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 3,627 complaints for JAGUAR
Incident date: Oct 13, 2000
VEHICLE SHAKES AND SHIMMIES ABOVE 38 MPH. IT ALSO VEERS FROM ONE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO THE OTHER. TIRES AND WHEELS ARE INVOLVED. DEALER COULD NOT FIX PROBLEM. EXTREME SAFETY HAZZARD. CAR IS NOT ABLE TO BE DRIVEN. EXTREME SAFETY HAZZARD!
Incident date: Feb 27, 2001
FUEL TANK DEVELOPED LEAK. WEB SEARCH REVEALED THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM. CAUSE IS EITHER TANK PUNCTURE BY CONTACT WITH RIVET OVER TIME OR A REAR WINDOW LEAK ALLOWING WATER INTRUSION. WATER SATURATES FOAM ON WHICH TANK RESTS AND CORRODES METAL FROM OUTSIDE. PASSENGER CABIN IS CONTAMINATED WITH FUMES UNLESS WINDOWS ARE CLOSED AND FAN IS ON. TRUNC CONTAINS BOTH LIQUID AND FUMES IN THE AREA... Read more
JAGUAR
VANDEN PLAS
(2000) — EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
Mar 13, 2001
Incident date: Jan 1, 2001
BAD ODOR INSIDE OF VEHICLE. CONSUMER WAS CATCHING HEADACHE FROM SMELL. NOTIFIED DEALERSHIP AND MANUAFACTURER . THERE WAS A LEAK CAUSED BY A MOLD UNDERNEATH VEHICLE, RUGS HAD TO BE REPLACED. AIR CONDITIONER WAS LEAKING A SUBSTANCE THAT CAUSED A MOLD INSIDE OF VEHICLE. VEHICLE AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR A MONTH.*AK
Incident date: Feb 8, 2001
WHILE DRIVING THE FRONT LEFT FENDER LINER BEGAN RUBBING THE TIRE AND THE CONSUMER COULD HEAR LOUD GRINDING NOISE, THIS RUBBING CAUSED THE FRONT LEFT WHEEL TO LOCK UP, DESTROYED THE WHEEL BEARING AND RESULTED IN BRAKE FAILURE. NLM LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING COMPLETELY FAILED, THE CALIPER AND ROTOR WERE CAUSING MOST OF THE NOISE, THE ROTOR HAD GRINDED ABOUT 3/16 OF AN INCH OF METAL AWAY FROM CALIPER... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2001
WHILE DRIVING THE FRONT LEFT FENDER LINER BEGAN RUBBING THE TIRE AND THE CONSUMER COULD HEAR LOUD GRINDING NOISE, THIS RUBBING CAUSED THE FRONT LEFT WHEEL TO LOCK UP, DESTROYED THE WHEEL BEARING AND RESULTED IN BRAKE FAILURE. NLM LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING COMPLETELY FAILED, THE CALIPER AND ROTOR WERE CAUSING MOST OF THE NOISE, THE ROTOR HAD GRINDED ABOUT 3/16 OF AN INCH OF METAL AWAY FROM CALIPER... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2000
3 TIMES WHILE TRAVELING 55 TO 60 MPH THE ENGINE STALLED WHILE IN TRAFFIC. EACH TIME I PUT THE TRANSMISSION INTO NEUTRAL AND UNSUCCESFULLY ATTEMPTED A ROLLING RESTART. UPON GETTING THE VEHICLE TO A STOP AT THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD I PUT THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK AND WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE A SUCCESSFUL RESTART AND RESUME NORMAL DRIVING. THE LOSS OF ACCELERATOR CONTROL AND POWER STEERING WHILE IN TRAFFI... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2000
3 TIMES WHILE TRAVELING 55 TO 60 MPH THE ENGINE STALLED WHILE IN TRAFFIC. EACH TIME I PUT THE TRANSMISSION INTO NEUTRAL AND UNSUCCESFULLY ATTEMPTED A ROLLING RESTART. UPON GETTING THE VEHICLE TO A STOP AT THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD I PUT THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK AND WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE A SUCCESSFUL RESTART AND RESUME NORMAL DRIVING. THE LOSS OF ACCELERATOR CONTROL AND POWER STEERING WHILE IN TRAFFI... Read more
THE MESSAGE CENTER READOUTS, INCLUDING THE ODOMETER AND TRIP COMPUTER ARE SO DIM THAT THEY ARE BARELY VISIBLE ON A SUNNY DAY EVENTHOUGH IT'S ADJUSTED TO THE BRIGHTEST SETTING. NLM
WHEN VEHICLE IS PLACED INTO DRIVE IT WILL BUCK INTO REVERSE FIRST. ACCELERATION POWER DOES NOT FEEL LIKE IT IS CONTROLED BY PEDAL WHEN APPLIED. DEALER HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
WHEN VEHICLE IS PLACED INTO DRIVE IT WILL BUCK INTO REVERSE FIRST. ACCELERATION POWER DOES NOT FEEL LIKE IT IS CONTROLED BY PEDAL WHEN APPLIED. DEALER HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
PASSENGER'S SIDE SEATBELT WILL INTERMITTENTLY STAY IN LOCKING POSITION AND FINALLY IT WILL RELEASE. *AK
Incident date: Dec 28, 2000
VEHICLE HAS STALLED 7 TIMES IN THE LAST 20 MONTHS, DEALER HAS ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT PROBLEM ON FOUR OCCASIONS. *CJ
THE HEAD LIGHT LENS IS FOGGED AND IS DIMINISHING THE LIGHT FROM THE HEADLIGHTS. *SLC
Incident date: Oct 14, 1999
I REQUIRE A FAX # AND EMAIL ADDRESS TO SEND IMPT DOCUMENTATION TO YOU. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK( DOT NUMBER: )
Incident date: Oct 14, 1999
I REQUIRE A FAX # AND EMAIL ADDRESS TO SEND IMPT DOCUMENTATION TO YOU. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK( DOT NUMBER: )
Incident date: Sep 27, 2000
VEHICLE SHAKES AND SHIMMIES ABOVE 38 MPH. TIRES AND WHEELS ARE INVOLVED. DEALER AND JAGUAR ENGINEER TRIED TO FIX AND CANNOT. EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD. *AK
Incident date: Sep 27, 2000
VEHICLE SHAKES AND SHIMMIES ABOVE 38 MPH. TIRES AND WHEELS ARE INVOLVED. DEALER AND JAGUAR ENGINEER TRIED TO FIX AND CANNOT. EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD. *AK
Incident date: Jan 2, 2001
DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH. VEHICLE WAS GOING OVER A PIECE OF ICE ON ROAD. *AK THE CONSUMER POINTED OUT THAT THE VEHICLE PASSED OVER A PIECE OF ICE OR A SMALL PIECE OF ROCK WHICH CAUSED THE AIR BAG TO DEPLOY. *YH
JAGUAR
XJ6
(1989) — SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Jan 25, 2001
BRAKE SYSTEM FAILED MULTIPLE TIMES-ABS SYSTEM REPEATEDLY AND DISC BRAKES SEEM TO HAVE NO HYDRAULICS-PEDAL HARD AS A ROCK. ABS SENSOR COMES ON INTERMITTANTLY EVEN WHEN NO OBVIOUS PROBLEM W/ABS, YET ABS FAILS OFTEN-ESPECIALLY UNDER HEAVY BRAKING. ELECTRICAL: CAR WOULD DIE WHILE IN OPERATION YET ALTERNATOR TESTS FINE. CAR WOULD NOT START AFTER SITTING-SOMETIMES HOURS-SOMETIMES DAYS. CAR SEEMS T... Read more
BRAKE SYSTEM FAILED MULTIPLE TIMES-ABS SYSTEM REPEATEDLY AND DISC BRAKES SEEM TO HAVE NO HYDRAULICS-PEDAL HARD AS A ROCK. ABS SENSOR COMES ON INTERMITTANTLY EVEN WHEN NO OBVIOUS PROBLEM W/ABS, YET ABS FAILS OFTEN-ESPECIALLY UNDER HEAVY BRAKING. ELECTRICAL: CAR WOULD DIE WHILE IN OPERATION YET ALTERNATOR TESTS FINE. CAR WOULD NOT START AFTER SITTING-SOMETIMES HOURS-SOMETIMES DAYS. CAR SEEMS T... Read more
WHEN THE IGNITION CUTS OUT ON THE LEFT SIDE, THE FUEL INJECTORS CONTINUED TO DUMP FUEL, WHICH WENT INTO THE PREHEATED CONVERTERD AND BURNED, HIGH HEAT CAUSED THE CATALYST TO MELT AND SAG IN BOTH CONVERTERS. NLM
WHILE DRIVING CAR EXPERIENCES RANDOM VIBRATION ON STEERING WHEEL. CAR HAS BEEN BALANCED AND ALIGNED THREE TIMES. DEALER DOES NOT HAVE A CLUE. *AK
IN CARS EQUIP. WITH THE WEATHER PCKG. THE REAR VIEW MIRRORS IS TOO BIG AND TOO LOW COVERING ABOUT 80% OF VISIBLE AREA ON THE RIGHT SIDE, INCLUDING THE INCOMMING TRAFFIC AT AN INTERSECTION. THIS CAN CAUSE A SEVERE ACCIDENT.*AK
Incident date: Dec 29, 2000
WE COULDN'T EVEN DRIVE THE CAR HOME FROM THE DEALERSHIP, YET THESE PEOPLE WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY KNOWINGLY SOLD US A LEMON
Incident date: Dec 1, 2000
FUEL TANK CRACKED CAUSING FUEL TO LEAK INTO VEHICLE WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED A CRASH. THERE WAS RECALL FOR THIS DEFECT, BUT HAS BEEN REMEDIED YEARS AGO. HOWEVER, PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
Incident date: Dec 1, 2000
WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH + VEHICLE VIBRATES WHICH MAY POSSIBLY CAUSE A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE CAUSE. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
SEAT BELT MECHANISM EXPLODED ON PASSENGER'S SEAT, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
IGNITION FAILURE RESULTED IN VEHICLE FIRE, POSSIBLY RELATED TO THE FAULTY DESIGN OF THE MARELLI IGNITION SYSTEM. *MJS
Fire
Incident date: Oct 17, 2000
FAILURE OF THE TEMPERATURE SENSOR CAUSES THE ENGINE TO STOP DEAD WITHOUT WARNING. THIS HAPPENED TWICE BEFORE THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. I WAS LUCKY NOT TO BE IN A VULNERABLE SITUATION!*AK
ON CARS EQUIPPED WITH A WEATHER PACKAGE, THE INTERNAL REAR VIEW MIRROR IS TOO LOW AND COVERS 80% OF VISIBILITY ON THE INCOMMING RIGHT SIDE TRAFFIC. MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND DOES NOT RECOGNIZED THE ISSUE AND NEVER CALLED ME BACK. DEALER SAID NOTHING CAN BE DONE. SOMEONE FROM THE NHTSA SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS. PLEASE CALL ME.*AK
Incident date: Nov 20, 2000
WHILE DRIVING AT 10 MPH AND MERGING ONTO ANOTHER LANE, CONSUMER NOTICED STEERING WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. VEHICLE STALLED TWICE BEFORE THE CONSUMER NOTICED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. AFTER THIRD STALLING, CONSUMER FELT LIKE IT MAY BE AN ACCIDENT IF IT KEPT STALLING.*AK THE ELECTRONIC SEATS WERE MALFUNCTIONING. AFTER THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION L... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2000
WHILE DRIVING AT 10 MPH AND MERGING ONTO ANOTHER LANE, CONSUMER NOTICED STEERING WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. VEHICLE STALLED TWICE BEFORE THE CONSUMER NOTICED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. AFTER THIRD STALLING, CONSUMER FELT LIKE IT MAY BE AN ACCIDENT IF IT KEPT STALLING.*AK THE ELECTRONIC SEATS WERE MALFUNCTIONING. AFTER THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION L... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2000
WHILE DRIVING AT 10 MPH AND MERGING ONTO ANOTHER LANE, CONSUMER NOTICED STEERING WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. VEHICLE STALLED TWICE BEFORE THE CONSUMER NOTICED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. AFTER THIRD STALLING, CONSUMER FELT LIKE IT MAY BE AN ACCIDENT IF IT KEPT STALLING.*AK THE ELECTRONIC SEATS WERE MALFUNCTIONING. AFTER THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION L... Read more
THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED TWO TIMES FOR PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE TRUNK LOCK. *MJS
THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED THREE TIMES FOR PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE RATTLE IN THE REAR BRAKE LIGHT, SERVICE ADVISOR SAID JAGUAR DID NOT YET HAVE A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM. *MJS
THE ONBOARD COMPUTER SYSTEM NOTIFIED THE JAGUAR ASSIST THAT THEY HAD RECEIVED A SIGNAL FROM THE VEHICLE THAT THE AIRBAGS HAD DEPLOYED WHEN THE HAD NOT, THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT DETERMINE WHY THE SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED, CONSUMER IS NOT SATISFIED UNTIL A REASON IS FOUND FOR THIS MALFUNCTION. *MJS
JAGUAR
S-TYPE
(2000) — EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM)
Nov 20, 2000
THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED FIVE TIMES FOR PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM. *MJS
THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED TWO TIMES FOR PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE TELEPHONE SYSTEM. *MJS
BRIDGESTONE TIRE (P225 70 R15) EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION. *SLC
Incident date: Apr 1, 1989
CONSUMER HAD PROBLEMS WHEN VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. ENGINE RAN ROUGH, MOTOR WOULD STICK & HESITATE. DEALER CHANGED SPARK PLUGS & REPAIRED SEALS & INJECTOR. THE CAR HAS A STEADY HISTORY OF PROBELMS. *AK
Incident date: Apr 1, 1989
CONSUMER HAD PROBLEMS WHEN VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. ENGINE RAN ROUGH, MOTOR WOULD STICK & HESITATE. DEALER CHANGED SPARK PLUGS & REPAIRED SEALS & INJECTOR. THE CAR HAS A STEADY HISTORY OF PROBELMS. *AK
Incident date: Apr 1, 1989
CONSUMER HAD PROBLEMS WHEN VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. ENGINE RAN ROUGH, MOTOR WOULD STICK & HESITATE. DEALER CHANGED SPARK PLUGS & REPAIRED SEALS & INJECTOR. THE CAR HAS A STEADY HISTORY OF PROBELMS. *AK
Incident date: Nov 4, 2000
IN REVERSE I WAS BACKING INTO MY CARPORT. WHEN I NEEDED MORE GAS THE THROTTLE HUNG AND IT MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL AND I BACKED THUR THE WALL AND INTO THE KITCHEN APPROX 4 FEET INSIDE TAKING OUT MY DOORS AND KITCHEN CABINETS THE STOVE AND OTHER VALUABLES, AT APPROX 20 PLUS MPH THE THROTTLE HAD HUNG UP BEFORE IN FORWARD BUT NEVER IN REVERSE.I WAS HURT AND THE CAR RECIEVED REAR END DAMAGE BUT I... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 1, 1999
REAR SUSPENSION IS GONE. VEHICLE BOUNCES AROUND SIGNIFICANTLY. DEALER RECOMMENDS REPLACEMENT WITH REAR END KIT. *AK
Incident date: Aug 29, 2000
WHEN THE IGNITION TURNED OFF THE FRONT DRIVER'S SEAT AUTOMATICALLY MOVED BACK AND THE RIGHT REAR PLATFORM BAR MOVES BACK WITH THE SEAT CAUSING REAR PASSENGER SHOES TO GET SQUEEZED AND JAMMED. *YH
Incident date: Oct 27, 2000
TIRE TREAD COMPLETLY CAME OFF TIRE AND SIDE WALLS DECENTERGRATED AT 75 MPH PASSING A TRACKTOR TRAILER WITH ANOTHER TRACKTOR TRAILER 10 FEET OFF MY REAR BUMPER. I'M LUCKEY TO BE ALIVE.( DOT NUMBER: )
Incident date: Oct 31, 2000
WHILE TRAVELING AT 70 MPH AND WITHOUT ANY INDICATION FRONTAL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
Incident date: Jun 1, 1999
THE REPAIR SHOP STATED THAT OTHER VEHICLES OF SIMILAR TYPE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. IT SURE IS HAVING A PROBLEM AT LOW MILEAGE AND AGE WHICH IS VERY SUSPICIOUS.
Incident date: Apr 2, 2000
SEATBELT MECHANISM FAILED (SEIZED AND DID NOT ALLOW MOVEMENT OR USE OF BELT)..I JUST READ THAT THIS WAS A RECALL BUT WE NEVER WERE INFORMED
Incident date: Oct 9, 2000
THE OUTSIDE MIRROR ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE WAS REPLACED WITH AN ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MIRROR FROM THE DEALER. THE REPLACEMENT MIRROR WAS CONVEX RATHER THAN FLAT, CREATING A SAFETY HAZZARD. THE MIRROR DID NOT HAVE THE "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR" WARNING ON IT. THERE MAY BE A BATCH OF CONVEX MIRRORS WITHOUT WARNINGS THAT CAN BE INSTALLED ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE.