cars to break hard quickly. I, the one putting down this complaint, am the only one who hit another vehicle. I hit that vehicle in its rear as everyone was breaking. The driver side airbag did not deploy from the impa... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 10, 2026
The engine stalled because the fuel pump is failing. We have found that many 2017 Toyota Highlanders have had the fuel pump recalled for this exact issue, yet our VIN is not included in this recall. We experienced the exact issue the recall was issued for stalling while driving. Issue on July 24, 2027: The engine stalled while driving on the highway at high speed and lost power steering, creatin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil warning light illuminated. The contact added oil to the engine. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, and several oil consumption tests were performed. The contact was informed that the oil consumption test results did not indicat... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2026
The contact owned a 2022 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in a parking spot with the brake pedal depressed, the engine revved unexpectedly and independently accelerated and crash into a Ford Bronco, a Jeep Cherokee, another vehicle, and two parking signs. There were no warning lights illuminated during the failure. The contact had made three other stops prior to th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 7, 2026
My 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 cannot receive over‑the‑air (OTA) software updates because the gateway module is still running outdated firmware (XXX.mnf). General Motors issued Service Update XXX to correct this defect by performing a vehicle‑wide programming update. However, GM’s system incorrectly shows the bulletin as “closed” for my VIN even though the gateway module was never upda... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2026
My 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 cannot receive over‑the‑air (OTA) software updates because the gateway module is still running outdated firmware (XXX.mnf). General Motors issued Service Update XXX to correct this defect by performing a vehicle‑wide programming update. However, GM’s system incorrectly shows the bulletin as “closed” for my VIN even though the gateway module was never upda... Read more