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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 33,200 complaints for MERCEDES-BENZ

Incident date: Feb 20, 2023

Smell of gasoline inside my car while driving and when parked inside my garage .Brought to the dealer and said to me that the are many car owners of the same model who are complaining of the same problem but they cannot fixed it at this time and will just call me if they will find solution of the problem but until now the dealer haven't call me back.The problem is getting worse and it is a si... Read more

Incident date: Mar 13, 2023

I was driving down the freeway in January and my front driver side tire sidewalls separated from the rest of the tire and flew off of the rim causing me to drive on the rim. Zero warning lights or tire pressure lights appeared on my dash until after I installed my spare tire. Very scary this occurred on a freeway at full speed and no indicator light came on. I heard a loud noise when my tire flew ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop and shifting into park(P), the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The contact stated that the transmission shifted to park(P) after several attempts to park the vehicle. The contact then turned off the vehicle. The local dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a sharp left, the door became ajar. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was taken to the local dealer, but the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an... Read more

Incident date: Mar 21, 2023

My vehicle has been making very odd noises, the steering wheel keeps looking off center and the car is kicking/fishtailing at times without warning. Our mechanic has looked at the car SEVERAL times and finally discovered that the sub frame is completely rusted out and broken. We were told not to drive the vehicle anymore as it is extremely dangerous. After researching about this issue, we found... Read more

Incident date: Mar 20, 2023

Steering Assist fault warning has been coming on intermittently for the past 6 years. This car is being driven by my daughter while attending college in Virginia. In the past I have taken it to my mechanic in New Jersey but by the time I get it there the warning is off and nothing is detected. It is coming on more frequently. Why is there no recall for this. I will advise her to take it to a Ford ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 20, 2023

A 2nd flexible brake line blew out and I lost my brakes for the 2nd time within a couple months.

Incident date: Feb 17, 2023

Car destroyed by fire on March 19, 2023 while at a quick stop near Chickasaw, OK. Car was last serviced by Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City in December 2022. No personal injuries just a total loss of the vehicle. Cause of the fire at present is unknown. Pictures are available.

Fire

Incident date: Mar 19, 2023

Fire

Incident date: Mar 19, 2023

DRIVING IN THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MILES AN HOUR. ALL OF THE SUDDEN THE CAR START SLOWING DOWN UNTIL THE GAS PEDAL WAS DOING NOTHING.I HAVE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE ROAD AND TURN THE CAR OFF. AND AGAIN MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET THE GAS WORK AGAIN.

Incident date: Mar 19, 2023

Incident date: Mar 21, 2023

The contact's daughter owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at approximately 55 MPH, there was a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle was stalling. The contact's daughter was able to pull over to the side of the road, and the vehicle then lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 21, 2023

FRONT AXEL SEPERATED FROM VEHICAL CAUSING CRASH. LEFT FRONT WHEEL ASSEMBLY FROM CV JOINT. DEFECT IN AIRBAGS, EXCESS EXHAUST SPRAYED OVER TOP OF HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL AT 9 OCLOCK AND 3 OCLOCK PISITION. CAUSED 3RD DEGREE BURNS WITH PERMINATE SCARRING AND DISFIUREMENT. CHEVY HAD IGNORED ALL ISSUES WHILE DRIVING I COULD FEEL THE TRUCK DROPA ND GET PULLED TO LEFT, WITH NO CONTROL, THEY INSULT ... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Mar 15, 2023

Trunk will randomly open while at a high rate of speed. Has happened several times while driving on the highway it will just pop open for no reason.

Incident date: Mar 15, 2023

I started my car via the mysubaru app so it could warm up. The outside temperature was around 25 and I had full heat via the app..which the front defroster was on. I get to leave and before I pulled away, the windshield cracked, without any cause. It cracked mid-way left side and spread halfway across over the following few days. It is apparent this is a known issue as there appears to be a defe... Read more

Incident date: May 24, 2021

Vehicle was on FSD and suddenly excessively braked almost to a stop when driving at 65mph causing occupants and cargo to fly forward and Injured our pet in the rear seat

1 injured

Incident date: May 24, 2021

At high speed freeway driving it takes the extra effort to steer. It feels sticky.

Incident date: Mar 6, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that upon picking up his vehicle from the dealer, the air bag warning light illuminated. The mechanic informed him that the failure was related to the driver’s side seat belt and was not covered under recall. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed t... Read more

Incident date: Mar 6, 2023

I checked the car history report for this car, it said that it had all of the scheduled maintenance. I have not driven this car hard, I used the best gas I could. I had this car for only 4 months - I took it in to Carmax to get checked out about 2 weeks after I got it back in October. They ran tests, and told me everything was fine that "it could've been a loose fuel cap". 3 months later, well bef... Read more

Incident date: Jan 30, 2023

I took my vehicle into Ford Dealership (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY) for service on recall parts (brake hose and gear shifter bushings). Now, just 3 weeks later I have problems with water pump as engine coolant is steadily leaking out. The Ford Dealership has a bad reputation and they claimed to have done an inspection on my vehicle before I picked it up, and problems with water pump were never me... Read more

Incident date: Mar 20, 2023

Front passenger seat airbag sensors failed. Airbag light continues to stay on. Dealer rest and sensors failed again several days later. Dealer estimated $6,000+ for repair.

Incident date: Mar 13, 2023

1.The electrical/engine/powertrain systems failed 3 times. The vehicle is available for inspection. 2.As the problem progressed, the car would only go forward, no ability to go in reverse, or to be put in park. 3.The dealership replaced the ABS Module, then later the Engine Control Module. 4.Event 1: September 1, 2022 Warning light for the stop/start feature came on, also the ABS light and check e... Read more

Incident date: Mar 19, 2023

I have two issues. The front crash warning light goes on and off intermittently even when alone on the highway. This happens about once a month. The second issue is more serious. My car showed 40 miles of gas left in the tank, and ran out of gas. Fortunately I was in the right hand lane and there was a shoulder. Had this happed anyplace else I'd likely be dead. I took my car to the dealer where ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 10, 2023

I have aligned to my wheels 3 times and I'm still having issues keeping the steering straight it feels like I'm floating around. Also when reversing I hear I load clunking noise coming from the back.

Incident date: Mar 18, 2023

Steering wheel lock mechanism failed

Incident date: Mar 18, 2023

While accelerating from a complete stop, the car frequently jerks and sputters while it appears to be attempting to switch gears. This has been a problem since I bought the car pre-owned in 2020 but it has become much more frequent and instead of doing a single jerk or sputter when stepping on the gas, it does it much more. I did research more and it appears the make, model, and year were part o... Read more

Incident date: Mar 18, 2023

Faulty timing chain

Incident date: Mar 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that both side view mirrors would not retain the adjusted settings upon start of the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure obstructed his vison while driving at various speeds. A local dealer was initially notified of the issue; but could not diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was then notified of the failure and referred him... Read more

Incident date: Dec 1, 2022

Body trim around window fell off while driving on freeway. Vehicle is available for inspection. Safety risk would be to other drivers who could be hit by part flying off. Fortunately, no person or vehicle was struck when part flew off my car. Car has not been inspected since incident. There was no warning or symptom prior to incident.

Incident date: Mar 16, 2023

The contact owns a Maxi Cosi Coral XP car seat, Model Number: IC313FNDV, Manufactured: 10/09/2020. The car seat was being used in a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the seat base failed to separate from the stroller when the release handle was pulled firmly. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to remove the car seat from the stroller. The child was not in the car seat... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2014

Check engine light- sensor, rear trunk won't lock - sensor

Incident date: Mar 17, 2023

Rusted rear sub frame that needs to be replaced. Premature rusting that Mercedes needs to repair at no cost. Also, premature battery drain on new battery. Needs to be fixed by Mercedes at no cost.

Incident date: Mar 17, 2023

Musty smell coming from the Heating/AC since new. Caused a fellow worker to have sneezing fits. Have tried to alleviate the problem myself. Changed cabin air filter, cleaned an already clean cab even more, added disinfectant to vents….to no avail. Smell is still there. Makes me question when this truck was built and how long it sat outside in a field/lot somewhere?

Incident date: Mar 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle remained running temporarily. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle would no longer start. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V567000 (Electrical System). The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the co... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2022

At 5.000 miles I observed a crack in the lower portion of the windshield. The crack was vertical and about 8 inches in length. The crack was located almost in the center of the windshield. The crack is smooth to the touch on both the interior and exterior of the windshield. At no time to my knowledge did any objects strike the windshield. In the next few days of driving the crack grew to approxim... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate and exceed 45 MPH. While driving, the vehicle was slow to respond. The contact stated that the brake pedal remained depressed. The ABS warning light was flashing on and off. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 16, 2023

Shift nob cracks and eventually detaches from shift rod which causes loss of ability to accelerate/shift. This appears to be a widespread issue based on consumer forums.

Incident date: Jan 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while having the front passenger’s side tire changed due to a flat, the lug nuts were difficult to remove. The contact stated that extra effort and energy was needed to remove the lug nuts to replace the tire. The dealer was contacted and stated that the failure was a known issue. The contact was informed that there was no recall on the VIN... Read more

Incident date: Jan 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2022 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the tailgate unexpectedly opened. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V904000 (Structure) however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, and the dealer sent pictures of the failure to the manufacturer. The manufact... Read more

Incident date: Mar 10, 2023

Took to mechanic due to strong fuel smell coming from engine area. Mechanic said not safe to drive - fuel rail leaking and must be replaced - vehicle could catch fire or explode! I drive grandchildren in this vehicle and was shook up! Vehicle towed to GM dealer who said I was 3400 miles passed my warranty but they would start work on my $3k repair. I’m outraged that GM cares so little about th... Read more

Incident date: Dec 2, 2022

There's a recall on the display monitor the screen will go black sometimes come back on sometimes never come back on there was a update to fix the issue if the update doesn't work they will have to change the display module or computer that controls it when I brought it to the dealer they want to charge me to replace the display or computer , I called the manufacturer and they refused to fix the r... Read more

Incident date: Dec 2, 2022

The component affected on my 2012 dodge ram is the front fuel tank strap frame "T slot" bracket that has corroded with water mix with road salt, making the fuel tank to dangle and possibly causing it to drop and make contact with the ground. I know other ram truck have this recall but unfortunately this recall doesn't show up on my vin. The problem has been confirmed by a dealer but unfortunat... Read more

Incident date: Dec 2, 2022

High beams not working even after a fuse/relay replacement. Both went out at the same time, have yet to take it in for repair in hopes a recall covers this issue soon.

Incident date: Mar 14, 2023

In the last year, randomly, when starting the vehicle, the yellow check engine light comes on. Turn the vehicle off, it is gone. The side view mirrors have the yellow lights lit up on them when driving down any road, the red warning lights that tell you there's something behind or in front of you start going off for no reason while driving down any road, all the "safety" and lane assist feature... Read more

Incident date: Mar 14, 2023

The collision mitigation system causes the vehicle to stop suddenly in the middle of the street. This happens when there is nothing in the street and when there is a pot hole cover. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership, but since this happens randomly, they were not able to reproduce the issue. The information screen goes blank and shuts off at random intervals. The first few times I took t... Read more

Incident date: Mar 14, 2023

Incident date: Mar 12, 2023

The contact owns a 2023 Volvo XC40. The contact stated that the SOS button had malfunctioned and had caused several different calls to be made except for a call for roadside assistance. The contact contacted the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 700.

Incident date: Mar 12, 2023

The contact owns a 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the interior passenger side directional signal began blinking rapidly while activated. Additionally, the contact stated that an onlooker observed that the exterior driver side indicator light was not illuminated when indicator was activated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer where it was diagn... Read more

Incident date: Mar 14, 2023

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10190203-0001.pdf The car shook with and we got the above errors with vehicle speed 30 miles. THe ABS, brake and skid and other lights came on screen with 4WD error At this speed on a bridge with rain and wind to lose ABS is a risk, there was perceived loss of power train and and skid luckily no accident and we pulled the car over to safety what if w... Read more

Incident date: Jan 17, 2023

In 3 different occasions in this same particular order my car would start to slowly loose acceleration of only letting me drive to 10mph before lights on dash would come on such as ps,abs,traction control ect. Then my radio would shut off followed by my whole dashboard before completely the whole vehicle would completely shutdown on me and I could not start up again. I replaced the battery and pu... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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