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 2,690 complaints for PORSCHE
Incident date: Jul 20, 2020
Engine light came on while driving . Solid light. Car started to vibrate and felt like it would stall. Engine has only 38,000 miles. Kia Greenway Certified Technicians at Hickory. They charged me $200 for the diagnosis. They later said the check engine code was due to bad fuel injectors, I paid $950 for that service. That day I took the car out and after 5 minutes of driving it I had to go back t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2020
Engine light came on while driving . Solid light. Car started to vibrate and felt like it would stall. Engine has only 38,000 miles. Kia Greenway Certified Technicians at Hickory. They charged me $200 for the diagnosis. They later said the check engine code was due to bad fuel injectors, I paid $950 for that service. That day I took the car out and after 5 minutes of driving it I had to go back t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2020
I purchased the above-referenced car in July 2020 almost immediately after purchase the indicator light came on with Chasis failure and the car lowered to a safe distance to the ground. Unbeknownst to me the car had been declared unsafe to drive previously. The airbags had been deployed and placed backward the front sensors were painted over and not operable. I had to take legal action against fou... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for routine maintenance, the dealer informed the contact that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
The backup camera has frequent delays in activating -- approximately 5 seconds and regularly shows an error message with a black screen stating that the "camera is temporarily unavailable." I'm providing documentation from a November 22nd incident, but it happens more frequently.
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
Driving and suddenly got "engine overheating low coolant stop engine immediately" warning message on instrument cluster. Pulled over and found coolant pouring out of front of engine. There was no warning or signs of prior coolant leakage before this incident. Happened suddenly without warning. Repair shop found coolant pipe assembly part number LR100352 split at seam. This part was just replaced ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
Our 2016 MDX starting peeling paint off the roof. Acura said they extended the warranty for this known defect for an 8 year period. Since this problem just happened we are outside the 8 year extension. The internet is full of similar stories of people like us who have the paint peeling after the bogus 8 year extension. Acura said they aren't responsible. This isn't right.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
My Corvette c6 model has had a longterm issue with the left fuel pump, which I was not made aware of by the local dealership servicing my vehicle or the manufacturer, General Motors. I recently discovered the fuel pump issue, which results in a significant fuel leak thru the bottom left side of the vehicle. GM and the dealership failed to notify me of this issue even though they issued a Special B... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
Transmission unreliable. While crossing a 4 lane highway the engine revved but would not engage.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
The clutch Spring on these trucks have been failing heavily. We have a couple more of these trucks and they all have the same issue. the housing for the clutch springs are cracked or damaged at less than 500,000 miles on a heavy duty truck. These clutches are supposed to last over 1MM miles. Its not a coincidence that every truck we have is failing at the same mileage. These clutches are made defe... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
At Roughly 38000 miles the ABS and Traction control light began going on and off intermittently. Took to local dealer and the replaced the ABS HCU and Module to the tune of $1000. Now 2 years later and 54000 miles and it has failed again doing the same thing. This is a well-known issue for the 2017 & 2018 RAM 2500 pickups like mine. This is a serious safety issue which needs to be addressed and fi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
severe vibration when accelerating and/or going up a hill. As of now my safety has not been at risk, unless you count being scared out of my mind (just turned 76). How do I know it will not fail trying to avoid crazy/careless drivers! The cv axel has been back ordered since Oct 3th 2024. I don't understand why it could take so long for a new part to come in. This has been going on for at least 4 m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
severe vibration when accelerating and/or going up a hill. As of now my safety has not been at risk, unless you count being scared out of my mind (just turned 76). How do I know it will not fail trying to avoid crazy/careless drivers! The cv axel has been back ordered since Oct 3th 2024. I don't understand why it could take so long for a new part to come in. This has been going on for at least 4 m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
I bought this car a few weeks ago and drove only 300 miles so far. I was pulling out of my neighborhood onto the Main Street, when I turned then started to accelerate I received an error saying engine control error and my car came to a screeching halt. The accelerator stopped working and the car made some loud grinding noises and no functions were working.luckily nobody was behind me. I turned off... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
I woke up one day and this is what my door looked like and it shattered my window when I rolled it down. this is the front left drivers door
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
I woke up one day and this is what my door looked like and it shattered my window when I rolled it down. this is the front left drivers door
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
Purchased car on [XXX] less then a week later I tried o purchase Sirius radio for car, however due to being a previous customer I didn’t get a fair enough price for purchase an decided against purchase all together. However due to linking my VIN number ( assuming) kia customer recall center contacted me the very next day called 3xs left me to vmail (still have all voice mails) as KIA Then conti... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
Purchased car on [XXX] less then a week later I tried o purchase Sirius radio for car, however due to being a previous customer I didn’t get a fair enough price for purchase an decided against purchase all together. However due to linking my VIN number ( assuming) kia customer recall center contacted me the very next day called 3xs left me to vmail (still have all voice mails) as KIA Then conti... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
I have been supplied with a number of these turn signal switches that have a failure in the left rear output. There is no indication to the driver that the left rear turn/hazard signal is not working. The only manufacturer identification I have is MPR, these are supplied by UPS.
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
While driving my electric vehicle, I experienced a sudden loss of power. The car abruptly stopped, leaving tire marks on the street, and the steering wheel began shaking. At the same time, an error message appeared on the dashboard, indicating an engine failure and instructing me to pull over immediately for safety. Fortunately, I was driving alone that day and had chosen an alternative residenti... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
I have been supplied with a number of these turn signal switches that have a failure in the left rear output. There is no indication to the driver that the left rear turn/hazard signal is not working. The only manufacturer identification I have is MPR, these are supplied by UPS.
Incident date: Mar 26, 2021
My power vacuum brakes system is not properly working. In order to stop truck I must depress brake pedal very hard just to stop truck. Crunching noise every time. Made several trip to mechanic . I changed many part ( brakes) rotors , still and brake vacuum sensor ( purchase from gmc dealer . Still have this problem. Mechanic states, need new vacuum pump. Very dangerous to drive. Very difficult to ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Driver side door will not lock. I took it to the dealership and they replaced the door handle and it worked for a little while. The vehicle locks after you start driving but when you unlock or open the door you can’t relock the car. This is a safety issue. I have taken it to many repair shops and they say it is not the mechanism, it is the software issue. Land Rover continues to say it is no... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
At times when i start my truck in the morning the power steering is not operational. At other times i may be ten to fifteen miles into my drive and there is sudden loss of power steering with no warning. I came very close this morning to driving off an embankment into a swamp because as i was rounding a curve the power steering failed and the steering wheel violently jerked to right its self to ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Blown head gasket. Had to get it repaired. Steering is catching as well. Probably need a new steering box. It’s been one expensive repair after another.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Blown head gasket. Had to get it repaired. Steering is catching as well. Probably need a new steering box. It’s been one expensive repair after another.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
I was driving my Genesis GV 80 in January and in the Trac near my work and I came out of a s turn and the car seemed to over correct and lost power.. I hit a parked car and it was pushed onto 2 other cars .My front end was damaged and airbags deployed. My seatbelt jerked me and was damages . There have been recalls on this vehicle for fuel pump problem which causes crashes. There's been a recal... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the "Service Engine Soon" warning light was illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle several times; however, the warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who retrieved DTC code: P0600 -which was related to the secondary oil pump. The vehicle was then taken to another dealer where t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2024
OEM Bridgestone Turanza EL440 RFT 245/45 R20 These tires have not retained recommended air pressure for more than a few weeks at a time since new. Inspection earlier this year by a Bridgestone dealer found no problem with a tire that had lost 5 psi in a week. The tire subsequently began making a rotational noise that the Lexus dealer diagnosed as a slipped belt. Having replaced the defective tire... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
While driving on the highway the Transmission on the 2020 F-150 began to switch back and forth from 7th gear to 8th gear and then jump to 10th gear and all of a sudden drop to 1st gear causing a skid to happen. A orange colored wrench came on the dashboard after the skid took place. I brought the truck to the dealership where I bought it and and requested a new transmission be installed. This be... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
The truck is only three years old with 123,000 miles and the transmission needs to be replaced. I took the truck to Chevy and they said the transmission is bad and they need to replace it. GM and Chevy will NOT cover the cost to replace the transmission or help with any cost. This truck is fairly new and it's a lot that the transmission is already bad. Chevy quoted me $7,990 for new transmission w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Fiat 124 Spider. The contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle had been towed to the dealer several times where battery, spark plugs, starter, and other engine parts were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred approximately one year later. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but off... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2024
My complaint number 11461471 , I made this complaint on 04/20/2022 about my 2017 GMC Sierra 1500.my truck is have the same problems that the GMC trucks recalled. As I stated when I filed my complaint with NHTSA and GMC. I carried my truck back to the dealership 7 times and complained about the problem. Once my warranty expired no one want to talk about the problem with the transmission. I started... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
During rain this evening, water intruded from sunroof area. Learned this is extremely common problem alleged to be due to shrinking sunroof seals. This dripping water can potentially cause loss of control of the vehicle due to falling water intrusion causing foot controls to become wet. In addition, electrical malfunctions may occur possibly causing fire or other problems. I am also including a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
Sitting in parking lot when a malfunction warning popped up with the dashboard lit up. Steering wheel, traction control, front and rear collision control and chassis system control system error. Had car towed to the dealership to find out it was DAST Steering control units. EPS/DAST 3 DTC C13D5-00 Control module, Chassis Control DTC C1B90-00 DAST System, DAST 1 DTC C13E9-00 Booting Angle Processin... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2024
Sudden power electrical failure while driving on a city avenue. The car suddenly had no power, the engine goes off, the sterring become very stiff and there was a message saying electrical system error
Incident date: Nov 10, 2024
Heater core failure Have had the heater core replaced 2 times at a dealership and have had it worked on at other dealerships The heater core is a know problem with this volkswagen model due to the block being casted in sand and not being cleaned out properly This problem with the heater core is a issue i think needs to be addressed and poses a serious problem for people who live in states with... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2024
small to much gas inside the cab and outside and bouth seatbelt doosent work corectly
PORSCHE
PANAMERA 4S
(2010) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 4, 2024
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
Bought this car on Monday by Wednesday the check engine light went on and had gone off the following day. The next week Friday the check engine light went on and the acceleration was not changing out of gear. Staying at one speed on the highway. Finally got the car in and the car has transmission problems. The car is brand new!!
Incident date: Nov 2, 2024
The drivers side Pilar applique which house the keyless entry came off while driving. It appears it is held on with double sided tape. If it were to fly off it would have posed a problem for other motorists and pedestrians. When looking up for other insidents online found this is a regular occurrence in this vehicle. I was able to double sided tape it again to fix temporary. However it occurs from... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2025 BMW X7. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V104000 (Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Service Brakes, Hydraulic); 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 exp... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
Brakes Made loud squeaks noise when in reverse. Have taken into dealer multiple times and not fixed. They say an issue with Bronco Sports but my vin does not show on recall. Worried about brake failures or issues that could arise. They replaced front rotors and deglazed pads. Spent 462.19 and problem never fixed.
Incident date: Oct 27, 2024
The engine went on fire and smoke’s up. I had to remove the battery and get out of the car before it burn. Luckily I am okay but the engine seized
Fire
Incident date: Oct 27, 2024
THE PCM UNIT WHICH CONTROLS THE CARS COMPUTERS KEEPS SHUTTING ON AND OFF SAYING DO NOT DRIVE. GET SERVICE ….. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON MANY CARS AND THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION SUIT REGARDING A RECALL. IT IS NOW CLOSED AND I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED.
Incident date: Oct 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine block had failed, causing coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
Hood support strut failed suddenly allowing hood to close forcefully nearly hitting me while working in the engine bay. Vehicle has no positive latch or prop mechanism to prevent hood closing in event of gas strut failure.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2024
Key FOB will not be detected onboard by the system after start and alarm persist for more than 30-45 minutes.
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
Honda 2025 CR-V AWD. Fuel Mileage decreased from 31 MPG to 22 MPG on [xxx] on [XXX] Highway Trip leaving Vernon Hills, Illinois with Cruise Control and Economy Mode Set. There was no Engine Performance Problem and no errors were indicated. The car dashboard displayed the average mileage as 22-23 MPG while leaving our hotel and stayed that way most of the day. So the decreased fuel mileage mo... Read more