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: Feb 24, 2026
Jeep Wranglers in the older/early models had aluminum steering steering boxes that would have excessive play do to thermal expansion. Jeep never made it recall but did provide a TSB NUMBER: 08-074-20 REV. B GROUP: 08- Electrical DATE: September 26, 2020. The TSB would recommend the aluminum steering box be replaced with a steel one. The issue is that many dealers refused to do the fix/change part... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2025
The security system, alarm system and lock were all tampered with.
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
I have taken the vehicle to dealership twice and told there was nothing wrong with the car. On three occasions the car has shut off when I stop and will re-engage but lurches and makes a crunching sound upon accelerating.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
My vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure of the exhaust and engine systems directly caused by the defective fuel injection system identified in Service Bulletin 20-100. Despite providing evidence that the failure was initiated by these defective injectors, Honda has only provided a partial, unexplained reimbursement and refuses to acknowledge the extensive "downstream" damages. Diagnostic Eviden... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
My vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure of the exhaust and engine systems directly caused by the defective fuel injection system identified in Service Bulletin 20-100. Despite providing evidence that the failure was initiated by these defective injectors, Honda has only provided a partial, unexplained reimbursement and refuses to acknowledge the extensive "downstream" damages. Diagnostic Eviden... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2026
My airbag light is on after picking it up from a KIA dealership service and they are refusing to correct the issue that was caused by the dealership. I escalated the issue to KIA America and filled a formal case#25916418 on 2/26/2026. On 3/4/206 Tori at Kia Customer service informed me that it will not be covered because the dealership claims its a pre-existing issue. The dealership has failed to ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2026
While accelerating to merge onto the highway, the transmission attempted a shift twice and could not complete the shift. That process causes an aggressive deceleration with each shift attempt. It then slowed, turned on the check engine light and displayed "Reduced Power Mode" - i.e. went into limp mode. The dealer pulled code P0747. The repair is a full transmission rebuild. I did not experience w... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2026
The above checked AND Visibility Wiper and Auto Emergency Braking lights come on occasionally for no reason while driving The touchscreen can get very hot and go blank at times The Electric battery is not able to be utilized in cold or hot outdoor temperatures The heating system on highest temp occasionally blows cool air -not warm/hot The engine light came on last week and the electrical power... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2026
The issue happens when installed rear facing using the seatbelt path install. It has happened in two different vehicles multiple times. The seat is installed according to Graco and vehicle manufacturer instructions. Over time after install, the seat loosens and can be moved more than one inch at the belt path. I have re installed multiple times and the issue persists. Install has also been checked... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
Vehicle was on a slight incline. Shifted into park. Vehicle was running and I went and got into the passenger side, waiting for my daughter to come out of work and drive home. Vehicle evidently came out of the park gear and rolled approximately 100' backwards into another vehicle parked behind me on the same incline.
Crash
Incident date: Feb 20, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle failed to accelerate, and the RPM became elevated. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where a partial diagnosis was performed, and it was determined that there was a catastrophic failure in cylinder #3. The dealer i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2026
On March 1, 2026, while driving at normal roadway speed on a double yellow-lined road, my 2024 Genesis GV60 Advance displayed a "Check Electric Vehicle System" warning. With less than one minute of the warning appearing, the vehicle lost propulsion and rolled to a stop. I was able to steer into a parking lot, but I was stranded miles from home. There was minimal advance warning before complete lo... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2025
The vehicle has experienced repeated failures of the high-voltage charging system that prevent normal charging. The first failure occurred at approximately 511 miles, with warning messages related to the charging/high-voltage system and inability to charge reliably using normal AC charging equipment. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer/service center and the issue was confirmed. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2026
I was driving on the highway with the cruise control engaged. An instruction came on the information center telling me to push the start button, while I was driving at highway speeds. Then the transmission downshifted numerous times violently the last few times. By the tachometer the engine was doing 6000 rpm. I pulled over and the start button would not shut down the engine until about the third ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
I purchased this vehicle just over a year ago as a CPO model with only 8,000 miles on it. It now has just over 23,000 miles. In this short time of ownership, it has been back to the dealership 3 separate times for serious EV system issues. The first visit involved a software update intended to correct a 12-volt charging issue that could prevent the vehicle from charging and potentially cause ICCU ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
On Friday my car wouldn’t start. I put in a request for AAA to come out and do a battery test. The technician comes out and hooks up my battery to the portable box and it still didn’t have the power to crank the car. The car turned on and was clicking it didn’t have enough power to actually start the car. My dad came and gave me a jump saturday morning, and said he thinks I needed a new batt... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
On Friday my car wouldn’t start. I put in a request for AAA to come out and do a battery test. The technician comes out and hooks up my battery to the portable box and it still didn’t have the power to crank the car. The car turned on and was clicking it didn’t have enough power to actually start the car. My dad came and gave me a jump saturday morning, and said he thinks I needed a new batt... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2026
All dash lights are on and the Honda dealership told me I have a blown head gasket, need a turbo replacement & fuel pump in which I wasn’t able to drive the car for 7 months at 112,276 miles..This seems like a known issue for this make and model vehicle after 100,000 miles
Incident date: Feb 23, 2026
All dash lights are on and the Honda dealership told me I have a blown head gasket, need a turbo replacement & fuel pump in which I wasn’t able to drive the car for 7 months at 112,276 miles..This seems like a known issue for this make and model vehicle after 100,000 miles
Incident date: Feb 27, 2026
RECALL OMISSION & SAFETY DISPUTE (Case #10683843): I am reporting two documented safety defects in my 2008 BMW 328i (N51 engine) that are identical to existing Federal Safety Recalls but have been omitted from the recall VIN list for this model year. 1. AIRBAG SYSTEM FAILURE (Recall 17V-428): The vehicle has a confirmed Fault Code 93C3 (Passenger Seat Occupancy Mat). This is the exact failure mo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2026
Vehicle has been inspected by dealer and all I’ve gotten it’s a natural sound. Vehicle has been taken three times for same issue and nothing has been done. No accidents have occurred.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2026
The driver (my wife) was operating the Kia EV6 (with approximately 10,000 miles) when the vehicle suddenly experienced a severe loss of motive power. While driving, a warning message appeared on the dashboard indicating an issue with the power supply. Immediately after, the vehicle forced itself into "turtle mode," severely restricting the maximum speed to 20 mph and refusing to accelerate further... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2026
Have had two sidewall bubbles appear, one was right front tire with approximately 7000 miles, second was left front tire with 11,500 miles. Both were OEM equipment on 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid limited fwd. Tire size 255/45/R20. No blowouts. Replaced tires at great expense and inconvenience immediately upon finding bubble on sidewall.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2026
Have had two sidewall bubbles appear, one was right front tire with approximately 7000 miles, second was left front tire with 11,500 miles. Both were OEM equipment on 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid limited fwd. Tire size 255/45/R20. No blowouts. Replaced tires at great expense and inconvenience immediately upon finding bubble on sidewall.
Incident date: Feb 9, 2026
Hi I bought a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 2018 at GM Motors (Old Bridge), I have on open recall and I take it to the dealer, Jeep Dodge Chrysler located at Bloomfiel, I talked to Tony the supervisor and they refused to fix it,this incident happened last July he told me come back in 6 months so in December when I get there he told me they have a lot of work call them in January, and when I call them la... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
I was driving the vehicle and suddenly the steering wheel started to getting hard to turn it and the dash board doesn’t show any failure I went right away to dealership close by they inspected the vehicle they states there is a power steering failure but the car never showed any failure on dashboard or safety system
Incident date: Aug 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, there was an abnormal fuel odor coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was stopped, and the contact became aware of smoke coming from the engine compartment. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the catalytic converter, turbo, and engine needed to b... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2026
My 2022 Tesla Model 3 experienced a heat pump compressor failure at approximately 89,457 miles. Tesla Service Center diagnosed an internal failure in the heat pump system. The heat pump system controls cabin heating, windshield defrosting, and thermal management for the vehicle. When the system failed, the vehicle lost heating and proper defrost capability. This can impair windshield visibility du... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2025
The vehicle was serviced on 2/13 at the Polestar service center in Seattle. I believe this is when software version 4.2.13 was installed. In the last week, I've noticed a new behavior. When I accelerate from a stop, the vehicle intermittently does not accelerate as it used to. For approximately 2 - 3 seconds, I have no control over acceleration and the vehicle only operates around 5 mph. This put ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
I rented this car from Fox Rental Cars at Seatac Airpot between 2/18/26 and returned 2/23/26. While in the AUTO setting for headlights, the high beams suddenly shut off and quick working. Then the tail lights quit working. I did not know the tail lights were inoperable until I was pulled over. When I shut off the vehicle and turned it back on, the tail lights came back on and I was released wi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. There was a knocking sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed the local dealer and was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. No further information was available. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2026
Engine has a Pcv valve issue that causes oil to leak from seals and burnt through the pistons causing loss of oil, engine damage and possible engine failure while driving. This could cause vehicle to lock up and possible cause an accident especially at freeway speeds. There is no low oil indicator or check engine light that comes on to let driver know that the oil is low
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine, and the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. While the contact’s wife was driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer, who discovered metal shavings inside the engine oil and informed the contact t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
Dash board showed limited power couldnt accelerate above 10-12 mph pulled into residental area dash then showed warning sign 12v battery then car died in middle of street. Could not put car in neutral called dealership said car cannot be put in neutral without special tools. I had taken it in for recall in 2023 or 2024 cant remember. Luckily i was not on highway as i could not even turn on hazard... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2025
On April 24, 2025, I plugged my Kia EV6 into my 48-amp hardwired ChargePoint HomeFlex at 7:26 PM. Around 10:30 PM I heard a noise outside but did not investigate. At 12:25 AM I noticed I had not received a “charging complete” notification. The Kia Connect app showed the vehicle at 74% and no longer charging. The ChargePoint app was unresponsive.\n\nThe next morning I found the charger’s 60-a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2025
On April 24, 2025, I plugged my Kia EV6 into my 48-amp hardwired ChargePoint HomeFlex at 7:26 PM. Around 10:30 PM I heard a noise outside but did not investigate. At 12:25 AM I noticed I had not received a “charging complete” notification. The Kia Connect app showed the vehicle at 74% and no longer charging. The ChargePoint app was unresponsive.\n\nThe next morning I found the charger’s 60-a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2026
On [XXX] at [XXX] my vehicle caught fire while it was driving on [XXX] in New Jersey. The vehicle had approximately 120,000 miles at the time. The fire appeared to start under the vehicle on the driver side. Prior to the fire, there was no issues or lights on the dash and nothing appeared while driving. The fire resulted in my whole car being totaled and towed away to a yard. I am concerned this f... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, indicating a failure with the catalytic converter. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and the mechanic associated the failure with NHTSA ID Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer for the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, indicating a failure with the catalytic converter. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and the mechanic associated the failure with NHTSA ID Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer for the ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2026
Vehicle Information: 2017 Kia Sedona VIN: [XXX] Engine: 3.3L GDI Mileage at failure: 186,000 miles Complaint: I am filing this complaint regarding sudden engine failure in my 2017 Kia Sedona equipped with the 3.3L GDI engine. The vehicle had approximately 186,000 miles at the time of failure and had just undergone a routine oil change prior to the incident. While driving on the highway, a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood, and the engine overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road and add coolant to the coolant reservoir. The vehicle slowly started and was driven to the destination. The contact stated that the e... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Forte. While driving at various speeds, the check engine warning illuminated. The vehicle would start to vibrate. The vibration was more evident while slowing down or stopping at traffic lights. The vibration and the warning light had become a recurring failure. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was cleared. However, lately, tu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
The interior surface of the windshield freezes during cold weather operation, beginning at the edges of the windshield and progressing toward the center directly into the driver’s line of sight. This significantly impairs visibility and requires approximately 20–30 minutes of vehicle warming before safe operation is possible. The condition has occurred repeatedly since November under normal w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2025
1st instance: Battery Coolant errors that occurred on and off. 2nd instance: The ICCU unit failed and car was not able to charge via level 2 and only fast charge. Car was still operable. Dealer replaced ICCU 3rd instance: The ICCU failed and car was rendered inoperable. Dealer Replaced ICCU. We are now on our third ICCU since we purchased the car in 11/26/2022. This would be considere... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2025
1st instance: Battery Coolant errors that occurred on and off. 2nd instance: The ICCU unit failed and car was not able to charge via level 2 and only fast charge. Car was still operable. Dealer replaced ICCU 3rd instance: The ICCU failed and car was rendered inoperable. Dealer Replaced ICCU. We are now on our third ICCU since we purchased the car in 11/26/2022. This would be considere... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2025
1st instance: Battery Coolant errors that occurred on and off. 2nd instance: The ICCU unit failed and car was not able to charge via level 2 and only fast charge. Car was still operable. Dealer replaced ICCU 3rd instance: The ICCU failed and car was rendered inoperable. Dealer Replaced ICCU. We are now on our third ICCU since we purchased the car in 11/26/2022. This would be considere... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2026
On Friday, February 27, 2026. This vehicle is being driven and vehicle seized and disabled on the road. In the middle of rush hour, traffic in a dangerous spot, local police had to be called out to assist, as no location was identified for a tow truck to be able to pick it up... The police had to dispatch their own tow service. After being towed from location where a car was disabled, mechanic loo... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2026
I am reporting a loss of propulsion event in a 2025 Kia Sorento S AWD. The vehicle experienced a sudden loss of drive power when pressing the accelerator. The engine did not respond normally and the vehicle entered a reduced power (limp mode) condition. Stopping in the middle of major intersections, [XXX] and then [XXX] and [XXX] at 4:30 pm. This vehicle is subject to Recall 25V548 involving e... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2026
I am reporting a loss of propulsion event in a 2025 Kia Sorento S AWD. The vehicle experienced a sudden loss of drive power when pressing the accelerator. The engine did not respond normally and the vehicle entered a reduced power (limp mode) condition. Stopping in the middle of major intersections, [XXX] and then [XXX] and [XXX] at 4:30 pm. This vehicle is subject to Recall 25V548 involving e... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 1999
My 2021 Kia Seltos (manufactured April 2020, ~94,000 miles) has the 2.0L Nu MPI engine affected by a known piston oil ring defect. Symptoms include piston noise, excessive oil consumption, rough idle, reduced power, and codes: P1327 (PNSS-detected knock), P0304 (cyl 4 misfire), P0017 (crank/cam correlation error). These indicate progressive cylinder wall scoring from improperly heat-treated rings,... Read more