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 15,126 complaints for LEXUS
Incident date: Apr 9, 2025
Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system. had many of the other same symptoms that people reported. our car would go into idle mode and then it would not restart. I would have to turn the car off I tried to do various things just to get it started again. this happened one time was the exited the highway and also happened coming out of a car wash location. I took it to Honda and they said because of the idle s... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2025
Water is entering the rear liftgate which fills up during a rain event. This can potentially create problems with the electrical components mounted inside of the liftgate. i.e. Power door release, Rear defog, third bake light, window wiper, rear tail lights. These could short out or maybe cause a fire. It is already causing premature corrosion at the lowest end seam of the panel as the paint it... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2025
1. Rear Hatch hands free system - closes unexpectedly while loading or unloading car without using feet to trigger system. Hatch will close down and trap driver in the rear, causing bruising on driver and requiring assistance to push hatch back up. Has been into dealer multiple times since this is HUGE risk to animals or small children exiting out of the rear. Dealer finally disabled hands fre... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 9, 2025
There is no available parts abs control module in dealership and other source
Incident date: Apr 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission shuddered, and cause the vehicle to stall. The check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the CVT transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2025
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): [XXX] Vehicle Mileage: 29,200 miles Involved Honda Dealership: McGrath Honda, St. Charles, IL Details of Your Inquiry: I am seeking assistance regarding an ongoing issue with my 2023 Honda Accord Sport Hybrid. The first time I noticed this issue was in the summer of 2024, when I experienced a similar set of alerts while driving in a parking lot. At the time... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2025
ICCU failure. Car was dropped off with Kia and the (second) recall they claimed to have performed did not fix the 12-v battery charging system error. They ordered in a new part, which was on national backorder and they provided no ETA. I had to purchase a replacement vehicle after 30 days of them having the vehicle without making the repair, providing an update, or having given me a loaner. Receiv... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
Error message indicate loss of charge capacity. Car slowed down, with enough range to pull off the road. Dealer indicates the integrated charge control unit (ICCU) failed, and quit charging the 12 volt system. Waiting for parts (1 month so far). Seems like the same issue reported under NHTSA recall 272 for the Ioniq 5 Does Hyundai have a list of failed ICCU’s, and whether there might be a bat... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2025
The service engine lamp came on. When the mechanic investigated, it was determined that the problem is identical to the Warranty Bulletin titled Cummins 6.7L Turbocharger Actuator - X99 Warranty Extension that pertains to the 2015 RAM 2500 pickup. My vehicle is a 2016 and there is no warranty extension, even though it is an identical problem. The vehicle was not drivable as is and I had to replace... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2025
My instrument cluster isn't working correctly. Some days I go out to start my car and the instrument cluster works. As I'm driving down the road my instrument cluster just stops working. My speedometer doesn't work, my rpms, the lights, temperature gauge and gas gauge just stops working. It's very scary and my transmission doesn't want to shift and my engine power is bogging down. This is really d... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2025
My instrument cluster isn't working correctly. Some days I go out to start my car and the instrument cluster works. As I'm driving down the road my instrument cluster just stops working. My speedometer doesn't work, my rpms, the lights, temperature gauge and gas gauge just stops working. It's very scary and my transmission doesn't want to shift and my engine power is bogging down. This is really d... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2025
When I was parking my car 20 feet behind a car by the street , the car suddenly accelerated. I stepped hard on the brake and fortunately stopped the car about 3 feet from the car in the front. No crash happened
Incident date: Apr 6, 2025
Transmission Issue. Transmission slams into 2nd gear when downshifting from 3rd. Transmission has grinding noise when going from 4th to 5th. Potential safety issue due to potential transmission failure. Yes, problem is reproducible, however, it is awaiting inspection at Mike Patton Ford. No warning lamps. Car has had transmission issues intermittently since 4/2020. This issue started 2 weeks ago.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
In correspondence with recall number 25V201, the Virtual Cockpit display would go blank while driving, hiding all driver assistance indicators/instruments. Unable to verify engine speed unless looking at the heads up display, but adaptive cruise control/forward collision warnings won’t display. Upon parking and restarting vehicle, the display would work, but will intermittently go blank after so... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2025
Fuel injector malfunction in 2017 Honda CRV EX. Getting all the warning lights. Mostly it shows Emission system problems.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
If im driving at normal rate of speed while on highway the steering becomes very loose and sticky when adjusting steering. The passenger wheel will feel like it wobbles on its camber axis or will act like a shopping cart wheel. At times changing direction of vehicle entirely. At that time suspension will feel really spongy.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
Today on 4/1/2025 while driving home, the roads were wet/slushy, it was actively rain/sleeting outside. During the drive, my lane assist and front impact assist was disabled due what the dash read of "sensor blocked" or somthing similar. I got home minutes later and pulled into my garage, put my car in park and sat with it idling in park for about 2-3 minutes, at that time, is when I felt it start... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
The entire engine locked up driving down the highway. This is the gm 6.2 engine. Currently new engine being installed but problem is still there
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
In April 2022, the timing cover seal on my 2016 Lexus ES 350 was replaced due to a leak. This was completed under warranty at approximately 84,785 miles. In February 2025, less than three years and roughly 56,000 miles later, I was informed by the same Lexus dealership during a routine service that the exact same issue—leaking from the timing cover—had reoccurred. There were no warning lights,... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was a ticking sound coming from the vehicle. Later, on the same day, while pulling into a friend’s driveway, the engine began making a knocking sound. The contact decided to drive to the residence nearby, and the engine started knocking again, eventually causing the engine to fail and the vehicle to lose mo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 3500. The contact stated while his neighbor was driving the vehicle at an undisclosed speed, the cruise control disengaged unintendedly. The ABS warning light and the traction control warning light were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving 65 MPH and while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2025
On 03.29.25 (Saturday) the car started rough and the check engine light came on. I took it to the mechanic 03.31.25 (Sunday) and they inspected the car and told me that it is either the head gasket or the engine block is cracked because there is coolant intrusion into the cylinders. They asked me to call FORD customer service and ask if there was any way to cover it under warranty as the car onl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2025
My vehicle will phantom brake and kick on the automatic emergency brake system without cause. It has done it as I was accelerating onto the freeway onramp and almost caused a collision with the vehicle behind me. There was nothing in front of me and no reason to brake. It has happened on several occAsions
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
Front and middle crossmember rusted out to the point they have no more structural effects issues discovered while fixing a know issue to these models : rusted out and leaking engine and transmission oils pans I had confirmation from the dealership and other independent repair shop that leaking oils pans are common for those models and can cause engine and transmission failure. For the crossmembers... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
Hydraulic pump problem
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
Front and middle crossmember rusted out to the point they have no more structural effects issues discovered while fixing a know issue to these models : rusted out and leaking engine and transmission oils pans I had confirmation from the dealership and other independent repair shop that leaking oils pans are common for those models and can cause engine and transmission failure. For the crossmembers... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2025
Speed digital cluster screen dont work! At all started about 2 weeks ago
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
I have to drive with my idle off because when I drive with it on, there were 4 instances where my car idled & it idled so much that the whole car just turned completely off when I was waiting at an intersection or at a red light or getting off an exit & there were numerous cars behind me waiting. I would have to keep pressing different buttons or drive to park then try to turn the car back on & it... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2025
After all of recall software updates were applied the ICCU still failed with no warning beforehand and resulted in power and propulsion failure.
Incident date: Mar 25, 2025
The fuel pump on my 2023 Chevrolet Equinox began malfunctioning on [XXX] when the check engine light came on. Less than 24 hours later, the light went out. On [XXX], while leaving a CVS pharmacy, the vehicle jerked, then the engine shut off. After putting the car in park, I was able to restart the car and continue on. On [XXX], the check engine light illuminated again. While sitting at a stop ligh... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated while operating the vehicle on a cold day, the windshield wiper fluid failed to spray from the windshield wiper nozzle and the windshield and window could not be cleaned while driving. The contact stated that the failure was present with the front windshield and rear glass and had created a visibility hazard for the driver. The cause of the ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2025
Severe oil spill from engine and is spilling out into the car tires and the side doors and comes through the muffler and my back window and it’s stalling my car and I have been left stranded on the side of the road and I had it diagnosed at the dealership I bought it and I need my car fixed due to faulty issues of the vehicle not my fault please and thank you
Incident date: Mar 20, 2025
The 2013 f150 has the same problem with the transmission dropping into 1st gear!
Incident date: Mar 24, 2023
After driving home from work on 12/20/24 the truck was parked at ~10pm. At ~1AM on 12/21/24, I was alerted that the truck was on fire. I found the vehicle fully engulfed in the hood and cab area. There was no prior indication of a problem or issue. The truck was fully destroyed and my home and Jeep were damaged. My home was damaged and only saved because I brought my garden hose out and sprayed th... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 24, 2023
On [XXX] around [XXX] while driving my 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQE350 [XXX] near Santa Clarita, CA, I experienced a flat tire due to a 4 mm puncture in the center tread of the rear driver's side tire. I immediately contacted Mercedes Me customer support , and the representative advised me that my vehicle's run-flat tire system would allow me to continue driving up to 50 miles, as long as I stayed under... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Lexus NX300. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle slowly lost automotive power and decelerated. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway and restarted the vehicle to continue driving normally. The contact stated that the check engine, traction control, and Service Soon warning lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where a code reader retrieved information for a defect with the EVAP system. The EVAP system was replaced by another independent mechanic; however, the chec... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that intermittently, the transmission was slipping. Additionally, the vehicle failed to go into Standard Mode. While driving, the vehicle lost motive power while driving at 15 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. There was an “S” symbol displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
My truck was part of a GM buyback program where GM Corporation bought the truck back to fix it around Aug 7th 2023 for engine problems. I am reporting this because I do not believe that GM ever reported this to NTSHA. There are also other issues happening at the same time period that should be looked into that may or may not be coincidences. At or before 10,126 miles the truck started having en... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
Trailer is equipped with the Lippert ABS brake system. During final review of issues covered by warranty at the Dealer (General RV in Birch Run MI) the dealer recommended a wheel bearing re grease which I agreed to. During this procedure the left rear brakes were noted as totally worn out and the brake drum had a significant crack due to excessive heat from the dragging brake. This trailer has ap... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
There’s something wrong in the electrical system. In order to start the car, it requires boosting the battery only. Boosting under the hood doesn’t work with the lithium power packs charged 100%. After signing the financial documents the day I test drove it, I couldn’t drive it home if I wanted to. The car wouldn’t start. I don’t know how the dealer got it started but I have been in... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while at a stop sign, the vehicle lost automotive power and failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2025
Replaced the exhaust tail pipe tip past the DPF and warning light came on after miles of driving. Vehicle was locked up and only able to drive 55 Mph and there was a countdown to it dropping even lower. Dangerous to limit speed. This shouldn’t happen anyway with just changing out exhaust tailpipe. Very costly unnecessary repair
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
The warning lights on the car flashed and the car shut down. I was on the highway. I called 911 and they told me to quickly and safely exit the car. Less than a minute later, the engine combusted and the car was engulfed in flames.
Fire
Incident date: Mar 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's and passenger's side roof air bags independently deployed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. In addition, the contact stated that the front driver's side and front passenger's side seat belts had seized. The manufacturer was not made a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
After 2 years of owning the vehicle, after every oil change, it would indicate low oil just before an oil change causing for us to add an additional a quart of oil to keep it running smoothly. We informed the service technician of the situation on multiple occasions and no further inspection was completed, and just an oil change was serviced. After a few months we noticed the engine was running ro... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
From what I have been reading on that year and model, there seems to be major issues with the invertors. Like many I was driving on the highway and the vehicle just quits. This put me and many others in a very dangerous situation and I could have been hit at high rates of speed. If as many people are having these issues, then Lexus needs to step up and recall this part before someone gets killed
Incident date: Mar 16, 2025
Power lift gate will open and close by its self. I have had it looked at and the dealer said to report it as it’s a known issue and no recalls have been issued yet for this year. Have not had a fire yet on this vehicle. But was told it was leaking around the power liftgate control module.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the contact became aware that the headlamps failed to provide adequate illumination. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the headlamps were loose within the assembly and were dramatically tilted at a downward angle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
Passenger seat back inflated so you cannot sit in the seat safely. Not sure if faulty massage chair component or lumbar support. Almost like an air bulge.