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: Jun 12, 2023
High oil consumption- needed to add additional oil before 3,000 miles post oil change. This has happened for the last three oil changes. This last time, exactly 3,000 miles post oil change, there was no oil at all. Oil sensor light went on to indicate low oil.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
When going down a parking ramp exit, my foot has slipped off the brake 3 time. When looking at the brake pedal it is smaller than most brake pedals. I don't know if anyone else has had this problem, but mandating a minimal size for brake pedal might help
Crash
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
My acc went out along with my collision mitigation system and no accident just for no reason.
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
Daughter drives this vehicle to college...4hrs via highway. On a recent trip home, her passenger side windshield trim flew off and nearly it the car behind her. I gave her a hard time about not stopping to pick it up but you can't just do that on the interstate. Looking around, we see lots of Ford Explorers with missing windshield trim. The rubber windshield seal underneath looks in bad shape ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The engine cradle as well as the engine mounts along with the subframe have deteriorated uncommonly fast resulting in the vehicle involuntarily swerving into other lanes of traffic
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The engine cradle as well as the engine mounts along with the subframe have deteriorated uncommonly fast resulting in the vehicle involuntarily swerving into other lanes of traffic
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
my 2006 prius has 170000 miles, recently has abs brake actuator making sounds everytime when turn off.
Incident date: May 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50- 55 mph, the vehicle caught fire. There was an abnormal burning odor detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver was able to use her fire extinguisher and extinguish the fire. There were no reported injuries, police reports filed, or air bag deployments. The vehicle was towed to an independe... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the steering wheel chanel needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000. The me... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2023
Headlights are dangerously dim. Replacing the bulbs did not help. I am forced to either use high beams or not drive at night.
Incident date: Apr 6, 2021
During routine maintenance (motor oil change), I discovered the transfer case leaking oil from a sealing cap. Upon further investigation, I discovered Land Rover is aware of the issue and they have a Technical Bulletin (LTB00834NAS1) for the repair. I contacted Land Rover Corporate and the local dealer, they both refused to repair it free of charge since the vehicle is out of warranty. This is ... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2002) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 29, 2023
Incident date: May 27, 2023
ABS ESC constantly flashes and chimes non stop…. Failed control to wheels in wet weather conditions/ no cruise control/ 4x4
Incident date: Feb 9, 2021
The car will NOT start with a ESC warranty
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(1998) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 26, 2023
Incident date: May 5, 2023
When my car is configured to one pedal driving mode (iPedal), the brake lights only illuminate when the accelerator pedal is fully released. This means the car may decelerate rapidly (up to 0.25G or 2.5m/s^2 according to a report) under regenerative braking, while the brake lights remain off. I believe this is a safety hazard that can increase the chances of rear-end accidents.
Incident date: May 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, several warning lights would flash on the instrument panel as the speedometer would fail to operate. The contact stated that the speedometer would read 0 MPH while the vehicle was in motion. The contact notified the dealer after the failure and had the vehicle towed to their location. The contact was... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was purchased, but they offered no assistance. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Incident date: May 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving at 10 MPH, the steering wheel became stiff without any warning, causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle drove into a parking lot. The contact desperately pressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle would not stop. The contact jumped out of the vehicle and the vehicle struck a pole, causing minor damages to ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the tailgate opened independently twice. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V983000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer h... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
Shannon bell private dealer is selling this car with a unrepairable cv axel. I purchased it and di my home work he rolled the miles back. He's falsely advertising it as clean tie and 190 something miles. That's even less then when I had it. Air bag lights are on and he unplugged the wires along with seatbelt so the lights don't show.
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Jaguar XE. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the instrument cluster went blank, and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that an unknown service required message and other unknown warning lights were illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer on three separate occasions however, the failures could not b... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2020
The 2023 Nissan Rogue which we bought in January 2923 smells of exhaust inside the car while running. We have experienced it when the car was just being started up after being parked and also while driving. It is off and on and hard to replicate for dealer. The exhaust smell is so strong that windows have to be opened and it is still nauseating. The garage smells of gasoline sometimes when the ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2020
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Palisade. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V633000 (Trailer Hitches) 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. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact ha... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2023
Both sliding doors on my dodge caravan stop locking/unlocking. The driver side door stopped working while in the locked position and the door will not unlock from inside or outside of the vehicle. This is a safety hazard, especially while having kids in the back and the door will not open at all. I have read online that this is a common issue, but is not a recall. This should be a recall since the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2023
Vehicle stalled while driving 60mph , vehicle overheated upon restarting
Incident date: Apr 19, 2023
Vehicle stalled while driving 60mph , vehicle overheated upon restarting
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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. Parts distributi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2023
1. Phantom Braking occurring often and no release date for firmware update. Not sure how to avoid rear end collision even when attentive. 2. Inaccurate speed limits, forward collision warnings, inaccurate green light chimes. 3. Autowiper which is working for other manufacturers over decade is beta in tesla. Previous 5 service center visits confirm as working and in 6th visit they say as beta. Th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
Most likely due to manufacturing defect or other issue related to, coolant is mixing into the engine cylinder causing a cylinder misfire. My vehicle is outside of the original manufacturer's warranty by about a year and now needs a new engine due to this defect. At 68,363 miles, there should not be a need for a new $6,000 plus tax engine with zero accountability or apology from Ford. This should h... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
The car stalled on several occasions in mid traffic and while driving. The car issued a warning that it was about to catch on fire. It took my son two hrs to get home, The clutch has to be shift in nurtural to turn on. In which a module has to be replaced; 1000.00 Upon taking it to be repaired I was told that the clutch failed causing transmission issues as well which could result in over 5,000 w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
Praise God no incident at this time. But I've had a Ford mechanic look at the codes my Escape is giving, has seen how it drives and told me the CVP is stuck. This is the exact same issue as for the Fuel Tank Deformation recall Ford currently has out. Because I could not afford the repair I'm driving on a wing and a prayer. But now I see that my vehicle should be included in that recall and doing w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
2nd row passenger side bucket seat seatbelt no longer latches. Car has less than 35,000 miles. Seat is no longer able to be occupied legally. My child in booster seat uses that seat belt and could have become unsecured while driving which would have put him at risk if there was an accident or would have had to brake quickly. Seatbelt has not been inspected by anyone at this time. No warning or sym... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2023
rust under the rear wheel wells
Incident date: Mar 29, 2023
When driving into direction of the sun, the design of the hood has a reflection that hits the driver right in the eye with a magnified and stunningly bright glare. It is so blinding even with sunglassses on that I have to drive with one hand up in view of driving blocking it in order to be able to continue driving. It is every time you drive into the direction of the sun. Incredibly dangerous.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2023
Just completed a 3 day cross country trip from Palm Desert CA to Saint Paul MN. On a long highway trip like this, we rely on 'cruise control' to maintain consistent highway speeds. Tesla provides adaptive cruise control as a feature of Autopilot. On numerous occasions, the adaptive cruise control unexpectedly stopped, causing the vehicle to slow, or unexpectedly braked hard causing the vehicle to ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
I was turning into a parking spot and heard a loud “snap” coming from my wheel. The “error: airbag” light came on and all electrical on my wheel stopped working. And the horn does not work. I googled it and my year and model has a recall for the clock spring. It says my airbag will not deploy. I have no way to change the computer screen. So I can’t digitally see my speed and I can’t up... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
I was driving home from work at night when my 2019 Hyundai Elantra Sport (just found out has the wrong VIN) lost all power and felt like it wasn’t running on all cylinders. I switched it to sport mode had a little more power for about 2 mins then my car died completely. I had to pull over thankfully I made it to the bottom of the pass and coasted into a gas station while I waited for a tow truck... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2007) - SEAT BELTS
Mar 28, 2023
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
This concerns the front seat belts in the car. I am just over five feet tall. Even with the seatbelt adjusted to the lowest position on the door post, the anchor point for the shoulder portion is six inches above my shoulder. This occurs on both sides of the vehicle, driver and passenger front seats. The seat belt runs across the left side of my neck when in the driver's seat, with the seat approp... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2007) - UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Mar 28, 2023
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
Engine shuts down on stop. Normal. But sometimes when I take my foot off the pedal, the starter grinds unusually long and when the engine does restart the vehicle lunges forward. As my foot is instinctively on the accelerator, this sometimes could cause a rear end collision with another vehicle. This scenario has twice caused the engine light to come on. No related codes detected by dealer. The ... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2007) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 28, 2023
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
Engine shuts down on stop. Normal. But sometimes when I take my foot off the pedal, the starter grinds unusually long and when the engine does restart the vehicle lunges forward. As my foot is instinctively on the accelerator, this sometimes could cause a rear end collision with another vehicle. This scenario has twice caused the engine light to come on. No related codes detected by dealer. The ... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2007) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 28, 2023
Incident date: Jun 19, 2021
While driving my 2015 GMC Canyon my power steering service light goes on and I have no power steering making difficult and dangerous to control my vehicle. Also, at the same a service stabilitrak light goes on. I'm aware of a recall for this problem as been issued for 2015 GMC trucks but so reason my truck is not included in this recall even though I am experiencing the same problems for which the... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2023
Catastrophic "Critical" coolant system failure. Resulting in vehicle completely disabled on the roadside. Police and Fire Dept. responded. I have been communicating with Jaguar North Scottsdale and Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC for resolution. The Coolant System defective parts were identified in 2017, newly designed "y" pipe and outlet pipes, single extruded pipes, have been available since... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
While driving, the driver door clicks as if someone is locking/unlocking the door and suddenly a warning appears that the driver door is not locked. Unlocked door is safety hazard to the driver and other passenger within the car, and passerby as it’s likely that the door might swing open suddenly. An appointment will be made with a dealer to investigate. When the door unlocks a warning light i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The vehicle stability control system randomly engages and activates the brakes without cause. This can happen on a gentle curve going under the speed limit. It is very scary and I am afraid it is going to cause an accident. Internet research shows many owners with this issue and no information on the cause or a fix
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The vehicle stability control system randomly engages and activates the brakes without cause. This can happen on a gentle curve going under the speed limit. It is very scary and I am afraid it is going to cause an accident. Internet research shows many owners with this issue and no information on the cause or a fix
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
2017 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-413. THE DEALER STATED THE FORD ESCAPE WAS NO LONGER MOTORABLE AND NEEDED EXTENSIVE TRANSMISSION REPAIRS. FORD IS ASSISTING WITH 40% OF THE RECALL REPAIRS.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Back left door will not open, from inside or outside. Has happen before and then will open a few days later. this time it’s been a week. Black paint also needs to be recalled.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Back left door will not open, from inside or outside. Has happen before and then will open a few days later. this time it’s been a week. Black paint also needs to be recalled.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owned a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 2 mph, the vehicle seized and multiple warning lights were illuminated. The contact saw fire exiting from under the hood and under the vehicle. The contact was able to exit the vehicle safely before it was engulfed in fire. The fire department extinguished the fire but no fire report was filed. A police report was filed. The... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stopped abruptly without warning. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the dealer agreed that the vehicle had experienced a failure however, the dealer was unsur... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that he noticed that the subframe was excessively rusted. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer for routine oil change and tire rotation services, and after the contact made the mechanic aware of the failure, he was informed that the vehicle could not be raised up on the lift because the subframe had excessive rust and would fracture. The... Read more