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 13, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil and that the engine was nearly devoid of oil. The vehicle was not repaired. The man... Read more

Incident date: Apr 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver while turning. There were unknown warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. T... Read more

Incident date: Apr 10, 2024

Incident date: Jul 12, 2024

The rear brake lines on my 2014 Benz E350 was blowout while stopping at a traffic light. After inspection, the both rear brake lines were rusted

Incident date: Jun 4, 2024

ABS warning light and electronic braking light will randomly come on and chime, not sure if this is going to affect braking.

Incident date: May 8, 2024

1. COLLISION WARNING SENSOR ACTIVATED WHILE DRIVING IN THE #1 LANE( CLOSEST TO THE CEMENT HIGHWAY DIVIDERS) AND AGGRESIVELY BRAKED AND SLOWED WHILE DIVING AT 77 MPH. NOT SAFE!! 2. EVEN THOU I PURPOSELY TURN THE RADIO "OFF" WHEN EXITING MY CAR, UPON ENTERING MY CAR AFTER A SHORT DURATION OF TIME, THE RADIO TURNS "ON" WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANCE BY ME....VERY FRUSTRATING!! VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED BY ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 11, 2024

It is hard to explain to people and some people might not fully understand what they are even feeling if they are not in tune to how the steering system works normally vs with some type of assist. I don't use the lane keeping assist (button on steering wheel) because it is not comfortable for me where the truck wants to be in relation to the lane. But even with lane keep assist off i could feel di... Read more

Incident date: May 30, 2024

I was driving on the highway my car sort of hesitated for a brief second then continued on as if nothing about one mile later my car began to slow down while I was in traffic so asap I pulled over at this point I could only go about 40 miles per hour which was very terrifying at that time it came a complete stop. After restarting the car 3-4 times it stayed running I continue home which was abou... Read more

Incident date: May 30, 2024

I was driving my 2013 limcoln mks and all of the sudden I could not turn the vehicle left or right. Then I had these 2 warnings: power assist fault and service advancetrac. This is very dangerous. It caused me to run my car into wall in front of me. It could have been a person. I called lincoln and was told there were no active recalls, yet no repairs ever on my steering. SO even though there was... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: May 30, 2024

Problem with phantom reverse automatic emergency braking. Backing up from my driveway causes uncommanded full braking once the vehicle is into the street, except when continuous brake pressure is applied while backing out. This has caused the vehicle to come to a full stop while blocking both lanes of traffic and caused an oncoming vehicle to have to also stop during the time it took the vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, upon attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start as intended. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started and idling, there was white smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact inspected the vehicle; however, no visible fluid leaks were noticed. The vehicl... Read more

Incident date: Jul 12, 2024

The contact's son owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while the driver was driving 50-55 MPH in the rain, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving; however, the vehicle jerked and lo... Read more

Incident date: Jul 12, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Fisker Ocean. The contact stated that the manufacturer had filed for bankruptcy and could no longer be contacted and long with the local service centers closing. The contact was concern that safety recalls notifications were not mailed and safety recall repairs were not available.

Incident date: Jul 12, 2024

Trailer brake system warning comes on an alarms tones begin. Distracted driving situation and faulting wiring issue. Has occurred on multiple occassions in addition to this time.

Incident date: Jul 12, 2024

On June 1, 2024, I was driving on the highway at about 70 MPH, when all of a sudden there was a loud boom and the glass on the panoramic sunroof blew out. Was not close to other vehicles, nor did I hear any impact from any object. Immediately drove my car to the local dealership. Dealership indicated it was not a known issue that they have seen and said it was outside influence that caused the ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 18, 2023

Rubbing noise in tail end of vehicle. Ford has a TSB (24-2185) for this problem. Dealership states it is not covered under the powertrain bc they are not replacing the entire differential but replacing certain parts.

Incident date: Jul 9, 2024

The driver's side Daytime Running Light (DRL) suddenly went and stayed dim. It's an amber color now, while the front passenger side is still lit up very brightly. My car had 35,000 miles when this occurred.

Incident date: Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V767000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine); 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 m... Read more

Incident date: Apr 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 10 MPH, the steering wheel occasionally became difficult to maneuver. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed temporarily on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electronic steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 17, 2023

The “Active Assist” features of the vehicle [Blind Spot Assist, Braking Assist, Distance Assist, Emergency Stop Assist and Lane Change Assist - was not able to check all of these above because of the selection limit] have repeatedly and randomly become inoperative while I was driving the car. I have expressed my safety concerns with the service department and management of the dealership that... Read more

Incident date: Dec 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2006 Mercury Montego. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds and attempting to depress the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was jerking and shuddering. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or local dealer. A local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and re... Read more

Incident date: Dec 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 co... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2024

I have received multiple notifications over several months that read "Camera view restricted". This impacts the collision avoidance and adaptive highbeam assist functions. Dealer has offered no service recommendations.

Incident date: Jul 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormally loud rattling sound. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with camshaft phasers failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel became stiff. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the local dealer a... Read more

Incident date: Sep 29, 2023

Transmission would often shutter and slip when first driving. Between 30-45 mph is when it was most noticeable, and later would do it at higher speeds. Caused very apparent hesitation when accelerating. Took it to the dealership, was told it was the torque converter. After digging around online it seems other owners are having issues at relatively low mileage, and often times more than once, or ar... Read more

Incident date: Sep 29, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the contact was unsure about the diagnostic result. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unkn... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2024

infotainment center glitching Attemped to resolve with KIA but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs it is a distraction for the driver. It interferes with the ability to use hands free/calls/gps. There is no warning before failu... Read more

Incident date: Nov 25, 2023

Two incidents prior to taking in to the dealership: Thursday, 6/27: Car would not reverse when trying to get out of parking spot. Even though it was indicating reverse it kept moving forward in neutral Friday, 6/28: Car would not go into park. When I tried to set it in park it switched between gears erratically before ending on neutral. Received warning to take it to the dealer and could not tur... Read more

Incident date: Jul 3, 2024

Transmission , Wheel Hub

Incident date: Jul 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. Additionally, the steering was sticking while turning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rack and pinion was faulty and needed to be replaced. The rack and pinion were replaced but the failure later reoccurr... Read more

Incident date: Jul 7, 2024

Car just stopped abruptly on highway. We tried to shut off and restart. Nothing worked. All emergency signs showed up on dashboard. Highway road assistance guy tried to put it in neutral..it did nit work. We were scared to death siting on i 278 with trucks,buses coming behind us. Car just abruptly stopped

Incident date: Jul 7, 2024

Car odometer 5,952 miles Year 2022 Car started driving slowly and would not accelerate. After stopping at a traffic light it started to move sluggishly before loosing all power. Restarted the vehicle and moved to safety, check engine light was illuminated. I looked it up on the app and it provided a DTC code "P1C2D03" which was attached to previous recall regarding transmission issues loosing po... Read more

Incident date: Jul 7, 2024

I was driving home and while stopped at a light, the passenger headrest popped off its frame without being triggered by a collision or other event. Researching online, it seems this is the same issue that many others have had with the Active Head Restraint deploying randomly due to a failed piece of plastic used in the design.

Incident date: May 9, 2024

2019 Ford Flex Back-up camera either upside or unavailable when the car is put into reverse. Car is available for inspection upon request. The software has been successfully updated multiple times. The camera going out or being upside down when backing up is definitely a safety issue. No inspection has taken place. The car is 5 years old and the camera worked for about the first two years. There w... Read more

Incident date: May 9, 2024

Incident date: Jul 9, 2024

The contact's husband owns a 2015 Ford Mustang. The contact while reversing, the rearview camera image was distorted and black. The contact stated that the failure had increased, causing the rearview camera to become inoperable. Additionally, the contact stated that the tailgate had failed to open while using the key fob, while pressing the tailgate release switch inside the cabin and the release ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2024

10/19/2022 – Vehicle stuck in drive and would not shift out of drive. Vehicle towed to the dealer and not touched for a day and a half. Dealer found walnut lodged in shifter column which was preventing the shifter from going into park. Dealer also performed software update on vehicle. 10/21/2022 – Picked up vehicle and it was shifting very hard through every gear, returned to the dealer for fu... Read more

Incident date: Jul 8, 2024

Was driving along and transmission downshifted (?) wouldn't change gears. Tachometer was like a race car. Just went wild. Limped it along to a dealership. They informed us it was probably the transmission. It was determined it was indeed the transmission. They also stated that they had 7 more waiting in the service area waiting for parts to repair. Ours was to be #8. We called the dealer we b... Read more

Incident date: Jun 4, 2024

After filling up one day I was heading home and started to smell gas from my ac vents when I turned it on I didn’t pay much attention until I got nauseous and a huge headache. Later that day my boyfriend tried to get to work and the car said “engine off” and turned off on the side of the highway if wouldn’t start. We figured maybe a battery l got it towed home afterwards and just let it si... Read more

Incident date: Jul 7, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Mazda Mazda3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V487000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera image was distorted, blank or failed to activate as needed. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The con... Read more

Incident date: Jul 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed with starter failure and low engine oil. The vehicle was repaired. The independent mechanic advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer for assistan... Read more

Incident date: Jul 3, 2024

Falla en abs y ruedas riesgo al frenar tarda demasiado luces de abs vdc off AWD y tpms

Incident date: Jun 15, 2024

MERCEDES DEALER NOTES : 07/19/2022 CLIENT STATES STEERING IS STIFF. STARTED ABOUT 1 TO 2 MONTHS AGO AND WOULD SHOW UP ONCE AND AWHILE. WHEN IT WOULD ACT UP WOULD NOT DRIVE IT AND IT WOULD LOCK THE STEERING . THIS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES, WITH ACCIDENT HAZARD. WE DID THE BELOW WORK. ELECTRIC POWER STEERING RACK FAULTY REPLACE COMPLETE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING RACK. WHICH COST US OVER $3000. NOW WE ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 15, 2024

My vechile service airbag system light keep coming on when driving. I check my my storage memory on the cluster and there is nothing stored. I took it to auto zone where they hook up the computer and everything check out good. they said check to see if there a recall on it since everything check out and it is a saftely issue.

Incident date: Jun 15, 2024

Rust thru/failure of the front cross member subframe. I noticed a clicking/rubing sound coming from the front of my 2011 Jeep Compass. Over several days it got worse. I took the car to the same dealership that I bought the car from new and was told it was a rust thru on the subframe and that the car was not safe to drive. At this point there were NO warning lights or other indication that the fron... Read more

Incident date: Jun 22, 2024

We are currently on a family vacation going from CA to Nebraska and our 2023 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid completely shut down on us while driving through Las Vegas. A warning came up on the dash stating “slow down, engine will be shutting down”. We were on a main freeway and almost got hit because of this. We had our two kids in the car and are so upset this happened especially because we just bo... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2024

I purchased this car and the dashboard is melting and sticky. It’s affecting visibility to the point where I found myself trying to lift up to look overtop of the blinding glare on my windshield due to my melting dashboard and got into an minor accident Like was reflecting off the dashboard onto the windshield obstructing my view and resulted in me rear bumping into the rear of another car that ... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Jul 4, 2024

Crash

Incident date: May 31, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V651000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulics) however, the part to do the recall repair were initially not yet available. The contact then stated that the check engine and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact then received a second notice that stated that parts for the recall were available. T... 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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