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 9,743 complaints for INFINITI
Incident date: Jul 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, 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 repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2023
I was driving on a highway when my vehicle started to stall. My acceleration had dropped quickly and I couldn't speed up. I put on my hazard lights and was able to drive off the closest exit. Once I got off the exit, my car stalled completely. I had to get it towed to my daughter's house because I am originally from a different city and was out of town. I had a mechanic take a look and it and they... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2023
Nothing has failed on the vehicle, nor are there any apparent problems. My GMC Acadia is a second vehicle for my household (not a primary vehicle). I also have it listed on Turo to make some additional income. With the recall, Turo un-listed my vehicle for safety reasons and I also had to cancel a reservation that was already made. The safety recall already identifies the airbags need to be replac... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the navigation system became inoperable and inadvertently powered off independently. The contact also stated that the backup prevention camera became inoperable, and she backed into another vehicle. The ABS malfunctioned with the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
My car was considered undrivable due to the corrosion recall. The delays in obtaining payment for my car are unacceptable. Honda has passed me to a third-party surrender partner, [XXX] , and they are also delinquent. Honda will not give me any contact information for [XXX] , so I am obviously frustrated. I am in the fortunate position of being able to acquire a replacement vehicle without having t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes spontaneously engaged. The brake warning light was illuminated. The contact stated there was no other vehicles nearby when the failure occurred on several occasions. Additionally, the sunroof was deactivated due to the software being disconnected spontaneously. The vehicle was taken to th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
275/55R20XL Sidewall bulge, garage inspected and confirmed sidewall separation
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
275/55R20XL Sidewall bulge, garage inspected and confirmed sidewall separation
Incident date: May 10, 2023
upon return trip home from camping seemed like trailer was riding lower than normal and swaying more. looked under trailer and leaf springs were flat. This could have resulted in broken spring which could lead to crash. The trailer was not overloaded. sticker on side of trailer shows dry weight is 4360lbs, GVWR is 5500, GAWR is 5100. inspection shows label on axle is 4400 lbs and each leaf sp... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
Rear passenger door will not open inside or out. Driver door takes multiple times to open from the outside.very concerned that in an accident someone will not be able to exit.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the engine seized. The contact was able to veer to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the message "No Oil Pressure" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, causing coolant and oil to mix. The deal... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the engine seized. The contact was able to veer to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the message "No Oil Pressure" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, causing coolant and oil to mix. The deal... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2023
Bought my 2020 Honda Civic si at 48 k miles. Noticed mild clutch slip and vibration on the shift knob. Dealership states I don't know how to drive manual transmission. I've driven manual transmission for 18 years. I'm not stupid. Dealership states it's wear and tear and not part of the warranty. My window motor auto feature does not work. Bluetooth connectivity issues. Collision braking system ac... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2023
Bought my 2020 Honda Civic si at 48 k miles. Noticed mild clutch slip and vibration on the shift knob. Dealership states I don't know how to drive manual transmission. I've driven manual transmission for 18 years. I'm not stupid. Dealership states it's wear and tear and not part of the warranty. My window motor auto feature does not work. Bluetooth connectivity issues. Collision braking system ac... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2023
While waiting in a parking lot, I was reviewing the settings available on the lower center display, one of those options was for "Camera." Inside this menu I found and made adjustment for options like brightness, contrast, tint, color, and black level... and while most of those seemed to work well, and I was able to make suitable adjustments to the camera--the tint and color options seemed to ha... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2023
illuminated check engine and oil pressure warning lights with stalling at higher speeds. Last incident car stalled on freeway while driving up a steep grade. This incident put me at risk for injury due to the traffic and location incident. Afterwards when starting the car again there would be a severe shaking and excessive smoke coming from engine and exhaust pipe. I initially had a mechanic from... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2023
The auxiliary battery located underneath the interior glove compartment went dead and the car was inoperable. I called Infinity and they would not help me. There was no information relating to this small battery either on internet or Infinity website. I finally had to have a friend drive me to the Coconut Creek Infinity service where they could not give me information but could repair only. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
Steady Check Engine light came on April 25, 2023. Just had oil change/filter done day before. Had tune-up done May 25, 2023. Had mechanic who replaced my catalytic converter and (2) O2 sensors a year ago check my car. Found that the inside of the catalytic converter was melted. They checked for a fuel leak in engine, none found. Replaced catalytic converter and front O2 sensor. As of today, no Ste... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The engine is failing due to poor design and parts. Coolant has leaked into the motor causing a misfire and likely a ruined engine. With this damage, the engine can stop at anytime risking all occupants especially if driving at higher speeds. This is a minivan intended to safely transport families. It has not been to the shop yet. There was first a fuel pressure sensor check engine code and then a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
While merging onto a freeway from the on-ramp into traffic, the transmission has trouble shifting and getting up to speed i’ve only owned it a month now and haven’t had it serviced yet, but it most definitely is a problem.
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
Today, July 22, 2023, my son (21 years old) was sitting in the driver's seat of our Jeep Grand Cherokee 2015 parked in a parking lot and he felt like someone punched him in the back of the head. It turned out to be the headrest (active head restraint) whacking him in the back of his head. The active head restraint pushed out and can't go back in. He was not driving, but his head and neck hurt from... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 17, 2023
ABS and Traction control lights on/off intermitantly. ABS Code C0020-01 ABS pump motor general electrical failure. See you recently posted some information regarding 2017-18 Ram 2500 -3500 trucks. Lots of complaints on Ram Truck forums. Lots of problems with HCU and ABS Contollers. SHOULD BE A RECALL. No braking problems...(yet)
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
My 2015 Hyundai Tucson (62,000 mi) has been having issues of late, I’ve been to my mechanic several times and the last 2 times my car was completely out of oil. There weren’t any warning lights and I just felt it was running “weird.” Now I’m told there us a risk of the engine seizing, catching fire, etc. and I have to constantly check the oil. I’m a senior citizen, so this isn’t ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2023
Transmission light will come on. Then I'll lose power. I've taken it to my local jeep shop who have said it's a bad PTU.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
This started happening in the last 2 mos. My MMI started acting up, it first displayed radio not installed, then it would stall and not show anything on screen, then it came back on to regular showing but then went out again and displaying radio not installed. Then at one point I was able to play my CDs but not my radio. Then finally the complete system went out, now the screen only shows the MMI ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2023
I was driving and slowing down to 45 mph going through Corrigan, TX on 59. The truck all the sudden accelerated pulling to the left, then all of a sudden slammed to the right and went over a curb. I had no steering control and my foot was all the way down on the brakes to try and stop. I'm lucky it didn't happen 20 min before when 75mph was speed limit. The a frame broke, Ball joints, broke rack a... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 14, 2023
In July 2022 vacuum pump failed and created a hard brake situation going 55 mph downhill. Vehicle removed from roadway safely, transported and vacuum pump replaced. In May of 2023 vacuum pump again failed driving at around 25mph, vacuum pump failed catastrophically and blew up inside cam cover. Taken to garage via flatbed and reported car needed a new engine or alternatively we could try a new cam... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2023
At 9794 miles, warranty repair for Code C002001, failed ABS pump motor control, general circuit failure, replaced control module under warranty. Now the vehicle is having same issue at 37,XXX miles, and no longer under warranty. Screen constantly flashes "Service electronic brake system" and "Service ABS System" over and over. ABS light comes on. Traction control light comes on. Vehicle does not h... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
While driving, both while using Adaptive Cruise Control and while using "Autopilot" (automatic lane centering), the car has severely emergency braked with no input from me. The conditions were bright sunlight, with mirages on the roadway in front of the car. I believe the car cannot tell the difference between these mirages and actual obstacles. The emergency braking is severe enough to potential... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
While driving, both while using Adaptive Cruise Control and while using "Autopilot" (automatic lane centering), the car has severely emergency braked with no input from me. The conditions were bright sunlight, with mirages on the roadway in front of the car. I believe the car cannot tell the difference between these mirages and actual obstacles. The emergency braking is severe enough to potential... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, there was a jolt and a knocking sound coming from the transmission. The vehicle had seized in second gear and failed to accelerate above 15 MPH. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the lead frame module needed to be rep... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 47 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop as needed. The contact stated that the “Service Electronic Throttle Immediately” message was displayed. The contact stated that she continued to depress the brake pedal until the vehicle stopped. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver's door arm assembly was fractured and made it hard to open and shut the door. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a fractured door and arm assembly, and the door and arm assembly needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the fail... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I.The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated at high speed before the vehicle shut off with the message “Transmission Not in Park” displayed. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road, and after the vehicle cooled down the contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
Coolant bypass valve required replacement due to faulty equipment, causing sensor to read “engine maintenance required”. Costs $650 to replace and dealership will not cover in warranty or admit fault. Many other Rav 4 owners are having same issue. This should not be on the customer, but rather Toyota for having faulty equipment in vehicle. Also “engine maintenance required” sensor will not... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
I received a safety recall letter today for this vehicle stating that if not repaired, it could result in the death of the vehicle occupants… my wife and 3 daughters use this car daily for transportation and after contacting Chevrolet customer service and waiting on the phone for over 40min and speaking with multiple people, all they could tell me is they don’t know when they’ll be able to r... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
The battery light would come on randomly when using the AC. We just took the car out for a 30 minute drive and parked in the garage. When we went back out to get something out of the car 10 minutes later, the car was smoking. We popped the trunk and the battery was on fire! I researched if there were recalls of faulty wiring and came across an article that mentioned this happening when the AC was ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 3, 2023
I was driving and car started to lose power,the service engine light came on less than a minute before the boom.l tried to speed up and then there was a big boom and it was loud, so I went to the shoulder of the road and the car stalled ,I tried to restart the car and it just engulfed into flames. The car is a total loss. That's all that was left was a metal shell.
Fire
Incident date: May 3, 2023
On July 5, 2023, I was driving my 2013 Mercedes E350, when a red text warning appeared in the speedometer display: "BRAKE Check Brake Fluid Level". I immediately took my car to the dealer's repair shop at Contemporary Motor Cars in Little Silver, NJ. Their mechanic inspected and found that both rear brake lines were leaking and needed to be replaced. I requested that they do the necessary rep... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2023
Transmission failed at 101000 miles. Going 70 miles a hour on interstate.it slowed down to15 miles a hour, for the love of something no one hit me, but it could of been a deadly combo. I'm also on a fb group and everyone complains of their trans going out. Also before then alternator and radiator fan, maf throttle and purge valve at 90000 miles, which none is covered. I did pay $3000 for a extend... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Acura TSX equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: Pure Contact, Tire Size: 225/50/R17, DOT Number: VY40WD4A2320. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's side tire exploded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to Midas. The contact notified the manufacturer of the failure and was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was then towed to an undisclosed dealer and the contact was informed that the engine fai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to Midas. The contact notified the manufacturer of the failure and was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was then towed to an undisclosed dealer and the contact was informed that the engine fai... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2021
My wife and I were traveling on interstate and hit a rough section of road outside Nashville when the truck started to shake uncontrollably, and we nearly hit the center concrete barrier. We had to completely stop before the violent shaking stopped. The next day the same thing happened on another rough section on the interstate. We had cars on both sides of us so could not immediately move to the ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Vehicle caught fire and lost everything
Fire
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
Driving West on I8 from AZ into San Diego my vehicle would lose all ability to accelerate and start decelerating on the upward climbs of the Crestwood Summit highway pass through the Cuyamaca Mountains. Not only it would continue to lose complete driving power and we had to pull over many time to turn the car off and let it sit for 10 minutes. It was not over heated and no lights were on with any ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, 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 repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufac... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
The 2013 Ford F-150 had an issue with the transmission randomly shifting while driving. Ford issues a Customer Satisfaction Program, 19B05 to attempt to address through reprogramming. It was later followed up by a Safety Recall 19S19 and supplemental 19S07 to expand the recall. It appears the issue was never resolved and later Ford issue another supplement #3 in their customer satisfaction prog... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
2021- Reporting a clicking sound coming from the passenger's rear. Reported several time unable to find reported clicking noise. Service Manager and Serice Tech rode with me to try to locate noise - on two occasion noise was heard and services were done (brake and tires) only to have the noise return the next day. Ownership of vehicle is now into the 3nd year and noise is still heard. I suggeste... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
I was driving down Highway 90 in Houston Tx, doing roughly 60 mph when all of a sudden the drivers side window trim, I believe it's called a pillar, just detached and flew behind the car causing the cars behind me to swerve almost crashing into each other. When it detached, the car besides me abruptly swerved to the right almost hitting a car which caused them to swerve back towards me, almost hit... Read more