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 376 complaints for PETERBILT
Incident date: May 9, 2026
After a decel to 20ish mph, the automated manual transmission attempted to shift into gear to begin acceleration. The transmission made load noises indicating a failure followed by a transmission warning with the fault code being 617 FMI 14. All acceleration and engine braking ability was disabled, increasing the risk of an accident due to the vehicle being disabled. A similar safety recall for th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V826000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the instrument panel software update was completed; however, the instrument panel became inoperable after the update was completed. The dealer determined that the instrument panel needed to be replaced; however, the part to do t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated with the transmission slipping. The contact stated that the vehicle felt like it was being driven over a rumble strip. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The ma... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
Camshaft failure as described in previous service bulletins for same year, make, model truck and Paccar MX-17 engine. Available for inspection as truck is not operational. Vehicle has been inspected by mechanic and no warning, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure being noticed and inspected to locate issue.
Incident date: Jan 13, 2026
Unit 1 towing Unit 2 was traveling eastbound in the inside lane of IH-20. Unit 1 suffered a tire failure resulting in a blowout of the front left steering tire. Unit 1 towing Unit 2 steered towards the center median striking the guardrail and the concrete overpass barrier. Unit 1 and towed Unit 2 then rolled one-quarter roll right-over-left. Unit 1 and Unit 2 became engulfed in flames. Unit 1 came... Read more
Crash
Fire
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
The center display and the instrument panel on our ID4 reset unexpectedly while driving, even though recall with Campaing ID 24V344000 was performed on our vehicle. This caused both displays to turn off, first the instrument panel followed by the center display - we pulled over as we did not have any information of any kind of the status of the car. After a couple of minutes, it came back up again... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2025
The shifter assembly failed. When shifting to Park, a "Shift to Park" message appears on the driver information center. Although the shift lever is in the Park position, it is not recognized, and the car cannot be turned off or locked. The selling dealership inspected and confirmed the failure, which first appeared at about 21,000 miles (2023 model). The solution was to replace the shifter ass... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2007 Infiniti G35. The contact stated that the passenger's side air bag warning light was flashing. The vehicle was taken to a Toyota dealer for an oil change, and the contact requested a diagnostic test of the air bag warning light. The dealer retrieved DTC: B1081; and the contact was informed that the passenger's side seat belt harness needed to be replaced. The manufacturer w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2024
My 2020 GMC Terrain brakes pump failed causing me to hit the median wall on the highway.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
There has been multiple times that when I am driving on the highway doing 60 miles an hour, the dashboard will light up to BRAKE the car when there is nothing in front of the car, no other car no trash nothing. It has done this on slower roads where the speed limit is 40 mph and under but it will actually brake the car and I have had cars behind me when this happens. This keeps happening multiply ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2025
My 2023 vehicle has needed coolant topped off every 5-10K miles. This appears to be a very common occurrence for several owners however dealerships are just telling folks to top off as it's due to evaporation (it's a closed system and shouldn't evaporate). It is due to a faulty head gasket that VW even later redesigned. If you review reddit and numerous forums about the 1.5T produced before Jul... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
See attached document for complaint. text from attached document: To my disappointment, the remedy was not perfo rmed totally. The reason for this was, "improper battery size" . Cont inuing with the message I was texted : "This means we cannot fully complete the recall without replacement of the battery. The recall is to replace hardware that keeps the battery secure due to this happening, this s... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
This has been an ongoing problem since I last reported this on February 16, 2025. There’s a clicking noise under my tires and then I can’t stop, my brakes grind and my pedal grinds… all my ABS lights then come on… this has been going on too long!! Since April 20, 2025…. My brakes are GRINDING SERIOUSLY and PROHIBITING me to fully stop at times. I’ve had several near misses… I ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
This has been an ongoing problem since I last reported this on February 16, 2025. There’s a clicking noise under my tires and then I can’t stop, my brakes grind and my pedal grinds… all my ABS lights then come on… this has been going on too long!! Since April 20, 2025…. My brakes are GRINDING SERIOUSLY and PROHIBITING me to fully stop at times. I’ve had several near misses… I ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Cadillac Lyriq. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH during dry weather conditions in traffic, the brake pedal was depressed but traveled down to the floorboard, and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stood on the brake pedal; however, the vehicle failed to respond and crashed into the vehicle in front that had stopped due to traffic. In addition, the contact... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 16, 2025
The vehicle shifted itself to neutral when stopping at a red light. I had to shift the car back to drive. When I tried to pull off from the red light, the car nearly shut off. Just researching other similar incidents, the problem is related to the start/stop function.
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed several times before the vehicle came to a stop. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle almost crashed into another vehicle due to the failure. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
I was driving on the highway at 60mph and the engine shut off. I was fortunate enough to be able to get the truck off the road without incident. The instruments instructed me to try to start the vehicle again. Upon doing so the engine made very loud and erratic knocking noises and I shut it off. I towed the truck to the GMC dealership where they told me the engine had thrown 2 rod bearings. T... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 428I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); 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 not made aware of the iss... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
1: When driving on highway ramp onto highway vehicle lost power when automatically switching from electric to hybrid which almost caused being stuck from behind. 2: For days at a time car will not switch over to all electric giving message Electric Mode Temporarily Unavailable 3: Car screen overlaps with previous screen at times and also is completely black on colder days. 4: Car VIN indica... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
The brakes have been repaired and replaced repeatedly. The vehicle locked down yesterday 2/25/25 when the driver was headed to school to pick up the children. The car came to a complete halt and was a danger to others with a "transmission engine" warning light on the dash. This vehicle has numerous repairs in addition to being too dangerous to drive down a two lane road due to the severity of the ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
Water is in spare tire well.
Incident date: Jul 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V521000 (Air Bags, Electrical System). The contact called the dealer and made an appointment; however, the contact was informed that the part might not be available for the appointment. The contact arrived for the appointment and was informed 3 hours later that the part needed for the repair was no... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V521000 (Air Bags, Electrical System). The contact called the dealer and made an appointment; however, the contact was informed that the part might not be available for the appointment. The contact arrived for the appointment and was informed 3 hours later that the part needed for the repair was no... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
Fuel injector is causing AWD error. No longer able to use the auto start on vehicle. Sometimes vehicle will not start. Unsure if that was due to the fuel pump recall either. Fuel pump has been replaced. Check engine light is still on and last time we had it checked it was due to fuel injector. The fuel injector was part of a recall for the year and model of our car but Was told our VIN was not par... Read more
PETERBILT
567
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
Jan 3, 2025
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with an intake manifold failure. The contact was informed that the intake manifold ne... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
In Aug 2024, Taxa notified us of the 24V-579 recall. Parts have not been made available to fix this recall.
Incident date: Dec 19, 2024
The item currently malfunctioning is the instrument cluster and infotainment display of the vehicle. While driving, the instrument cluster and infotainment display intermittently flashes on and off while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in the speed and other information to disappear while moving. Dealer has not been able to replicate the issue due to it being intermittent. The component was in... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Audi A5 equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: Continental Pure Contact GXAO, Front Tires Sizes: 255/35/R19, DOT Number: CP32WMC9, Rear Tires Sizes: 255/35/R19, DOT Number: CP32WMC9, Rear. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24T009000 (Tires); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted who adv... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that the automatic braking system failed to turn off. While driving 65 MPH on the highway, a plastic bag flew across the vehicle, and the vehicle abruptly stopped. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaire... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
This vehicle about 6-8 weeks ago started throwing codes for all systems above (over 100 codes). This issue affected all systems of the vehicle including but not limited to the speed and braking of the vehicle, plus the fuel system and adaptive driving systems. We took it to the dealer Performance Peterbilt in Tifton, GA. They cleared the codes and said they resolved it by replacing a NOX sensor. W... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
The contact’s mother owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact stated that occasionally while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated with a message to “Drive with Caution” displayed. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the failure was remedied; however, the failure persisted. The contact rec... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and attempting to fasten the seat belt, the seat belt failed to retract. The failure occurred with the driver’s and passenger’s side front seat belts. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the retracting mechanism had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2024
I purchased this vehicle in July 2020. I did a through check for recalls, warranty problems and could not identify any with this vehicle. From the get go the check engine light would come on. I checked the codes and they indicated an "electrical fault on bank 1, oxygen sensor 1. I replaced the wiring harness on that sensor as well as the sensor. From then until now the car would code weekly about ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The instrumental panel suddenly malfunctioned the abs, airbag, and check engine lights illuminated, and the speedometer dropped to zero. The instrumental panel returned to normal, but the mileage range reset to 0. This was while I was traveling on a highway going 70mph. While it did not cause an accident this time, it was very upsetting. Further it is concerning that there was a recall on the 2014... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
ABS and traction control lights came on. Brought to my mechanic and they spoke with Dodge who started they put a freeze on selling the parts and currently have no fix.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
My dealer informed me during a routine inspection that the rear coils springs were about to break and needed replacement at only 66653 miles. Web search revealed many others who have actually failed. Manufacturer will not cover 'out of warranty' repair. As a mechanical engineer with 45 years in the light vehicle industry - 30 in safety - I can say that coil springs do not routinely fail, especiall... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
Around October 29th my vehicle developed a faint to loud noise within 24 hours. There was no engine light, no leaking of fluids and no other warning. As we drove the vehicle to a repair shop I could tell there was some hesitation or lack of normal power. The shop we took my vehicle too was not able to do any repair or diagnosis so it was towed to Honda of Olathe, then New Concept Auto and finally... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
Shift to park message while in park position when attempting to shut off car; I can't cut off car without making many tries. this has happened before dealer repairing the problem and within two years dealer installing new "fix.".
Incident date: May 24, 2023
On four separate occasions, the forward collision assist turned on when a car in front of my car has moved over into a turning lane and they slow down. The car aggressively brakes, and on two occasions has come to a complete stop in the middle of the road, not allowing me to move the car until the warning goes away. I was nearly rear ended on two occasions because of the cars sudden aggressive bra... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2023
ABS and Brake warning light come on dash making the break pedal click, causing the car to break abruptly or lock. Usually happens while at a complete stope or if driving below 30 to 20 miles an hour.
Incident date: Oct 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started to shake with the check engine warning light became illuminated. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. Additionally, on several occasions, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was no... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2022
I’ve had my car at the dealer four times now within the first 10k miles to get its FOURTH transmission replacement. Kia will not replace the transmission with a brand new one however settles for used refurbished transmissions with Used parts. Which have been failing on average of 1000 to 1500 miles later
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the battery drained. The contact replaced the battery; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file the complaint with the NH... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
Special Coverage Adjustment N172097060 Side Blind Zone Alert Module Water Intrusion was issued for my vehicle. I took it in to get fixed and was told I was past the 6 year extension (May 2022) but under the milage (79,199). They told me the parts are on back order from GMC. This was on 04-03-2023. On 04-05-2023 I was driving my vehicle and the instrument cluster went partially blank. I lost my spe... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2022
The issue is with autostart, enhanced auto pilot and lane departure warning. I paid for Enhanced auto pilot. This car totally relies on cameras. 1. In the slightest occurrence of rain, it complains about one or more cameras malfunctioning or out of vision. This doesn't happen often in Full Self Driving version. For early adopters of Model3 FSD, manufacturer updated the cameras. However they did no... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2022
The issue is with autostart, enhanced auto pilot and lane departure warning. I paid for Enhanced auto pilot. This car totally relies on cameras. 1. In the slightest occurrence of rain, it complains about one or more cameras malfunctioning or out of vision. This doesn't happen often in Full Self Driving version. For early adopters of Model3 FSD, manufacturer updated the cameras. However they did no... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2023
The rear glass on the drivers side shattered for no reason.
Incident date: Jan 14, 2022
Was having brakes replaced and was informed the aluminum coating on the lug nuts had swollen and could not be removed/tightened with the normal sized lug wrench. Was not concerned until I realized that meant that if I had a flat on the road, the lug wrench that came with the vehicle would not work. Not a fan of being stranded on the side of the road with no way to change a tire. Understand that Fo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
Every 12-18 months I need to change something called a flexible pipe part# 1860417. A crack happens to form on the same end of the part. I asked Peterbilt worker about it and he said that they do see this part changed out a lot.