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 15, 2024
The engine cooling hose is failing and may be made of similar materials under the same recall as the Stelvio Qudrofiligo NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 18V635000. Mine has a leak which can cause a loss of coolant and cause a crash. The engine cooling hose may have inadequate webbing material allowing a coolant leak.
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
WHen the fog lights are engaged, smoke and burning smell appears to be coming inside the steering wheel on the left side.
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
There is a major design issue with the front end of this truck. There is a problem with the front end that causes major outside tire wear. I had put about 7000 miles on the truck since I had it. The truck came with brand new tires and I had the steel belt showing and only noticed this when I washed the truck my self. I brought it to the dealership to get it looked at but they said they can’t fin... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
There is a major design issue with the front end of this truck. There is a problem with the front end that causes major outside tire wear. I had put about 7000 miles on the truck since I had it. The truck came with brand new tires and I had the steel belt showing and only noticed this when I washed the truck my self. I brought it to the dealership to get it looked at but they said they can’t fin... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
The service airbag light came on.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Vehicle repeatedly goes in to limp mode for VSS faults related to steering codes. Dealers are unable to repair and report that many other of the same model have the same problem. Many other owners in the online community report the same issue with no fix in sight. The vehicle is essentially unusable and the manufacturer does not appear to have any intent to remedy the situation.
Incident date: Sep 5, 2024
Transmission, currently available for inspection. Vehicle stalled in traffic. Yes, confirmed by dealership No other inspections On occasion it did seem to stay in low gear too long. Dash message said Transmission Fault on September 10, 2024 but no other warnings prior. While driving "Transmission Fault" displayed on dash after revving up, gearing down, and apparently shifting into neutral while d... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2024
My abs and traction control lights come on and electronic brake service messages along with the chime Had the truck scanned by a personal mechanic and the abs pump is not working
Incident date: Aug 25, 2024
I had to have the bars on top of my vehicle replaced due to a flapping noise. The dealership told me that the bars were broken. After replacing the bars, the roof began to leak and now the liner on the a-pillar has a water stain on it. The radio has static and my phone has little to no service. Due to everything being wet. If the moisture gets on wires if could cause a fire. There’s also strong ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
Experienced severe engine failure while driving on the freeway, which cost to be in operable due to failure of EGR valve. This is a warranty repair however GM has part on backorder for over a year with no plan to fix. My car is now disabled and I have no other transportation.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2024
abs fails when going over bumps at speeds of 15mph or under and I've had it repaired 2x in the 3 months I've owned it
Crash
Incident date: Sep 14, 2024
Coolant leaking into cylinders, smell coolant through vents, smoke from exhaust, film of exhaust coming into front windshield, turbo charger 1, under boost, car just stopped accelerating
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
Was driving on a smooth road when suddenly airbag light on dash came on flashing. All the steering wheel buttons are working. Brought car to mechanic's shop to scan obd2, no dtc codes. Mechanic says they don't know what it is without a code. Nissan has been shady lately with technical service bulletins TSB instead of recalls. TSB according to Nissan hq is a repair at the discretion of the dealer ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2024
I purchased the 2024 Mazda CX-30 from Werner Mazda in Manchester, NH on 12-16-2023. It came with defect(s) that cause interior water buildup on inside windows & roof that also caused the air bag deployers to rust & corrode & for toxic mold to develop in the car. Was obvious soon after I drove the car off the lot on [XXX]. I have taken many pictures & videos of it. Werner Mazda failed to fix t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
At low speeds my transmission will down shift to the point my truck feels likes it’s nose diving then kicks into the higher gear hard before correcting its self into the correct gear. I am getting nowhere with any dealer besides if I don’t have the transmission recall then it’s on me to pay for the fix. I don’t truly feel that is fair at all to me with still making a monthly payment.
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
Steering wheel will lock in place making it hard to move when driving and trying to stay within a lane. I have to use a bit of force and when I do move it, there is a clicking sound.
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
This Person hit my SUV and would not Stop, USDOT # 923849 I had to chase him down for a mile before he stopped. He destroyed my New Car 2025 Subaru Forester. I would like this person NOT be able to drive a BIG RIG again.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
While driving my car made a loud beep sound and Faulty Brake Booster appeared on the dash and the BRAKE light came on and the brakes would not work properly. I was almost rear ended because of this.
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while attempting to activate the defroster, the defroster failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the tubing of the heater core needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred approximately 100 miles later. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2024
Had to have rack and pinion replaced. Started leaks power steering fluid. Pretty sure cv joints are bad also, i have a clicking sound when I turn the wheels.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
Kumho Crugen HP 71 101H 235 55 R19 Warranted Tire Life: 65,000 Miles Failed at: 32,000 Miles (estimated) 3 out of the 4 original tires failed on vehicle under 50% through normal life of tire. I DO Have Tires in my possession. • According to 2 different tire departments including Dealership in which car was purchased, 3 out of 4 original tires failed due to BROKEN BELTS. • A blowout can cause ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2024
POSSIBLE RECALL SITUATION Kumho Crugen HP 71 101H 235 55 R19 Warranted Tire Life: 65,000 Miles Failed at: 32,000 Miles (estimated) 3 out of the 4 original tires failed on vehicle under 50% through normal life of tire. I DO Have Tires in my possession. • According to 2 different tire departments including Dealership in which car was purchased, 3 out of 4 original tires failed due to BROKEN BELTS... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2024
POSSIBLE RECALL SITUATION Kumho Crugen HP 71 101H 235 55 R19 Warranted Tire Life: 65,000 Miles Failed at: 32,000 Miles (estimated) 3 out of the 4 original tires failed on vehicle under 50% through normal life of tire. I DO Have Tires in my possession. • According to 2 different tire departments including Dealership in which car was purchased, 3 out of 4 original tires failed due to BROKEN BELTS... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission pump. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V461000 (Power Train); but t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
There’s already a recall on the engine cooling fans. I was driving on the freeway when the cooling g fans failed causing overheating and major damage to the engine, specifically the head gasket, thermostat, and radiator. I took it to the dealer after finding out about the recall. They replaced the fans but are still not working correctly. They also refused to repair the other damages that were c... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and the engine hot warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact allowed the vehicle to cool down. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The following day, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator peda... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
I drove on [XXX] from Los Angeles towards San Diego in the morning. I followed the traffic in the middle lane and turned on the ACC, including the lane-keep assist, at the same time. The speed was set at 78 mph, but the traffic was moving faster than that. The distance was set to level 3 for ACC auto brake. After passing a speed limit sign, the head-up display suddenly showed a speed limit warni... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
I drove on [XXX] from Los Angeles towards San Diego in the morning. I followed the traffic in the middle lane and turned on the ACC, including the lane-keep assist, at the same time. The speed was set at 78 mph, but the traffic was moving faster than that. The distance was set to level 3 for ACC auto brake. After passing a speed limit sign, the head-up display suddenly showed a speed limit warni... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
Transmission is shifting hard around 4th or 5th gear. It is lagging as well causing the car not to accelerate when needed causing safety concern while driving in traffic. It will randomly have high rpms like it is shifting out of gear when not needed. There are no lights or codes. It hasn’t been inspected by dealer. It is a common problem on ford expeditions. My friend is having the exact same p... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon shifting the vehicle into reverse, the vehicle had no motive power. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission solenoids. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the transmission h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
While traveling back from Labor Day Weekend on [XXX], I was driving in the Dallas Fort Worth area when I experienced loss of power to our vehicle on a major highway [XXX] and [XXX] ) and directly on a bridge with my entire family in the vehicle (4 kids and all of our luggage). It was a very dangerous and scary situation. We had to wait one hour for a tow truck to come and take my vehicle to the ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Transmission failure at 2,600 mi under low speed. The vehicle lost momentum and revved before catching gear causing an intense jerk feeling like it had been rear-ended. Immediately following the jolt multiple errors were displayed across the dash including Drive-Start Control Malfunction, PKSB System Malfunction, Hybrid System Malfunction, DRCC & PCS system malfunction screens along with orange in... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
Cylinder head gasket failure: known to be a common failure in the Pentastar 3.6L engine. Repair in thousands, and may not be a solution as the engine block may warp due to failure preventing a proper seal with the cylinder head. The number of cases of this failure is alarming and should really be considered a proper consumer risk.
Incident date: Nov 15, 2020
Vehicle has suffered extensive and catastrophic corrosion to the rear sub-frame resulting in structural danger to operate vehicle. Extensive rust appears to be the result of substandard materials and the manufacturer supplied installation of plastic guard which traps and retains moisture and debris next to the subframe. Damage was detected before vehicle incident could occur on road.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked with a trailer hitched to the vehicle, the contact noticed that the trailer hitch receiver was at a downward angle from the trailer hitch, which could cause a trailer that was being pulled to be at an angled position instead of being level. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was being diagnosed. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2024
I was driving the speed limit on a sunny day and heard a loud pop and glass breaking which was my sunroof exploding. There is no damage to my roof to indicate anything hit my vehicle.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2024
Vehicle is sluggish and will not accelerate from a dead stop for several seconds. The gas pedal often has to be pushed much farther down than usual so then when the vehicle actually starts moving it lurches. It often seem like it can't find the proper gear so it will buck and stutter while driving. The shifting is not smooth at all and you never know how the vehicle will respond making for a ver... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the low battery warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was determined that the 12-volt battery had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was ... Read more
RAM
PROMASTER 2500
(2021) - ENGINE
Sep 12, 2024
Incident date: May 12, 2024
The warning lamp (engine light) illuminated blinking on and off. Engine code P1327 read on the diagnostic check, riding on the expressway was a little uncomfortable, engine was losing power which is unsafe at high speeds. I’ve contacted the nearest Hyundai dealer and scheduled an appointment for the car repair. I take care of the car and any repairs for maintenance and I never have any problems ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
My engine has been malfuctioning over the following year. I've gotten repairs and it continues to do so. I'm asking for a recall.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
We been getting AWD malfunctions alerts, causing the vehicle to not go into AWD. Took it to the dealership they say this isn't covered under the powertrain and we need to replace the AWD module on our 2020 Ford explorer. Reading other Forums, sounds like this is a common issue with the explorer but the dealership won't cover under powertrain warranty even thought this component powers the AWD part... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
There is a recall on my airbags in my vehicle. Volkswagen dealership states they do not have the remedy to this issue currently and do not know when it will be available. They also would not offer a rental car for the safety risk. This is putting my life and any other passengers at a high safety risk!
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
I started to get the ringing noise I do not have my seatbelt buckled and the SRS Airbag warning started popping up. I learned after taking my car in for service it is due to the recall related to the sensor under my passenger seat.
Incident date: Aug 2, 2024
WHILE FUELING AT DIFFERENT GAS STATIONS THE TANK SPILLS/BELCHES GAS ALL OVER. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS RECALLED. THERE ARE ENDLESS COMPLAINTS ON [XXX] OF SIMILAR ISSUES OCCURRING TO OTHER FRONTIER OWNERS. I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC AND WAS QUOTED OVER $800 TO REPLACE ALL 5 COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM AS NISSAN HAS SUGGESTED IN A BULLETIN FOR MECHANICS. IF NISSAN IS AWARE OF THIS IS... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
My traction control light and ABS light keeps coming on and off(doesn't stay on long enough to produce a code. Dealership noticed light came on but can't do anything(still have warranty) and is not on the recall list for my 2022 Ram Laramine???
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
The electric power steering went out while driving. I could not steer the car. Very dangeres in traffic. The Torque Sensor failed which controls the power steering. There is a recall on the issue (#14772) but my Vin is not listed.
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
The electric power steering went out while driving. I could not steer the car. Very dangeres in traffic. The Torque Sensor failed which controls the power steering. There is a recall on the issue (#14772) but my Vin is not listed.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Multiple times at varying speeds my 2021 Silverado has produced engine misfire codes. I have never been able to get to it quick enough to see what cylinders are misfiring so it always gives me a general P0300 code. The following first two times it was confirmed by Widrick truck and diesel in Carthage, NY. The last time it happened, the code disappeared before I would take it to the Chevy dealershi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
I just purchased my 2024 Nissan VERSA two weeks ago August 24, 2024. Since I have had it my car doesn’t seem to want to shift speed like it should. My transmission seems to be stalling to change out. My car also constantly makes a growling noise when left I’m on my brakes sitting. I took my car back to the dealerships and they tried tell me that it was the compressor which is false my AC nor m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2019
Rear view camera intermittently cuts out. Recall was issued 07/14/23 yet there is no fix yet??? Mazda Recall #: 6023G NHTSA Recall #: 23V-487