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: Jun 9, 2022
Drivers Headrest Airbag went off unexpectedly causing minor whiplash to myself, the driver and causing uncomfortable head placement and high repair costs.
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the spark plugs had failed and needed to be replaced. The spark plugs were replaced but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the spark plugs had failed and needed to be replaced. The spark plugs were replaced but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
My car has an extremely bad rough idle. I’ve had an alignment done, new tires, new spark plugs. I’ve done so much work to this car. I have done some extremely deep research and it is a VERY common issue in the 2013 Dodge dart. One thing I also read, is it could be caused due to all of the ground point nuts being painted over, not creating a strong circuit for the ground. That should be a recal... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
LED Headlamps flicker off and on and occurs repeatedly every few minutes. Occurs when vehicle is moving or parked. Occurs in a controlled lighting environment meaning it is not due to the auto-headlamp sensor being triggered by light or darkness changes. There are no error or fault warning messages that display on the dash or control center. No human involvement triggers the flickering. The iss... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Audi A5. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, it was noticed that the driver's side window had failed to remain up as intended. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective window regulator. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The contact related the failure with an unknown recall; however, the vehicle was not includ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Rear driver's side control arm failure during slow left-hand turn (~20 mph) from one road to another. A "clunk" noise was heard from underneath the car, like that of a rock striking the vehicle, and then the vehicle reported several errors regarding drive unit failure, brake failure, and stability fa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
- Incident occurred on the interstate about a mile from the exit - Was in the right hand lane preparing to exit - Started raining very heavily, could barely see the lane lines - Continued to slow down coming to a momentary stop - When beginning to go again, experienced the drive/tires or something started Shuttering/vibrating-like riding over very rough gravel - At this time the car began spee... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2024
Car suddenly stopped accelerating several times over the course of several months, at seemingly random speeds, once even at a full stop when attemptign to begin acceleration. Required to turn it off and on again (in park, break still works) and it works again. I towed the car to the dealership, and they told me after a few days that they could not recreate the issue and nothing was certifiably wro... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2024
The vehicle had 30,000 miles when purchased and has 62,0000 now using half a quart to quart of oil every thousand miles.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2024
ABS control module internal failure. Can't get a replacement park because this is such a problem. Local dealership says they have a list of over 100 customers who need this part. And it's a nation wide issue.
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
On June 13th 2024, and on July 30th 2024, while driving on highway my Cadillac XT4 suddenly jerked forward as if I had been struck from behind by another vehicle. The vehicle seemed to have lost all power and appeared to stall in the lanes of the highway. This created a very dangerous situation, causing vehicles behind me to swerve in order to avoid a collision. Be advised that the vehicle did not... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
Engine / transmission shudder / jerk when accelerating at low speeds. Dealer performed software update and advised of misfiring. Plugs and Coil Packs replaced. Issue persisted. Hundreds of similar complaints on forums online for 2019-2022 Ford Edge's with the 2.0L engine. Ford has still not produced a solution, and multiple dealers (per forum discussions) have suggested replacing transmission... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and attempting to shift to drive(D), the gear shifter failed to move out of park(P) and required to be hit to move out of park(P). The power train warning light was illuminated, and the message "See Owner's Manual" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring daily. The dealer was notif... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
I started the car in the morning and the screen message came up “high voltage system fault, contact your dealer to get service, you can continue to drive”. My distance available to drive on a 100% Barrett charge dropped from 100 to 20. I had the car towed to the dealer. They have not been able to determine the cause for over a month
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
I purchased my vehicle October2023. May 23,2024, at 1:34 pm, my vehicle broke down due to a message on my dashboard stating “Drivetrain malfunction”. I was on the highway with no use of my gas pedal, which resulted in me rolling back all while being 5 months pregnant. June 18,2024, at 3:04pm ,my vehicle broke down again due to the same message that previously popped up “Drivetrain malfuncti... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
I purchased my vehicle October2023. May 23,2024, at 1:34 pm, my vehicle broke down due to a message on my dashboard stating “Drivetrain malfunction”. I was on the highway with no use of my gas pedal, which resulted in me rolling back all while being 5 months pregnant. June 18,2024, at 3:04pm ,my vehicle broke down again due to the same message that previously popped up “Drivetrain malfuncti... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Recently, Polestar released a version of the onboard OS "Android Automotive" that was supposed to deal with an existing safety issue that has been reported to the nhtsa involving the rear view camera being unresponsive/blinking. The version of software released to address this is 3.1.9. Unfortunately, under this new software, the car's camera system has become completely unavailable, with the OS... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Recently, Polestar released a version of the onboard OS "Android Automotive" that was supposed to deal with an existing safety issue that has been reported to the nhtsa involving the rear view camera being unresponsive/blinking. The version of software released to address this is 3.1.9. Unfortunately, under this new software, the car's camera system has become completely unavailable, with the OS... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was running, the ABS, check Trailer Brake System, Engine, Brake, Service Electronic Brake, and Service ABS warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the cruise control feature did not work as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ABS module needed... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was running, the ABS, check Trailer Brake System, Engine, Brake, Service Electronic Brake, and Service ABS warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the cruise control feature did not work as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ABS module needed... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the steering column was stiff to turn and had seized. The Lane Keep and power steering warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the steering column was stiff to turn and had seized. The Lane Keep and power steering warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failu... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to start the vehicle. The failure occurred intermittently. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact learned that it was a known failure; however, there was no recall for the failure. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
About a month ago my car started acting like it didn't want to restart at traffic lights when the auto idle kicked in. One time to completely did not restart on a major highway and I had to completely turn the car off then back on again. Then last week I tried to get into my car and multiple components had stopped working: my keyless entry, blind spot sensor, parking sensor, entertainment system... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
The contact owned a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while her son was driving 65 MPH, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact's son and the other passengers exited the vehicle and walked 20 feet away. The contact stated that the entire vehicle caught on fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. The con... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
On July/30/2024 at around 6:15pm EST I got inside my vehicle to drive it and the steering wheel was extremely hard and difficult to move. A message popped on my screen saying "Steering assist reduced" error UI_A020. This made it completely impossible to drive my vehicle and ended up having to call a tow truck to take it to the dealership. If this incident had occured while I was driving I consider... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle downshifted unexpectedly. The contact also stated that the instrument panel was black. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle with a failure of the molded lead frame. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the front passenger’s side air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Incident date: Jul 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but a diagnostic test was not performed. The contact was informed that the engine control module and the camshaft actuator solenoid were replaced. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2024
The engine on our 2013 Santa Fe Limited has seized. We have maintained this vehicle with regular oil changes, breaks, tires, and anything else our trusted mechanic has recommended. While driving, the car slowed down considerably and was not accelerating. No dashboard lights appeared. This was during evening rush hour and became very dangerous. I pulled over to the shoulder and called for help. On... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2024
Driving towards to an address in Orlando, FL, tried to stop at a red light and the vehicle didn't stop, the car driver in front stop short my vehicle just ran behind the car causing a crash. Three additional cars were involved in the accident. My 2018 Chevy Equinox was purchased from Carmax back in 2021 and a recall of breaks was released in August 2018. I just learn about those safety problems or... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 1, 2024
I was driving down I90 with no one in front of me and a clear road. Unexpectedly, the right side passenger airbags exploded and struck me in the face and shoulder. The car immediately braked and I saw a semi truck pass me on the right with pieces of what appeared to be tire debris flying in the air. I pulled over and my car become inoperable. I inspected the outside of the vehicle and there was no... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while shifted into reverse, there was a loud clunking sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact attempted to shift to drive(D) and neutral(N) and then back to reverse(R) however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmissi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (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 a failure. Parts distri... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
Turbo replaced under recall in March 2024 at local GMC dealership. June 2024 oil changed at independent service center and was informed that oil leak from turbo present. Vehicle brought back to dealership in June 2024 where vehicle was repaired for oil feed line being loose at the feed line. July 2024 car taken to independent mechanic and informed that a new turbo is needed. If turbo problem pers... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2024
Unknown. I doubt this will qualify but it seems to be a very common issue so I feel it is worth bringing attention to. I recently bought a truck from a state action that was a prior police vehicle as stated by the title. Once I purchased it and drove it home I was inspecting it and found a rust spot on the frame. As I cleaned dirt and debris off of it I discovered that the frame from just before t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2024
Radio and back camera intermittent since I bought it new. Dealership changed it out several times and told me they are just bad radios and just wait until a recall is issued.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2018
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the gasoline motor failed to activate. The contact stated that the vehicle remained in EV mode and was not gaining forward momentum. The contact observed that the battery gauge needle was on the low end of the battery charge. The contact stated that th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
The Nissan Frontier (and perhaps other Nissan vehicles employing the same system) equipped with the 'Intelligent Cruise Control' (ICC) exhibits dangerous behavior when a followed vehicle comes to a complete stop with ICC enabled. When this occurs, the Nissan will come to a complete stop, then a warning chime will sound and the vehicle will immediately start moving quickly forward. Since the ICC ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in a designated lane, several messages advising that the vehicle was out of the lane were displayed. The vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound and slightly pulled to the right or to the left. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the failure recurred. Additionally, the steering wheel forcefully jerked ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
While car was parked. Front windshield developed crack in the lower mid section of windshield. There was no damage to windshield that would have resulted in cracking. Crack has since spread.
Incident date: Apr 11, 2024
My vehicle continues to accelerate when I press the gas pedal, and it sometimes makes clicking noises from underneath during acceleration. Occasionally, it veers to one side even when I keep the steering wheel straight. At times, it gives a warning and vibrates as if I'm merging into another lane. When I press the gas, the engine revs, but the car doesn't accelerate. Issues have been ongoing but d... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
The truck will lose power, shift into park and apply the emergency brake. This has happened around 25 time, It happened the day i got the truck, got it started turned around went back to the dealer, they did find anything. This is a very
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
Failure: Harness strap fraying near seat pass through. Safety risk: ejection risk from harness failure. Inspection: owners and company via photo documentation only.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
Toyota has a Customer Support Program for white Toyota vehicles with peeling or chipping paint. The program covers vehicles in Blizzard Pearl or Super White that are within 10 years of their production date. The Tacoma is not listed on that recall. However, I am experiencing the very same issue with my Toyota. I took it to the local Toyota dealer and they confirmed the issue.
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
I was driving in the main road with my grandkids and the vehicle just shut down . I bought it in November of 2023. I brought it back to carmax because it was hesitating and not acting properly and it was within my 90 day warranty and they said nothing was wrong . Motor seized and turbo no good a few months later and I owe 19000 on this car and they refuse to replace the motor since I’m second o... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
The steering system failed as I was about to begin backing up. A service light came on to service power steering. I no longer had any power assist to turn the wheel and it was nearly impossible to turn enough to get out of the traffic way. No fix has been performed yet.
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
Transmission issue… grinding and not accelerating…. When it is at a stop and moving again .. turning with accelerating.. it moves really slow
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
Transmission jerks, jumps, skips, etc., I was scared when trying to accelerate while trying to pass other people, car felt like it was giving out on me, there where no warning lamps, until after the first encounter, and that's when it first appeared...