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: Nov 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Dart. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 50 MPH on the way to the residence, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the failure was due to the powertrain control module. The contact stated that the key had seized in the ignition, and the vehicle was left overnig... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
Sudden intermittent loss of power steering, issue confirmed by Chevy Dealership. No warning lights were displayed.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
The problem is with the Infotainment system. It was replaced once under warranty but is again malfunctioning. The infotainment system controls some critical features of the vehicle. One instance is when trying to calibrate tpms after a low condition, it is impossible to get control of the display as it makes "Ghost" selections or is hung up. Resets both hard and soft do not work. Removing the nega... Read more
RAM
PROMASTER CITY
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 8, 2025
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
I was pulling into a parking spot outside of a Costco and suddenly the car began to accelerate uncontrollably, and I couldn't stop the car. It ended up hitting the car in front of me, pushing it out of the spot and then hit the car next to us. Fortunately, there was no one in any of the cars hit but the entire experience was completely terrifying, and someone could have been seriously injured. ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 4, 2024
Constant cycling of ABS and Traction Control lights with tones. Causes ABS, Traction Control and cruise control failures with persistent tones and lights. Parts not available after 12 months of open recall.
Incident date: Dec 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the A-pillar trims on the driver’s and passenger’s side rattled while driving. The contact attempted to repair the A-pillar; however, the front driver's side A-pillar trim detached from the vehicle while driving. The contact then received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure)... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
Tire monitoring system started with one tired then on to all tires one at a time came on. Then one at a time went off. Also the big display doesn't turn off when vehicle does. I have to turn truck back on and off again to get it to shut off. Just randomly shuts off going down the road. Passenger screen doesn't turn on most days. Also lights turn on by themselves in thr middle of thr night.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
Tire monitoring system started with one tired then on to all tires one at a time came on. Then one at a time went off. Also the big display doesn't turn off when vehicle does. I have to turn truck back on and off again to get it to shut off. Just randomly shuts off going down the road. Passenger screen doesn't turn on most days. Also lights turn on by themselves in thr middle of thr night.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
While driving on the interstate in light snow and mostly clear and semi dry roads, ice accumulates on both the head lights and the foglights to a degree that they no longer project enough light to see far enough ahead at even moderate speeds. When I pulled over to inspect them, the surface was coated with a mix of ice and dirt rendering them useless. Ambient temperatures were between 24 and 30 d... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 435I. The contact stated that while the vehicle was turned off, the battery discharged abnormally. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the water pump had remained running unexpectedly when the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact ... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2023
2019 Ram Laramie 1500 instrument or cluster panel goes blank or speedometer goes blurry and unreadable.
Incident date: May 2, 2023
2019 Ram Laramie 1500 instrument or cluster panel goes blank or speedometer goes blurry and unreadable.
Incident date: May 2, 2023
I purchased this vehicle used in August 2025 from the estate of a friend's relative. The records show it was meticulously maintained and no recall notices have been unaddressed. The prior owner used it infrequently and it still has just under 90k miles. There were no major engine issues when my local repair shop (over 12 years and 3 vehicles) inspected all systems, and the vehicle passed for PA st... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the rear passenger's side tire became flat, and the front passenger's side tire lost a significant amount of air pressure. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where all four tires were replaced with brand new tires; however, the failure recurred a week later. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Palisade. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V607000 (Seat Belts); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that upon further inspection, the second-row seat belt buckles failed to latch closed as intended unless excessive force was used, and the seat belt occasionally independently unlatched. The... Read more
RAM
PROMASTER CITY
(2022) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Dec 8, 2025
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
On March 19, 2025 upon driving my car home from a 1 hour commute I sensed a unique, uncommon smell - like some sort of electrical component burning. I parked the car in my garage, turned it off and went inside my house. Within 5 minutes the engine was producing gray smoke followed by fire. The car went up in flames in less than 10 minutes. The fire spread to the attic and burned most of the house.... Read more
Fire
RAM
PROMASTER CITY
(2022) — STEERING
Dec 8, 2025
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
Hi, my power steering went out. It's tough to turn. I see there was a safety recall, 14S06, that mentions the power steering control module. According to the NHTSA website my car has a safety recall. MAY 29, 2014 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V286000 Loss of Electric Power Steering Assist If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist it will require extra steering effort at lower speed... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2025
ABS module failure, dealer has tried to reprogram computer but didn’t work. They also tried to send out to rebuild the ABS module and it couldn’t be rebuilt. Dodge has no part to replace as of yet because this part was made vin specific. Brake traction control, trailer brakes and cruise control do not work. I have had this issue over a year now.
Incident date: Oct 6, 2025
ABS module failure, dealer has tried to reprogram computer but didn’t work. They also tried to send out to rebuild the ABS module and it couldn’t be rebuilt. Dodge has no part to replace as of yet because this part was made vin specific. Brake traction control, trailer brakes and cruise control do not work. I have had this issue over a year now.
Incident date: Oct 6, 2025
The wireless phone charger in my 2023 VW Tiguan does not function as intended and consistently fails to charge any phone, regardless of placement, brand, or case. The charging pad repeatedly disconnects, overheats the phone, or never initiates charging at all, making the feature completely unusable. This is a safety concern because it encourages drivers to handle their phones while driving after a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
12 volt battery only charges to 50% of capacity. Dealer says it is normal.
Incident date: Nov 19, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ram 2500. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, traffic started to slow down, and the vehicle failed to stop as intended while depressing the brake pedal. The contact depressed the brake pedal again, and the vehicle abruptly stopped and veered to the left. The contact was able regain control of the vehicle and pulled over to the shoulder. Several unknown warning lights w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2025
The contact owns 2016 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V175000 (STEERING); however, the VI... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
Gas tank melted on top of the tank next to drive shaft and a hole was leaking gas- we are keeping the tank that was removed for investigation. Extreme safety issue that put my daughter and granddaughters at risk of fire/explosion when it was unknown that there was a gas leak while driving. The part was inspected by a repair shop in Lake Havasu AZ as well as the Capistrano Volkswagen, CA dealer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
While driving at highway speeds (approx. 65 MPH), the vehicle suffered a sudden and catastrophic loss of motive power. The "Hybrid System Malfunction" warning illuminated, followed immediately by a "Check Engine" light. The vehicle entered a fail-safe mode, then completely shut down. The steering wheel locked, making it extremely difficult to maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder in a dark, remote ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2025
August 30th 2024 the pickup was just turning to roughly 30,000 miles and started a knocking sound. The GM dealership tore it apart and fixed what I believe they said was a bent rod. I cycled through two oil changes and decided to pull an oil sample. I sent oil sample off for analysis. The oil analysis came back urgent with very high levels of copper and lead showing in the testing. I then called ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
THIS RECALLED VEHICLE CANNOT BE SAFELY DRIVEN. NO REMEDY IS AVAILABLE. I AM PAYING FOR A LEASE I CANNOT USE AND REQUESTING FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR A LEASE TERMINATION OR REPLACEMENT.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
The power steering system failed & is causing safety issues.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
2023 Gmc Yukon XL SLT 5.3 Liter V8 engine As i was crusing on hiway my engine gave up lost of power knocking noise and check engine light appeared on dash it was a very serious matter when you are on hiway and engine fails on you ive gotte the car diagnosed it had known issue like the rest of GM trucks and suv Lifter failure/camshaft/push rods complete engine had to be either replace or professio... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
New pads, rotor, caliper, and wheel hub installed. After driving around 200 miles, approximately 10 days later, while applying the brakes, the rear wheel locked. This caused a roll over crash.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 7, 2025
My vehicle shut down as I was in drive. Engine was shut off and it engaged the emergency parking brake.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2025
My vehicle shut down as I was in drive. Engine was shut off and it engaged the emergency parking brake.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2025
[XXX] we were driving to San Francisco. Traffic was very light because of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. We were about 1000 feet from the toll plaza, driving at 50-55 MPH. There was a car behind us about six car lengths back. There were no cars in front of us between us and the Toll Plaza. Nothing at all. There were no cars in lanes to our left nor right in our vicinity. Suddenly our car mad... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2025
I am writing to respectfully request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) consider adopting a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard requiring vehicles to provide a clear driver alert when headlights and tail lamps are not illuminated in low-light conditions. Although many vehicles offer automatic headlights, these systems can be disabled without the driver’s knowledge... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2025
About 3 times already the vehicle have stalled after been stop at a traffic light. When I lift my foot from the brake pedal and hit the gas the vehicle does not move. I had to hit the brakes and put it in park and then drive again for it to go. The last time yesterday I was on a hill and the vehicle went back when I tried to hit the gas. I took it to the dealer on Nov 19, and they kept it for four... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2025
Locks no longer work with key fob or button within car and sometimes even takes multiple attempts to manually unlock. This poses a danger if needed to enter or exit the car in a hurry.
Incident date: Dec 4, 2025
Even after the last recall campaign, my vehicle still frequently fails to activate the backup camera with a message stating Backup Camera unavailable. The software update that was intended to resolve the issue has not worked. I've seen multiple other Volvo drivers complaining about the same issue online. This is regarding the following previous recall: Recall R10320 WAM Upgrade, Model Year 2021-2... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
I had been driving about 1.5 hours when I exited the Interstate and the car engine shut off at a traffic light. When I shifted the car into park and tried to restart the car, smoke filled the cabin. Unbeknownst to me, an oil leak occurred while driving. No warning lights or other indicators that anything was awry. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest Hyundai dealer. Though the suv is under wa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2025
I was driving the vehicle and suddenly the power steering became difficult to steer. It has happened to me on several occasions often in situations where an accident could have been caused with my family in tow.
Incident date: Nov 7, 2025
On [XXX] I was struck by a OVI driver at 50mph the side airbags deployed however the front airbag never deployed. The vehicle was totaled out my insurance company. The vehicle had no record or open recalls for the airbag and had been given a multiple point inspection in November 2024 with no issues noted. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
My 2019 RAM 1500 diesel (built 12/12/2019 is included in Recall 23V-411 for tone wheel delamination. My tone wheel has failed (confirmed by technician). Stellantis provides free tone wheel replacement under Recall 73A for 2014 and 2016 models but excludes 2015/2017/2018/2019 models despite having the identical defect from the same supplier. I received only Recall 66A (software) which did not preve... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
Component/System Failed: The engine of my 2016 Chevrolet Volt experienced a sudden internal crack, leading to complete engine failure. The engine is available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: The engine failure rendered the vehicle completely inoperable, posing potential risk if it had occurred while driving. Sudden loss of engine power could have caused a crash or left me stranded in tra... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2025
I purchased this RAM 1500 Big Horn Edition truck new on 12/23/24. The backup camera display has randomly failed 14 times only showing a blue screen. I have been able to clear the error by turning the vehicle off and back on except for two occasions (see*). There was not any resolution by the dealership on November 10, 2025, as they could not replicate the issue. The dates of this failure are: 1/22... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2025
At a busy intersection the vehicle failed to restart on the automatic start/stop function. The vehicle behind almost hit us as the brake lights turned off when the pedal was released.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
Stellantis and RAM companies have had Manufacturer Recall NumberC4B NHTSA Recall Number24V-896 Recall Status: Recall Incomplete, remedy not yet available This has been well over a year and I have lost the use of my Truck for loading my Truck Camper for the entire year due to their lack of resources allocated to fix this issue. I have had the Traction control light /ABS Service light associated w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
Stellantis and RAM companies have had Manufacturer Recall NumberC4B NHTSA Recall Number24V-896 Recall Status: Recall Incomplete, remedy not yet available This has been well over a year and I have lost the use of my Truck for loading my Truck Camper for the entire year due to their lack of resources allocated to fix this issue. I have had the Traction control light /ABS Service light associated w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
Stereo/speaker system has a very loud static noise every time I drive the car. It happens the most when the car has been sitting in the sun. The static sound is so unbearable while I’m driving. I have to pull over to shut the car off. I turn the audio button off on the stereo but the speakers still have the loud static noise.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
The back up camera constantly fails to turn on. It appears to be a known defect of the car. Service centers seem to have no fix for the issue.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
Headlight shut off when truck slows down