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 30,183 complaints for RAM
Incident date: Jul 5, 2025
Improperly shifting, intermittently stalls in shifting and loses transmission power. Scan code PO902 Clutch Actuator circuit low Plus 3 other possible
Incident date: Jun 6, 2025
We have had a problem where our battery had died on us out of nowhere. We took it to autozone to check out or battery and they said it was low and we just had to drive it around so we can charge it. We did that didn’t work so we changed the battery. Well two months later our car won’t start anymore and our battery drained again. Now our car won’t start we had to jump start it again and even ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2025
My 2020 Toyota Highlander Platinum started having the well-known "whining" sound at just under 60,000k. This is coming from the transmission. The vehicle is now just over 60,000k and I did not know that the noise was a cause for concern, let alone something that was an issue (I am not tech savvy - I'm just a regular person). I will not drive this vehicle again, as it is my only transportation for ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2025
I noticed a fuel smell in the cabin area that continued to get worse. After pulling the back seat I was able to visually see the fuel pump that had lots of micro cracks which was causing a fuel leak. The leak was very dangerous and caused major foam damage to my rear seat and was a major hazard had anything caused an ignition in the cabin, it certainly would have burned the vehicle. I saved the fu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
Went to go to the grocery store and the Electronic Park Brake was engaged. Had it reset, went to the grocery store and it was re-engaged. Had it towed to dealer, upon diagnosis, corrosion was found at EPB module and connector pin. Declined repair and had it towed back home due to dealership quoting almost three thousand dollars for parts and repair. Upon later research, found that there is a known... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2025
Unknpenthenlogrh its on
Incident date: Jul 4, 2025
In my 2019 ford edge sel the transmission is slipping gears at a continuously inconsistent rate. It flutters from 2000rpm to 3000 rpm the entire time it is driven. Sometimes it will slip gears so bad my car will stop very harshly with a loud bang. There are no warning lights present. When driving on the highway and this happens it causes safety concerns because I am abruptly slowing down. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2025
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The air conditioning condenser was damaged due to impact from a rock, resulting in a loss of cooling function. The damaged condenser is still installed in the vehicle and is available for inspection upon request. • How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The damage to the air cond... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) and 21V316000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the front driver’s side and passenger’s side A-pillar trims loosened and were shuddering. Two local dealers were contacted. The... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
It’s not an incident. Looking out The windshield has a slight distortion, that looking through it, it seems like looking through a low grade prescription glasses. I have reported it to the dealership and they took note of it and mentioned that they will check it. In terms of safety, it puts some strain into my eyes while driving.
Incident date: Jul 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms part... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2025
The rear camera, mounted on the lift gate, is no longer operating correctly. At times, it will flicker off and on, camera picture 'rolls', or does not work at all (black screen with error message - "camera is no longer operational, contact the dealership"). These incidents with the camera have occurred multiple times each month over the last year. When reversing in the dark especially, this bec... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2025
The steering wheel makes a loud clocking sound. It’s sounds like the pinion plug is broken or loose
Incident date: May 14, 2025
The Power Steering shut down suddenly while I was driving it. I am [XXX], and certainly did NOT have the power to turn the wheel like it needed. If there had been fast moving traffic at that time, I could have been hit and severely injured, Why hasn't this been recalled yet? The problem has been confirmed by an independent service center. I had to go there when my power steering intermitte... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2025
Very excessive brake wear causing numerous replacement of pads and warping rotors.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2025
On 01/20/25, I brought my vehicle to Nissan of Downtown L.A , to fix a manufacturer recall of drivers side airbag. The invoice indicates "Inspect Driver Bag Module and Replace Driver Air Bag Cover." "Upon Inspection Performed Recall, Inspect Driver Air Bag And Replace Driver Air Bag Cover And Check Found Vehicle OK." Approximately four months later, the red airbag light on my dashboard was f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2025
CARE IS GIVING ERROR OF "ENGINE MALFUNCTION REDUCED SPEED, SERVICE SOON" WITH ENGINE, TRACTION AND COLLISION LIGHTS ACTIVATING AT THE SAME TIME. CAR THAN SLOWS DOWN AND HAS SHUT OFF. THIS ERROR HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING OR JUST BY HAVING IT ON. ALSO WHILE STEREO, BULETOOTH OR CARPLAY IS ON THE VOLUME WILL DECREASE ON ITS OWN UNABLE TO TURN UP VOLUME WITH KNOB. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I BOUGHT... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2025
When driving at low speed in a parking log, vehicle began to accelerate suddenly. Driver was able to brake to avoid collision. Seemed to be due toaccidental touch of capacitive touch RES button on left side of steering wheel, which resumed previous ACC speed. ACC had not been use for several days prior, but system remembered previous high speed and tried to resume.
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
Sunroof is throwing a code that there is an obstruction. Sunroof will not close. Chevrolet could not fix. I was sent home with out any answers and was told they would contact me. That was over a week ago.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2025
On [XXX], at approximately [XXX], I was driving westbound on the [XXX], just before the [XXX] and [XXX] off-ramp, with my wife and our [XXX] baby in the car. While in traffic, I noticed the regenerative braking system was not slowing the vehicle down adequately, despite having a clear and sufficient distance from the big rig ahead of us. As the gap closed, I slammed down on the brake pedal, but ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
My 2007 Toyota Tacoma has an open recall on the rear leaf springs due to the risk of fuel tank puncture and fire. However, Toyota and their authorized dealership are unable to perform this safety recall because the vehicle’s frame is too severely rusted. The dealership informed me that attempting the repair could further damage the vehicle, and they requested I sign a waiver releasing Toyota of... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2025
Transmission Failure Rough or jerky shifting: This occurs when accelerating or decelerating, and even when shifting between gears. Delayed gear engagement: Shifting from park to drive or reverse can be slow, or the vehicle may lunge into gear. Transmission slipping: The transmission slips between gears, causing a loss of power or acceleration. It can also cause a violent grinding/shaking betwee... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: May 1, 2025
I'm looking to buy this truck from a private sale. If I do, and the recall has not been completed, will the manufacturer still fix it for free?
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. 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 experience... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
Plugged a charger cord for a Garmin watch into the center console USBC right side port. Overnight the USBC port, while connected to the cord but not to the watch or any other device, overheated and melted. It burned the cords male connection into two pieces and melted plastic into the center console. The male end of the cord is now fused into the USBC port of the car. No messages/alerts on the car... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2025
When slowing as I exited freeway the steering locked up and forced me into right lane. There were lots of warning lights, STOP when safe, steering assist problem, brake system problem, low speed braking problem. I had no power steering but was able to get car into a parking lot. I turned the car off and back on. The warning message said it was a brake system problem and to see dealer. Acu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
My 2018 Chevrolet Silverado with a 6.2 engine suffered a Connecting Rod Bearing failure causing the engine to seize/lock up. The engine components are available for inspection. The engine seized/locked up and could have caused a crash. The vehicle is at my mechanics shop right now and will remain there until it is repaired. The vehicle has been inspected by my mechanic but no one else. The engin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2025
Digital cluster freezes, beeps, goes blank except for check engine lights, and then resets. Turns back on for a few seconds and then repeats the process. Digital cluster will do this non stop. I only have a few brief seconds to see my speed and fuel level before it freezes and goes blank. This is extremely dangerous.
Incident date: May 30, 2025
Our steering has started to be “sticky” and needing over correction for over a year now. It is progressively getting more prominent and is worse when driving on the highway (causing swerving). There is currently a recall for Hondas with this problem, but only from 2022-2025. Mine is a 2016 Honda civic and many others have the same problem with older models and needing to pay $4000+ to get it r... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2025
After doing multiple search online came across multiple user complaints about new Tesla model y juniper 2026 Lr awd you can feel vibration from steering wheel at highway speeds it is really specific at 80mph this is not a normal behavior especially vibrations took it to the service center and was told it was the wheels are not balanced properly so they fixed it apparently but is still doing it. I ... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2025
After doing multiple search online came across multiple user complaints about new Tesla model y juniper 2026 Lr awd you can feel vibration from steering wheel at highway speeds it is really specific at 80mph this is not a normal behavior especially vibrations took it to the service center and was told it was the wheels are not balanced properly so they fixed it apparently but is still doing it. I ... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2010 Lexus HS 250H. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal a second time, the vehicle jerked while responding sluggishly. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while making a turn. The contact stated that the accelerator peda... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2025
my control arm mount and frame of my element is rusted out, it is an ongoing problem with the honda element as i am seeing a lot of people online with similar issues. if this fails, it could put people at risk, i also see other elements on the road with a camber'd out back tire on the driver side. i believe these wheels would fall into the car causing an accident. there are no warning lights tha... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2025
My car is displaying a "Shift to Park" message on the dashboard even when the shifter is already in the park position, preventing the vehicle from being turned off and potentially leading to a dead battery or the vehicle rolling away. The "Shift to Park" issue poses safety risks, as it can prevent drivers from turning off their vehicles and potentially lead to unintended movement. This issue is ge... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2025
On numerous occasions during extreme ambient hot temperatures, one of the body sensors keeps malfunctioning giving me an error message about the front parking sensor malfunction. I have reported this to my local dealership on a number of occasions, but as soon as I place the vehicle in park the message clears. The error has shown up on a history report with they connect a scanner to the OBD port b... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
Have had an issue of losing power while on an interstate traveling back from work twice now. After the second time I reported to my local dealership. While driving home, my vehicle lost power and was extremely slow and unresponsive. Check engine light came on but when checked under the diagnostics of the entertainment system, showed no issues present. Light turn off but still was having issues wit... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle slowed down independently and lost automotive power. The contact stated that the vehicle remained in the intersection while awaiting tow services. The contact stated that her boyfriend and son helped to push the vehicle to the right side of the roadway. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2025
Fuel pump is leaking, unsafe to drive vehicle, no check engine light just really bad smell of gas
Incident date: Jun 28, 2025
Picked up the vehicle. on [XXX]... on the way home I was going around a curve on a highway with a semi-truck to my right, when the car suddenly braked autonomously, and the power steering stopped working. I struggled to steer into the curve and then allowed the semi to move ahead so I could safely pull to the side of the road. I had several alarms go off that I had to cycle though to turn off. I f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2021
6/21/25 , a Saturday, I stopped at a traffic light when gas saver function kicked in and shut car off. The car went into park mode by itself and parking brake engaged. The car would not start and had to be towed. It sat until Monday when I was able to start it and drive it to my mechanic's business a mile from my location and shut it off. Immediately after shutting it off it would not start agai... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2025
6/21/25 , a Saturday, I stopped at a traffic light when gas saver function kicked in and shut car off. The car went into park mode by itself and parking brake engaged. The car would not start and had to be towed. It sat until Monday when I was able to start it and drive it to my mechanic's business a mile from my location and shut it off. Immediately after shutting it off it would not start agai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2025
Fuel pump keeps on failing I replaced it 3 time.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission was shifting hard. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving at 70 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was purchased for diagnostic testing, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact used a scanner and retrieved DTC: B320... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2025
Rear view camera does not always activate when car is placed in reverse. Intermittently will show "camera temporarily not available" on the dashboard screen. This is a pre-existing recall problem (NHTSA RECALL 25V-280 dated June 20, 2025) that was supposed to be fixed in an over the air software update version 3.6.3 from Polestar. The current software version is 3.6.4, and the problem with the rev... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2025
While driving my 2024 Honda Prologue, the automatic emergency braking system (part of Honda's Collision Mitigation Braking System) has activated unexpectedly and forcefully multiple times — with no obstacle or vehicle ahead. The most serious incident occurred on 6/28/2024, while traveling at approximately 70 mph. The vehicle suddenly slammed on the brakes without warning or any visible threat in... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2025
While driving my 2024 Honda Prologue, the automatic emergency braking system (part of Honda's Collision Mitigation Braking System) has activated unexpectedly and forcefully multiple times — with no obstacle or vehicle ahead. The most serious incident occurred on 6/28/2024, while traveling at approximately 70 mph. The vehicle suddenly slammed on the brakes without warning or any visible threat in... Read more