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: Jun 2, 2025
Vehicle: 2020 Kia Sportage Issue: Excessive Oil Consumption — TSB #TSB_ENG222 I am reporting a recurring issue involving excessive engine oil consumption in my 2020 Kia Sportage. The engine is consuming oil at an abnormal rate between scheduled oil changes, requiring me to add approximately 2.5 quarts of oil every month to maintain safe operating levels. This issue first began approximately 6 m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
Vehicle: 2020 Kia Sportage Issue: Excessive Oil Consumption — TSB #TSB_ENG222 I am reporting a recurring issue involving excessive engine oil consumption in my 2020 Kia Sportage. The engine is consuming oil at an abnormal rate between scheduled oil changes, requiring me to add approximately 2.5 quarts of oil every month to maintain safe operating levels. This issue first began approximately 6 m... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Car has 84000 miles on it for last 15-20 thousand miles there is a smell of gas in the oil. I took to dealership they charged me to replace a catalytic converter. Not even a year later the cars engine blew up. Now needs a whole new motor there is loud knocking and car will not accelerate.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Car has 84000 miles on it for last 15-20 thousand miles there is a smell of gas in the oil. I took to dealership they charged me to replace a catalytic converter. Not even a year later the cars engine blew up. Now needs a whole new motor there is loud knocking and car will not accelerate.
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
On March 23, 2026, I took my 2017 Kia Optima Plug-In Hybrid (VIN: [XXX] ) to Mark Kia [XXX] ) solely for two open safety recalls: SC218 (Engine Inspection/Replacement and KSDS software installation) and SC278 (Emergency Trunk Latch Release) under Repair Order #6807251. No customer-pay work was performed. The Multi-Point Inspection that day noted only the cabin air filter. During the drive home ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
On March 23, 2026, I took my 2017 Kia Optima Plug-In Hybrid (VIN: [XXX] ) to Mark Kia [XXX] ) solely for two open safety recalls: SC218 (Engine Inspection/Replacement and KSDS software installation) and SC278 (Emergency Trunk Latch Release) under Repair Order #6807251. No customer-pay work was performed. The Multi-Point Inspection that day noted only the cabin air filter. During the drive home ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
My Kia vehicle has an ongoing engine oil leak that has not been properly repaired under warranty. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Kia dealership for diagnosis and repair of the oil leak. I was informed by the dealership that Kia engineers indicated that in similar situations the typical resolution is engine replacement. However, in my case, the dealership was instructed to attempt sealing t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2026
2023 Kia Telluride: black digital cluster screen will not turn on, affecting the ability to monitor vehicle status, odometer, speedometer, and safety features. We purchased this vehicle brand new in 2023. The vehicle has been in the Kia dealership service center (where it was purchased) from January 2026 to present. The dealership estimates it will be June 2026 before backordered parts can be r... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2026
2023 Kia Telluride: black digital cluster screen will not turn on, affecting the ability to monitor vehicle status, odometer, speedometer, and safety features. We purchased this vehicle brand new in 2023. The vehicle has been in the Kia dealership service center (where it was purchased) from January 2026 to present. The dealership estimates it will be June 2026 before backordered parts can be r... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2026
Car began going into limp mode not accelerating. Brought it in to be told it was the transmission which in my car some of them had recalls for the exact same things but mine was not included in this recall
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the iss... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2026
Update – April 1, 2026 (NHTSA Complaint #XXX) Today, April 1, 2026, at XXX I was informed that the engine replacement will not proceed because “the 3 years or 36,000 miles have passed.” This is incorrect. My Kia Soul 2022, VIN [XXX] , currently has 44,649 miles and was purchased in 2021. Kia’s Powertrain warranty is 10 years / 100,000 miles for the original owner and covers the engine. The... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2026
Unintentional acceleration.First, I was in line at car wash proceeding slowly ahead as directed in line. Foot on accelerator lightly moving, when car surged rapidly hitting back end of Tesla about 6-8 ft ahead (2/26/26 12:30pm) Impact strong enough to push Tesla into truck hitch damaging it front of it as well. Applied brake, but impact was too rapid. Second incident with my Volvo was a month la... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 9, 2026
Unintentional acceleration.First, I was in line at car wash proceeding slowly ahead as directed in line. Foot on accelerator lightly moving, when car surged rapidly hitting back end of Tesla about 6-8 ft ahead (2/26/26 12:30pm) Impact strong enough to push Tesla into truck hitch damaging it front of it as well. Applied brake, but impact was too rapid. Second incident with my Volvo was a month la... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
My rear backseat driver’s side door handle broke on March 16th, 2026. I either have to roll down the window and open the door from the outside or I have to let passengers out from exiting from the front seat. I took it in for inspection by the dealer, West Kendall Toyota on March 17th, 2026. They had to order a new part. They tried repairing it on March 31, 2026 but failed to do so and had t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2026
2022 Rivian R1T, VIN [XXX] . On March 14, 2026, my service appointment at El Segundo Rivian service center [XXX] ) was deleted from the Rivian app along with all service requests and a timestamped customer message thread documenting my visit that day. Deleted items included active recall remedies FSAM-1795 (seat belt retractor bolts improperly torqued, NHTSA notification mailed ~March 9, 2026) an... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2026
2022 Rivian R1T, VIN [XXX] . On March 14, 2026, my service appointment at El Segundo Rivian service center [XXX] ) was deleted from the Rivian app along with all service requests and a timestamped customer message thread documenting my visit that day. Deleted items included active recall remedies FSAM-1795 (seat belt retractor bolts improperly torqued, NHTSA notification mailed ~March 9, 2026) an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2025
On November 30, 2024, I purchased a new 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450 4MATIC equipped with factory-installed Pirelli tires (size: P 275/45HR21 front; 315/40HR21 rear). At the time of the accident on February 22, 2026, the vehicle had only 15,257 miles. While driving on the interstate in wet conditions, the tires failed to provide adequate traction, causing the vehicle to hydroplane. The loss of trac... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 25, 2025
I spoke to the service manager at Hub City Ford located at [XXX] about the rubber around windshield was dry rotting and had came completely off. I was told that there was a recall that would fix the issue last year and so I waited for the call. During this time the vehicle started making this very loud whistling noise once the vehicle got to 40 mph. I was contacted n October of 2025 about getting... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V104000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V104000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where a scan was completed, and diagnostic trouble codes for the Emissions, engine misfire, timing chain, and crank position sensor failure... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where a scan was completed, and diagnostic trouble codes for the Emissions, engine misfire, timing chain, and crank position sensor failure... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
I stopped at a stoplight and my truck shut off, the doors unlocked and then immediately restarted and then came up with a bunch of errors telling me that my brake system failed and to get the traction control serviced. I then had no power braking. This is the second time my truck has shut off at a light and restarted, but I don’t lose my brakes the first time.
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
Windshield lower plastic mount or cowl is getting detached creating a large visible gap between the cowl and windshield about 0.5+ inch. The gap runs across the middle of the windshield to its left and right side occupying about 50% in total. Gap is an issue when it rains, when it is snowing or other things since might get embedded on it.
Incident date: Feb 16, 2026
The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that the vehicle turned off on several occasions after the engine Auto START/STOP system was engaged. The vehicle was restarted and was taken to the dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. Additionally, upon starting the vehicle after the vehicle was refueled at a gas station, the check engine and several other unknown warn... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that the vehicle turned off on several occasions after the engine Auto START/STOP system was engaged. The vehicle was restarted and was taken to the dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. Additionally, upon starting the vehicle after the vehicle was refueled at a gas station, the check engine and several other unknown warn... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
The third-row seats in my 2025 Hyundai Palisade are closing fully even when there are clear obstructions in the seat path. I tested this multiple times — including with case of water — and the seats did not stop, reverse, or provide any safety resistance. They closed completely each time. I am aware this exact issue has already been identified and recalled in the 2026 Palisade, which raises m... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
The third-row seats in my 2025 Hyundai Palisade are closing fully even when there are clear obstructions in the seat path. I tested this multiple times — including with case of water — and the seats did not stop, reverse, or provide any safety resistance. They closed completely each time. I am aware this exact issue has already been identified and recalled in the 2026 Palisade, which raises m... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
ACC and road departure mitigation system would become disabled for no apparent reason. A message would display on the instrument panel that there is a problem, to see your dealer. Also, a collision mitigation braking system problem would display on the instrument panel with a brake system warning light. A display on the instrument panel would show an area to clean (Honda emblem on front grill). ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2025
Electronic truck tail gate opened while driving after washing vehicle. The tailgate button on the FOB or inside the cabin were not pressed.
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
Following a 25-day repair at a certified collision center due to an earlier accident, the vehicle's Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Active Safety Systems began failing. The vehicle repeatedly failed to keep speed and failed to stay centered in the lane. On March 25, 2026, while traveling at low speed on a public roadway with FSD actively engaged, the system failed to maintain a stable path and incorr... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 7, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Lexus NX 350. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 40 MPH, the instrument cluster went blank. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but no fault was found. The failure was self-corrected. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The approxim... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2026
Audi dealership charged fee for a repair that they the,selves acknowledged is under a technical service bulletin and despite my having extended warranty that is supposed to cover such repairs. This is for the main media interface going blank repeatedly every ~5 minutes or so while driving. Audi charged me for a repair that is a known safetyissue and is covered under warranty.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to an Auto Zone, but no diagnostic trouble code was found, and there was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2026
So our family of four, two adults and two kids driving down buford dr in GA on March 29 2026 apparently at 11am found ourselves in a dangerous situation. The oil light on our honda pilot came on and the vehicle shut off in the middle of a 3 lane extremely busy road. This is not safe and I am a experience automotive technician for more then 20 years of experience and have not yet found a rod beari... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2026
On March 27, 2026, I experienced a complete brake failure while driving a 2021 GMC Acadia in a school zone at approximately 3:00 PM. When I pressed the brake pedal, the vehicle did not respond. I attempted multiple times, including using the emergency brake, which did not activate immediately. The vehicle remained in motion for several minutes in an area with children and parents present. The em... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2026
On March 27, 2026, I experienced a complete brake failure while driving a 2021 GMC Acadia in a school zone at approximately 3:00 PM. When I pressed the brake pedal, the vehicle did not respond. I attempted multiple times, including using the emergency brake, which did not activate immediately. The vehicle remained in motion for several minutes in an area with children and parents present. The em... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
My shifter doesn't recognize that its in park and won't let me remove my keys. It gets stuck on ACC and I can't turn my key/ignition to the off position. And for the 3rd time it's like popped outta gear. I bought it used. This started 2 months ago but for the 10 days its continually gotten worse. 8 outta 10 times I go to put it in park and I can't get key out. I haven't had it inspected or look... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2026
My vehicle has 2 issues that are known but only recalled for another year. My car will say shift to park when in park and will not power off. My vin shows no open recalls for this issue for my vehicle but there is a service bulletin for this issue with my year vehicle. The dealer will not cover the cost of repair since my vin is not listed in the recall. Also I just had to replace the vaper can... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated that while attempting to tow a trailer, the electronic braking system became inoperable with the ABS, ESC, and EBS warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the electric braking system failed to function properly while towing, preventing the trailer brakes from operating as needed. Additionally, the cruise control feature was inoperabl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated that while attempting to tow a trailer, the electronic braking system became inoperable with the ABS, ESC, and EBS warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the electric braking system failed to function properly while towing, preventing the trailer brakes from operating as needed. Additionally, the cruise control feature was inoperabl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2025
The engine on my 2019 Lincoln MKC (2.0L EcoBoost) suffered a sudden internal failure without warning shortly after the factory powertrain warranty expired. The vehicle had no prior drivability issues, no warning lights, and had been maintained on schedule. While driving, the engine began running roughly and quickly lost power. The vehicle became unsafe to operate and had to be towed. The dealersh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2025
The B post on the driver side flew off while driving. This is has been an ongoing issue. Ford has fixed them before and they keep causing issues on both the driver and passenger side. The exterior panel does not stay connected to the truck. It flew off at highway speeds, causing the air and rear tailgate to malfunction after it pulled a wire out. This is a huge safety issue ford refuses to acknowl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2025
The B post on the driver side flew off while driving. This is has been an ongoing issue. Ford has fixed them before and they keep causing issues on both the driver and passenger side. The exterior panel does not stay connected to the truck. It flew off at highway speeds, causing the air and rear tailgate to malfunction after it pulled a wire out. This is a huge safety issue ford refuses to acknowl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
I was in the middle of a 1 hr long drive and my DEF gauge went from 2/3 full to empty nearly instantly. I received a message on the dash that said my speed would be limited to 5 MPH in 200 miles. Thankfully, I was within easy driving distance to a dealer, so I dropped if off yesterday (still waiting for their assessment of the issue), but what if I was in the middle of nowhere, and couldn't get to... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Range Rover. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, there was smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to Meineke Car Care Center and was diagnosed and determined that the coolant pipe needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact a request for a Goodwill servic... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
The rear view camera is not operating when shifting to reverse. I can demonstrate this malfunction at any time to anyone. Driver is unable to detect short objects or small children directly behind the vehicle. The problem was confirmed by the dealer during a service visit. At that time, the service technician checked power and ground to the control unit and verified good. Attempted calibration for... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Palisade. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V607000 (Seat Belts ) and 26V034000 (Air Bags); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. Th... Read more