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 62,191 complaints for KIA
Incident date: Jul 5, 2025
there is a several 2020 Camaro V6 had a recall for engine oil leak my car been leaking oil since 60K miles and now its 75k miles and I didn’t receive any recall for this problem? even tho there’s many cars like mine had the same issue and got the recall for it
Incident date: Jun 14, 2025
On May 26, 2025, around 3:00 PM, I was traveling with my family on a bright and sunny day, with no rain for several days leaving the roads dry. As we were on I-35, I took an exit, and just a few seconds later, my 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 unexpectedly shut off, all the lights on the the dashboard lit up, and the vehicle came to a sudden and complete stop. Thankfully, this incident occurred on the... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000(Engine and Engine Cooling; Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An unknown local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
Rear view camera intermittently displays “camera is temporarily unavailable” message when backing up. Vehicle doesn’t have the best rear view visibility through the window, so I rely on the rear view camera more than in other vehicles. This is still occurring after installing the 3.6.4 update, which I’m told was supposed to address this issue.
Incident date: May 30, 2025
I have received a warning 3 times saying “Rotary Shifter stuck. I searched and information says bring to dealer for immediate repair the brakes can lock and can cause an accident . I brought it in the first time and was told they can’t determine the issue unless the warning is on when I come in. It never happens when they are open. I read other stories and this problem is not just me having t... Read more
KIA
SPORTAGE HYBRID
(2023) - ENGINE
Jul 11, 2025
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
My vehicle lags using the accelerator. If you press the gas it taskes 10 seconds for the vehicle to begin moving unless you give it around 40% accelerator then it jumps uncontrollably forward. This happens everyday. I drive this vehicle constantly and the more I drive it the worse it gets. I feel the electric traction motor doesn't engage because of any number of reasons. I bring it to the shop an... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
I am reporting a recurring and hazardous issue with my 2024 Hyundai Palisade. When driving over uneven or bumpy surfaces—such as city streets with potholes, manhole covers, or brick pavement—the braking system fails to respond appropriately. Despite applying the brakes at low speeds (approximately 25 mph or less), the vehicle does not decelerate as expected. This results in extended stopping d... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact stated that the power liftgate became inoperable when the contact attempted to engage the power liftgate. The contact had to enter the vehicle and manually opened the power liftgate. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V338000 (Electrical System, Structure); however, ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2025
A search of your site shows I have no unrepaired recalls. That is not true. I had a software update the was intstalled to keep me from going above 7th gear in my 10 speed transmission due to concerns over incidents of transmission/rear end lockup occuring when downshifitng from 8th to 7th gear. This update was done November 27, 2022, at Juneau Toyota, Juneau Alaska 99801. While this is suppose... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
The contact owned a 2014 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, in heavy traffic, the vehicle was rear-ended by the vehicle behind. As a result, the vehicle was propelled forward and was hit by an unknown vehicle, and was then hit by another vehicle, which caused the vehicle to spin around and hit the concrete median, where it came to a stop. Unknown if any warning lights were... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 4, 2025
On June 26, 2025, around 9:30 AM, I was driving my Tacoma on the highway at approximately 70 mph when the truck suddenly lost power. I was in the center lane and nearly got hit as I tried to exit the highway. After exiting, the engine warning light came on, and the truck eventually stalled. I was able to restart it with limited power and drove it to a nearby shop. The shop's diagnosis revealed sev... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The car computer (HW3) in my 2023 Tesla Model Y failed without warning while I was traveling from Maryland to New Jersey. When I attempted to drive the car, the main screen was completely black and unresponsive, meaning I could not see or control any essential functions—no speed display, gear indicator, or system feedback. The vehicle was not drivable. Acceleration was extremely delayed (took mo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
While driving 25 mph with no traffic or people around the car came to an extreme sudden stop and without warning. The dashboard lit up red with warning lights and warning alarms sounded followed by complete shutdown of cars systems. No skidding or tire screach - just an instant forceful stop, as if engine cutoff and breaks forcefully seized simultaneously. We were able to restart car and immediate... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
While driving 25 mph with no traffic or people around the car came to an extreme sudden stop and without warning. The dashboard lit up red with warning lights and warning alarms sounded followed by complete shutdown of cars systems. No skidding or tire screach - just an instant forceful stop, as if engine cutoff and breaks forcefully seized simultaneously. We were able to restart car and immediate... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2025
I was turning left from a side street onto a divided highway and stopped in the middle to wait for an opening in traffic. When one came I hit the gas and nothing happened. Pressed it again, to the floor and nothing happened. I then put the truck into reverse to back out of the way of traffic because the truck rolled forward a bit when I attempted to accelerate. I then waited for a very large openi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V896000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the ABS and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the dealer determined that the failure was related ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
2021 Ford Explorer •Problem: Blind Spot Detection / Sensor Malfunction •Description to copLeft-side blind spot sensor fails intermittently. It shows no warning when vehicles are in the blind spot, creating a risk during lane changes. I found Ford TSB 23-2048 confirms the issue. Dealer quoted $1,200 but this is a known factory problem and safety issue.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stop, the contact simultaneously depressed the brake pedal and accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to move forward and to stop simultaneously. The contact stated that the pedals were significantly close to each other. The contact’s foot was sliding off the pedals. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stop, the contact simultaneously depressed the brake pedal and accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to move forward and to stop simultaneously. The contact stated that the pedals were significantly close to each other. The contact’s foot was sliding off the pedals. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2025
My 2019 Volkswagen Jetta cannot be refueled — gas nozzle clicks off instantly or overflows. The check engine light came on, and VW Corporate confirmed code P00FE, indicating a failure of the EVAP system vent valve. This is a sealed emissions component integrated with the fuel tank. Dealership initially claimed there were “no codes,” but a video shows their technician confirming the EVAP cod... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2025
The vehicle check engine light came on. Engine light is for a repair to the turbo charger. After looking online I noticed some of the 2017 and 2018 Chevy Trax cars are afftected however the VIN for my car is not included. I want to report the problem to see if my car can be checked to see if it's a faulty part.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2025
The contact’s daughter owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, the contact’s daughter attempted to start the vehicle, and the vehicle lost power with no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine, causing the engine block to fail. The contact wa... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2024
The contact owned a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the son was driving approximately 93 MPH, and while approaching a stop light, the vehicle continued to drive into an intersection and crashed into a commercial Semi truck. During the crash, the three front-seat occupants sustained fatal injuries. The rear driver-side passenger sustained head trauma and was rushed to the hospital. A polic... Read more
Crash
1 injured
3 deaths
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving on the highway at 65 MPH, the contact heard a loud bang coming from the engine. The contact stated that immediately afterwards the vehicle started losing motive power with smoke coming from the front and the rear of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to a l... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
At [XXX] on Tuesday [XXX] while driving our 2023 Ford Mustang Mach E GT eastbound in the left lane on [XXX] near the [XXX] intersection the car suddenly stopped. There was a second or two of multiple warning notices then the car instrument panel went blank. The car “bricked” as is known in Electric Vehicle jargon. There was no power to anything, and the stop was sudden and steering was extr... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
While driving the vehicle, I entered onto the interstate, as I accelerated into the flow of traffic, (approximately 45-50 mph) my truck suddenly and unexpectedly jerked and “clunked” extremely hard, I thought I had ran over a large object, approximately 5 seconds later it jerked and “popped” loudly. At that time the reduced engine power and check engine light came on causing my vehicle to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2025
Supporting Facts: • Unknown [XXX] bought a 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew ZR2 4WD VIN: [XXX] at C. Harper Chevrolet, [XXX] [XXX], Deal# [XXX], Paid $78.211.16 ➢ GM ordered a stop sales on April 2025 on all the dealer lots. They sold it to [XXX] after the stop sales was issued. ( No engine, Crankshaft Position Sensor Diagnostics recall inspection or 40 Wgt. oil change was issued. This was r... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2025
While driving to Lake Placid, NY, I experienced sudden loss of propulsion as I was driving approximately 60 mph. I was able to brake and pull over to the shoulder. I was not able to restart the vehicle - engine was dead. We were flat bed towed to a garage in Lake Placid where it was confirmed that the engine was inoperable. The vehicle is now at. GM dealer in Potsdam, NY. I believe this engine sho... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2025
Nissan Pathfinder vehicles to repair the CVT transmission fluid cooler hose (inter-cooler). The internal fluid cooler (ITOC) hose may detach from the cooler due to inadequate clamping force. Inter-coolers may overheat, fail operation causing leaks and possible fires. If this occurs, the CVT transmission fluid will begin to slowly leak and the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) will illuminate on th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
Front Windshield has cracked. Defender has less than 10K and has only been driven on city roads and highway. No offroad. Chip left of center occurred from pebble while driving on Freeway back February. Took vehicle to Safelite for repair within a week. Two months later Chip expanded into a lateral crack extending nearly two feet towards passenger side. Crack is now extending towards driver... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough idling, with the RPM fluctuating while driving. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact s... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera was occasionally inoperable. The contact stated that it was difficult to operate the vehicle with the back over prevention camera being inoperable, causing visibility issues. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 24V951000 (Back Over Prevention);... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2025
My Sorento burned oil excessively, without warning, and now has a damaged engine, requiring replacement. This is a serious problem and common. There are two other Kia vehicles with the 3.3L Lambda engine in Weston Kia for the same problem - low/no oil and no “low oil” light. Those two vehicles and mine now require new engines. When my car experienced the problem, the car shook and the engine v... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2025
The car is a manual transmission. I stalled the vehicle by accident and after turning the engine on again the vehicle experienced loss of power as if it was in some kind of limp mode. The cars now able to accelerate past 25-30 mph in any gear for the remainder of the trip home.
Incident date: May 25, 2025
Three of the four tires, rated for 30k miles, have failed. There are 11,400 miles on the tires. Back passenger tire blew out and went immediately and audibly flat. Dealer stated this is a known issue with this brand of tire on the Kia K5. 235/45 R18 94v M+S
Incident date: May 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan. While the contact's husband was driving 15 MPH, the front passenger's side headrest detached from the base and struck the contact in the back of the head extremely hard. The air bag had not deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a detached headrest air bag. The contact ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: May 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the “Service 4-WD” warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the Power Transfer Unit (PTU). The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V343000 (Power ... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to a lower gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission valve body had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
Took car to my local mechanic for a clunking sound when turning steering wheel side to side, while standing still. Mechanic states problem at steering knuckle. In addition he stated that there is a Hyundai recall for this problem. I haven’t been able to find the recall for the steering problem when submitting my VIN.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
About two years ago I was driving down my recently paved street, and a loud bang shocked me. I thought something had hit my car. It ended up both of my rear suspension coil springs failed. I do not have a boat or trailer and have not put undue stress on it. Last week, while driving down a smooth street there was another loud bang, and my wife though I hit something, but no, I knew the noise. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the TCM, purge valve, and clutch assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The TCM and purge valve were repaired under warran... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. No warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an indepen... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
Rear view camera and the 360 camera does not work at all on my 2021 Ford F-150 It says return to dealership for repair
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
While on the highway heading to Florida....... all kinds of lights came on and reduced the speed. It was hard to understand what happened but I made it to the Nissan place halfway through the trip. They couldn't do much and had no loaners but the reset the codes in my car. As it was cleared..... everything went back to normal as of nothing happened. But on my way back home ..... it happened again... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The backup camera connected to the infotainment system only works sporadically. 70% of the time it works, 25% of the time it will come back and State that the backup camera is not available, and the other 5% of the time the screen just keeps glitching. After almost a year of this issue there was a recall to correct the problem. The OTA update was applied a few weeks ago but the problem has not bee... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated or jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the shift motor was defective. The contact was informed that the part was covered under warranty and the vehicle was repair... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2025
2019 Audi A7 VIN: [XXX] Mileage: 53336 Fuel Pump and Starter Battery Failure Car stalls during operation. Confirmed by Tyson Audi Dealer wants to charge me for the repair of the said parts. Warning light appeared, then went off. Vehicle was taken to dealership. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Feb 16, 2025
2019 Audi A7 VIN: [XXX] Mileage: 53336 Fuel Pump and Starter Battery Failure Car stalls during operation. Confirmed by Tyson Audi Dealer wants to charge me for the repair of the said parts. Warning light appeared, then went off. Vehicle was taken to dealership. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)