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 78,021 complaints for HYUNDAI
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
At 16 thousand plus my car was at a stop light and stop/stalled/shut down what ever you want to call it. The auto stop was on but this was not the problem. I physically had to restart my car in traffic. The next time I experience this was at 20 thousand plus. We were in the hospital parking garage and the car again stop/stalled/shut down and I physically had to restart it again. This time I wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
At 16 thousand plus my car was at a stop light and stop/stalled/shut down what ever you want to call it. The auto stop was on but this was not the problem. I physically had to restart my car in traffic. The next time I experience this was at 20 thousand plus. We were in the hospital parking garage and the car again stop/stalled/shut down and I physically had to restart it again. This time I wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
At 16 thousand plus my car was at a stop light and stop/stalled/shut down what ever you want to call it. The auto stop was on but this was not the problem. I physically had to restart my car in traffic. The next time I experience this was at 20 thousand plus. We were in the hospital parking garage and the car again stop/stalled/shut down and I physically had to restart it again. This time I wa... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2026
The paint is peeling off of my hood and on the sides of my car I have noticed other Hyundais with the same problem I tried to go through warranty and Hyundai wouldn't help me I've noticed in the past that they have had recalls on their vehicles for paint and I believe that this needs to be a recall also
Incident date: Aug 26, 2026
When reaching speeds of approximately 55 to 60 mph, the car would begin to shake and the steering wheel would excessively begin shaking. You did not feel like you had great control of the car. The front two tires required replacing due to the foam being detached/mangled within the tires. The dealership put the new tires onto the back of the car and rotated the original back tires to the front of ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2026
I purchased this 2024 Hyundai Palisade new, delivered XXX. Beginning XXX, at only 3,954 miles, I began experiencing a recurring defect in which the front windshield wipers freeze, stick, or stop moving mid-stroke while the vehicle is being actively driven. This is most dangerous during heavy/pouring rain, when losing wiper function eliminates my ability to see the road ahead. I have brought the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2026
OnXXX my car experienced sudden knocking in the engine. I pulled over to the service station on the [XXX] and had my car towed to Empire Hyundai in [XXX]. I had just changed oil on XXXand upon inspection oil level was fine. Problem is the theta 2 engine and though the car is under extended warranty Hyundai is requesting maintenance records before repairing this. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2026
The vehicle brakes malfunctioned while driving over bumpy pavement in a parking lot. There was a loss of ability to stop the vehicle, the breaks seemed locked or ineffective. This cause me to come close to rear ending the vehicle in front of me. My foot was pushed FIRMLY on the break and the vehicle seemed to continue to lurch forward. The collision warning alarm was sounding and the brake pe... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2026
The vehicle brakes malfunctioned while driving over bumpy pavement in a parking lot. There was a loss of ability to stop the vehicle, the breaks seemed locked or ineffective. This cause me to come close to rear ending the vehicle in front of me. My foot was pushed FIRMLY on the break and the vehicle seemed to continue to lurch forward. The collision warning alarm was sounding and the brake pe... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2026
The vehicle brakes malfunctioned while driving over bumpy pavement in a parking lot. There was a loss of ability to stop the vehicle, the breaks seemed locked or ineffective. This cause me to come close to rear ending the vehicle in front of me. My foot was pushed FIRMLY on the break and the vehicle seemed to continue to lurch forward. The collision warning alarm was sounding and the brake pe... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
Doors are not unlocking on open from the outside both front doors from inside and out do not open unless you pull three or four times the rear doors the passenger side rear door does not open at all. It’s like it doesn’t unlock and the driver side rear door only opens if you pull a handle like four or five times.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
In April 2026 (29,805 miles) I was on an interstate underpass U-turn and when I went to accelerate from the U-turn, the vehicle “revved”, had difficulty accelerating, and appeared to not go into the next gear for a roughly 10 seconds, meaning I was unable to accelerate and get out of the way from oncoming traffic. Traffic slowed and the vehicle suddenly returned to normal (no warning lights ap... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
In April 2026 (29,805 miles) I was on an interstate underpass U-turn and when I went to accelerate from the U-turn, the vehicle “revved”, had difficulty accelerating, and appeared to not go into the next gear for a roughly 10 seconds, meaning I was unable to accelerate and get out of the way from oncoming traffic. Traffic slowed and the vehicle suddenly returned to normal (no warning lights ap... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
In April 2026 (29,805 miles) I was on an interstate underpass U-turn and when I went to accelerate from the U-turn, the vehicle “revved”, had difficulty accelerating, and appeared to not go into the next gear for a roughly 10 seconds, meaning I was unable to accelerate and get out of the way from oncoming traffic. Traffic slowed and the vehicle suddenly returned to normal (no warning lights ap... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2026
I had taken my Sonata to Mike Miller Hyndia in Peoria,I'll and they agreed to do the recall although they had my vehicle for two weeks. They did not service it and when I picked it up they said I had to drive it till the service engine light come on. I was driving it five days later and heard a loud noise and car started malfunctioning I was stuck in a middle of a intersection and I had to push ve... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2026
I had taken my Sonata to Mike Miller Hyndia in Peoria,I'll and they agreed to do the recall although they had my vehicle for two weeks. They did not service it and when I picked it up they said I had to drive it till the service engine light come on. I was driving it five days later and heard a loud noise and car started malfunctioning I was stuck in a middle of a intersection and I had to push ve... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2026
I had taken my Sonata to Mike Miller Hyndia in Peoria,I'll and they agreed to do the recall although they had my vehicle for two weeks. They did not service it and when I picked it up they said I had to drive it till the service engine light come on. I was driving it five days later and heard a loud noise and car started malfunctioning I was stuck in a middle of a intersection and I had to push ve... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2026
Transmission TCM/IVT had a service campaign recall #963 for TCM relearn / IVT replacement for premature transmission failure. Hyundai USA and dealership Big Star Hyundai of Friendswood, TX have made claims of the repair being done. Service records indicate there was no replacement, relearn or anything transmission related done with the vehicle and Hyundai USA has claimed on their end that their re... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2026
Transmission TCM/IVT had a service campaign recall #963 for TCM relearn / IVT replacement for premature transmission failure. Hyundai USA and dealership Big Star Hyundai of Friendswood, TX have made claims of the repair being done. Service records indicate there was no replacement, relearn or anything transmission related done with the vehicle and Hyundai USA has claimed on their end that their re... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
Engine knock sensor went off and now the engine needs replacement due to faulty cylinder rod.
Incident date: Jun 16, 2026
My engine is consuming an excessive amount of oil due to a known issue with the Hyundai engine design impacting cars from 2011-2018. My car only had approximately 89,900 miles on it when I noticed the issues. Hyundai is aware of the defect and has re-engineered their engines due to the issue. The engine is available for inspection upon request. My safety and the safety of others is put at risk... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2025) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Aug 29, 2026
Incident date: Aug 29, 2026
Loss of power while trying to accelerate. RPM's were going up, but the vehicle was very sluggish. Nearly got rear ended as I had turned right on a red from a stop to merge onto a 55mph road. I could not get up to speed and had to pull to the side of the road and engage my hazard lights. I turned the vehicle off and let it sit for a few minutes, then turned it back on and the issue went away. No li... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2026
Power steering assist motor stopped working, leaving the car with hard manual steering. Dealer inspection confirms the issue across several year models, inclding my 2009. There were 2 other year models with the same issue in their shop with mine that day. One was 2018. One was a 2023. Car is very difficult to steer around curves at any speed. Warning lamp on dash says "EPS".
Incident date: Jun 20, 2026
On June 20 2026 at 2:07pm Central Time there was a check engine light displayed on the dash of my vehicle 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy, while it was parked in the garage of my home and was just powered up. I had then performed the vehicle diagnostics test (pictures attached) that showed that there was an issue with the 'Transmission Control System' with detail that a full system check is reco... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2026
On June 20 2026 at 2:07pm Central Time there was a check engine light displayed on the dash of my vehicle 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy, while it was parked in the garage of my home and was just powered up. I had then performed the vehicle diagnostics test (pictures attached) that showed that there was an issue with the 'Transmission Control System' with detail that a full system check is reco... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2026
Oil light comes on and beeps when putting on brakes suddenly.
Incident date: May 1, 2026
The motor started to make a ticking noise 5 months earlier. 5 months later at 180,000 miles a borascope finding, reveled all 4 cylinder walls were worn related to cylinder slap. Called Hyundai dealership and was told ithe car is too old and the milage too high for a warranty coverage.
Incident date: Apr 6, 2026
Vehicle stalls while driving which is very dangerous. All dashboard lights go on prior to stalling. No engine light is on. Knocking sound coming from engine. Dealer states engine needs to be replaced. Car has been serviced regularly despite that Hyundai denies engine replacement. The knocking sound that engine does is common between this model and year but mysteriously there has not been engine re... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2026
Vehicle stalls while driving which is very dangerous. All dashboard lights go on prior to stalling. No engine light is on. Knocking sound coming from engine. Dealer states engine needs to be replaced. Car has been serviced regularly despite that Hyundai denies engine replacement. The knocking sound that engine does is common between this model and year but mysteriously there has not been engine re... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2026
On June 27, 2026 I started the vehicle and every warning light came on and the gauge cluster started cycling through system failure warnings for most every component/system on the vehicle. The vehicle was barely drivable, with no power steering, no backup camera, no AC, inoperable gauges, no safety/driver aids, and hard shifting. It was taken to Bentley Hyundai in Huntsville the same day. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2026
On June 27, 2026 I started the vehicle and every warning light came on and the gauge cluster started cycling through system failure warnings for most every component/system on the vehicle. The vehicle was barely drivable, with no power steering, no backup camera, no AC, inoperable gauges, no safety/driver aids, and hard shifting. It was taken to Bentley Hyundai in Huntsville the same day. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2026
On June 27, 2026 I started the vehicle and every warning light came on and the gauge cluster started cycling through system failure warnings for most every component/system on the vehicle. The vehicle was barely drivable, with no power steering, no backup camera, no AC, inoperable gauges, no safety/driver aids, and hard shifting. It was taken to Bentley Hyundai in Huntsville the same day. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2026
Accelerator stopped working on the highway. Dash displayed an electrical system warning and speed dropped to a crawl. The hazard came from being on an interstate at night and the closing speed for everyone behind us. Fortunately we were by an exit and could drive in the shoulder at 25 mph to it. Vehicle was towed to Stew Hansen Hyundai in Clive, IA. 12-volt battery, ICU and high-voltage fuse were ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2026
Known as an issue with Hyundai, but unresponsive to correct because no diagnostic code is sent. Transmission will shift extremely hard from 1st to 2nd gear randomly. In keeping track of the mileage, this appears to happen every 200 miles or so. Also, it faild to upshift correctly, making the entire car shudder. Also, at times it will not go into reverse gear. On one occasion, after finally do... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
While operating the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly began severely hesitating and stalling. During the incident, engine RPM surged to approximately 6,000 RPM and accelerator pedal response became abnormal. The vehicle was not responding normally to accelerator input, which significantly affected the ability to operate the vehicle safely. The vehicle subsequently recorded diagnostic trouble code P03... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
While operating the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly began severely hesitating and stalling. During the incident, engine RPM surged to approximately 6,000 RPM and accelerator pedal response became abnormal. The vehicle was not responding normally to accelerator input, which significantly affected the ability to operate the vehicle safely. The vehicle subsequently recorded diagnostic trouble code P03... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
While operating the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly began severely hesitating and stalling. During the incident, engine RPM surged to approximately 6,000 RPM and accelerator pedal response became abnormal. The vehicle was not responding normally to accelerator input, which significantly affected the ability to operate the vehicle safely. The vehicle subsequently recorded diagnostic trouble code P03... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
While the vehicle was being driven, the sunroof became inoperable, stuck in the tilt position. The motor could be heard running but the glass panel would not move in either direction. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms before the failure. The dealership disassembled the sunroof and found that a spring on the passenger-side sunroof rail had broken, and that the broken spring ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
While the vehicle was being driven, the sunroof became inoperable, stuck in the tilt position. The motor could be heard running but the glass panel would not move in either direction. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms before the failure. The dealership disassembled the sunroof and found that a spring on the passenger-side sunroof rail had broken, and that the broken spring ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2026
I woke up to my neighbor banging on my door that my car was on fire. My car was in flames. The fire department had already been called. The entire front of my car as well as the interior was completely destroyed.
Fire
Incident date: Jun 3, 2026
I woke up to my neighbor banging on my door that my car was on fire. My car was in flames. The fire department had already been called. The entire front of my car as well as the interior was completely destroyed.
Fire
HYUNDAI
SONATA HYBRID
(2026) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 28, 2026
Incident date: Aug 24, 2026
The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while the vehicle door was open, the vehicle shifted into reverse and accelerated in reverse at 30 MPH. The vehicle traveled into a wooded area and the rear of the vehicle struck a tree. The vehicle was towed to a certified collision center, where it was pending an official total loss determination by the insurance company. The contac... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 27, 2026
My vehicle recently received the Hyundai 9c2 emissions upgrade they required and since then the vehicle has had predictable acceleration issues for the first several minutes after the vehicle. While trying to slowly accelerate the vehicle with unpredictably lurch forward. Many people have been reporting this.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2026
My vehicle recently received the Hyundai 9c2 emissions upgrade they required and since then the vehicle has had predictable acceleration issues for the first several minutes after the vehicle. While trying to slowly accelerate the vehicle with unpredictably lurch forward. Many people have been reporting this.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2026
My vehicle recently received the Hyundai 9c2 emissions upgrade they required and since then the vehicle has had predictable acceleration issues for the first several minutes after the vehicle. While trying to slowly accelerate the vehicle with unpredictably lurch forward. Many people have been reporting this.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with ECU software error. The contact was advised to contact the dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with ECU software error. The contact was advised to contact the dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2026
Vehicle turned itself off with no warning while being driven @ 40 moh. Dealer suspects fuel injectors, but could be ignition coil.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2026
At approximately 67,000 miles, the vehicle experienced a sudden vibration when accelerate and decelerate. Engine light was on and vehicle had a hard time to maintain speed above 40mph. Cars were honking behind us due to the lack of speed on road. It happen all of a sudden and cause me and my wife panic at first. The car was took to the closest dealer ([XXX] Hyundai [XXX]) and they found the proble... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE HYBRID
(2025) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 28, 2026
Incident date: Aug 27, 2026
When traveling home from work 8/27/26, my cruise control shut off and my car immediately went into “limp” mode. This almost caused me to get into an accident with a tractor trailer, in which, I may not have survived. Immediately pulled over and tried to find out what had caused this and how to get it fixed. Nothing worked to get it out of “limp” mode. There were no warning lights or messag... Read more