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.
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
Showing 355 complaints for INDIAN
DEALERSHIP WAS REFUSING TO HONOR RECALL 03V258000 CONCERNING HEADLIGHT BRACKET BREAKING. DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THEY DIDN'T PERFORM ANY INDIAN MOTORCYCLE RECALL REPAIRS. *AK
Incident date: Sep 23, 2003
THE MOTORCYCLE HAS MULTIPLE PROBLEM S. THE WINDSHIELD IS LOOSE /THE CHARGER WILL NOT CHARGE AT ALL/BATTERY HAS LOW CELL, AND BRAKES WILL NOT HOLD AT ALL. *AK
Incident date: Sep 23, 2003
THE MOTORCYCLE HAS MULTIPLE PROBLEM S. THE WINDSHIELD IS LOOSE /THE CHARGER WILL NOT CHARGE AT ALL/BATTERY HAS LOW CELL, AND BRAKES WILL NOT HOLD AT ALL. *AK
Incident date: Sep 23, 2003
THE MOTORCYCLE HAS MULTIPLE PROBLEM S. THE WINDSHIELD IS LOOSE /THE CHARGER WILL NOT CHARGE AT ALL/BATTERY HAS LOW CELL, AND BRAKES WILL NOT HOLD AT ALL. *AK
Incident date: Sep 23, 2003
THE MOTORCYCLE HAS MULTIPLE PROBLEM S. THE WINDSHIELD IS LOOSE /THE CHARGER WILL NOT CHARGE AT ALL/BATTERY HAS LOW CELL, AND BRAKES WILL NOT HOLD AT ALL. *AK
CONSUMER IS NOT ABLE TO START MOTORCYCLE. TOOK VEHICE TO DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE STARTER. PLEASE DESCRIBE FURHTER. *PH
CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL 03V130000 NOTICE IN APRIL CONCERNING FUEL TANK VENT TUBE DEFECT IN APRIL 2003. DEALER DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE, AND CONSUMER DID NOT RECEIVE A CALL TO VERIFY WHEN THE PARTS WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE.*AK
Incident date: Aug 25, 2003
I CURRENTLY (PURCHASED 9/2001) OWN A 2001 INDIAN SPIRIT MOTORCYCLE PURCHASED FROM THOMAS AUTOMALL IN COON RAPIDS, MN. THE ENGINE LEAKS OIL THROUGH THE OIL BREATHER/CARBUERATOR BLOW BY QUITE PROFUSELY. I HAVE HAD THE BIKE IN AT LEAST 5 TIMES (I DO HAVE DOCUMENTATION) FOR THIS PROBLEM. HE DEALERS (1 IN MINNEAPOLIS AND 3 IN PHOENIX) HAVE ALL STATED THAT THE ENGINE AND IT'S DESIGN (FOR PERFORMANCE... Read more
INDIAN
CHIEF
(2002) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
Aug 28, 2003
WHILE DRIVING A NOISE WAS HEARD. MOTORCYCLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO REPLACED THE MISALIGNED DRIVE PULLEYS AND BELTS. *AK
Incident date: Jul 31, 2003
ALL 2002 AND 2003 CHIEF MODELS HAVE A KICK STAND THAT DOES NOT HAVE A LOCKING MECHANISM LIKE PRIOR YEAR MODELS. THIS ALLOWS THE KICK STAND TO FOLD UP AT THE SLIGHTEST FORWARD MOVEMENT OF THE MOTORCYCLE AND THE VEHICLE TO FALL OVER CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY TO ANY PERSON, OR CRUSH AND KILL A CHILD, STANDING NEXT TO THE 600+ LBS VEHICLE.
Incident date: Jun 14, 2003
CONSUMER STATES THAT T BRAKES HAVE EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
INDIAN
CHIEF CENTENNIAL
(2001) — SUSPENSION:FRONT
Jul 11, 2003
Incident date: Jun 27, 2003
LOSS OF CONTROL OF MOTORCYCLE AT APPROX 55 MPH ON STRAIGHT ROAD WHEN FRONT TIRE/SUSPENSION BEGAN SEVERE WOBBLE. RIDER THROWN FROM MOTORCYCLE AND SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURY. MOTORCYCLE A TOTAL LOSS.*AK
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: May 12, 2001
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AND WITH NO WARNING VEHICLE WILL STALL AND IT WILL BE HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
CONSUMER NOTICED AN ELECTRICAL SHORT IN VEHICLE CAUSING DAMAGE TO BATTERY. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
CONSUMER STATES WHILE TRAVELING 60 MPH AND WITHOUT ANY INDICATION VEHICLE STALLED. *AK
VEHICLE TRANSMISSION IS CONTINUOUSLY FAILING. TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED ONCE, PROBLEM STILL EXISTS.*AK
WHILE TRAVELING 50-55 MPH AND MAKING A TURN REAR OF VEHICLE TRAVELED OUT OF CONTROL, TOSSING CONSUMER OFF TO THE GROUND. VEHICLE WAS SERVICED, SWING ARM BOWED WAS OUT 8 SPOKES ,SNAPPED IN RIM. *AK
Crash
THE CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE #03V039000 SUBJECT: VOLTAGE REGULATOR. THE CONSUMER CALLED KERRY FORD ON 4/28/2003 WHO STATED THAT THE PARTS HAD TO BE ORDERED. THE CONSUMER HAD NOT RECEIVED A CALL FROM KERRY FORD ON THE DATE WHEN THE RECALLED PARTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE. *NLM
Incident date: Apr 27, 2003
CONSUMER NOTICE A CRACK IN BOTH 90 DEGREE BENDS OF HEADLIGHT BRACKET, WHERE IT CONNECTS TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS UNSAFE. *NLM
Incident date: Sep 9, 2000
WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED, THE TURN SIGNALS FLASH THREE TIMES. WHILE THEY ARE FLASHING, THE TURN SIGNALS CAN NOT BE TURNED ON WHICH CAUSED ME TO BE STRUCK IN THE SIDE WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN. *JB
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Feb 2, 2003
THE DEALER REFUSED TO HONOR THE RECALL FOR THE WINDSHIELD. *NLM
THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL REGARDING THE VOLTAGE REGULATOR. THE CONSUMER STATED HE RECEIVED POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. *JB
Incident date: Mar 31, 2003
THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED LAST YEAR FOR A LEAK, THE PROBLEM RECURRED. *JB
Incident date: Sep 15, 2002
CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO GET THE RECALL PERFORMED REGARDING THE WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR.*JB
Incident date: Dec 30, 2002
CONSUMER NOTICE A CRACK IN THE HEADLIGHT BRACKET, WHERE IT CONNECTS TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS UNSAFE, CAUSE IF THE HEADLIGHT BRACKET HAD FALLEN OFF WHILE DRIVING, COULD OF RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. PLEASE PROVIDE MORE DETAILS. TS
WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY THE HEADLIGHT BRACKET FELL OFF. PLEASE FILL IN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. TS
Incident date: Nov 30, 2002
CONSUMER NOTICED A CRACK IN THE VEHICLES HEAD LIGHT, WHERE IT CONNECTS TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE PART, BUT IT CRACKED AGAIN. TS THE HEAD LIGHT BRACKET CONTINUOUSLY BREAKS. THE BRAKE DUST BOOT HAD FALLEN OFF, AND THE REAR SHOCKS LEAKED. SCC
Incident date: Nov 30, 2002
CONSUMER NOTICED A CRACK IN THE VEHICLES HEAD LIGHT, WHERE IT CONNECTS TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE PART, BUT IT CRACKED AGAIN. TS THE HEAD LIGHT BRACKET CONTINUOUSLY BREAKS. THE BRAKE DUST BOOT HAD FALLEN OFF, AND THE REAR SHOCKS LEAKED. SCC
Incident date: Nov 30, 2002
CONSUMER NOTICED A CRACK IN THE VEHICLES HEAD LIGHT, WHERE IT CONNECTS TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE PART, BUT IT CRACKED AGAIN. TS THE HEAD LIGHT BRACKET CONTINUOUSLY BREAKS. THE BRAKE DUST BOOT HAD FALLEN OFF, AND THE REAR SHOCKS LEAKED. SCC
Incident date: Oct 18, 2002
CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY VEHICLE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY DIED. TOOK TO DEALER AND DEALER STATED THERE WAS A SHORTAGE. MR
Incident date: May 31, 2002
THE CONSUMER IS CONCERN HE RECEIVE A RECALL NOTICED FOR THE HANDLE BAR. MAY 31 2001. THE DEALERSHIP HAS NO PARTS AVAILABLE. INDIAN MOTORCYCLE 200 EAST TENTH STREET GILROY CA 95020 #FOR JUDY WOODS 408 846 7228 COMPANY 408 846 7228. MR
Incident date: Sep 18, 2002
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED THE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY DIED. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY CHANGED THE BULB. DEALER STATED THERE IS A SHORTAGE IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THREE WEEKS LATER LIGHTS SHORTED OUT AGAIN. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. MR
Incident date: May 1, 2002
CONSUMER STATES HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE 2 RECALLS ON BIKE REPAIRED SINCE 05/02. RECALL IDS: 02V144000 AND 02V124000. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER SEVERAL TIMES AND WAS REPEATEDLY ADVISED WAITING ON PARTS. CONSUMER FINALLY SPOKE WITH OWNER WHO BLAMED DELAY ON CERTAIN EMPLOYEES NO LONGER WORKING FOR DEALERSHIP. OWNER ADVISED WOULD ORDER PARTS AND CONSUMER HAS BEEN WAITING NOW FOR 3.5 WEEKS. ... Read more
WAITING 4 MONTHS FOR DEALERS OF INDIAN TO "GET PARTS FROM INDIAN" - STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED NOTICE.. NOTIFIED INDIAN PERSONEL IN GILROY, NO CALL BACK YET. TS
Incident date: May 8, 2002
CONSUMER STATES THAT THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE SHOCK ABSORBER, DEALER IS CHARGING FOR RECALL. MR
Incident date: Aug 11, 2002
HEADLIGHTS FELL OFF MOTORCYCLE WHILE DRIVING 55-60 MPH. DEALER CONTACTED. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
Incident date: Jul 15, 2002
CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL 02V124000 FOR SHOCK ABSORBERS. WHEN HE TOOK IT IN ON OR ABOUT JULY 2, 2002, WAS TOLD BY MECHANIC THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE THE PART TO REPAIR RECALL. THEN LEFT, AND RETURNED AGAIN FOR THE SECOND TIME ON OR ABOUT AUG 16, 02, AND WAS ALSO TOLD THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE THE PART TO REPAIR THE RECALL. ALSO, WAS TOLD BY MECHANIC THAT HE DID NOT KNOW WHEN WOULD BE RECEIVING THE ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2001
MOTORCYCLE REAR WHEEL LOCKED UP AT 40 MPH WENT INTO A SKID ALMOST HIT BY VEHICLE BEHIND ME TRANSMISSION REPLACED TO CORRECT PROBLEM. NEW TRANS INSTALLED AND DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY INDIAN MOTORCYCLE COMPANY REPLACED TRANS UNDER WARRANTY WITH A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TRANSMISSION -------- FRONT SUSPENSION DIVES WHEN BRAKING HAS BEEN REPAIRED 5 TIMES.STILL HAS THIS PROBLEM EVEN WORSE IS THAT THE FRONT E... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2001
MOTORCYCLE REAR WHEEL LOCKED UP AT 40 MPH WENT INTO A SKID ALMOST HIT BY VEHICLE BEHIND ME TRANSMISSION REPLACED TO CORRECT PROBLEM. NEW TRANS INSTALLED AND DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY INDIAN MOTORCYCLE COMPANY REPLACED TRANS UNDER WARRANTY WITH A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TRANSMISSION -------- FRONT SUSPENSION DIVES WHEN BRAKING HAS BEEN REPAIRED 5 TIMES.STILL HAS THIS PROBLEM EVEN WORSE IS THAT THE FRONT E... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2001
MOTORCYCLE REAR WHEEL LOCKED UP AT 40 MPH WENT INTO A SKID AND I WAS ALMOST HIT BY THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME. TRANSMISSION FAILED. INDIAN MOTORCYCLE REPLACED TRANS TO CORRECT PROBLEM. NEW TRANS INSTALLED AND DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY....FRONT SUSPENSION DIVES WHEN BRAKING AND WOBBLES LEFT TO RIGHT AT 65-70 MPH IN GRADUAL TURNS UNSTABLE AND I HAVE TO SLOW DOWN TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE. THIS PR... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2001
MOTORCYCLE REAR WHEEL LOCKED UP AT 40 MPH WENT INTO A SKID AND I WAS ALMOST HIT BY THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME. TRANSMISSION FAILED. INDIAN MOTORCYCLE REPLACED TRANS TO CORRECT PROBLEM. NEW TRANS INSTALLED AND DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY....FRONT SUSPENSION DIVES WHEN BRAKING AND WOBBLES LEFT TO RIGHT AT 65-70 MPH IN GRADUAL TURNS UNSTABLE AND I HAVE TO SLOW DOWN TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE. THIS PR... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2002
PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR RECALL 02V144000 REPAIRS TO BE DONE. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
THE MOTORCYCLE "WOBBLES" SO BAD IT GOES OUT OF CONTROL.*AK
Incident date: Apr 1, 2001
AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS MOTORCYCLE WOULD STALL OUT AND DIE. DEALER HAS INSPECTED MOTORCYCLE. *AK THE REAR CYLINDER WAS DEFECTIVE AND CAUSED THE ENGINE MISFIRED AND STALL OUT SEVERAL TIMES AND THE ENGINE WAS REBUILT. THE DEALER REPLACED THE IGNITION MODULE AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE. *YH
Incident date: May 15, 2002
CONSUMER FIRST CONTACTED DEALER IN MAY OF 2002, CONCERNING RECALL O2V124000. MANUFACTURER HAS NOT SENT PARTS TO DEALER. CONSUMER HAS CALLED INDIAN CO. NUMEROUS TIMES, WILL NOT RETURN HIS CALLS. *AK
Incident date: Jun 6, 2002
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE MENTIONED MOTORCYCLE. *AK
PARTS TO RECALL 01V144000 IS AVAILABLE , BUT MANUFACTURER HAS NOT SENT THEM TO THE DEALERSHIP YET.*AK
Incident date: May 17, 2002
BACK FENDER HAS CRACKED AND CONSUMER CAN HEAR A RATTLING NOISE WHILE RIDING. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
Incident date: Oct 15, 2001
MASTER CYLINDER IS LEAKING FLUID, CAUSING VEHICLE TO WOBBLE. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
Incident date: Aug 8, 2001
THE VEHICLE WEAVES OUT OF CONTROL AT VARIABLE SPEEDS, THE 2002 MODELS ALL HAVE HAD REAR SWING ARM REDESIGNED AND STRENGHTENED BUT THESE WILL NOT FIT EARLIER MODELS. I BELIEVE THIS WEAVING IS CAUSED BY THE SWING ARM FLEXING. THIS WILL CAUSE CRASHES IN THE RIGHT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES. I ALSO BELIEVE THE MANUFATURER KNOWS THIS AND THAT IS WHY THEY HAVE CHANGED THE DESIGN, BUT HAVE NOT CORRECTED THI... Read more