Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 29,895 complaints for MAZDA
Incident date: Jan 6, 2024
Door latch sensor on rear passenger has failed. Says door is ajar when door is latched correctly. 300 miles out of warranty and they would not cover it.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
2017 Ford Escape 1.5L Ecoboost engine. Two mechanics verify coolant leak in the engine block. This failure is addressed by Ford CSP 21N12 which covers engine replacement for vehicle less than 7 years and 84k miles. The CSP was issued June 2022 but "expired" November 2022 so Ford will not honor the cost of repairs even though my vehicle meets the criteria.
Incident date: May 29, 2024
Just had transmission fluid changed, now car is jerking and has no response to acceleration pedal. With car in park and gas pedal pushed down the RPM's don't move. Losing power going up a small incline RPM's drop to 500 and speed drops from 55 to 30mph. No codes from scanning but check engine light is on. Nissan has no idea what is going on.
Incident date: May 24, 2024
When driving at highway speed, the steering wheel will not continuously go straight it gets stuck a little the to the left or right and I have to constantly adjust the feeling is like a sticky feeling, it has nothing to do with alignment it is the steering wheel, it is almost as if the lane control sensor is on but it is not I have turned it off, it causes me to overcompensate and overcorrect the ... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had ... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2024
Tha backup camera, windshield wipers stopped working. The car would no t go in reverse or drive forward without resistance. Oil began leaking from the engine.
Incident date: May 30, 2024
Vehicle dash board is lighting up & Can not go past 20mph or it will shut Off.
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
The steering stopped working completely on my 2013 Ram 1500 as I was trying to back out of my driveway. I had it towed to be repaired and the entire steer gear assembly is no longer functional and needs replaced however the parts are discontinued and no longer available.
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
When adjusting steering, the vehicle acts as if thw steering wheel is stuck. After applying increased force, the steering wheel will break free, cause the vehicle to swerve at high speeds. This problem has been reproduced by a shop and a professional service technician. When Honda dealership was questioned about it, they revealed a recall for very specific group of 2018-19 CRVs that had an issue w... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
Today May 20, 2024 we called the NHTS to inform that we did received the notification from the manufacturer indicating that there is indeed an important safety recall which can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning. In the same letter the manufacturer states that The remedy for this condition is currently unavailable. When asking about what is considered a reasonable amount of time to solve ... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirm... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2024
Car was having trouble with pickup and was making a subtle recurrent noise. Sped up after turning a corner and engine just sputtered out and car came to a complete stop within seconds. The engine light never came on and the engine did not overheat. Car would not turnover to start after that. Car was towed to an independent garage where they stated engine failure. Was then towed to a garage that c... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
We have a Winnebago EKKO year 2022 and had the 174 recall completed in August of 2023 and now the second alternator Balmar has failed again we smelled the same smoke again and whine like the first one. We disconnected it before it caught fire.
Fire
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. Several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated after the vehicle cooled off, the was able to be restarted. The contact checked under the vehicle and stated that there was coolant leaking on the ground. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2024
The contact's husband owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. The owner received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact ha... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2024
* I detected a noise in the front end and an instability in the handling. My independent service mechanic found the cradle on the right front severely rusted out at the point where the control arm attaches. He had to condemn the vehicle. * My mechanic says that it could have resulted in a total loss of ability to steer. He says that he is unable to order the part from the manufacturer because ... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2024
* I detected a noise in the front end and an instability in the handling. My independent service mechanic found the cradle on the right front severely rusted out at the point where the control arm attaches. He had to condemn the vehicle. * My mechanic says that it could have resulted in a total loss of ability to steer. He says that he is unable to order the part from the manufacturer because ... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2024
The car would hesitate to accelerate causing the engine to rev high and then take off. It had gotten progressively worse with no error codes detected. With a lack of code, nothing could be done. My daughter was not comfortable driving the car due to the fact it had gotten so bad so I was driving her to school. While going 50 mph the engine started to rev high then completely died with no error or... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2024
Using adaptive cruise control with lane departure. Driving on a straight stretch of interstate with audio (music) at high level. Car suddenly braked and jerked wheel right risking a crash. Vehicle does not do well on straight stretches of road. Thinks driver is not steering, and will populate a msg on dash, followed by a red light and a signal tone. These aren't easily noticed when head is up ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
When the vehicle slows from cruising speed to below 20 mph, the car shakes violently and the engine nearly stops. To avoid the shaking, I must place the vehicle in neutral until it comes to a complete stop. If I shift into drive before I stop, the vehicle shudders again. When in traffic, it could cause the vehicle to be rear-ended. My wife won't drive the vehicle because of this. Owners' Forum s... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The car is running poorly. Smell of fumes inside the car. Not drive able due to risk of engine damage including fires and exposure to dangerous fumes. Part is on back order and that is not a guarantee that the part will not fail again after fixed. Many people report continual replacement of the part. Positive Crankcase Ventilation Regulator Valve Performance: The valve for crankcase ventilation h... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2024
I bought a 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid in 2015 from a VW dealer with ~15,000 miles on it. Question #1: In December 2017, the power train system/transmission failed and my car lost power and I was unable to drive it. Now, in May 2024, the transmission is failing again and VW had stated that it needs to be replaced for a second time, and they quoted me roughly $10,000 for the repair. Question #2: VW is... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2024
Due to the recall of the ABS fuse I believe it has caused a electrical short and that's why my junction box does not work, also I had problems with slow acceleration almost causing me to get hit.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the "Service Brake Assist" message briefly flashed on the instrument panel. The vehicle then independently downshifted and decelerated to 30 MPH, with the brake pedal depressed to the floorboard. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle but was able to coast the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The con... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle began to shudder. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The message to see the dealer was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the low-pressure fuel pump and a high-pressure fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repair... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2024
The contact called on behalf of her daughter who owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, her pregnant daughter attempted to move the driver's seat back, and the seat failed to respond as intended. The contact stated the vehicle could not be driven because the seat distance could not be adjusted to drive properly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2024
My car is losing power I can’t go over 60 miles over I had spent so much money on this car 2.the AC is not working no more I told the people at the Honda dealer that it will hiss and my car will vibrate in the seats and this been going on for 2 years and I had Honda care and the people at the dealership told me it’s not nun to worry saying it’s common for Honda 3.ever time I turn my whee... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: May 22, 2024
2017 Ford Escape SE 4WD with a 4 CLYINDER D 1.5 DI TURBO engine. We purchased this vehicle used, in 2019 with 42,384 miles. We have kept up with all scheduled maintenance through the dealership. Until April of this year, we have had ZERO issues with this vehicle! First, the check engine light came on Upon starting, another warning "Engine Fault Service Now" would appear. Aside from the lights, th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Fusion. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V440000 (Electrical System); 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2024
The truck has 57,000 miles,just started getting intermittent ABS, and Traction Control lights coming on and the dinger goes off when the lights come on. Thanks
Incident date: May 22, 2024
I was driving the car and trying to put the car in park at the stop light. The car shifter moved, but the shifter wasn't going into any other gear. The shifter moves forward and back, but nothing happens. I almost got in an accident and my dad had to help me park the car. I saw this is a past recall issue and I called Cadillac and they stated I needed to tow my vehicle there and there are no open ... Read more
MAZDA
CX-90 PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2024) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 21, 2024
Incident date: May 1, 2024
ABS module in 2010 VW Jetta wagon malfunctioned. Warning lights in dash were lit for ABS, Brake, and airbag on 5/18/24. Towed to local auto shop by AAA on 5/20/24. Verified by local auto shop as faulty ABS module on 5/21/24. Prior year VW Jetta wagon (2009) already has recall for this issue. Car is not safe to drive due to brake issue and will not pass state inspection. This VIN / make / model of... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2024
2020 Explorer VIN: [XXX] Summary [Recall] Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera Description The remedy is under development. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed june 26, 2023. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23s23. This recall expands and replaces nhtsa recall number 23v-022. Vehicles previously repaired under 23... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 72 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle abruptly decelerated and nearly came to a complete stop. During the failure, there were no other vehicles or objects nearby. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
I bought the car new in 2015 and after about only 40,000 miles I began getting a Propulsion Reduced error and the car would have very slow acceleration. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the accelerator for $500. It drove fine for a month, but then the acceleration was reduced again. I took it back to the dealer and they were stumped. They wanted to charge me $1300 just to replace some wir... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2024
My radio stopped working and is now making horrible loud screeching and popping noises loud enough to startle me and almost cause a crash from the reaction I have to the loud sudden noises
Incident date: May 20, 2024
My radio stopped working and is now making horrible loud screeching and popping noises loud enough to startle me and almost cause a crash from the reaction I have to the loud sudden noises
Incident date: May 20, 2024
I installed four new Goodyear ElectricDrive 2 tires (P 215/50 R17) on my 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV on 05/08/2024 at Discount Tire in Round Rock, TX (Store #TXA 23). The tires were balanced as part of the installation. After six days of normal commuting, on 05/14/2024, the vehicle began experiencing significant vibrations at highway speeds 60 - 70+ mph. As a point of reference, the passenger side he... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Palisade The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V106000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The c... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2024
Transmission: this is the 2nd transmission in about 22,000 miles. Car will start to stall out and then high rev the rpm’s. This has caused significant power loss suddenly in traffic. Issue has been recreated by mechanic and has been inspected thoroughly. Previously transmission was rebuilt with the torque converter being replaced. No indicator lights have come on prior or during sudden loss, on... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
The car model I have includes an additional fee for a "drivers" assistance package; this feature doesn't work as designed. BMW likes to call it 'limitations of the system', but will not offer any repair, correction or refund for this "issue". Unfortunately, this issue is such a hazard and pops up so spontaneously, if there were any cars around I would have collided with them. BMW says this is call... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2024
I purchased this car in September of 2023 with 23,000 miles on it then I received a recall in December 2023. I purchased tires for my car at the dealership and they scheduled my car to have this recall to be fixed on Monday May 13, 2024. I brought the car in on Monday and received a call on Saturday May 18, 2024 to pick my car up from the dealership that it was fixed. I took my car to get gas and ... Read more
MAZDA
CX-90 PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2024) - ENGINE
May 17, 2024
Incident date: May 17, 2024
Subject: Urgent Resolution Required for Defective 2018 Ford F150 Truck Dear [Dealership Manager/General Manager], I am writing to express my profound disappointment and frustration with the 2018 Ford F150 truck I purchased from your dealership five months ago. Despite being certified pre-owned by Ford, the vehicle has been plagued by significant mechanical issues, primarily excessive oil consumpti... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
I purchased a 2012 Ford Explorer in April 2024. Less than a month later, the Power Steering Assist Fault light appeared. I had it checked by PepBoy and was informed there was a recall on this issue and to contact my local Ford. I made the call and was told this was no longer a recall but a Customer Service issue and may not be covered due to age and mileage. The vehicle is driveable but turning is... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
I experienced the loss of power steering while driving. It was almost impossible to steer the vehicle while driving. I went on line and noticed a recall for my exact vehicle of the exact problem. The recall bulletin 15595A, was dated February 2016 and explained that the steering gear torque sensor cover assembly was to be replaced. However, apparently my VIN number was not listed. I went to the ... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2024
Due to trim panel recall, trim came off and while driving and now water leaks in windshield when it rains. Leaking water dripped on to climate control panel and caused it to stop working. Now I can’t control heat or AC in car and it continues to leak when it rains
Incident date: May 16, 2024
Initially got a transmission malfunction warning and to turn car off. The cars battery keeps dying at only 1500 miles. Constantly needs to be on trickle charger. Recently the car died, charged battery. Car turned over for 3 seconds then stalled. Now car even with full battery with turn over but will not start whatsoever. Has to be towed. Multiple people ok forms reported this same issue.
Incident date: May 15, 2024
Engine is being replaced due to excessive oil consumption. First sign was engine knocking in November 2022, which resolved with oil change. July 2023, engine knocking was heard again, Hyundai dealer said car came in with no oil. Had oil changed / filled, was advised to bring car back in 1000 miles. December 2023, brought car back to dealer after ~1000 miles, no knocking but oil was 2 quart... Read more