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: Aug 24, 2024
Quote: Report Receipt Date: NOV 12, 2013 NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V564000 Component(s): AIR BAGS Potential Number of Units Affected: 76,565 Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC The Problem: The front passenger seat occupant detection mat that determines if and how the passenger frontal air bag should deploy in a crash may fatigue and develop cracks which could lead to a system failure. Shoul... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
When starting the vehicle engine shakes and rattles, when motor is idling and charging the EV battery and also when going from EV to Gas and Gas to EV engine shakes and rattles. When accelerating the engine shakes and rattles. Engine feels sluggish and a loud ticking noise can be heard. Seems the engine is struggling and accelerating it feels the engine rocks back and forth. When transmission is c... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The car accelerated of its own accord, I had been driving 30-35 miles an hour when it accelerated suddenly and caused me to wreck.
Crash
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Electrical power steering goes in and out and the dash displays “steering assist fault” warning, and the power steering goes out entirely. You can still turn, but it takes a lot more physical effort to do so. Since it goes in and out, it can happen at any time and is very hard to get diagnosed through a diagnostic if the mechanic or dealer cannot replicate the issue.
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
I have been reporting an issue for over two years with multiple dealerships regarding a sulphur and other strong exhaust smell. This Sulphur smell is most problematic and occurs most often at least one per day. This issue started off intermittently but is now occurring as increase frequencies. The Lincoln dealerships tell me this is normal. I am not sure what system is exactly failing as n... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2024
Drove the car and parked it. Went into the store and got back into the car. Turned the car on and it had an emergency light saying a drive train malfunction had occurred and that the car could not drive and had to be towed to the dealer for repair. Turned on and off the car. It still had the malfunction. Had the car towed to the BMW dealer. They tested it and came up with 7 codes of malfunction: c... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2024
Drove the car and parked it. Went into the store and got back into the car. Turned the car on and it had an emergency light saying a drive train malfunction had occurred and that the car could not drive and had to be towed to the dealer for repair. Turned on and off the car. It still had the malfunction. Had the car towed to the BMW dealer. They tested it and came up with 7 codes of malfunction: c... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60-75 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power, causing the vehicle to decelerate to approximately 25 MPH. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2024
The infotainment system ghost touches on its own. It changes all car settings by itself. Active driving display, safety features like distance recognition, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, etc. Every setting available in the infotainment system gets changed or reset on it own. Even when you turn it off. It turns back on. GPS routes, dials people, hangs up, mutes on its own, etc. Mazda dealershi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The passenger Active Head Restraints (AHR) deployed for no reason. I was sitting in in the passenger side seat talking to my wife, in the driveway, when the AHR deployed without cause. The head restraint struck me on the back left side of head with force. My neck is starting to stiffen up. Yes it is ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 17, 2023
The anit-lock breaks on my vehicle will go out at random. This seems to happen when you need them most. In my case I was towing an 8,000 lb trailer and had to stop short. The anti-lock break and traction control lights came on simultaneously and the right front tire locked up making it difficult to steer the vehicle. Since that event the light will come on at random when hitting a bump in the ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
Start stop feature creates a pause when taking off, has cause me to be bumped in the rear twice. Feature come on automatically when starting the car .it should be off unless wanted , the switch does not always turn system off when pressing. This is an asinine way of designing a function that creates an unneeded hazard. It should be in off at start and option to use. Apparently someone did not look... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Steering wheel feels like it sticks when driving on highway. Have to fight to keep it going straight. Having dealer check it out Wednesday 9/25/23. First appeared 8/20/23 and has gotten worse since then
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Abs light goes on and off intermittently. Caused my truck wheels to lock up in fast stop maneuver. Dealer said ABS module needs to be replaced but there is no recall yet.
Incident date: Aug 14, 2024
At 30k I noticed the transmission start shifting hard especially when down shifting. I called the dealer and expressed by concerns when doing my normal oil changes. The dealer said it was normal. Now at 42k the truck skips 2nd gear and when shifting between 3rd and 4th it hits hard. Also an independent mechanic shop said the engine is making a weird winding sound. Sounds like the barring in the tu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2024
At 30k I noticed the transmission start shifting hard especially when down shifting. I called the dealer and expressed by concerns when doing my normal oil changes. The dealer said it was normal. Now at 42k the truck skips 2nd gear and when shifting between 3rd and 4th it hits hard. Also an independent mechanic shop said the engine is making a weird winding sound. Sounds like the barring in the tu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the ABS and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ABS module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a case, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approx... Read more
RAM
PROMASTER 2500
(2023) — TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS
Sep 24, 2024
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that the TPMS warning light illuminated and turned on and off. The contact inflated the tires. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V464000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exce... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated that upon arriving at his destination, the vehicle failed to detect that the gear shifter was in park(P), preventing the vehicle from being turned off. The contact stated that the message "Please Shift to Park" was displayed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power and decelerated, with the message "Transmission Fault" displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and retrieved DTC code: P074 (Third gear failure, clutch failure). The mechanic confirmed that th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while depressing the hatchback release button to open the hatchback, the hatchback failed to open. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the fuse box had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic contacted the dealer to order the parts and was informed that the parts were not available. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); 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 distribution di... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); 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 distribution dis... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, a ticking sound and smoke was coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
A large part of the grill on the front of my truck but broke off on it's own while I was driving. The part is called the Upper Grill Molding Part number 20863. It's about the size of a ski (5.5 ft long and 6 inches wide). It flew off and almost hit the car traveling behind me. They had to swerve off the road to avoid hitting it and almost got into an accident. After inspecting the part and how it ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
When driving, the car engine will randomly accelerate or race. The car does not physically go faster, but the engine revs at a high speed which is very scary. It will continue to accelerate while your foot is off the gas until you either press back down the gas pedal or come to a full stop. The car engine revs extremely loud making the driver feel like the car is going to keep going. I have had... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Radio Uconnect resets every 3 to 5 minutes. When this happens screen goes black. If backing no warning on what is behind you. GPS is resetting with wrong location. Wireless calls stop. This has been a problem across all FCA brands and an issue since 2017. I had 2018 Pacifica with same issues. I believe there are two class action lawsuits over this problem. I had to pay $650 to replace radio. No he... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Radio Uconnect resets every 3 to 5 minutes. When this happens screen goes black. If backing no warning on what is behind you. GPS is resetting with wrong location. Wireless calls stop. This has been a problem across all FCA brands and an issue since 2017. I had 2018 Pacifica with same issues. I believe there are two class action lawsuits over this problem. I had to pay $650 to replace radio. No he... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Acura RDX 2021.Faulty seat weight sensor front passenger seat. My wife is petite, [XXX] " and weighs [XXX]. When she sits in front passenger seat, at times, the seat weight sensor doesn't register that she's sitting in the seat and the air bag is not engaged. intermittently, the SRS light illuminates but many times it doesn't. I've taken the vehicle into the dealer (Chevy Chase Acura, Bethesda, MD... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2024
Thai dang ABS going out in these trucks. And still no fix. Went out when going down the high way. Kicked out Cruze co trip 4 we and all sensors. Almost died this is crap that nothing is being done to fix this and get a part that fixes this for the customers that bought these trucks. I have a 50k truck I can’t drive. Have not driven it’s in almost a year now. SOMETHINGS NEEDS DONE
Incident date: Jan 14, 2024
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? CVT Transmission How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Dealership, second opinion scheduled with another Toyota on Oct 15th Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer,... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2024
Unexpected sudden acceleration when braking at low speed
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while reversing into a parking space at approximately 2 MPH, the contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The contact was able to stop the vehicle. The contact observed that there was a trail of fluid coming from the driver's side front wheel well. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while decelerating, the transmission seized in third gear. The contact stated that later while attempting to accelerate from a stop light, the vehicle failed to immediately accelerate forward. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, the transmission failed to shift from fifth to six gear. During the failure, the RPMs increased... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode and failed to exceed 61 MPH. The RPM failed to exceed 2,000 RPM. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 45 MPH while driving uphill, and the vehicle failed to exceed 55 MPH while driving downhill. The contact scanned the vehicle with a vehicle scanner ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while pulling out of the driveway, the messages that "Engine Overheating, Do Not Drive" and "Power Train Failure" were displayed on the instrument panel. Additionally, the vehicle was jerking. The vehicle was placed in Neutral(N) and coasted back into the garage. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined tha... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
On [XXX] I was traveling s/b on [XXX] in Florida in my Dodge Challenger which I purchased from New Smyrna Dodge this year. I was traveling approx 65 mph and all of a sudden the back of my drivers seat went back all the way putting me in a flat position against the rear seat. I was lucky enough to pull myself up and keep control of the vehicle. The incident could have been a disaster because my ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated and shifted out of gear independently. The vehicle was repaired prior to the failure; however, the failure became persistent. The manufacturer was notified on the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
My wife was driving on a 4 lane road after it was wet. The road is flat but bended to the right. Traveling in the middle lanes, the braking system engaged and the brakes fully locked while she was at a driving speed of 25 mph and the car slid across the lanes as she entered the turn. She said it lasted for about 10 seconds before the brakes disengaged.
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Gold Wing GL 1800 Motorcycle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V113000 (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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns 2017 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to turn off while turning the key to the off position in the ignition switch. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a dealer and was diagnosed, and it was determined that the cylinders in the engine was rusted. The vehicle was not r... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V407000 (Seats); 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 distribution disconnect... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and hesitated, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart but was unable to shift into drive or reverse. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2024
Engine light was coming on in the car. Engine was shuttering and ticking/knocking on start up and then would stop after running for about a minute. Had it put on the scanner and the code said misfire on cylinder one/ignition coil. Had ignition coil on cylinder one replaced twice. 1st time replaced was the beginning of Sept and then the 2nd time on 9/18/24. Car would run fine for a week and then th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
ABS Module failed triggering BRAKE light service and ABS Service light, and the ESB light. 6 month + and counting to get this OEM module. Why are you not addressing the supply chain issue......
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
My collision mitigation braking system is automatically braking on me with nothing in front of me going high rated speeds on the interstate. I have chronic migraines and neck issues that also have been being treated on a very consistent basis. I brought it in numerous times. I have appointment documents from dealership stating these issues, with no solution. Today it happened again severely and it... Read more
3 injured
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
My collision mitigation braking system is automatically braking on me with nothing in front of me going high rated speeds on the interstate. I have chronic migraines and neck issues that also have been being treated on a very consistent basis. I brought it in numerous times. I have appointment documents from dealership stating these issues, with no solution. Today it happened again severely and it... Read more
3 injured
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The car keeps jerking and stalling when in traffic, car line or just driving very slowly. It feels like there is not enough fuel coming to the engine and it shuts off. The message that comes on the screen- Please start engine manually. I have been numerous times to the dealer but they say they can’t help me as there is no code. Obviously the car has issues and I want someone to be responsible fo... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
My truck 2020 gmc sierra 1500 AT4 denali is not working properly since July 2024. I took it to 2 different dealership to get a diagnostic and i finally ended doing the repairs for brake issues. I have been towed 6 or more times and almost experienced 2 car accidents since I drive the truck after the supposedly repairs where done but i ended stranded again with no brakes. The dealership has repair ... Read more