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: May 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle failed to start. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shut off unintendedly. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the alternator was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the A-pil... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
Still they have yet to come up with a fix to the problem they sent out for their safety recall. 23TA12 (Interim notice 23TB12) Certain model years 2020-2023 Highlander-Highlander HV-Front Lower Bumper Cover Assembly May Detach While Driving. This is something that has caused severe damage to vehicles lowering the value of their vehicles and causing harm to passengers and pedestrians at times. Thi... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
My scion TC is using an extreme amount of oil to where I am putting 2-3 quarts in the motor per week. The extreme usage of oil can cause the engine to blow up due to lack of oil staying in the engine. My oil light will flash after couple days indicating low oil. A dangerous situation that can happen is the engine stop working while I'm driving on an interstate and possibly cause a serious acciden... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2023
Sliding door lock actuator failure resulting in inability to exit the vehicle quickly in the case of emergency.
Incident date: Oct 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the brake pedal, the steering wheel seized intermittently, causing the vehicle to strike a wall. There were no reported injuries. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where cosmetic damages were repaired but the failure was not determined. The contact stated that shortly afterw... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 20, 2024
unknown the gmc dealership refuses to repair recalls as they say, theres no recalls on the vehicle. There are 2 recalls and were not told of these recalls when purchasing
Incident date: Jan 15, 2020
The electrical components that failed or malfunctioned include the lane keep assist, road departure mitigation, collision mitigation system, and adaptive cruise control. These systems are critical for safe driving, and their malfunctions put safety at risk by causing unintended lane departures, inability to avoid collisions, and failure to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. The issue wa... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2024
The electrical components that failed or malfunctioned include the lane keep assist, road departure mitigation, collision mitigation system, and adaptive cruise control. These systems are critical for safe driving, and their malfunctions put safety at risk by causing unintended lane departures, inability to avoid collisions, and failure to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. The issue wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
My vehicle was parked but left running. I went around to obtain my daughter from the rear passenger. While holding her I leaned in to the passenger front and pressed the button to turn off the vehicle when it suddenly began to roll in reverse. It's unknown to me what could have caused the incident but something failed/malfunctioned. Something within possibly the gear shifter glitched when power wa... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
My 360 side cameras are turning blue while reversing. I asked Ford Corp to fix it under the recall, but Ford refused to rectify. I ended up paying $701 out of my own pocket. I told them this is part of the recall but still denied the repair. I had to go to Check Cashing place to borrow $701 NOTE: I almost hit a mother and a child while backing up because my screen turn blue all of a sudden.
Incident date: May 21, 2024
The vehicle's auto stop/start function shut down power to the engine at an intersection and would not restart. The vehicle was unable to move at a busy intersection and would not manually restart either. A dealer or independent service center has not reproduced the problem, but I do see plenty of other cases on different automotive forums. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer,... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2024
The passenger side rear sliding door will not lock and it periodically opens on its own. There is no warning or reason for this occurrence. It has happened multiple times and seems to be happening more often as time goes on. The vehicle has not been professionally inspected.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
The steering wheel “sticks” so that extra force is needed even to make tiny adjustments. This causes the car to over correct and is dangerous to drive. I will no longer let my teenage children drive the car.
Incident date: Apr 14, 2023
ABS system malfunctioning.
Incident date: Apr 14, 2023
The brake lines have corroded in multiple places causing brake fluid to leak, potentially creating a safety risk had the problem not been immediately observed and corrected. An independent service center confirmed the problem and replaced all the brake lines and hoses. There were no warning lamps or signals. A puddle of brake fluid under the car was the first indication of a problem.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Cadenza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); 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 ma... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2024
I bought my 2017 Audi Q7 on November 16, 2023 (Used) and a couple of days after putting the headlights on Auto I get a message pop up "Front left side marker light defective See owner's manual". Also kept getting a low oil message. This model have no oil stick so I put about a 1/2 qt of oil in it to see if the message goes away. It goes away for a few hours. The vehicle basically stopped running... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2022
While the vehicle was in driving on the street, and when we stopped at the streetlight the vehicle went to parking mode, and the drivers door suddenly got opened.
Incident date: Dec 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. Additionally, the contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal to drive from a complete stop, there was no pressure on the brake pedal, and the brakes became inoperable. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2024
I bought the car new in 2015 and after about only 40,000 miles I began getting a Propulsion Reduced error and the car would have very slow acceleration. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the accelerator for $500. It drove fine for a month, but then the acceleration was reduced again. I took it back to the dealer and they were stumped. They wanted to charge me $1300 just to replace some wir... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact had detected smoke coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. 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 not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V651000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. 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 conta... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2024
This car is a 2014 chevy captiva it has had multiple leaks that I have repaired on my own the engine gussles up gas like there's no tomorrow and then on hot days even though all liquids are filled will randomly have a check engine code and a reduced engine code amd service stabiltek system come on all at once. Now in this car I replaced the fuel pump, up and down 02 sensors the whole catalytic sys... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warnin... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2024
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 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 manufacturer w... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. 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 contact stated that while driving 30 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated be... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
The contact owned a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH the warning message "System Default, Battery" was displayed. After stopping to inspect under the hood the contact discovered smoke and flames were present coming from inside the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. During the incident, the veh... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 15, 2024
While towing a motorcycle, the wrench light came on. The transmission over revved and slipped out of gear shifting from 1-3 and 7-8. It continued to slip in and out of gear while driving.
Incident date: May 15, 2024
Kept getting a message on the dash saying low oil pressure then the car just completely stopped on me and wouldn't start no longer
Incident date: May 12, 2024
The camera that controls the entire ADAS system randomly goes out or loses its calibration. This is so common the part is back ordered with no expected delivery date.
Incident date: May 12, 2024
Hello, I purchased a 2019 Chevrolet Trailboss LT from a Chevrolet dealership on April 23 2024. I noticed a few days later and after the first rain, the back window was leaking water inside. There is a service bulletin regarding this issue, I called General Motors and was told that they recommend me getting this repaired at my expense. Ironically my mother whom was with me at the time of purchase w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
I noticed on the steering column and "one pedal" (bumper to bumper speed) brakes, both do not activate the brake lights -- a concern for vehicles from behind to be warned of my pending slowing down speed. The potential of being hit from behind is far greater without any indication of slowing down without brake lights activated using the steering column and "one pedal" breaking.
Incident date: May 18, 2024
I stopped one day to get some gas and when I tried to start my 2024 Ford escape back up it failed to turn over. I started to get notices from my Ford pass app stating that I was having some issues with my turbine. The vehicle was leaving me stranded every time I tried to start it and it would try to stall on me. The engine didn't seem like it had enough power to run at a proper and normal status a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2024
My vehicle Chrysler 200 2016 has several car mechanical issues. The shifting gears. Rough shifting while driving.The affected vehicle would lurch through gears, and it would sometimes shut down or automatically shift to neutral. Grinding or a crunching sound. Clutch slips or doesn't “feel right” Burning smell or high engine revs. Car started rough, shifting and having transmission problems a y... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
Abs light comes on all the time and cruise control goes out and go 50 miles and the abs and brake service lights comes on 67 times
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The in cab brake controller does not work with electric over hydraulic trailer brakes. In my research to diagnose and fix the problem I find out GMC has known about this for years and has done nothing to correct. I pulled code C1114 and GMC issued a bulletin for part number (K58-036-00) which I purchased and still did not correct this issue. In short there are many 3500 trucks out there running w... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The in cab brake controller does not work with electric over hydraulic trailer brakes. In my research to diagnose and fix the problem I find out GMC has known about this for years and has done nothing to correct. I pulled code C1114 and GMC issued a bulletin for part number (K58-036-00) which I purchased and still did not correct this issue. In short there are many 3500 trucks out there running w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
Rear seat belt will not click and lock in. With the forward collision warning there was times I was driving on the freeway where there is no vehicle in front of me and Hard brake on me and shows forward collision warning. This happened like 3 or 4 times
Incident date: May 16, 2024
I was turning into a parking garage when my car suddenly slammed on the brakes very hard to a sudden stop. Like there was an imagined hazard. I did not have the car on auto Drive as I do not trust the technology, but Tesla had just offered everyone full self driving automation that month. I did not elect to use that, but I feel that technology had something to do with this. Not only the incident s... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
Licensed independent service center diagnosed that I have coolant leaking into cylinder 5 and that the head gasket is compromised and needs to be replaced. My vehicle only has 84k miles. No warning lights illuminated until I started to experience a shudder when starting the vehicle, shaky start and then the check engine light came on with a cylinder 5 misfire code. I noticed coolant was low and to... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Purchased from Coparts end of March 2024 2019 Nissan Titan Xd S [XXX] ) Arrived with no keys, no batteries, other engine parts missing. we thought it would run once we got keys and battery for it because it had less than 13,000 miles on it. Connecting bar seems broke, oil pan was off so no oil. Afraid to try to turn over because of all the issues until the engine is pulled and inspected. We ... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2024
The headliner control panel just falls which distracts the driver as well as all forward safety components fail to respond. I feel it is dangerous as this is extremely distracting
Incident date: May 17, 2024
There was a coolant leak on my Mazda CX9 Signature with a 2.5T engine, and when driving the engine temperature started increasing slightly before taking off and turning red. I had to pull off to the side of a busy interstate road very quickly and shut the vehicle down before it overheated any more. Once I got the vehicle to the dealership, they told me it was a cracked cylinder head leaking coolan... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
ABS MODULE HCU MODULE Has failed, cruise control doesn't work, Dinging is non stop, Everytime I hit a bump it goes on and off
Incident date: May 17, 2024
For over a year had to replace right brake light 3 times. Got an extended warranty letter, took to dealership they checked and ordered part needed,its on national backorder. Now my left brake light went out. So now I have no taillights,brake lights or turn signals. It is due to wire melting. I have almost been rear-ended numerous times now. No other transportation so I'm in need of this being take... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
My 2013 explorer that I purchased is apart of the recall OEM 15n01 EPAS steering efforts. My VIN matches under the recall and my steering gear/rack seems to be faulty or broken. The service center confirmed the steering rack is faulty and is not safe to drive, It doesn’t let me drive in a straight acceleration and there’s knocking/grinding noise when it allows me to turn the wheel. What steps ... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2024
Sticky steering, when trying to make small adjustments the steering wheel feels locked and takes more of a rotation to get it “unstuck”. This causes me to look like I’m swerving almost just trying to make a small adjustment to the steering wheel.
Incident date: May 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the "Charging System Service Now" message was displayed. The vehicle was jumpstarted, and the battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. Upon investigation, the contact discove... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
2017 Chrysler Pacifica with roughly 134,000 miles recently started have idling issues. The vehicle has had regular maintenance and always taken into shop when issues arise. When vehicle started idling rough we found out the spark plugs (all 6) needed replaced and should fix the issue. Replaced all 6 plugs within the same week of finding out they needed replacement. Then within a week while driving... Read more