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.
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
Showing 39,131 complaints for PONTIAC
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
My 2017 Hyundai Elantra has problems with the ignition coil packs, sensors and engine. The car stalls at lights. It idles very rough and shakes when driving. Acts as if it will stall on the highway and extremely slow acceleration. Dealer told me there was metal parts in my oil, oil was thick sludge and that I never changed the oil. False and I have the oil change receipts to prove my oil change... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Murano. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH around a curve, the four doors of the vehicle unlocked independently. The message "Door Open" was displayed and an alarm sounded while the contact continued driving. The contact stated that the failure mainly occurred while making right turns; however, the failure had been recurring increasingly, while making turns, and... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
The contact owned a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle in front of the contact had lost control and ended across the lane. The contact stated that the road was a gravel road and the driver of the other vehicle had created a dust cloud that obscured the vehicle. The contact stated that her vehicle crashed into the other vehicle on their pass... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jun 1, 2019
HONDA CORPORATION IS NOT COMPENSATING DEALERS FAIRLY FOR THIS SIGNIFICANT RECALL ON HONDA ODYSSEYS. THIS RECALL INVOLVES DISASSEMBLING MUCH OF THE INTERIOR TO REPLACE THESE DEFECTIVE COMMUNICATION CABLES. TO DO IT CORRECTLY AND REASSEMBLE THE VEHICLE CORRECTLY THE WORK COULD TAKE 8 HOURS OR MORE. BECAUSE HONDA OF AMERICA IS COMPENSATING DEALERS FOR MUCH LESS THAN THE CORRECT WORK TIME, TO DO ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not 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 issue. The contact had not expe... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that the windshield had fractured in the lower corner of the driver's side and extended towards the center of the windshield. The vehicle was taken to a glass specialist who replaced the windshield. The failure occurred an additional two times. The windshield was replaced by the glass specialist the second time; however, the windshield ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
Faulty pistons, piston rings and piston heads responsible for excessive oil consumption. Excessive oil consumption occurs because the combustion chamber is not properly sealed off from the Audi turbo engine parts that need to remain lubricated. Because of inadequate lubrication, fragments of the piston rings flow through the Audi 2L turbo engines and damage important components. As a result, our 2... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2023
My e brake goes on and off by itself. And while I'm driving,now the car won't start. Mechanic said it was the starter so I paid for one still didn't start.Now he said it's the engine. Car still won't start.
Incident date: May 31, 2023
Today 9/6/23 at 9:20pm I was driving 65mph on the highway and hit a medium sized pot hole. This caused my front end to violently shake back and forth over a prolonged period of time causing me to loose control of my vehicle. I was able to brake and the shaking stopped around 20mph while I was on the highway. This has happened to me once before almost causing an accident. Neither time was I spe... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2023
Today 9/6/23 at 9:20pm I was driving 65mph on the highway and hit a medium sized pot hole. This caused my front end to violently shake back and forth over a prolonged period of time causing me to loose control of my vehicle. I was able to brake and the shaking stopped around 20mph while I was on the highway. This has happened to me once before almost causing an accident. Neither time was I spe... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2023
Today 9/6/23 at 9:20pm I was driving 65mph on the highway and hit a medium sized pot hole. This caused my front end to violently shake back and forth over a prolonged period of time causing me to loose control of my vehicle. I was able to brake and the shaking stopped around 20mph while I was on the highway. This has happened to me once before almost causing an accident. Neither time was I spe... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2023
Power steering stop working “ACTION REQUIRED “ Steering assist is reduced Drive with care
Incident date: Aug 9, 2023
I was driving by myself with my two small dogs on the interstate at approximately 70 mph when I ran over uneven pavement. Without any warning my truck began to shake so violently the dogs became terrified and hid under the seats and I briefly lost control of the vehicle. I was certain I had blown a tire. I decelerated quickly and looked for an opportunity to move out of traffic and pull over. I a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The torque converter on my 2018 Toyota Rav4 failed and needed to be replaced according to the Toyota dealership. As an experienced driver, I became aware that something was not right with the drivetrain which prompted a service appointment at my local dealership. The problem was detected early and the torque converter was replaced by the dealer at a cost to me of $3,300. If I had not noticed this... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
Driving down the highway at 70mph in a downpour, when the drivers side wiper went up, and never came back down.
Incident date: Jul 14, 2023
While driving at 70 mph on the highway on 8/13/23, the car electrical system failed. Power steering immediately failed. Brakes unresponsive. Lost control and almost veering into a semi beside us. Coasted and lane changed with no means to signal to others. Once we coasted to a near stop car was put into park without ability to press on break. After 3 min, attempted to start car again and it was re... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
I was driving down the interstate at 70+ mph when my windshield wipers suddenly stopped mid swing. They stayed frozen in place and did not fall back down. I have been unable to have the wipers work in any situation since. This occurred during an extremely heavy downpour and my vision was immediately obscured. In the car we’re also my wife and 5-month old child. I was able to turn on my hazards... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
2 weeks ago I noticed an oil leak 2019 cx5 . Riley Mazda of Stamford check and found a cracked on the cylinder head. The cylinder head needs to be replaced cost around $5000. luckily we noticed the leak while car was park. Imagine if the car was on the road. Dangerous things could have happened. Mazda is aware of this situation years ago. A technician Service Bulletin was released by Mazda in 2019... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
ONCE DURING A HARD BRAKING MANEUVER, NUMEROUS TIMES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP, NUMEROUS TIMES WHEN IDELING THROUGH A PARKING LOT i HAVE EXPERIENCED THE IGNITION MOMENTARILY CUT OFF PRECEEDED BY THE STEERING WHEEL BECOMING JERKY AND THE STABILITRAK LIGHT COMES ON. TWICE WHILE BACKING INTO A PARKING SPACE EVERYTING SHUTS OFF PRECEEDED BY THE STEERING WHEEL BECOMING JERKY AND THE STABILITRAK LIG... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2021
My truck shuts off in the middle of driving. Completely losing power to anything electric. I can not unlock or lock the door, the windows, hazard lights, steer the wheel to help me move. I can’t do anything. I have almost crashed.
Incident date: Jul 17, 2021
VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING. WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATE, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, DO NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR WARNING, 48V BATTERY WARNING, ETC. WOULD NOT STOP ALARMING. COULD NOT SHUT OFF CAR. COULD NOT PUT CAR INTO PARK. COULD NOT START CAR. WARNING BUZZER WOULD GO OFF ENTIRE TIME. CAR WAS ONLY ABLE TO BE STARTED WHEN REMOTE START REQUEST WAS INITIATED WHEN CAR WAS IN THIS MODE, CAR WAS STARTED BUT THE... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2021
VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING. WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATE, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, DO NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR WARNING, 48V BATTERY WARNING, ETC. WOULD NOT STOP ALARMING. COULD NOT SHUT OFF CAR. COULD NOT PUT CAR INTO PARK. COULD NOT START CAR. WARNING BUZZER WOULD GO OFF ENTIRE TIME. CAR WAS ONLY ABLE TO BE STARTED WHEN REMOTE START REQUEST WAS INITIATED WHEN CAR WAS IN THIS MODE, CAR WAS STARTED BUT THE... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2006) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 3, 2023
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle downshifted and decelerated rapidly. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power train control module (PCM) needed to be updated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that they could not assist because the warranty had expir... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2006) - WHEELS
Aug 3, 2023
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
RV- 2022 Thor Miramar 34.5 With 2021 Ford F53 Chassis I appreciate your attention because this is the BIGGEST issue and safety concern. We spent over 160k on this class A that doesn't even feel safe to drive. As the driver or passenger, we are white knuckled. There is no stability when driving. The steering wheel is all over the place. A gust of wind pushes us off the road, every bump completel... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2019
The driver’s seat will work fine on one side but the other side will not go back and forth. This causes problems while driving as my knees are toward my chest and my ability to break is impaired.
Incident date: Jul 30, 2023
Trailer Brake controller DIC shows "check trailer wiring" and Brakes are not functioning. Intermittent issue but mostly no brakes. Lights all work fine. New RV bought in [XXX] testing brakes and DIC indicated issue. Stokes Chevy dealer replaced Brake controller and for 1st 1 1/2 hours on [XXX] no issue. Pulled over for lunch and when restarted truck the issue came back. no brakes or at best interm... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2023
Trailer Brake controller DIC shows "check trailer wiring" and Brakes are not functioning. Intermittent issue but mostly no brakes. Lights all work fine. New RV bought in [XXX] testing brakes and DIC indicated issue. Stokes Chevy dealer replaced Brake controller and for 1st 1 1/2 hours on [XXX] no issue. Pulled over for lunch and when restarted truck the issue came back. no brakes or at best interm... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2023
Headrest deployed with no occupancy or impact. Vehicle was parked in the garage when this occurred.
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
I kept having issues with the drivers seat belt not retracting properly (since purchased new) after use creating a tremendous amount of slack in the belt the next time it was used. I actually had to drive it several times with an extremely slack belt basically just hanging on my lap. Since this is a tri-point seat belt, in the event of a crash the entire belt would fail to keep the seat occupant s... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Dash light warning lights come on and causes the cruise control to stop working. A total of 6 fault lights comes on and also causes the Adaptive Cruise Control to not work. This is the 3rd Freightliner Cascadia that I have driven in the past 3 and a half years and every single truck has had the same problem. Freightliner has refused to acknowledge that there is a problem. Nobody seems to know what... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Dash light warning lights come on and causes the cruise control to stop working. A total of 6 fault lights comes on and also causes the Adaptive Cruise Control to not work. This is the 3rd Freightliner Cascadia that I have driven in the past 3 and a half years and every single truck has had the same problem. Freightliner has refused to acknowledge that there is a problem. Nobody seems to know what... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2014
Front left headlight has no power going to it. Rear right tail light has no power going to it. Third, brake light has no power going to it. Wind shield washer pump has no power going to it. Both rear doors do not lock. This issue is all connected with each other because it fixed itself. Once and they all came back on together and then it went back out.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2014
Car stalled and was hot and battery light turned on.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2014
Car stalled and was hot and battery light turned on.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
"Power steering assist fault" was illuminated in message center. Complete loss of power steering making the vehicle undrivable. Vehicle not covered in recall even though this is a widely know issue in this year's make and model.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
The air conditioner stopped working and a warning message was displayed on the dash stating service hybrid system, immediately after the Vehicle shut off while driving above 70MPH. Fits symptoms of 03A recall. Vehicle at dealership for service. 80 miles driven by Customer total since purchase
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
The air conditioner stopped working and a warning message was displayed on the dash stating service hybrid system, immediately after the Vehicle shut off while driving above 70MPH. Fits symptoms of 03A recall. Vehicle at dealership for service. 80 miles driven by Customer total since purchase
Incident date: Oct 17, 2014
Debra J. Westfall—neighbour—loves controversy, and won’t back down from expressing her anger or bafflement exhibited from half–assed parenting. Funny how she hates us snowflakes for sharing her entitled, materialistic narcissism. Five porch monkeys were using electric scooters on our street when one of them vandalised our driver side taillight. Turnpike commissions can confirm that la... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2014
Network connectivity has stopped making it impossible to use maps, schedule charging, or use the polestar app. This is the second time for this issue. Also the car became completely unresponsive to the key requiring it to be towed. Each time software is updated but no specific cause is noted.
Incident date: Oct 17, 2014
While we were driving to the store, the front sunroof popped and then exploded. Glass shards fell onto my husband and myself and the loud bang sounded like a gun.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
Hello, I refueled my vehicle on 07/11/2023 after a completed service request at First Texas Honda on 06/30/2023. The vehicle now smells like gas or fuel. The smell is overpowering and makes me dizzy when I drive and gives me a headache. The VIN: [XXX] has previously been associated with a recall on the fuel pump. The additional repairs that were completed included: The infotainment system: Th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
It happens way too often, but my automatic emergency braking will brake randomly. Several times I’ve almost been hit by a car behind or in front of me. I also notice when the sun hits the vehicle in front of me just right it will do my automatic braking even when I am not close to the vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Back up camera blurry in day time can't see what's behind you clearly when in reverse that's dangerous took Back to dealership said nothing was wrong no accident
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
My vehicle just randomly shuts off, mainly when making a turn. I took it in to the dealership and had several repairs made but none of them fixed the problem. It’s definitely dangerous I almost had a accident at least 3 times. I feel it’s electrical due to the fact everything shuts off, the dash usually flashes before it shuts off. All electronics shut down and the vehicle turns completely off... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2022
Passenger seat position sensor for the air bag system has failed. This sensor was inspected and supposedly "reinforced" under the GM Recall on this item in 2018, vehicle mileage 22390. It is now 2023, with the vehicle mileage at 25,131. The passenger seat in this vehicle is used very rarely by my wife, so in these 5 years perhaps 400 miles of usage on the component in failure. Contacting GM,... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
My SUV has been jerking really bad when I accelerate it almost feels like whiplash. Every time I take it to the dealer they tell me there's nothing wrong with it. It makes this knocking sound coming from the engine and when I accelerate it doesn't pick up speed.
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
My SUV has been jerking really bad when I accelerate it almost feels like whiplash. Every time I take it to the dealer they tell me there's nothing wrong with it. It makes this knocking sound coming from the engine and when I accelerate it doesn't pick up speed.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
Starting 6 months ago air bag light is on constantly. Horn stopped working, speed control doesn't work. The whole steering wheel and buttons with horn doesn't work.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
Similar to other owners my car has been burning oil at a higher-than-normal rate. Because of this, there has been a carbon build-up causing my engine to start misfiring and stop working while driving on the interstate.