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: Oct 5, 2023
Main head display in front of driver is blank. No live driving information is displayed, speed, state of charge, etc. This has happened 3 separate times at this point. So far, leaving the car turned off and locked for an undetermined amount of time (over 30 minutes?) has resolved the issue as the next time the car is started the display functions as normal.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
I own a 2019 Dodge Charger, and it has an open recall for the airbag inflator, which poses a serious safety risk. Despite the recall being issued over six months ago, replacement parts are still unavailable. Due to this safety concern, I am unable to drive my vehicle far from home, significantly impacting my usage. Additionally, I used to rent this vehicle on Turo to generate income, but it has be... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2024
While taking off after being stop the alclenton the tramssmion slip into gear late and you can notice it while foot on pedel after u take off oil was.change but still the same delership says it comon with this suv
Incident date: Oct 23, 2024
I was driving on the highway, with no other cars near me and my panoramic sunroof exploded. It made a very loud gunshot like sound and I felt shards of glass fall on my head while driving. I had 2 other passengers In the car. One in the passenger set and one in the rear passenger side seat. They both had glass hit them in the face on head and go inside their clothes. I was extremely startled think... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
The engine seized. Driving at 55 mph on a 4 lane highway outside of city limits, the vehicle went into limp mode. Luckily, it was later in the evening with less traffic and I was fortunate enough to be able to turn into a left turn lane and coast into an office building parking lot. There was no shoulder available if I had been in the right lane and somewhat of a rural area. There were no sensors ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
I was driving down the interstate when my truck abruptly started hard shifting and wouldn’t come out of 3rd gear had to pull off the road put the truck in park and turn the truck off. After turning the vehicle off and back on the check engine light came on and a yellow wrench illuminated on the dash board saying “see owner manual”. I attempted to put it in drive with success it will showed... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
I was approaching a stop sign, slowing down to around ~20 mph, then gently applied the brakes. All of a sudden, the car stared to lurch forward and the steering wheel shuddered violently as the ABS braking appeared to kick in. As the brakes were applied, the vehicle kept bouncing forward in spurts rather than stopping and it took almost twice as long to stop than it should have. There was a vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
I have not received any update on the parts for my safety recall notice 23s64/NHTSA Recall 23V905.
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
Vehicle is one week old from dealership with 382 miles on odometer at time of incident. Driving under normal conditions. Paved city street in dry weather. Vehicle lost engine power and showed the error message on gauge cluster “shift into p”. Accelerator would not work till stopped vehicle in the middle of the road and shifted to park and back to drive gear.
Incident date: Oct 6, 2024
Driving home from work when all of a sudden my car started jerking, not shifting correctly and could hear a noticeable noise coming from the engine. Low oil pressure light came on and pulled over. Car would not restart. Had it towed to mechanic and was determined that the engine was hydrolocked due to coolant getting into the pistons and oil. New engine needed on a 6 year old car with 91,000 miles... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2024
As I was driving my daughter to school suddenly a warning popped up in the dash that there was a forward collision malfunction and the system turned itself off. There were no other vehicles near me or in front of me and the sensors were not blocked by rain (we are in drought conditions) or snow.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted several times. 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 n... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
This particular vehicle comes with a plastic coolant water outlet. When the plastic melts, it causes the coolant system to fail, and the engine will overheat. The plastic can only withstand heat up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Most engines run at 195-220. There was no reason for the manufacturer to use this type of plastic. Over 1,000 aftermarket coolant water outlets have been sold as a replac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) after having the repair completed. The contact stated that since having the recall repair completed, the trim on the front passenger’s side of the windshield detached. The dealer who completed the repair was contacted and notified about the additional failure and it was di... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
The evaporator core is leaking, which is causing reduced visibablility out of the windows due to condensation on the windows, mold-like smells from moisture from the interior cabin (it is available upon request). I took it into the dealer - they examined the issue (the shaft seal had just been replaced in April of this year) and let me know that this time the evaporator core was leaking. For c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
The evaporator core is leaking, which is causing reduced visibablility out of the windows due to condensation on the windows, mold-like smells from moisture from the interior cabin (it is available upon request). I took it into the dealer - they examined the issue (the shaft seal had just been replaced in April of this year) and let me know that this time the evaporator core was leaking. For c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Lane Keeping Assistance. It is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? When Lane Keeping Assistance is engaged the truck steers the truck off-center to the right, uncomfortably to the right. At times it's riding the right lane line, but maintains at least ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2002 Honda Odyssey. The contact received recall notifications of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V501000(Air Bags) and 15V320000(Air Bags) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list because he no longer owns the vehicle. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted.
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
While in auto mode my headlights turn on and off randomly. This is very dangerous at night and has happened several times. When the head lights go off I can not see and no one can see me. There is no warning when this happens. The first occurrence was on August 4, 2024. Kia dealers say it has to be happening when I bring it in but the problem is intermittent. Many other owners have stated they hav... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
When audio system is turned on, a very loud crackling sound occurs, and will continue after audio is turned off. Sirius XM works most of the time (with crackling sound). However, when the regular radio is turned on the audio will work for just a minute (with crackling sound), and then it will suddenly stop working and a message pops up on the display that says "audio connection lost". This also ha... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2024
NHTSA Recall # 23V-487 Manufacturer Recall # 6023G issued July 14, 2023 After repeated phone calls to the Manufacturer and the Mazda Dealership, the recall has not been fixed. I have been told that the parts are not available. As of this date, 16 months after the recall, Mazda has not fixed the problem. I have been told by the Manufacturer and the Mazda Dealership, that parts are not available. Th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2024
My coolant bypass valve gave out and Toyota is insisting it’s not covered under warranty my 10 year warranty. Toyota knew there was a defect and didn’t tell consumers.
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
Reason is unknown, was driving down road and car yanked to the right cause family to wreck in to a guard rail, no lights appeared before wreck, it was not raining and was not speeding. Clear sunny day. Police report has been made and has made several attempts to contact KIA, car has been in body shop since July. Wreck has happened in July. Car is still at body shop KIA told body shop there was no ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to accelerate to highway speeds. The vehicle continuously went into LIMP Mode. The message for rod bearing failure was displayed on the display screen. The contact used a code reader and reset the system. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning l... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
Dashboard glare on sunny days makes it difficult to see a head of you.
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
Steering assist reduced message comes on and temperature guage goes down to cold not working and after you shut car off fan runs full force for 10 minutes. Shows no check engine light or no codes.
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
The door handle is an electronic button with a manual lever for the door to open in case there is no power or an emergency when a rescuer needs to open the door. I noticed only 1 door handle could do this and brought in for repair. The rest requires a lot more strength and 3 of the 4 doors work, but the dealership is reluctantly replacing the failed door handle. There are many who have the same is... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 65 MPH and depressing the brake pedal to slow for a vehicle that had passed and switched into the lane she was driving, the vehicle was shuddering. The contact stated that as soon as she had stopped depressing the brake pedal the shuddering ceased. The contact stated there was no warning l... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering. The contact stated that the vehicle was losing motive power. The vehicle failed to start. The contact added additional fuel. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V027000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
MY [XXX] ’S) SUDDEN ACCELERATION INCIDENT [XXX] - TOYOTA RAV4 2021: I was gliding into a parking space with my foot on the brake and as I went to straighten out the wheel to come to a full stop the car lurched forward full speed and smashed into the car parked in the row that was facing me. Good thing there was no one in that car, it had been backed in so I hit the rear end of it. The damage ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 6, 2024
MY [XXX] ’S) SUDDEN ACCELERATION INCIDENT [XXX] - TOYOTA RAV4 2021: I was gliding into a parking space with my foot on the brake and as I went to straighten out the wheel to come to a full stop the car lurched forward full speed and smashed into the car parked in the row that was facing me. Good thing there was no one in that car, it had been backed in so I hit the rear end of it. The damage ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
I was able to start my vehicle in my driveway, without the key. Unknown to me at the time, the key was in fact in my house, in my bedroom, not in my purse, or on my body. But I was able to drive 15 miles without that key. Fortunately the automatic start/stop was engaged, if it hadn't been I could've been stranded at an intersection or worse, had an accident stalled at an intersection. Once the car... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
#Issue Description I experienced an issue with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system when a trailer hitch was attached to my vehicle. From what I observed, the FSD system appeared to detect the trailer hitch as an object in close proximity to the vehicle. This caused the vehicle to accelerate rapidly to the FSD maximum speed of 85 MPH, regardless of the road conditions or posted speed limits.... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2024
The radiator has a leak no warning lights went on but the back up reservoir was empty the car started to gurgle multiple times after driving the car for a long road trip we heard the bubbling sound checked under the hood and see pink radiator fluid on the underside of the car and pink corrosion on the radiator itself.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2024
The vehicle's oil was changed at Transitowne Kia of West Seneca, NY on 10/19/24 with 19,576 on the odometer. During the oil change, a Kia multi-point inspection was performed. No leaks or other concerns were found. On [XXX] with around 19,596 on the odometer while driving on [XXX] the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of power accompanied by grinding noises coming from the engine. This was followe... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The dashboard on the Equinox EV has a dangerous glare that can impact driving safety for several hours at a time. The glare can be so bad that you can’t see out the windshield without some sort of visual assistance like polarized sunglasses.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact pulled over and stopped, turned off and restarted the vehicle several times, and the steering functionality returned. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was an intermittent failure and the veh... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
Front Dashboard is made out of very glossy plastic and it causes very severe glare at almost any hour of the day or even at nights whenever passing by a street lights. Amount of glare is so severe that driving at sunrise or sunset is almost impossible without a polarizing glass. Visibility is severely affected due to the material choice.
Incident date: Oct 22, 2023
When the steering wheel is turned it makes noise as if it is coming from suspension. Abnormal Noise when steering wheel is turned
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the check engine warning illuminated, and there was an abnormal sound coming from the driver’s side of the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that cylinder #3 had misfired and a tune up was needed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The v... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Car was diagnosed at a Toyota dealership with a brake booster issue reading code 20TE07 after my vehicles brakes suddenly would not work and the car continued to jolt forward. The brakes wouldn’t stop the car. According to Toyota, my vehicle is three months outside of the warranty period but under the covered mileage so we are left to repair this defect ourselves. This was a very dangerous si... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Car was diagnosed at a Toyota dealership with a brake booster issue reading code 20TE07 after my vehicles brakes suddenly would not work and the car continued to jolt forward. The brakes wouldn’t stop the car. According to Toyota, my vehicle is three months outside of the warranty period but under the covered mileage so we are left to repair this defect ourselves. This was a very dangerous si... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and coolant warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the water pump had leaked into the engine and advised the contact to maintain the anti-freeze level at full. The vehicle was taken to another local independent... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
Anytime I drive on the highway, the steering wheel begins to stick, causing me to need more force to correct, which causes overcorrection. I then have to correct the overcorrection which causes an overcorrection in the other direction because the steering wheel does not move smoothly. It's extremely frustrating and almost every time someone is following me, they call to ask if I'm all right due to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
I have purchased replacement lower control from Detoit Axle. On 8/13/2024. On 10/18/2024 car had to be take to repair shop because replaced control arm failed. Lower ball joint came out of socket.
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
Electrical system going out only at night because headlights and inside lights are turning off for a few seconds only while driving at night this has happened multiple times since august and is becoming a safety concern while driving at night it's a safety concern because this has happened incoming traffic on roads and highways. The vehicle hasn't been inspected by dealership I tried calling to ge... Read more