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 29,025 complaints for RAM
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
The 8th generation of the VW Golf (and 7th generation Jetta) has a dangerous Hill Start Assist for manual transmission cars that cannot be disabled. When stopped on an incline, the car holds the brakes after the driver removes their foot from the pedal for a variable amount of time (upwards of 2 seconds), which was originally designed to help start on steep inclines. This is dangerous for a numb... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
As with many Hyundai vehicles, soon after I hit 100,000 miles, there was unbeknownst to me and oil leak that caused the engine to seize. There was no indicatior lights warning of the issue. My car’s has been maintained, and although this is under warranty, Hyundai is refusing to fix the issue because I cannot produce oil receipts for the past 4 1/2 years that I’ve owned the car. Those that I ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
When wet, during rain or after a car wash. The engine will rev, the car will shake, and then shut off. I believe it’s the alternator.
Incident date: Mar 3, 2025
On March 3rd, This dealership replaced the stop sale safety recall on our Commercial vehicle (C4B) with a part that was not created for our truck. This resulted in hydraulic brake fluid spewing out of the HCU all over significant areas under the hood, including the ABS Module and wiring. Upon realizing the HCU was spewing hydraulic brake fluid, we brought the truck back on March 7th, and again, t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2007 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving into a parking area, the contact heard a loud bang, prompting the contact to attempt to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the brake pedal needed to be pumped several times before the vehicle came to a stop. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the rear passenger side tire was punctured, and the bra... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2025
Vehicle had several non-starts. I took it to the dealer a couple of times and they could not duplicate the problem. This problem continued for a couple years before I took it to an independent mechanic. Said mechanic put it on a lift and found a loose power cable barely connected to the starter. Luckily this never caused a short, spark, or fire. From my searching online it appears this is a non-in... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2024
While driving on the highway, I heard a loud POP coming from the roof of my vehicle. I have a panoramic sunroof. I then pulled over and saw that my sunroof had shattered. The car is less than two years old. I did some research and discovered that I was not the first person to whom this happened. I contacted Jeep, and they were no help with it. They stated they were not responsible for anything and... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The coil packs of the 2020 model have gotten a reputation for going out with no warning. It often happens well driving. In my case, two went bad and I had to limp home. Riding like this can further damage the engine. In some cases this happens to people when they are far away from any place and can end up stranded. A quick Google search of this model in year and coil packs will yield thousands of ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the A-pillar trim on the driver’s side windshield started to detach. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
When moving the shifter to the "P" position after parking, the car will refuse to turn off with the message on the dash: "Action Needed: Shift to Park". Shifter is in Park position but car will not recognize this and does not turn off. The issue can sometimes be resolved by pressing the shifter knob button repeatedly, or by pulling the shifter all the way back to drive and forth to park multiple t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
Able to shift vehicle from park to gear without brake depressing. Truck jumps from park to reverse without being started. Yellow lights indicators for gear selected. Vehicle has died 3 times, once on highway lost total control of vehicle then turned on by itself. Once loaded with with a trailer turning off highway vehicle died lost power steering and engine functions. Vehicle died total blackou... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Buick Envision. The contact stated that while stopped in traffic on the highway, while accelerating, the transmission started slipping and the vehicle jerked abnormally before starting to drive normally. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that additional diagnostic testing was needed to determine the cause o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
Front exhaust bracket detached from exhaust. An issue that has resulted in a hole in my exhaust. This same issue has been identified and warranty extended for 2019 and 2021 enclaves with the same engine and exhaust parts. Dealership wants to change $1000 to fix the issue.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The vehicle would not start. It is a known problem with this PHEV that if car is not used for a couple of days the 12v battery becomes depleted and the car cannot be started and all systems of the car are dead.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
Vehicle dash lights will come on while driving (wrench light specifically) and vehicle looses all power and drops to 0 RPM 0 Speed. This has happened multiple times and is extremely dangerous! After 4 months, we finally got our appointment at a Ford dealership where they diagnosed the lead frame needs to be replaced. Truck is a 2013 Ford F150 with 114,000 miles and there is a bulletin for this ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
Vehicle broke down on 12/1/2024. Had it towed to the nearest dealership. Dealership claimed that gasoline was pumped into the tank. We knew that wasn't the case. I called the store we last used for fuel and spoke to the manager. She was able to pull my wife up on surveillance and verified that she pumped diesel fuel from a "diesel fuel only" pump on 11/21/24. We also verified that the fuel i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving 40-45 MPH, the instrument panel lights started blinking, and the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound before shutting off. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over onto the median. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed wit... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
Car has two horns, both STOPPED working completely about 2 1/2 years ago and were replaced by the Hyundai dealer in Florence, SC. High pitch horn failed again about 1 year ago, and low pitch horn has now failed. Local Hyundai dealership in Pensacola, FL npow wants $800 to replace what should be fully covered. Car now has 75,00 miles so they say it us out of warrenty. But, a safety issue on a k... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2025
ABS module inoperative, needs replaced. Brake light,ABS light and downhill assist lights all illuminated as dash warning lights. Jeep has no replacment or repair option available. This is my second report for this problem.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2025
When driving over 65 miles per hour you lose control of steering - known as the death wobble.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
Headlights were replaced under the 3yr/36k mile warranty just prior to the 3 yr mark due to the clear coat peeling and headlights showing excessive wear and scratching. 6 months after replacement, the replaced headlights are showing the same signs of clear coat peeling and excessive wear and scratching, far sooner than the original 3 yr mark. The headlight condition continues to deteriorate and ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while shifting the gear shifter into park(P), the "Shift to Park” message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was forced to shift from drive(D) to Park(P) repeatedly before the failure was corrected. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel would become sticky with the "Stee... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
The driver side mirror is unusable. The mirror it self shakes so much while driving you cannot see anything clearly or safely.
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
Headlights and taillights are fogging/hazing up to where they dimmed out the lights when turned on making is somewhat difficult to see or others behind me to see me.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
The engine in my 2021 Kia Soul has been experiencing serious performance issues consistent with Recall SC336. The vehicle has erratic RPM fluctuations while idling and has stalled multiple times at stoplights and in traffic. When this happens, it fails to restart immediately, leaving me stranded and creating a serious safety risk. The vehicle has been at Step One Kia in Fort Walton Beach, FL, for ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
Our stop/start feature consistently causes the car to stall instead of restarting the engine. This leaves us stranded in or at intersections while waiting for the car to respond to pressing the park and restart buttons. This regularly takes enough time we have narrowly avoided being hit multiple times from suddenly not being able to move. Because it can turn off at any time you are fully stoped we... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
I bought this car for 6000$ in the month of November. I checked everything while buying the car. I did checked the oil level the engine sound its condition and transmission. I did the oil change myself after buying and once in the middle. Suddenly on Feb 16th it got stopped on the middle of the highway. After lot research I see there are thousands of complaints for the kia optima’s and Hyundai S... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
Air vent under steering wheel does not provide proper clearance for brake applications. Foot gets tangled/caught on vent. Had a few close calls during emergency situations. Problem gets worse with thicker sole shoes.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2025
Service anti thief system when trying to start truck message comes on sometimes
Incident date: Jan 17, 2025
Lost power steering without any warning it got very stiff i could not steer the car it got electric power steering pump not mechanical. i want online and this vehicle is made by GM / Opel . many people having the same issue .and parts are discontinuned and only available as used or you can get it shipped from Europe.
Incident date: Mar 13, 2025
Vehicle is slightly off-balance no matter if I do an alignment ball joints seem to always get affected. I’m not sure if the hydraulics are working correctly. Yesterday I just started leaking antifreeze fluid.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2025
At stop light turning right, the car stalled, cut on and cut back off, cut on and back off with about 30 cars behind me. Sputtering. On the dash board it said “Engine power reduced”. I had to be pushed out a main highway by police, and thankfully my [XXX] daughter wasn’t in the back seat. I have had this car 12 days with 48256 miles on it. I’m extremely concerned with the safety of this c... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2025
I purchased a Ford Escape 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin on [XXX] from Dorsch Ford Dealership. On October 7, 2023 I tried to start my vehicle and the battery was drained/dead. This continued through January of 2024, and I received a new battery. I thought the problem was fixed. Not so, and it has continued throughout the past two years. My vehicle will go into Deep Sleep Mode at different times of t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
Abs module went out. Lights on dash turned on. Abs light, steering wheel light, break light, traction control light, took to the mechanic says it's the Abs module.
Incident date: Mar 16, 2025
Lost connection with the restraint control module. I have 97,000 miles on my truck., and the air bags module malfunctioned at the same time. Now I am a bit worried about driving my truck.
Incident date: Mar 16, 2025
Engine overheats. Stalls while driving. Seizes up. Coolant intrusion
Fire
Incident date: Mar 13, 2025
I purchased the truck used five days ago from a dealership and today the engine shut off on me approximately 12 times. Most occurred while putting the truck into reverse or drive. I was exiting my driveway and the engine turned off halfway into the street. I was unable to move it and since I had to pick up my child, I left the truck halfway in my drive way and half on the street. When I return... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
I recently bought vehicle seen there is a recall
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
valve train/camshaft fairlure which damaged entire engine - happened at 99,650 miles
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
12v battery warning light and ion Lucian battery light came on manufacture does not want to buy back and apple car play keeps breaking.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
MGU (Motor-Generator Unit) is a 48-volt belt-driven motor is malfunctioning. I reported the incident multiple times and been told that MGU part number 68623194AB has been on back ordered for months. They have tried to buy the part from other dealers and they won't sell because it's become an issue. I almost got into an accident when the car completly sputtered and shutoff while driving. Happening ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
Rear camera sometimes does not work when backing up. When the problem occurs, the screen inside the car that is supposed to show an image of the area in back of the vehicle is completely black. The problem does not occur often. It is not easily reproducible. The vehicle can be made available for inspection upon request. If the rear camera does not work, the car could back into objects or people. ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
The exahust leaks and has noise just like all the other Traverse that have the recall, this also needs the same recall
Incident date: Mar 13, 2025
6.2 engine with catastrophic engine failure. No warning prior to failure.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
I own a 2022 Audi Q5 Hybrid, and due to an unresolved recall (93AA), the vehicle’s plug-in hybrid functionality has been completely disabled since November 2024. The vehicle was designed to operate as a PHEV, but it can now only run on gasoline, significantly altering its intended use and efficiency. Audi has failed to provide a repair timeline or offer a loaner vehicle while the recall remains... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
Front right stabilizer broke while driving down street and caused loss of control of vehicle. Vehicle spun to right and crashed into parked vehicle.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); 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 fail... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2025
Upon starting the RAM 1500 on or about May 1, 2024, the electric power steering rack and pinion failed to operate. There was no steering assistance at all and it was extremely difficult to turn the steering wheel. The truck was not safely drivable. I observed a check engine light illuminated so I drove it carefully to a shop very close to my residence. The code indicated a failed power steerin... Read more