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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 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 2,245,377 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

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 33,654 complaints for MERCEDES-BENZ

Incident date: Feb 10, 2023

Car was serviced for a gas leak at a Chrysler Dealership the previous day. The next morning, I was driving at a low speed (<20 mph) when an error message appeared "Car must be in P (park) to place in drive." I switched to P and tried to restart the engine. It turned over several times but never restarted. A police officer had to manually disengage the transmission and emergency brake to put the ca... Read more

Incident date: Feb 3, 2023

On April 21, 2023, I was driving on the interstate highway at 70 MPH. The outside air temp was 82 degrees. The inside temp was approximately 72. Without warning, the sunroof exploded. Had the inside shade not been in use, we would have been showered by broken glass while traveling at highway speed. There was no known previous damage to the glass. The vehicle has a current inspection.

Incident date: Apr 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2000 Chrysler 300M. The contact stated that the lift support struts of the hood and the trunk had failed, causing the trunk and the hood to close on her head when raised. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

Incident date: Apr 25, 2023

frequently when shifting from D to R or any combination, all selections light up followed a loud bang from rearend. sometimes it correctes itself, other times engine must be shut down. dealer has diagnosed problem. Its a short in transmision wiring harness as they performed a rigorous, multipoint "wiggle test". its been in shop 4+ times to no avail.

Incident date: Apr 25, 2023

The service electronic brake light freq comes on. Dealer said it brake "module" needed changing and did. they also charged me $800 for it. Vehicle is still making the claim that the elctronic braking system still needs servicing almost imediately after repair.

Incident date: Sep 7, 2022

Bearings are worn it in the engine.

Incident date: Apr 21, 2023

When starting the car there was a loud audio pop that transitioned into a deafening static sound that I could not stop. I had to drive 80 minutes to the dealer with the windows down so I didn’t end up with hearing damage. The stereo could not be turned down or off. The volume knob would turn but the level showed as though it were turned off. After 80 minutes of it my ears were ringing and st... Read more

Incident date: Apr 21, 2023

Was riding down the road and my front left caliber locked up had break fluid running down from the upper reservoir the truck only has 46,000 miles. the truck was immobile had to have it towed and had to get a new caliber and took the shop almost a week to get air out the system breaks are still not 100 percent also rear breaks are having a problem fully releasing as well. Leaves me worried the r... Read more

Incident date: Apr 21, 2023

Automatic Emergency Braking applied violently and unnecessarily when pulling into a parking space on two separate instances in the last week. I was pulling into the parking space this morning as normal. I was applying the brakes, and just before stopping, my car stabbed the brakes. It felt like a car crash, but my car was 3ft from hitting the other car. Immediately after, a message appeared indi... Read more

Incident date: Apr 19, 2023

This is how I am feeling and the reason for being an unhappy customer. I shouldn't have to keep buying gallons of oil to put in my car every other day. Oil change was done on Sept 6th along with spark plugs put in due to oil consumption. Took my car again to Kia on Sept 21th because there was no oil in my vehicle, so they put oil in. Then on Sunday Oct 2nd I had to spend $44 on a gallon of oil be... Read more

Incident date: Feb 10, 2023

Wind’s go through the door around 70 mph and feels like the windows are open and the front door click to open twice in each door and the computers right away, shows the next door open.

Incident date: Apr 21, 2023

when im driving it will either stall completely or feel like its loosing power and go limp. its very dangerous while on the highway because people dont expect that ill go from 65 down to 40mph. i have already taken it to a mechanic and didnt find anything wrong with it. the occasion where it completely stalled. i had to have it pushed off the road, car was still on just didnt have any kind of pow... Read more

Incident date: Apr 7, 2023

2021 FOREST RIVER PUMA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ISSUE WITH THE HOT WATER HEATER. THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WERE ADDITIONAL DEFECTS THE EXTERIOR DOOR HANDLE WOULD NOT LOCK, AND THE FLOORING HAD DEFECTS FROM MANUFACTURING. AND THE PROPRANE TANK COVER FIT POORLY.

Incident date: Dec 12, 2020

My 2017 Chevy Silverado has four General Tires 285/45 R22 114 H installed. DOT HW6T HMW1 on all four tires. We had driven to Ohio from NY over the weekend and on the return trip (about 900 miles into the trip) the air pressure light came on and I noticed the Rear Driver side tire had 23 lbs of air. The leak was slow enough that I was able to drive 2 miles to a exit and stop at a gas station. W... Read more

Incident date: Apr 14, 2023

While driving on highway my car experienced massive electrical malfunction. All systems shut down (including dashboard) and engine cut off. I think it was a miracle that I was able to pull over to the roadside parking lot without any accident. The issue was caused by faulty design of the starter-alternator combo that may render the car undriveable (single point of failure). I had to use a tow trac... Read more

Incident date: Mar 13, 2023

While going 55 mph, I hit a bump in the road and the Jeep started shaking all over the road. It started doing the death wobble.

Incident date: Mar 13, 2023

Deafening pulsing noise coming from all speakers , volume button did not turn it off. Shut truck and locked it and did not stop the noise. Unplugged battery and did not stop noise. After about 15 minutes it stopped. Got into truck and there was an electrical burning smell. I have recorded the noise on video. Big safety concern, if the noise happened while I was moving I might have crashed. My ear... Read more

Incident date: Sep 30, 2021

On our way back home from a road trip, the Sonata lost horsepower and I was only able to drive at about 40 mph (on highway). Once we reached the next town, stopped at an AutoZone since the check engine light came on. Tested the issue and it looks like the car went into safe mode and there was an issue with engine oil consumption. Added more oil and continued our way home. We were stopping about ev... Read more

Incident date: Apr 17, 2023

Having difficulties to get our vehicle repaired by Ford Motor Company. Two out of three Safety Recalls for our car have not been solved. Attempts for arranging services have been made through online scheduling at our local dealership, as well as through contacting them by phone at different times, but still no final solution is been granted. First, DOOR LATCHES: Manufacturer Recall Number 20S3 & N... Read more

Incident date: Apr 17, 2023

Lack of acceleration when in snow mode. The car decreased speed and I couldn’t get it to increase The car is at dealership now It has happen 7 times and I haven’t even had my first payment. No warning was given I have a video of it. It will not let me upload it.

Incident date: Apr 15, 2023

The trunk when pulled open will drop down. I pulled my trunk door all they way up went to get something inside the trunk it came down and hit me on the head. This has happened before I was able to catch it before it hit me. This time it hit me on the top of the head hard and my left hand when I tried to catch it. It comes down fast and forcefully. Something is wrong and seriously injure someone. I... Read more

Incident date: Mar 29, 2023

The contact owns a 1994 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle was shaking with the brake pads abnormally grabbing. The contact stated that he had to lightly depress the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from shaking and the brake pads grabbing. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contac... Read more

Incident date: Mar 29, 2023

In December 2022, my 2013 KIA Soul was broken into. There was a trend on tik tok showing how easy it was to break into KIA AND HYUNDAI. My Kia Soul was in the shop for over a month getting fixed. While driving home on I-95 the Kia Soul broke down, it shut off and had to be towed back to the shop. When the shop called back and told me what the issue was, they said the engine was done. I looked... Read more

Incident date: Oct 1, 2020

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V138000 (Steering) however, the VIN w... Read more

Incident date: Apr 3, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Engine Maintenance Required, Take to Dealer" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak and that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the... Read more

Incident date: Apr 16, 2023

The cruise control is activated by the slightest touch of the button. Running the heel of your hand over the button will activate it. The button acts like a screen touch rather than a button.

Incident date: Apr 16, 2023

Today this morning I parked, put the gear in park and all of a sudden the car ravaged up and jumped forward, causing me to go through a fence and stopped. I had my foot on the break the whole time.

Crash

Incident date: Mar 18, 2023

Recall inspection of tailgate was performed by Pohanka RAM of Salisbury one month ago (visual inspection). Truck was deemed fine and recall ticket closed. While driving yesterday, the tailgate opened and truck bed contents fell out. Fortunately, vehicle behind swerved and second vehicle behind stopped and blocked roadway and assisted with retrieving contents that fell out.

Incident date: Apr 17, 2023

The Brake Actuator and Brake Accumulator were covered under a customer support issue until 5/18/22 On our car they are charging me $2600 to fix this issue. The car was at Toyota years earlier for a recall but Toyota never told us about this issue. That is not fair in my opinion. And now we are being charged $2600 to fix this issue Best [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFOR... Read more

Incident date: Apr 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) 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 made aware of the issue. The contact ha... Read more

Incident date: Apr 17, 2023

I am trying to get a safety recall handled, that states the possibility of crash if not taken care of. Mercedes still says a recall still pending. This was reported in September of 2022, and seems like an easy recall to handle. I am hoping to get this handled so I feel safe driving with my family in the van.

Incident date: Apr 20, 2023

The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the brake pedal, the brake rotors shuddered violently and the vehicle hesitated to respond, causing a 50 ft. stopping distance delay. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the rotors were corroded; however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure. The failu... Read more

Incident date: Feb 8, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while opening the front driver’s side door, the three rivets from the door punctured through the door. After the failure it was discovered that the front driver’s side window would not operate as designed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistanc... Read more

Incident date: Apr 12, 2023

My TWO WEEK OLD 2023 Genesis G80, which has less than 1000 miles on it, lost all motive power (i.e. power to the engine) after driving for approximately four hours. We were sitting in stop-and-go-traffic on the George Washington Bridge in New York, with the engine off (because of the vehicle's auto-off function). When the car ahead of us moved, I lifted my foot off the brake pedal, pressed the g... Read more

Incident date: Apr 12, 2023

I own a 2023 Tundra, 4601 miles at the time of incident. While driving at 55mph, the driver's rear tire experienced a blowout. Upon examination, an approximately 100mm vertical split in the sidewall of the tire was evident. Photographs at the time of the incident show no impact to the tire from road debris, nor had I noticed any impacts that would have caused the failure. I had driven all 4601 mil... Read more

Incident date: Apr 15, 2023

The Brake Actuator and Accumulator on the car have failed Toyota had a customer support issue on these parts and fixed them for free BUT it expired 5/18/22 No Toyota dealer told me about this issue and I received no warnings Now the 2012 Prius with 78,000 miles has this issue and Toyota wants $2600 to fix it

Incident date: Apr 18, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH on a mountainous roadway and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact continuously depressed the brake pedal until the vehicle responded. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that she continued driving and the vehicle lost motive power nearby an independen... Read more

Incident date: Mar 18, 2023

My daugther and myself were sitting at a stop light and the car would not move forward or backward. All of the transmission fluid was on the ground. I had to call the police for safety from being hit. I had the truck towed home.

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

The issue began during the week of April 10, 2023. I started to experience significant steering wheel resistance in 90 degree intervals. My initial assumption was the power steering was starting to fail. The amount of force required to turn became progressively worse towards the latter half of the week. However, there were no warning lamps or messages indicating there were issues with the car. On ... Read more

Incident date: Oct 20, 2022

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 60 MPH, the speed inadvertently decelerated to 30 MPH. The contact then stated that her husband depressed the accelerator pedal; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determin... Read more

Incident date: Apr 15, 2023

Braking inconsistently - sometimes easy to stop, sometimes hard. I had brakes looked at, and the man said it was the brake booster. He googled it, and found a recall online and told me to take it to my dealer. It doesn't look like there's an active recall - but a lot of complaints. What's going on? This is going to be expensive. My college age daughter drives that car. Do they have to have a sever... Read more

Incident date: Nov 6, 2022

08 Apr 2023 vehicle hit a pot hole and we almost went into ditch when it began to wobble uncontrollably. We were traveling on the hwy and almost caused an accident to the vehicles behind us. Very frightening. 16 Apr 2023, hit a small pot hole vehicle began to wobble uncontrollably, took us again almost into the ditch. It occurred four more times trying to get home from airport. We scared traveli... Read more

Incident date: Mar 13, 2023

I rented a 2023 Ford Explorer. I had many issues with the added safety features while renting it, ultimately resulting in an accident. Firstly, the lane keeping assist did not function properly. In construction zones, back roads, and during rainy weather, the vehicle would jerk very hard to one side of the other. Even after trying to shut off the lane keeping assist feature, it it would automatica... Read more

Crash 3 injured

Incident date: Jun 10, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that soon after he had the vehicle serviced at the dealer, the "engine maintenance required" message was displayed. The contact stated that the warning advisory remained displayed, which rendered the speedometer unviewable. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and was diagnosed with a defective coolant bypass valve. The manufacturer was n... Read more

Incident date: Mar 27, 2023

Volkswagen Group of America  2200 Woodland Pointe Avenue Herndon, VA 20171 (248) To Whom It May Concern RE: ID.4 VIN: [XXX] Unexpected acceleration The above vehicle was involved in an unwarranted accident fortunately only involving vehicles. In a parking lot at rolling speed while turning right into the parking space the vehicle charged ahead full throttle crossing a parking bumper, 8’-... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Apr 10, 2023

Car experienced unintended acceleration and the pre-collision safety system failed to engage. Car accelerated into a building and the driver stopped car's attempt to continue forward progress by taking the car out of drive mode. The pre-collision system failed completely. The Electronic Control Units seemed to fail entirely. This happened while pulling into a parking space at a very low rate to ... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Apr 13, 2023

It feels like a EPS malfunction. Will take more effort than usual to steer. For lack of better words it feels like "sticky steering". Started to feel this at 10,000 miles approx. As soon as you catch some speed, you can start feeling the malfunction.

Incident date: May 2, 2022

I have owned the vehicle since October 2022, currently ~4,400 miles. During second week of ownership, backup camera was blank upon startup and placing vehicle into reverse. A system reboot solved the issue, but several reboots have been required in subsequent months. Common that audio doesn't initiate (from any source) as well. Second issue - cold-engine acceleration is borderline dangerous as the... Read more

Incident date: May 2, 2022

Incident date: Apr 11, 2023

The screen in the middle of Mazda vehicle starts selecting menu, change the radio station or selects/plays whatever it likes. It suddenly activates some functions on its own. Most likely similar issue as in this document - https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10164268-0001.pdf This is dangerous for the driver as the automatic change in the screen and menu items distracts the driver whic... 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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