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 60,583 complaints for KIA
Incident date: Mar 24, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH on the highway, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of power steering functionality while decelerating. The vehicle jerked, and a driver assistance system warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 157... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2026
Sudden engine failure while driving with no warning. Vehicle began jerking, shaking, and losing power. RPMs dropped unexpectedly and the engine stalled intermittently. Multiple misfire codes were present (cylinders 1, 3, and 4), and the engine was found to have low or no compression in cylinder 1. The condition rapidly worsened to near complete engine failure. The vehicle was operating normally pr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2026
Sudden engine failure while driving with no warning. Vehicle began jerking, shaking, and losing power. RPMs dropped unexpectedly and the engine stalled intermittently. Multiple misfire codes were present (cylinders 1, 3, and 4), and the engine was found to have low or no compression in cylinder 1. The condition rapidly worsened to near complete engine failure. The vehicle was operating normally pr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2026
A issue with the Valve cover gasket leaking into the engine causing a misfire. Making the car suddenly stop while driving which is very unsafe. I took the car to the dealership and they want to charge me for the repairs. I have 2 kia optima hybrid and both cars have the same issue around the same mileage. There were no warning lights during the time it was at the shop. However one day the check e... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2026
I was stopped at a red light and when it turned green and I proceeded to drive, my car started to hesitate and quit moving right in the middle of the road. I finally got it to the side of the road. When I attempted to reverse it hesitated again and the R symbol started flashing and the engine light came on. The engine codes are P1D97 Clutch A or D defective and P1DB8 Unintended Torque applied whi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2026
2023 Kia sorento rear camera mounting bracket broke. There was are recall SC280 in 2023. Rear camera recently fell out of housing unit and is hanging. Still under warranty, dealership and Kia America refusing to cover and pay for issue. Want a new housing unit and brackets because it is similar to recall noticed.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
I took the truck in for a recall they notified me and said it failed the test and there was metal in the oil and said it needed a new engine
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
Transmission failure at 75k miles. It downshifted from 10th gear into 4th at highway speeds and started throwing transmission codes. Almost caused me to get rid as I was on the interstate in traffic at a speed of roughly 65-70 mph. Vehicle is currently being gone over by a Ford dealership who advises a complete transmission overhaul at the cost of 7,000 or total transmission replacement.
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
Vehicle reaches 50percent fuel level and drops to zero causing the operator to potentially run out of fuel. And disables remote start functionality. Also potentially run out of fuel at anytime and not being able to move vehicle to a safe location. Even the side of the road. Out of gas. Can not move at all. Dealership has replaced twice already the fuel level sensor. Multiple vehicles I’ve seen... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
on my way home Friday evening from work. After exiting the expressway , I made a right turn on the street going towards my house. My steering wheel locked to the right and almost caused me to run into another car. If I had not be driving slow than the speed limit or still on the expressway, this would have been a very bad accident, if not fatal! This is after the dealership made repairs on my v... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
on my way home Friday evening from work. After exiting the expressway , I made a right turn on the street going towards my house. My steering wheel locked to the right and almost caused me to run into another car. If I had not be driving slow than the speed limit or still on the expressway, this would have been a very bad accident, if not fatal! This is after the dealership made repairs on my v... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2026
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the hazard lights and other surrounding indicator systems were inoperable. Additionally, the rearview camera displayed a blank image while reversing. The dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 208,974.
Incident date: Apr 21, 2026
We were made aware of Recall 11V574000 by our automotive shop, which applies to lugs/nuts/bolts on 2010 Ford Fusions, but only starting with manufacturer dates April 2009. This vehicle is dated February 2009, but we have replaced lugs/nuts/bolts at least 6 times in the past 5 years, clearly having the same problem. It has been an expensive, constantly reoccurring problem.
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
Steering was sticky, shifty and driver could not recover resulting in loss of control and impact into an electrical pole and total loss of vehicle. Manufacturer and insurance are set to inspect vehicle. Police reported driver at fault as they did not have the mechanical / technical expertise / evidence to determine cause of accident when the recall notice was brought to their attention.
Crash
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
Backup camera has been mostly inoperable for two years. The display is blurry at best, and works intermittently. Most often, the screen displays "Camera Not Available" or just goes black. Ford has issued a recall for other model years but needs to include the 2014 as we have the same issues.
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
Manufacturer has failed to remedy the safety recall for my vehicle in a timely manner. Vehicle is a fire risk and I am unable to drive it. My vehicle has been sitting at the dealership service center for over a month. I have not been contacted by Kia as of yet even after repeated phone calls and emails for updates.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
The Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection is a good thing, but there's a problem. It stops the car too abruptly on the highway, leading to rear-end collisions. When you release the brake pedal, the car remains stationary. To get it moving, you need to press the accelerator pedal. There have been four instances of the Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection being activated in the la... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
The car is available upon inspection, the car caught on fire after being driven for about 45 mins. Smoke started to come from under the car hood, fire starting dropping from underneath the vehicle and then fire started coming from under the hood of the car. The car started smoking while being inside vehicle and the fire could've spread. The fire was put out by the fire department, the vehicle has ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
The car is available upon inspection, the car caught on fire after being driven for about 45 mins. Smoke started to come from under the car hood, fire starting dropping from underneath the vehicle and then fire started coming from under the hood of the car. The car started smoking while being inside vehicle and the fire could've spread. The fire was put out by the fire department, the vehicle has ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 25, 2026
Subject: Safety Concern – Unintended Emergency Braking My vehicle is experiencing a serious safety issue involving unintended emergency braking. While driving on the freeway, the vehicle has unexpectedly applied emergency braking on its own when other vehicles pass at higher speeds. This has occurred multiple times and has nearly caused accidents. This issue occurs consistently during my trip... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2026
The engine has been burning oil since last May and Hyundai has been putting me through the ringer of hoops to get it fixed. After 11 months and almost 30 visits to the dealership, they are finally replacing the engine. The dealership has told me this is a known issue and I know of others who have the same car and are having the same issue. Someone needs to hold them responsible.
Incident date: Dec 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving and coming to a stop, there was an abnormal oil-burning odor coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer determined that there was an oil leak coming from the lower oil pan. There was oil dripping onto the exhaust system, creating a potential fire hazard. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2026
I am reporting a safety-related engine defect involving sudden internal engine failure, excessive oil consumption, persistent bearing knock, and overheating of the catalytic converter. The vehicle repeatedly triggered Bank 1&2O2 sensor fault codes due to oil blow-by and thermal overload. A certified mechanic documented the engine is failing internally and that the cat. converter has been damaged a... Read more
KIA
CARNIVAL HYBRID
(2026) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Apr 29, 2026
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
Driving down Interstate 65 just south of Bay Minette Alabama and doing approximately 70MPH, there was a total failure of the sunroof. This happened where crazing started and then a catastrophic failure of the glass, blowing out the sunroof. This happened in the space of about 30 seconds. It appears to be the exact circumstance outlined in NHTSA Recall #24V874000. Shards of glass entered the cabi... Read more
KIA
CARNIVAL HYBRID
(2026) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 29, 2026
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
-A "Check Hybrid system. Stop safely. " warning has come on 7 times now. The vehicle loses power and slows down abruptly before coming to a complete halt. This has happened on railroad tracks, the highway, and an intersection where my wife and children were almost hit by other motorists. The dealer has not been able to reproduce the code, but we have pictures and videos of said incidents. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
I am filing a formal safety complaint regarding a repeated dangerous defect in my 2018 Buick Encore. The vehicle intermittently locks up while driving without warning. When this happens: brakes become unresponsive or lock steering becomes difficult or locks gas pedal does not respond dashboard warning lights activate vehicle systems malfunction vehicle may not shut off normally This defect has ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
Comparing this 2026 KIA Sportage to what I have in the garage with 2019 Lexus RX 350, 2018 MB E300, and 2021 Honda CRV, the front collison of this KIA does not work as it should. If I keep moving the vehicles toward a car, the collision avoidance should give me a warning an brakes for me, however, this 2026 KIA Sportage does not respond at all. In addition, in order for the front sensors on the b... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 29, 2026
Our 2019 traverse transmission around 130,000 miles started shuddering when slowly accelerating or driving. Not sure what causes this but I do know that it should be doing this as well as getting the Shift to Park message. I looked online and found that it's supposed to be the torque converter. I then contacted a transmission repair specialist and he stated that changing the fluid may make it wors... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2026
The latency of the parking sensors is so long that it is not safe. Even at the slowest crawl you hit something before the warning turns red/beep becomes constant. Even when you inch forward and stop you need to wait 1 second for the parking sensors to update. This is for front rear and side. The rear crossing alert is just as slow for the same reason. A software update is needed.
Incident date: Apr 28, 2026
I experienced severe wheel instability on 3/29/2026 at around 630pm on I74 West while traveling on the highway at high speed. I was forced to perform emergency maneuvers to avoid a catastrophic collision, resulted in a terrifying near-miss incident that required an emergency tow to safety. Upon inspection, it was confirmed that the lug nuts on the left rear wheel were not properly torqued and were... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
While backing out of my driveway at less than 5 mph, I heard a sudden loud pop noise from the rear of the vehicle, immediately followed by a dashboard warning: 'Check Electric Vehicle System.' Since I was still in my driveway, I was able to safely park and exit the vehicle. There were no injuries and no other vehicles or property were involved. The vehicle was undriveable and required towing to t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2026
My Dart is having the exact braking issue that’s included in the 15V-800 (FCA Recall R63) recall, but my VIN isn’t included in the recall. I just had a local shop tell me that the brake booster is the problem. I would like to be reimbursed for the cost that my local shop will be charging to repair it.
Incident date: Apr 28, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); 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 contact stated that while in reverse, the back-over prevention camera displayed a blank image. ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2026
My 2021 Model Y has about 24,500 miles began squeaking when turning the steering wheel or hitting bumps. I read online that many tesla owners had the same issue. The design on these weren't great allowing water to penetrate these parts and cause them to ware down faster. I already paid for the replacement of the upper and lower control arms.
Incident date: Mar 24, 2026
My 2021 Model Y has about 24,500 miles began squeaking when turning the steering wheel or hitting bumps. I read online that many tesla owners had the same issue. The design on these weren't great allowing water to penetrate these parts and cause them to ware down faster. I already paid for the replacement of the upper and lower control arms.
Incident date: Mar 24, 2026
The Hydraulic Clutch Actuator (HCA) and the Under Hood Wiring Harness have failed due to internal fluid contamination and corrosion. Yes available for inspection. The vehicle experienced a sudden loss of motive power while driving. Per Safety Recall SC276, this component failure creates an electrical short and internal corrosion that poses a significant fire risk and potential for a sudden stall ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2025
I've been living with fuel pump issues for a year or so, i must prime the pump, meaning cycle the fuel pump without starting to get the car to start, if not it just cranks and doesn't start, my vehicle year is definitely on the expanded recall list, but for whatever reason my specific VIN doesn't come up on recall list, this is very frustrating as it is very clear my fuel pump is not holding press... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2025
The vehicle shuddered violently when turning the ignition, and then failed to start entirely. The mechanic found that the engine coil was severely damaged, no external influence, just that it had become worn out remarkably fast. The vehicle has less than 60,000 miles and just 5 years in service. The repair will end up costing about 1500 with tows included and the vehicle has not gone without maint... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2025
2024 Kia EV6 leased January 2025. Vehicle is subject to NHTSA Recall 24V-867 / Kia campaign SC327 for the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU). The recall remedy was performed at an authorized Kia dealer in July 2025 (software / operational logic update). The defect was not cured. Three months after the recall remedy was performed, the vehicle suffered complete loss of electrical power and woul... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
While driving on I-84 between [XXX] and [XXX] , the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete engine failure with no prior warning. The engine seized, resulting in an immediate loss of power while traveling at highway speed, creating a dangerous situation in active traffic. The driver was fortunate to safely pull the vehicle onto an exit ramp. State police arrived and positioned their vehicle be... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
While driving on I-84 between [XXX] and [XXX] , the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete engine failure with no prior warning. The engine seized, resulting in an immediate loss of power while traveling at highway speed, creating a dangerous situation in active traffic. The driver was fortunate to safely pull the vehicle onto an exit ramp. State police arrived and positioned their vehicle be... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
A Mazda Dealership should me a Mazda cx5 2019, in 2023, at nearly 38k miles, right about where many have reported a cracked cylinder issue due to a manufacturing issue in age, and in milage. There is a lawsuit ongoing regarding the turbo version, however many reporting the same issue in the non turbo versions. My engine started smoking while on the highway causing a highly dangerous scenario to ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
Driving in a snow storm and slid in to a rail ,no damage but the back light,airbag deployed,. My regular headlights on the driver side went out three years ago , neighbor got it to work ,now both headlights are not working.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
While making the turns (either side left or right or u turns ) it makes tik tik loud sound at both wheels. Took the vehicle to Honda dealership they said it’s known issue can’t be fixed until the Honda company fixes the issue. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
Recall was completed on 11/25/14 for a shudder when hitting 35 to 50. The recall was a software issue and they show that a torque converter may have been needed at a later date to further correct the issue. Looking for Toyota to follow up with a complete recall vs just the software.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle lost automotive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and had to be towed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
Incident date: Jun 9, 2025
Mileage is at 86980. I have been having issues for a good 10k miles that are slowly getting worse. Transmission is slamming into reverse from park. Shifting is slow from 1st to 2nd gear. Has begun revving engine but not engaging. I have had the transmission fluid changed 3x and flushed and changed the last time. No leakage or overheating. I do not drive her hard, off road or tow. She always gets... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
Headlight DRL Failure - it's safety issue. this is known issue with defenders but when I contacted local dealer in Atlanta area, they refused to replace it without me paying $3200.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
I was driving for couple hours then my oil light came on check engine light came on. Vehicle started to shake very badly. I had to pull over and see what happened. I started the vehicle up again and the oil light and check engine light are still on. I know that these vehicles have the wet belt system on the automatics. But they don't have one for the manual transmission. There should be a recall f... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2026
Subject: BBB Auto Line Claim – Water Intrusion and Sunroof/Moonroof Motor Damage Related to Recall To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting this written statement as supporting explanation to claim # XXX) with regarding my 2018 Ford Explorer Sport (VIN: [XXX] ) and issues related to a known exterior trim defect that allows water intrusion into the vehicle. Ford has issued recalls and service cam... Read more