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.
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
Showing 96,425 complaints for NISSAN
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
I replaced my battery a little over a year ago and have come back to my battery completely dead and unable to turn the engine over. The first time it happened my vehicle had sat for 4 days. It has done it sporadically and sometimes within 2 days of incidents. I have checked to make sure no components were left on to cause this issue. It has left me stranded multiple times.
NISSAN
VERSA NOTE
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 7, 2024
Incident date: Oct 4, 2024
Paint on the front bumper is chipping and bubbling up.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the water pump had failed, causing the fan belt to be damaged. The mechanic replaced the... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Versa Note. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the ignition switch failed to start as needed and the vehicle failed to start. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer confirmed the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was appro... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal clanking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was driving rough. The contact stated that the ABS, brake, check engine, and TPMS warning lights were illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that there were no recalls for the fail... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2017) — ENGINE
Oct 6, 2024
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Check engine light came on and car began to slow down on the expressway going 45 mph. My car now does not start and will not turn over. Before all of this happened my car was misfiring and a warning came up saying Engine Oil pressure Low. I just received an oil change a week prior. Now my car doesn't work and I cannot drive it at all. BMW said my timing Chain is broken and I have an oil leak. I wi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2024
We believe our Balmar (the second alternator that powers our Lithium batteries) failed and then created enough heat to either have a small fire or produce copious amounts of toxic smoke. This is a known problem with the Winnebago EKKOs. There has been one round of recalls for the Balmar re-wiring which we had done at the Winnebago Factory Center in Forest City, IA on November 21, 2023. We wer... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 5, 2024
GLC 300 was purchased new on May 25, 2023. Multiple 12V battery errors, check engine indicators, and rear hatch closing on owner starting the first week of ownership. 48V battery and Main Fuse Box were replaced. Multiple recalls were addressed. Most significant issue related to false collision avoidance incidents on two occasions that resulted in dangerous situations and extreme stress on the occu... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2024
When do you go does not detect lanes violently moves the steering wheel to try to maneuver you back into a lane. I’m constantly turning this feature off because it has posed a risk of crash on multiple occasions
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
Car exploded. I was driving fine with ac running when all of a sudden gray smoke came out the hood of the car. I stoped in a side street. I turned off the car and the gray smoke became black. I took my phone and ran out. As I ran the car exploded like a bomb on the street and started throwing flames. Car is completely loss. Car has been to it’s maintainer and everything and nothing found.
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
Engine fire caused by AC compressor. On 09/28/24, at 1700 miles and in the parking lot of a restaurant, smoke suddenly began filling the cabin and when I looked out the window the entire car's front was engulfed in a gray smoke. The overpowering smell was of burning wire insulation, plastic, and rubber. I immediately shut the car off, popped the hood, and was ready to run into the restaurant f... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
Driving straight and want to turn slightly but the steering wheel HEAVILY resists which produces a sticky steering feeling at highway speeds. This is a steering rack defect which is commonly experienced among 2023+ Integra owners.
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Purchased this car from a Hyundai dealer and immediately after multiple times the steering has stuck in place while making a left hand turn, not allowing the car to come out of the turn. Also does it slightly while driving on highway straight, but not as forcefully as when in a turn. Very dangerous and Hyundai nor the Hyundai dealer We purchased it from will even take a call from me over it. No... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: [XXX], electrical problems causing loss of steering, 65 miles per hour, EXTREME action required to keep on road. 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport (4 door), 3.6L engine, bought new July 2018, Everett Washington. RPM and speedometer gauges went to zero, loss of power steering, all dashboard warning lights blinking on/off, digital speedometer only showed dashes (- - -) windshield wip... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
The contact's mother owns a 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated while his mother was pulling into a parking space, the vehicle abruptly stopped independently. The driver noticed that the vehicle had shifted to park(P) independently, and the gear shifter was stuck in park(P). An unknown warning light was illuminated. The driver turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the gear shifter... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
Engine control unit failure
Incident date: Jul 6, 2024
My car has manufacturer defect / crack on steering knuckle. There has been recall in UK and Canada. Why not in states? Driving with crack / defect in steering knuckle is extremely dangerous. It has been proven that this has caused by over tightening the nut bolt. There are so many land rovers have this reported issues. Here is link: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF I... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jul 6, 2024
On 6/5/2024 I purchased a vehicle from lithia Dodge in Twin Falls Idaho. On July 6th 2024 my wife and I we're driving through Walmart parking lot and the car just up and died. I called the car dealership to try and get a hold of the salesman that sold it to me or the finance manager and continue to have issues getting hold of someone, well in the process of trying to get a hold of someone one of t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal was stiff. The contact pulled to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The message "Brake Assist - Service Required'' was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the independent mechanic for routine maintenance, the mechanic informed the contact that a small amount of fluid had leaked from the front differential. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal metallic and whining sound coming from the front driver's side of the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that she was able to stop. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic,... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
Car shut off while driving 60 miles per hour on the hwy. Battery light was on but I just had it checked and it was good. Seat belt light was also on but I had mine on and there were no other passengers. The collision light has repeatedly come on and off since I bought the vehicle new.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle experienced a rough idle and shuddered. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle skipped and was running rough. Additionally, the vehicle experienced excessive fuel consumption and lost motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unkn... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle experienced a rough idle and shuddered. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle skipped and was running rough. Additionally, the vehicle experienced excessive fuel consumption and lost motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unkn... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2018) — ENGINE
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
Engine seized. 3.3L Lambda II GDI. This is the 2nd Hyundai/KIA product that the engine has seized on me. Both with bearing failure. Neither on the list of recalled engines. You need to do a more thorough investigation into Hyundai/KIAs engines. The brands share the same power trains across the entire line up for a number of years. This class of engines has been produced for YEARS along with... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
The contact owned a 2022 Ford F-550. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle started smoking and flames came from the left side of the engine. The vehicle inadvertently veered to the right of the road. In addition, the contact noticed smoke and flames were coming from the front passenger’s side and the rear of the vehicle. As a result, of the fire the contact sustained smoke in... Read more
Fire
1 injured
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2022) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
Driving on street when second row, passenger window literally exploded. No other cars near by, no impact of any kind…it simply exploded as if it were shot at. I actually called police and they said this did not happen. There are MANY reports on internet of similar occurrences to other people. Nissan accepts no responsibility.
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2022) — STEERING
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The power steering fault warning light was blinking intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V812000 (St... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2022) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
My 2022 Pathfinder had 34,725 miles on it when I left for the grocery store, on the way while driving on the highway I got an alert on my dash saying "check shift level position", which that seemed normal & fine, and vehicle was still driving normally at this point. That alert then went away as I was driving a moment or two later ( however I did get a photo of it). A very few moments later, I was ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
We bought the van on 03/31/2022. On 08/31/2023 we went to get into the van, while it was parked outside of our home, and I tried to start it up but it wouldn't start. I had my mechanic look at it and he said it would need a new engine. I"m so glad that it happened in front of my house or else I would have been stranded somewhere with my kids- which would have been very dangerous. There were no sym... Read more
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. Additionally, the contact noticed that there was an abnormal coolant odor inside the cabin of the vehicle while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with coolant leaking onto the ignition coil #2. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs... Read more
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2019) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
I bought my 2022 Hybrid Sonata in the summer of 2022. I drove it down to the beach (8 hour drive) about a week after purchasing the vehicle so at that time there were less than 100 miles on the car. We didn't use the vehicle for the week we were at the beach and when we tried to unlock the car to load our bags, the key would not unlock the car and we couldn't get in. We had to manually unlock the ... Read more
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2019) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The part that failed was the cooling fan. According to a litany of Google searches, and from a few dealerships, Nissan has known for years about faulty cooling fans and has done nothing about it. My cooling fan went out last night and sprayed coolant everywhere. Not only did the coolant become gaseous as it burned against the hot engine, this poses a huge safety issue as it can cause a vehicle to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
In March 2023 safety recall 22V082000 (Ford Number 22S06) was performed to fix a rear view camera malfunction. During the March 2023 work, only the wiring harness was replaced. My belief was that the actual camera should have been replaced as well. Replacing the wiring harness in March 2023 fixed the issue for 13 months, and then the issue re-occurred. Dealership charged $230 diagnosis fee to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2023
I was in reverse backing out of my parking spot and the emergency parking brake activated by itself. My car immediately stopped and I was not able to move it forward or backwards. The brake warning lamp illuminated and a "service parking brake" showed up on my screen where the speedometer is. I was just grateful it didn't happen in the middle of the interstate or turning onto a major roadway. I... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2015) — POWER TRAIN
Oct 2, 2024
Incident date: Dec 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the message to “Shift to Park” was displayed with an audible chime sounding. The vehicle was restarted several times until the message had disappeared. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal became loose while depressing and the steering wheel was abnormally stiff. An unknown warning light illuminated. In addition, the driver saw an abnormal amount of smoke coming from under the hood and had inhaled smoke while attempting to exit the vehicle. The vehicle ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal became loose while depressing and the steering wheel was abnormally stiff. An unknown warning light illuminated. In addition, the driver saw an abnormal amount of smoke coming from under the hood and had inhaled smoke while attempting to exit the vehicle. The vehicle ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 21, 2024
The car has been towed and moved to another state which is New Jersey and it is being held at an auction company. The car needs to be picked up by Nissan of Garden City and taken back to the dealer shop for the safety recall.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
Loss of ABS, Traction Control
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
Loss of ABS, Traction Control
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
This morning, on the way to work, the electric parking brake module of my 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk activated when the vehicle was in motion, making it impossible to accelerate or reverse. If I had been driving on the highway or interstate, this could have been fatal. The tech who towed my car said this is a known issue, and his sister even traded in her Cherokee because of this issue. There ... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2015) — SERVICE BRAKES
Oct 1, 2024
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. Additionally, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving uphill on a very ... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2015) — SERVICE BRAKES
Oct 1, 2024
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
So my wife is pulling into our driveway with my little ones and notices the ABS, traction control and Brake light come on. I then had the vehicle looked at by a local Toyota dealership and they tell me I'm getting code C1391 and that it's a known issue. They then tell me I'm out of my extended customer support warranty time frame and I will have to pay. According to NHTSA this is a known defect on... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Known issue with engine design that could lead to catastrophic failure. The rocker arms fail and gouge the cam, causing catastrophic engine failure, if not addressed as soon as symptoms occur. We caught the knocking noise early and were able to have both sides replaced for $3800 on a vehicle with relatively low miles. This has been a noticed issue and to my knowledge, the replacement parts were... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
Heading westbound on I-70, taking Exit 29 off ramp from highway, I drove over uneven pavement. My traction control, ABS and brake lights illuminated, the brakes suddenly felt mushy. As I approached the stoplight at the end of the exit ramp, I questioned whether I would be able to stop. Scared me immensely. Luckily no cars were near me. I now do not have ABS, Traction Control, stability control OR ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
Airbag warning light and Service Air Bag on dash. Code B0087-00 Left Rear SIS. Replaced sensor, still getting warning. Sensor is in LR door. Research revealed possible known issue with bending fatigue from routine door open/close motion and subpar wire size/material causing wire failure. Opened wire harness at pillar and green/black wire was completely separated at typical bending point. Light b... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2024
The styrofoam of this car seat had completely separated from the shell. The fabric that goes over the styrofoam as well as the canopy does not stay secured and easily comes off risking child’s safety in an accident.