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 2,780 complaints for PORSCHE
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Porsche Macan S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V656000 (Exterior Lighting) 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 contact called various local dealers who confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall r... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
The transfer case on my car has been confirmed by two different mechanics that it needs to be replaced. Porsche no longer makes or sells the original transfer case and components, so the entire transfer case needs to be replaced, at a cost of approximately $5,000. Porsche extended the warranty for the transfer case for up to 10 years, but I was never notified or made aware of this extension. Be... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
There is an open recall on my Porsche boxster, the Porsche recall number for this is AMC0. The recall involves reprogramming the car to reduce emissions in sport+ mode. My car has an aftermarket tune on the ECU, and the porsche dealership has told me that the recall is not possible due to this modification. If I want to get the recall done, they want me to pay to replace the ECU/DME. I also consen... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2020
The Cayman S model with V6, 3.4L motor, commonly referenced as a 9A1 motor had been self destructing with increasing amounts of metal slivers/chips found in the drained oil, oil filter and oil filter housing. The in-warranty Porsche dealer "installed oil" was first inspected by my shop at 27,031 mi - alarmingly metal was found, PIC attached. Metal was non magnetic, appearing to be aluminium. Subse... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2018
The contact owns a 2004 Porsche Cayenne. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V656000 (Exterior Lighting), 19V446000 (Power Train), and 17V576000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the fuel gaug... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2005 Porsche Cayenne. The contact stated that while refueling the vehicle with the engine running, the vehicle shut off. The vehicle hesitated while restarting. The contact detected fuel leaking from the vehicle. The check engine and oil light warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2018
The contact owns a 2004 Porsche Cayenne. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V656000 (Exterior Lighting), 19V446000 (Power Train), and 17V576000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the fuel gaug... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2018
The contact owns a 2004 Porsche Cayenne. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V656000 (Exterior Lighting), 19V446000 (Power Train), and 17V576000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the fuel gaug... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2022
I own a 2015 Porsche Macan turbo which I purchased new from the Chattanooga Tennessee Porsche dealer. On Tuesday, October 18 2022 while driving at normal highway speeds the engine coolant pipe failed and dumped all of my coolant onto the engine and roadway. Red warning lights came on and I pulled over and stoped the car it had to be towed to the Porsche dealership where I was subsequently charged ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
The 2020 Macan developed extreme shakes with 14,000 miles. I had to replace rear brakes and rotors at 14,000 and fronts brakes and rotors at 21,000 at a cost of $3,000.00. Porsche has denied payment for these defective parts. They should recall and fix this ridiculous brake and rotor failures before someone is killed.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2022
The display is one LED unified panel and it goes dark and loses its ability to function while the car is in motion. It will prompt you to reboot while the car is in motion. In order to reboot the system driver must lean forward toward the passenger seat left portion of the screen and take 1 hand off the wheel to reboot and takes ones eyes away from the view plane of the road for more than 5 second... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Porsche Panamera. The contact received a phone call and was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V656000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer notified the contact of the recall and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and referred him to several dealers for assist... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2022
The vehicle has stalled out repeatedly while driving. When starting from an intersection it will lose all power and a turtle icon shows up on the screen and the car will not move more than 5 MPH. After rolling to a stop, and restarting the car drives okay. Then a few days or a week, month later, it happens again. Also, the PCM repeatedly weekly, fails to boot up and I have no backup camera or ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
When I first purchased my car, it reversed while the car was on auto hold while I was on a steep hill with a stoplight. There was no way to stop the car as the break didn’t work somehow it worked when I slammed the gas. The dealership said it was a software issue so they updated it. A few months later it was worse. I tried to put the car in park and slam the brakes but it didn’t work. I don’... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
New car was dead on arrival due to electrical system error. Still not able to fixed after 2 months.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
New car was dead on arrival due to electrical system error. Still not able to fixed after 2 months.
Incident date: Oct 14, 2022
My Taycan suddenly lost power while driving on the road on 10/14/2022
Incident date: Oct 6, 2022
The car is notifying me that the drivers airbag is not working. the message that appears is: “Airbag system error, please visit workshop”
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2005 Porsche Cayenne. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V576000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the contact stated that while driving, he smelled a fuel odor throughout the vehicle. The contact stated that he started to feel dizzy and pulled the vehicle off the roadway. The contact then stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, he noticed that fue... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Porsche Mobile Charger overheats, rated for 9.6kw but due to safety concerns Porsche adjusted default rate to 4.8kw. Rate can be reset to 9.6 each charge session increasing risk of fire.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2020
The door panels are warping and detaching from the door. I'm sure the airbags should be affected as well. I have contacted Porche America but no one calls except customer service who keeps no records of previous calls.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2020
The door panels are warping and detaching from the door. I'm sure the airbags should be affected as well. I have contacted Porche America but no one calls except customer service who keeps no records of previous calls.
Incident date: Sep 17, 2022
When driving the vehicle, the center console screen (the Porsche Communication Manager), spontaneously went blank/black. The screen appeared to reboot while the car was on and froze with the word "PORSCHE" across the center screen. The screen inoperable while the car was in motion. The navigation, climate control, back-up camera, radio, and many other controls are all utilize through this cente... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
The car experiences issue, after issue, including but not limited to collision alert warning not functioning, lane change assist failure, and the alarm sounding (disturbing the peace). As Porsche fixes the issues one by one, other matters emerge. The latest is the antania, and communications.
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
The car experiences issue, after issue, including but not limited to collision alert warning not functioning, lane change assist failure, and the alarm sounding (disturbing the peace). As Porsche fixes the issues one by one, other matters emerge. The latest is the antania, and communications.
Incident date: Sep 22, 2022
The car experiences issue, after issue, including but not limited to collision alert warning not functioning, lane change assist failure, and the alarm sounding (disturbing the peace). As Porsche fixes the issues one by one, other matters emerge. The latest is the antania, and communications.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Porsche Panamera. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the vehicle would unintentionally roll forward without warning. The contact also stated that the gear selector lights would flash during the failure. The contact stated that upon restart of the vehicle, the vehicle would temporarily operate as needed; however, the failure would return. The contact called t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
I fear a possible non-detection of front passenger. The “Airbag warning lamp” or “Passenger Airbag OFF” lamp is activated. I fear the front passenger airbag may not deploy in a type of a crash in which it is designed to deploy. My VIN is not falling under the AMA2 Recall campaign even though I feel it should be.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2022
othe car's tach increase several hundred RPM as the computer tries to match revs when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd gear in Normal Mode and 2nd to 1st gear in Sport Mode.. When that happens, the car lurches forward. owhat seems to be happening is the engine is over-revving while disengaged from a gear on shifts from 3rd to 2nd and even more so on 2nd to 1st causing a lurch forward when the lower g... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
My air conditioner/heater fan does not come on after car has been sitting for a few days in a humid climate. This problem is documented with a temporary fix on the static.nhsta.gov site. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10186302-0001.pdf The problem is it happens to me every week or so. There is no permanent fix. This is a safety issue because without the fan motor the defroster doesn't ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Porsche Taycan. The contact had experienced a failure when he lost power on the road. The vehicle was an electric vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V404000 (Power Train, Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall re... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2022
While the vehicle is in both Drive and reverse, the car randomly will shift itself into either neutral or park without warning. The first event occurred while in reverse and actively moving, the car shifted into neutral on its own. No warning lights or messages appeared. The following 2 incidents, while driving on city streets, at a stop sign in one instance and at a stop light in the other, the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2022
This is the second time this brand of tire has slipped off the wheel while on the Highway at 55 miles an hour or better. It put me as the driver at severe risk and the car has been damaged twice now. The tire size is Continentals Sport Plus 265/35 ZR 18. They were like new with little mileage. This is a collector item car and cost to repair is great, not to mention how it has forever created a fe... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2022
My 2022 Taycan does not show to be one included in the electrical issue recall, however I am experiencing the center screen going dark while driving. Only had the car a little over a week, and it has happen twice, both times on the freeway. Not going slow or stopping, about 60-70MPH. went off for about 20-30 seconds then came back on.
Incident date: Jul 30, 2022
Driving at night at ~72 mph on a 65 mph divided highway with no traffic nearby the Collision Warning message appeared on the dash and the car noticeably slowed perhaps 5-10 mph. Then the msg cleared itself and the trip was completed otherwise uneventfully.
Incident date: Jul 30, 2022
Driving at night at ~72 mph on a 65 mph divided highway with no traffic nearby the Collision Warning message appeared on the dash and the car noticeably slowed perhaps 5-10 mph. Then the msg cleared itself and the trip was completed otherwise uneventfully.
Incident date: Jul 28, 2022
The vehicle lurches forward dangerously when coming to a complete stop. The brakes seem to release as the vehicle lurches forward.
Incident date: Jul 28, 2022
The vehicle lurches forward dangerously when coming to a complete stop. The brakes seem to release as the vehicle lurches forward.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
There was a different amount of pressure needed to apply to the break when at lower speeds vs higher speeds. At lower speeds there was less responsiveness to the breaks and more pressure was required to stop the car. We brought the car to the dealer and dealer reported the car was fine. The problem persisted and an error message came on that said "break fluid low- bring to dealer". The car was bro... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
The car shifted from drive to park twice within a 10 minute drive unexpectedly. Both times occurred while driving under 5 mph and stopped at a traffic light. This is a brand new car with less than 2000 mi on it.
PORSCHE
TAYCAN
(2022) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:CHARGING:CABLE/CORD:ACCESSORY
Jul 29, 2022
Incident date: Jun 18, 2022
While charging was in progress using Porsche's app at a charging station of Electrify America, the charging process suddenly stopped, when I switched from the app to an email app. And since the charging station displayed "Please unplug", I was unplugging a charging cable from a Taycan's charging port, then there was an explosion at the port with an ear-splitting bang and a large spark. The car das... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
I own a 2012 Porsche Cayenne. Transfer case broke at 33,000 miles and was replaced by the dealer, and now it broke again at 55,000 miles. Repair cost is $6,340 plus tax. It broke under the warranty period but Porsche gave me the runaround and told me they wouldn't check it until after some body damage was complete (more details below). Honestly feel like I'm getting gouged with faulty parts. Many... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
I own a 2012 Porsche Cayenne. Transfer case broke at 33,000 miles and was replaced by the dealer, and now it broke again at 55,000 miles. Repair cost is $6,340 plus tax. It broke under the warranty period but Porsche gave me the runaround and told me they wouldn't check it until after some body damage was complete (more details below). Honestly feel like I'm getting gouged with faulty parts. Many... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
When the car was in Drive (D) mode but stationary at a red light, it abruptly went in to park (P) without any user intervention. Had to reengage the drive mode to move forward. Problem has occurred at least twice before (months apart) without any reproducibility. I did bring it to the dealer once but they did not find any abnormal logs. Latest occurrence on 7/6/2022 at approximately 6:15 PM Los... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
When the car was in Drive (D) mode but stationary at a red light, it abruptly went in to park (P) without any user intervention. Had to reengage the drive mode to move forward. Problem has occurred at least twice before (months apart) without any reproducibility. I did bring it to the dealer once but they did not find any abnormal logs. Latest occurrence on 7/6/2022 at approximately 6:15 PM Los... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
November 27,2021 Electrical System Failure . Car was parked in a parking lot . RED system failure error . After 30 minutes the car started and I drove it to Town Motors Porsche , Englewood NJ (purchase dealer). They had car for ~ 3 weeks and "everything is fine." July 6th 2022: Identical Electrical Systems failure . Again while car was parked in my garage . Car started on its own several hours la... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
November 27,2021 Electrical System Failure . Car was parked in a parking lot . RED system failure error . After 30 minutes the car started and I drove it to Town Motors Porsche , Englewood NJ (purchase dealer). They had car for ~ 3 weeks and "everything is fine." July 6th 2022: Identical Electrical Systems failure . Again while car was parked in my garage . Car started on its own several hours la... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2022
It appears that the vehicle 12volt system battery has failed and I am unable to move the vehicle . I have tried to charge the 12volt battery but the car remains undrivable. I had the car towed to the dealership and they have said that the car needs a new 12Volt battery but it is on backorder and that they continue to work with the factory to resolve the issue.
PORSCHE
718 BOXSTER
(2021) - BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Jun 30, 2022
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
There is an intermittent problem where the backup camera fails to display an image when the gear selector is in Reverse. Backup camera reveals hazards that are not visible from the driver’s seat. Dealer has so far had three opportunities to diagnose the problem (and failed). Dealer was provided video of engaging reverse while the display failed to show an image. No other inspections were done... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
In the center of the lane on a straight highway, vehicle will suddenly brake without warning. There are no vehicles ahead. A warning light comes on the dash and says “Driver Control Required,” yet both my hands are on the steering wheel. The feeling is that of a brake check performed by the electronic sensors of the car, and not at the driver’s command. Had there been a car following behi... Read more