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: Sep 22, 2022
The drivers display went blank. There is one indication so speed, break settings, turn signals or any of the safety related items such as blind spot, collision warning ect.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
Sept. 9, 2024 - called local dealer to schedule repair. Parts were not yet available. Placed on a list for them to call when the parts were available. October 15, 2024 - called dealer again. No parts have been received. ETA unknown. Confirmed I was still on the list.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
Sept. 9, 2024 - called local dealer to schedule repair. Parts were not yet available. Placed on a list for them to call when the parts were available. October 15, 2024 - called dealer again. No parts have been received. ETA unknown. Confirmed I was still on the list.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
Rear differential failed on a vehicle with 60,000 miles and required a $4,200 repair. The manufacturer warranty covers up to 70,000 miles, but the age of the vehicle voided the warranty. Five Year manufacturer warranty and the vehicle is 7 years old, but within the mileage. Without the repair the vehicle is worthless, whereas it is worth @$14,000 {Kelly Blue Book}. Checked online and it is not... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon a cold start of the engine, an abnormal, rattling sound would emit from the engine without warning. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to the engine's cam phasers which were associated with Technical Service Bulletin: 21-2119. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where they acknowledged the failure and referred th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while starting and driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Reduced Propulsion" message was displayed. Additionally, after parking the vehicle, the "Shift To Park" message was displayed, and the vehicle failed to turn off. The contact pressed the Start/Stop button and then opened and closed the front driver's side door to turn off the ve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Can-Am Spyder F3. The contact stated that while attempting the accelerate from a stop light, the motorcycle lost automotive power and failed to drive forward. The motorcycle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the front sprocket pulley was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure.... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
While driving on the freeway, the overhead console fell from the ceiling of the vehicle. It dropped suddenly and apparently for no reason. Continued operation of the vehicle was impaired due to limited visibility. The dealership viewed the problem as an opportunity to sell parts. Pictures which are included in this communication were sent to the dealership, and, presumably, that is how they ma... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
Chevrolet had a recall (N232395330) for 2018 Trax models due to a problem with the turbocharger. For whatever reason, Chevrolet did not include all 2018 Trax models, and omitted ours. The turbocharger on ours failed, causing an oil problem and substantial damage to the engine (and, possibly, other parts), with an estimated $12,500 cost to repair. We have tried to work with both Chevrolet (case ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
My 2024 Subaru Crosstrek was stopped at a red light behind a car. My cruise was disengaged after the car stopped and my foot was on the brake. Suddenly, the car lurched forward on its own and only stopped when I pressed hard on the brake and moved transmission from drive to park.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the passenger's side and driver's side sliding doors were locked and had failed to open automatically and manually. The contact stated that the motors of the doors were previously replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the doors could not be opened. The dealer determined that the Powe... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
SERVICE ELECTRONIC BRAKE SYSTEM AND ABS LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY COMES ON DRIVE DOWN THE ROAD OR WHEN STOPPING. HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE PAST 3 WEEKS NOW.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
SERVICE ELECTRONIC BRAKE SYSTEM AND ABS LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY COMES ON DRIVE DOWN THE ROAD OR WHEN STOPPING. HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE PAST 3 WEEKS NOW.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
I previously filed a complaint on this car about the sticky steering. I understand Honda has recalled many cars for this same problem on model years 2020-2023. Why would they not recall my 2017 civic with this very same steering issue. It IS a safety issue, especially at highway speeds.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
Automatic auto off-on began to fail and car didn't start well. I began to disable the automatic auto on off while driving because it began to sound like it would stall out while stopped at a traffic light . Then I forgot to disable the automatic auto off on and car stalled out while stopped at a traffic light. I took it to dealer, Rafferty Subaru, they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Then... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Automatic auto off-on began to fail and car didn't start well. I began to disable the automatic auto on off while driving because it began to sound like it would stall out while stopped at a traffic light . Then I forgot to disable the automatic auto off on and car stalled out while stopped at a traffic light. I took it to dealer, Rafferty Subaru, they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Then... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Automatic auto off-on began to fail and car didn't start well. I began to disable the automatic auto on off while driving because it began to sound like it would stall out while stopped at a traffic light . Then I forgot to disable the automatic auto off on and car stalled out while stopped at a traffic light. I took it to dealer, Rafferty Subaru, they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Then... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2024
On four occasions now, the car slammed on the brakes as if the collision detection system was going off. Someone did almost hit me from behind as they needed to slam on their brakes due to my cars collision system going off when not supposed to. This has been well documented with Cadillac and the leased vehicle has been back in the shop 4 months out of the year we owned it. It is a major safety is... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the safety recall (NHTSA Recall No. 21V-215) for the fuel pump on my 2019 Acura ILX, VIN [XXX] . While I appreciate that American Honda has issued this recall, I am deeply troubled by the lack of available replacement parts and the company's decision to prioritize repairs only for vehicles currently experiencing symptom... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
The dealer found significant rusting on the front subframe and some on the rear subframe. The front was enough there's a hole in it. I was told it was not safe to drive as it would not hold in an accident.
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
Good morning. I am contacting you in regards to my 2015 Jeep Cherokee. In summary, I am having issues with the transmission and upon further investigation I believe the issue is identical/related to recall campaign 16V529000. I do not feel safe driving the vehicle and would very much appreciate the issue be investigated. Thank you
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Two years worth of "ABS" and "service electronic brake system" warning lights and bells going off. About 3 months ago they finally got a re-engineered ABS brake module installed and the light went away for about 2 months. Now they are back intermittently. Took it in to the dealership and they now say the HCU unit needs to be replaced as well. From reading RAM forums this is a known/on going prob... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The component that has failed was the PTU. It is available for inspection as well. My familys safety and myself along with other drivers safety was put at risk due to the "recall solution" for the failed ptu splines failing causing my vehicle to lose propulsion and setting the parking brake in traffic while at intersections as well as in traffic. The vehicle has not been inspected by any manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2021
Hello first the vehicle is stock and only has 80k miles. the battery jumper terminals become scorching hot as I got burned by touching them when I inspected the engine area because you can smell a light burn smell. So I have had a mechanic check The vehicles battery and he told me it's getting over charged by the alternator which is is regulated by the internal computer which is extremely pricey t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2021
The vehicle has coolant leaking into the cylinders. The dealership shows that it was due to overheating but the vehicle has not overheated. The dealership states that the engine needs replacement but is unable to verify any damage in the cylinders. The vehicle was taken in due to misfiring and the vehicle dying upon starting after a short period of time being turned off.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
My Volkswagen vehicle (Jetta Model 2015, MOdel 4DJSA, VIN [XXX] ) had a first event on [XXX] where the car suddenly stop in the middle of [XXX]. The car was taken to Volkswagen at Inver Grove and the cause was related to failure in a piston. The car was fixed without cost as it was covered by the guarantee of the vehicle. Again, around [XXX], the car again suddenly stopped working and needed to ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
When I put the car in Reverse, the display screen remains blank, sometimes it flickers on and off, and sometimes it just states "no video detected". I have replaced the core and the monitor, which only leaves the camera itself. This is a hazard to not be able to see what is behind me. I have many more receipts for this repair if needed.
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
The main instrument panel went black just shift indicator is visible. Did not know how fast i was going. No warning messages or lamps came on prior to not coming on.
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
The main instrument panel went black just shift indicator is visible. Did not know how fast i was going. No warning messages or lamps came on prior to not coming on.
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
Faulty micro-switch from factory, causes power surge. Flawed microswitch in transaxle shift cable. Incomplete connection of microswitch resulting higher voltage to PCM.(power control module) This irregularity, shows a DTC code reducing power propulsion during movement. The car will loose power & ability to shift. During driving movement. Quite a safety concern. A "shift to park" error displ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
Faulty micro-switch from factory, causes power surge. Flawed microswitch in transaxle shift cable. Incomplete connection of microswitch resulting higher voltage to PCM.(power control module) This irregularity, shows a DTC code reducing power propulsion during movement. The car will loose power & ability to shift. During driving movement. Quite a safety concern. A "shift to park" error displ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
I am writing to bring to your attention a serious issue regarding my Toyota vehicle, which is still under warranty. While my wife was driving to work, the front passenger tire exploded unexpectedly, without any warning lights or messages. This is particularly alarming as the car is new, purchased just 11 months ago, and has only 7,000 miles on it. After contacting AAA for assistance to replace t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
Several different instances I've had my parking brake release as soon as I go to move after being parked for a long period of time. (I never set my parking brake to begin with so I don't understand why it keeps telling me it's released) Once it tells me it's been released, it's followed by a rough jersey of the car and then I'm able to move. Ever since I bought the car, there was a small shake. Th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
Over the past month, the car has provided warnings when driving: 1. Front assist has limited availability, 2. ACC unavailable, and 3. Emergency assist is currently not available. Note: the ACC was not engaged when these messages appeared. On October 1 I was driving on a highway at about 65 MPH with adaptive cruise control engaged. The weather was clear. Suddenly the ACC disengaged and the c... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
First, there is a problem with the transmission. The car will stall or stop abruptly while driving. Second, the automatic turn signals do not work. Third, the driver safety belt does tightly secure the driver.
Incident date: Sep 4, 2024
My car made a loud pop noise when I go to turn it over. Then it was just dead others tried to jump it, but it wasn’t getting enough juice. Along with this all the warning signals start flashing through on the dash before basically dying. There had been warning at all early I had been driving around just fine. When we finally get to the dealership they say it was just the battery. We replace the ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
The Forward Collision Assist would intermittently disable during driving. The Lane Keeping Assist light illuminated and would not allow me to disable it causing the vehicle to drive straight only and to make left or right turns extremely hard to turn the vehicle. This incident occurred on [XXX] and was dropped off at Johnson Hyundai in Wake Forest on that date. After a week of no contact of a diag... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2024
Transmission failed at 75,000 miles, yes it is available for inspection. Truck went into limp mode on the highway and turned into a very dangerous situation, I was barely able to exit the highway. Yes the dealership Martys GMC in Kingston MA has confirmed that it is transmission failure. My vehicle has been sitting on the lot of Marty's GMC since September 13, 2024 waiting for a backordered par... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
My vehicle tends to overheat quite often. The water pump I've had to change five times within the past 5 years The radiator and patch change up three times and the thermostat I've had to change out three times. There's also the transmission shifting gears issue and get stuck on low and I can't move the vehicle.
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
A notchy feel when you get at about 40 mph or greater. Steering kind of gives a hesitation or resistance when trying to give minor corrections to the left or right. Very noticeable on at high way speeds when trying to stay within a lane along a straight away. You have to force the steering wheel to turn and by the time it "releases" you have to over correct to not go into the next lane accidentall... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
The rear driver side seat belt does not stay in place when the seat is lowered, therefore, leaving this seat without a seatbelt. The adaptive cruise control sometimes works and sometimes does not work. There is no specific reason for this. It works during the snow and does not work during the sunshine. When making a hard right or left turn, there is a grinding noise underneath, I am guessing it h... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
Car has a continuous gas smell after start up. When a/c or heat is turned off the car cabin smells of gaslione. I have taken to the car to lexus dealership repeatedly and have been advice car operates as intended. There is also a hissing noise coming from the rear driverside tire area near the gas tank.
Incident date: Sep 4, 2024
As i was coming off the highway my powersteering went out. I was able to pull over and stop prior to hitting the car infront of me. I called the local dealer/repair shop and they said the power stearing rack is discontinued and they were unable to help me.
Incident date: Sep 4, 2024
My truck is turning hard and is an issue driving. There are recalls for the same year and online states it has recalls for rams manufactured before 10-2018 and my truck was manufactured on 7-2018. I’m being told there is no recall. Why if dodge has an issue with power steering with those models like mine is my issue not covered . This is a major safety issue and is obviously related. I also had ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2024
Transfer case splines sheared, causing the awd system to fail. This eliminates power output to the rear wheels and could cause a loss of control while driving in sub par road conditions. This appears to be a very common issue among the Type-S trim.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 CAN-AM Spyder RT. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission failed to shift as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the gear shifter failed to shift into neutral. The contact stated that the motorcycle was taken to the dealer and had been at the dealer since September 2023. The contact stated that the recall repair for NHTSA Campai... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An unknown 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.... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and making slight right turns, the steering wheel was sticking and required to be manually steered to the center. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had progressively gotten worse, requir... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle lost automotive power before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The tra... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V720000 (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 failure. Parts distributio... Read more