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: Feb 1, 2017
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after a rainstorm, the shift selector would no longer shift from park to drive, rendering the vehicle undrivable. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the PCM was faulty and needed to be replaced. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the PCM was on b... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
Steering becomes unpredictable and stiff accompanied by surging and loss of power. Check engine light comes on. Code P0882
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
Drove my car normally to work and home that day. Upon starting it up in the evening, the red airbag light turned on and began flashing as soon as the key was in the ignition. I read the manual, tried to reset the warning light by unhooking the battery. Airbag light continues to flash on the drivers side. The owners' manual says this means the airbag is faulty and will not deploy in a crash. T... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The driver side exhaust manifold is leaking. I have had the passenger side replaced already. That issue occurred around 55,000 miles on my Ram. I am at 80,000 miles now with the driver's side having the same issue. I believe it is a bolt. I can smell exhaust and think this could cause a fire if not corrected. Along with the fire issue, I have noticed a decrease in gas mileage and believe to be exp... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
The oil coolant line has just failed for a second time in two years on our 2017 Chevy Colorado that only has 50,000 on it. In both cases I was driving down the road and the line ruptured and alarms started going off to shut the engine off. This is very dangerous to have to immediately stop in the middle of the road and then left stranded (especially in the middle of a cold MN winter). The first ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - Suspension How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Its giving head ache and body pain, driver & passengers are jumping / shaking / feeling very uncomfortable Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - Dealer mentioned all good, it ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that while the transmission was shifted into park (P), the vehicle accelerated forward. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
KIA Soul had a malfunction with the Catalytic converter and a bad injector which damaged the pinions and the sparks plug of the vehicle causing thousands of dollars in repair.
Incident date: Feb 12, 2023
I have a 2018 Ford Explorer. My SYNC 3 is showing a black screen due to a failed APIM. I do not have my rear camera, GPS, or hands-free capability which impedes driving safely. Ford has recalled multiple other years of my vehicle for this same reason, but not the 2018. Ford has also extended it's warranty up to 7 years/100,000 miles on some years of my vehicle, for the same reason, but not the 20... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
Steering wheel is feeling stiffer and stiffer at higher speeds I feel for my safety at times. Seems to be a know issue with all the 2022 civic models and up with the steering rack but Honda doesn’t seem to do anything about.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
I was in an accident that caused my car to be a total loss. I was hit near the front left side, close to the driver's door. The airbag did not deploy despite the hard impact. I am currently having to go to therapy due to impact. My right lower arm was bruised from the impact, and I was in a lot of pain due to the bruising caused. I am assuming the bruising came from the hit to the steering wheel. ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
The problem is my car has been in the shop six times for an issue that Tesla claims it is unable to fix. I started smelling a burning smell (smoke coming from my air vents anytime the air is on) and brought it in. The first three times they were unable to find anything the fourth time they noticed debris That was embedded in the heating fins. They replaced that unit. The fifth/sixth time they actu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
Drivers door will not open from exterior and occasionally interior. Parts on back order. Serious safety issue. VW America will not give me a loaner therefore making me crawl through my car to get in. Key fob is supposed to open all windows simultaneously however that is also faulty. I feel this car is an absolute death trap. When I’m reverse, if your body slightly lifts off seat, car come... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
Drivers door will not open from exterior and occasionally interior. Parts on back order. Serious safety issue. VW America will not give me a loaner therefore making me crawl through my car to get in. Key fob is supposed to open all windows simultaneously however that is also faulty. I feel this car is an absolute death trap. When I’m reverse, if your body slightly lifts off seat, car come... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. Additionally, the vehicle was jerking while driving, and the transmission failed to shift gears as needed. Additionally, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to immediately stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown recall repair was per... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle was shaking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
This model doesn't have parking assist, so every time I park there is a danger of collision. All modern cars have parking assist. Tesla promised in Nov 2022 that software update enabling parking assist will be available within "next couple of weeks". 3 months passd since then and there is still no parking asist.
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
We purchased a new 2023 Kia Sportage a month ago (January). There are several issues we’ve encountered. One week after purchase, the doors on the vehicle would lock on it’s own and we weren’t able to unlock them. The key fob nor trying to unlock the doors manually would not work. At times, we weren’t able to lock or unlock the doors and had to do it remotely from the Kia app on the phone. ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Good morning - I will be contacting the dealer today. I have a 2023 Nissan Rogue and there is a strong smell of gas in the cabin. I haven't purchased gasoline so it isn't that. It is coming from under the hood. My eyes burn I have a sore throat and am nauseaus and dizzy. I looked it up online to troubleshoot and apaprently it is a known issue however there isn't a recall. I've tried opening windo... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
As I was driving on 76 in Philadelphia pa my engine seized it wouldn't go over 5mph. I panicked because of the highway I was on that. I put my hazard lights on as I made my way over to the side. My car was towed to the dealership this is the 3rd engine that is being replaced. Th whole dashboard lit up prior to the engine and its still showing no recall on my car. Yet the dealership said its par... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated that she noticed that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted because the vehicle had been serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V638000 (Air Bags) and the dealer stated that the seat belt was malfunctioning. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and the RPM failed to operate as needed. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechan... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2021
Message displayed on dash "service shifter"
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
Sensor in the front passenger seat is out making the airbag light blink in the cluster panel. I was told by the Nissan dealership that I would need a whole new seat and that would cost over $1000.
Incident date: Dec 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the crash sensor illuminated. The contact stated that the crash sensor light was flashing on and off. The cruise control was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the crash sensor needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the crash sensor ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2022
The component is the rear subframe has rotted to the point of the trailing arms breaking free. This is a know problem with the same part on the Nissan pathfinder but for whatever reasons the recall was not extended to the infinity jx35
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
Was driver the car at 35 mph when the automated emergency breaks activated and made the car into a full stop. No cars or anyone was in front of the car. This happed again two days later doing about 30mph with no one around the car. Car had proximity 3000 miles My heads-up display stopped working on the car twice. First time it stopped the dealer had to order a new one and replace it. Same p... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2023
The P0556 code gets stored when the PCM has detected a problem with the brake booster pressure sensor circuit because of abnormal feedback. Braking distance significantly affected by brake pedal becoming difficult to depress. Cause is the brake booster vacuum pump. Internet reports indicate multiple vehicle types during the late 20-teens and early 2020s. Problems are occurring during or shortl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The rear-window defroster over heated on the passenger side causing that window to chatter. At one spot at the bottom, the rubber frame around the glass started to melt and burn just before the window chattered. If I had not been standing close to see what was happening, and turn the control off, I believe this could have started a fire that could have burned the entire truck and areas around it t... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
The vehicle went into "turtle mode" on the freeway, abruptly started vibrating, reduced speed to a crawl, and then shut down. My family and I were trapped in the vehicle on the center divider of the freeway.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
I bought Mazda CX30 in 2020 and the battery already starts to fail. The engine light and the battery light are on suddenly when I was driving. Then, after a while, when I restart the engine and it starts to work again. However, it happens for two times within a week. I have sent the car to the Auto Zone and the nearby car auto repair company to check the car. However, they said they cannot detec... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
I've had it looked at by a Kia dealership and they said I let it run out of oil and burned up my engine. My ASC warranty won't cover it. I had no idea. I've got proof from Valvoline where I always get my oil changes and proves I did it regularly. I had no oil leak signs on the pavement. Your recall #SC210 which I just found out about talks about exactly what happened to me. I really don't think ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
I've had it looked at by a Kia dealership and they said I let it run out of oil and burned up my engine. My ASC warranty won't cover it. I had no idea. I've got proof from Valvoline where I always get my oil changes and proves I did it regularly. I had no oil leak signs on the pavement. Your recall #SC210 which I just found out about talks about exactly what happened to me. I really don't think ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
The transmission is going out, they’ve replaced it and it’s still a bad transmission. Having a bad transmission could cause the car to shut off in the middle of the road causing an accident. My engine is constantly overheating, my car gives me warnings to stop the car because of overheating. I can’t even drive on the expressway because i’m scared my car is going to blow up or something. Th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
I have made carmax aware of the issue I was driving on the interstate in PA, when out of nowhere the check engine light turned on and the car stalled and stopped working the speedometer went down drastically almost causing me to get into a car accident, I was able to continue going slowly on the emergency lane until the car stopped it was freezing weather and there was no one in sight to help not ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
I was driving on freeway and all dashboard warning started to flicker on and off simultaneously then my steering wheel locked in place. I was unable to stop or turn wheel and had to maneuver car until it came to a stop. I had to get it towed home. I spoke with dealership and asked me to tow it to them so they can look at it and gave me a report that mention nothing about what I originally told the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
I was driving on freeway and all dashboard warning started to flicker on and off simultaneously then my steering wheel locked in place. I was unable to stop or turn wheel and had to maneuver car until it came to a stop. I had to get it towed home. I spoke with dealership and asked me to tow it to them so they can look at it and gave me a report that mention nothing about what I originally told the... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Intermittent failure of the rear view camera system. Triggered and corrected by opening and then closing firmly rear hatch. Display with show a pink screen, blue screen, scrolling blank screen, or image misaligned/split in half (top half on bottom of screen, bottom half on top of screen.
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
ABS SERVICE LIGHT CAME ON FOR THE SECOND TIME. I TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALER THEY REPLACED A PART AND NOW ITS BACK ON AND OFF.
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
There is an aluminum cover that is bolted under the engine (lower engine cover, Honda part 74112-TLA-A01). This cover must be removed in order to change the oil. Twice now the cover has fallen off the engine while driving at highway speeds, causing the driver to have to stop suddenly. The car is then not drivable until the cover is bolted back. This could very easy cause an accident and steering ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
There is an aluminum cover that is bolted under the engine (lower engine cover, Honda part 74112-TLA-A01). This cover must be removed in order to change the oil. Twice now the cover has fallen off the engine while driving at highway speeds, causing the driver to have to stop suddenly. The car is then not drivable until the cover is bolted back. This could very easy cause an accident and steering ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
On December 26, 2022, after running errands for an hour or so and parking outside in parking lots, I restarted the car and pulled out of a parking lot. 3 dashboard warning lights flashed, one after the other: Engine malfunction, have vehicle inspected; Dynamic stability control malfunction, have the vehicle inspected; Safety and driver support systems partially disabled, drive safely. Vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
I have had my 2017 1.8L eco Hyundai Tucscon for 3 years now and recently it's been giving me signs of problems that are great concerns for safety, as well-known for this models; it only 62091 miles as of the day of this complaint. On Jan 15. 2023, I noticed that each time I start the car, it takes a little bit longer, then you hear a rattle sound and shaking of the engine block, then it start. Or... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
I have had my 2017 1.8L eco Hyundai Tucscon for 3 years now and recently it's been giving me signs of problems that are great concerns for safety, as well-known for this models; it only 62091 miles as of the day of this complaint. On Jan 15. 2023, I noticed that each time I start the car, it takes a little bit longer, then you hear a rattle sound and shaking of the engine block, then it start. Or... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the engine turned over but then failed to restart. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the failure was possibly the wiring ignition module switch. Additionally, the contact stated that prior to the failure, the vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
While merging into a lane, I went to accelerate. I pressed the accelerator pedal to the floor to quickly get up to the speed of traffic. After successfully merging into the lane, I took my foot off of the accelerator pedal and noticed that my vehicle was still accelerating. The floor mat was not interfering with the accelerator pedal. Thankfully, slamming on my brakes while in the middle of a lane... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
Backed out of a parking spot onto a busy road, put the truck in drive and nothing. Transmission failure. ME and my daughter were stuck in the middle of the road and truck would only go in reverse. Had to reverse a u-turn in middle of road and back into parking spot. Dealer confirmed a failure in the transmission and is repairing/ replacing. Upon fruther investigation into this issue online there i... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
The Transmission Control Module (TCM) has gone out on my car, causing it to shift to 2nd gear while doing 75mph with cars around me, and would no longer shift out of 2nd gear, or into reverse. It was an extremely dangerous situation that made me come very close to wrecking into a car, as well as the many cars behind me that had to emergency brake due to my rapid deceleration, especially without an... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the front driver’s and passenger’s side windshield trim panel detached and struck another vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that he would be charged a repair cost. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance wa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the front driver’s and passenger’s side windshield trim panel detached and struck another vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that he would be charged a repair cost. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance wa... Read more