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: Dec 1, 2025
2026 GMC Sierra Elevation X31 with 3.0 Duramax Diesel engine, 132-miles, thrust bearing 1.53-mm out of tolerance requiring engine and turbo replacement. Engine build date 25219 (07 AUG 2025), vehicle assembly date August 2025, purchased 10 OCT 2025, entered service for engine and turbo failure on 11 NOV 2025, returned 10 JAN 2026.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2026
I am reaching out to bring to your attention an urgent issue regarding the backup camera in the 2021 Polestar 2. The backup camera frequently fails to work when the car is put into reverse or, even more concerning, it intermittently cuts out while backing up. Given the limited visibility when relying solely on the rearview and side mirrors, this malfunction poses a significant safety risk. The i... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2026
Back window glass exploded into car and onto garage floor. Had just started car and put in reverse when loud explosion occurred and stopped the car to inspect. Found entire back window shattered and pieces resting inside car trunk, rear seats, and garage floor. Insurer had Safelite come to replace the window but technician could not complete the replacement since the black plastic wiper motor pl... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
The transmission of this model car is very poorly programmed a low speeds. it is constantly jerking in and out of gears making it difficult to moderate speed. There is also a substantial delay between hitting the pedal and accelerating the vehicle. The issues with the transmission paired with the very delayed accelleration leads to very ineffective control of the vehicles speed, leading to what I ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
Water entered the passenger cabin of my vehicle during normal rain exposure while the vehicle was parked overnight. The failure occurred at the roof glass/seal system, allowing rainwater to intrude into the interior behind the second-row seating area and soak the carpet and underlying padding. This resulted in persistent moisture and a strong musty odor inside the cabin, consistent with microbial ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2026
While driving the indicator light for Forward Collision Warning (FCW or Pedestrian Emergency Braking (PEB) illuminated. This is an intermittent issue and has appeared during snowy or wet road conditions. The owner's manual states description states: Warning light indicates a fault in the FCW/PEB warning system. Contact an authorized dealer for service.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2025
While driving the indicator light for Forward Collision Warning (FCW or Pedestrian Emergency Braking (PEB) illuminated. This is an intermittent issue and has appeared during snowy or wet road conditions. The owner's manual states description states: Warning light indicates a fault in the FCW/PEB warning system. Contact an authorized dealer for service.
Incident date: Dec 18, 2025
Car will be in drive or reverse, start to move with foot on gas then will shift itself into park
Incident date: Dec 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while shifting into reverse or drive, the vehicle seemed to be in neutral and failed to move. The vehicle failed to shift into gear. The wrench symbol was displayed. After resetting the codes, there was an abnormal squealing sound. The engine light was illuminated. The vehicle went into safe mode. The contact stated that the vehicle was t... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2024
Vehicle was brought to Payne Chevrolet(Weslaco,Tx)for Recall N242454440. After the software update, the vehicle entered 'Limp Mode' and threw a Permanent Fault Code P2817 (Solenoid 8 Stuck Off). The dealership and GM Executive Resolution (Case #86918646) have confirmed this is a mechanical failure of the valve body, but are refusing/delaying the remedy due to a branded title. The vehicle is curren... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2024
My vehicle has less than 8K miles. This weekend my horn stopped working (a definite safety problem) and the signal that I had locked my car doors using my fob failed to work. The lights did flash to signal they were locked (I checked just to be sure!) I need to have the vehicle checked before part(s) can be ordered. That requires 2 trips to the dealer instead of one. I was told that this probl... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2025
TICKING NOISE FROM 3.6l PENTASTAR ENGINE. SAFTEY CONCERN COULD RUIN MY ENGINE CAUSING STALLS AND MISFIREING AND SEZEING.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
I received an email saying I need to replace the airbag; I think it expired.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the steering wheel jerked and caused the vehicle to shift into the left lane. The contact immediately slammed on the brake pedal and repositioned the vehicle into the intended lane, but the vehicle felt unstable as if the vehicle was driving on ice. The contact pulled over to the side of the road to inspe... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
The car stalls upon acceleration while driving. At times it will stall in the middle of the road; skipping repeatedly or simply not accelerating at all. There are often no warning signs at all, though when it skips repeatedly upon acceleration, the engine check light will appear. The car can be available for inspection upon request.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
The recall for the 2025 accord hybrids should be extended to more models. I have the se trim and I'm having the same issues. Also when I use air condition or heat there's a grinding noise. I brought to the dealer multiple times and showed them videos of it making the sound with no resolution. The grinding noise problem has been ever since I got the car and was always told there is no problem.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
The contact owns a 2011 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 35 MPH with her son inside the vehicle, the driver’s side and the driver’s seat air bags deployed unexpectedly. Neither independent mechanic nor the dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileag... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
Lifters failed and needed repaired. $2,000 mechanic bill
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
‘Voltage abnormality, power steering low’ error message has appeared three separate times. All while vehicle is idle at stop light or parked, last incident car was unable to restart immediately. All dashboard lights came on, including message saying parking hold unavailable. Mechanic confirmed no issues with 12v battery health and unable to recreate issue. Loss of power is risk to safety, ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2025
‘Voltage abnormality, power steering low’ error message has appeared three separate times. All while vehicle is idle at stop light or parked, last incident car was unable to restart immediately. All dashboard lights came on, including message saying parking hold unavailable. Mechanic confirmed no issues with 12v battery health and unable to recreate issue. Loss of power is risk to safety, ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
2017 Chrysler Pacifica Minivan Right passenger door fell off and out at the back when my wife was opening the door manually in NJ 20 degree temp - - almost injuring my wife. The back end corner of the door fell to the ground when both the top support and middle support came completely out of their tracks. The door is still attached front bottom. The door is very heavy and could have cause s... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
2017 Chrysler Pacifica Minivan Right passenger door fell off and out at the back when my wife was opening the door manually in NJ 20 degree temp - - almost injuring my wife. The back end corner of the door fell to the ground when both the top support and middle support came completely out of their tracks. The door is still attached front bottom. The door is very heavy and could have cause s... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2026
Driving at 78 mph and "Check hybrid system" came on, engine and all throttle/electrical shut off and did not regain power. Had to sit for 5-10mins and vehicle eventually regained power after resetting battery and had no issues.
Incident date: Dec 19, 2025
This is an EV vehicle. This is a recurrent problem with the Ioniq 5 and is all over the internet. For me this is the 2nd electrical failure. The first time the accessory batter failed and the ICCU controller failed and had to be replaced. Now its at the shop for the 2nd time for the same failure. Not sure if its the ICCU again or not. In and of itself not a problem to send it off to fix, The ma... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2025
This is an EV vehicle. This is a recurrent problem with the Ioniq 5 and is all over the internet. For me this is the 2nd electrical failure. The first time the accessory batter failed and the ICCU controller failed and had to be replaced. Now its at the shop for the 2nd time for the same failure. Not sure if its the ICCU again or not. In and of itself not a problem to send it off to fix, The ma... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
This is an EV vehicle. This is a recurrent problem with the Ioniq 5 and is all over the internet. For me this is the 2nd electrical failure. The first time the accessory batter failed and the ICCU controller failed and had to be replaced. Now its at the shop for the 2nd time for the same failure. Not sure if its the ICCU again or not. In and of itself not a problem to send it off to fix, The ma... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
Upon starting car, digital odometer cluster is blank. While the cluster is down, the gas tank cap is also unable to be opened. In researching on Google/kia forums, the fix has been to turn off the car, lock the doors and then unlock and restart the car. This is a 2022 and has happened approximately six times since purchase, the most recent time being today’s date again, the Kia forum suggested f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
Car has sensor issues. It ran into pole and median after defective collision assist said sensor was blocked. Has emission leak. Second vehicle i had with that and they wont cover under warranty. Kia refuses to by back a car do not feel safe driving. They refuse to fix things under warranty. The refuse to do anything about sensors, says its the safety features and they cannot remove them. Only offe... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
Car has sensor issues. It ran into pole and median after defective collision assist said sensor was blocked. Has emission leak. Second vehicle i had with that and they wont cover under warranty. Kia refuses to by back a car do not feel safe driving. They refuse to fix things under warranty. The refuse to do anything about sensors, says its the safety features and they cannot remove them. Only offe... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 8, 2026
My check engine light came on spring of 2025 and my Rogue was losing speed from 80mph to 50mph on the intersate with the RPM's shooting up to 5-6. On 5/30/2025, I paid $800 to get the intake manifold sensor replaced. A few months later in October of 2025, engine light came back on and was having the same issue on the interstate. I took it in and I'm told its the actual intake manifold now. In Octo... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2026
Phantom braking when there is no cars or anything on the road. The car would immediately brake out no where. It could cause an accident randomly braking when using cruise control.
Incident date: Jan 9, 2026
I am submitting this complaint to report a serious and recurring safety issue with my Honda Odyssey involving the camera system. Multiple warning messages and fault codes appeared on the dashboard simultaneously, including: -Collision Mitigation System Problem -Adaptive Cruise Control Problem -Lane Keep Assist Problem -Auto High Beam Problem These systems are all disabled. This failure occurred wi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle and attempting to shift into park, the vehicle failed to recognize that the transmission was in park(P). There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that several attempts were required to shift the vehicle into park(P) to turn off the vehicle. The contact further stated that on other occasions, th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2026
When driving at slow speed and wheels turning right or left you can hear a humming coming from the suspension. Unable to identify the issue. When wheels get straight the humming goes away
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
The horn has stopped working 2 times in less than a year, ( invoice states horn assy-low pit, part #96611-k2000)
Incident date: Jan 18, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Kia EV9. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, a burning odor was detected. The contact pressed the recirculate air button, but the burning odor intensified. No warning light was illuminated. The contact noticed flames coming from underneath the front driver's seat. The contact's husband pulled over and parked the vehicle. The conta... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
Vehicle experienced sudden loss of power while driving at highway speed. While driving on the interstate at highway speed in dark, snowy, high-traffic conditions, the vehicle displayed a warning about an electrical system fault and instructed me to “stop safely.” The vehicle immediately lost some propulsion and ramped down speed. We were only narrowly able to exit the highway before it would ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
Lost all power to vehicle after driving for approximately 40 minutes, around 60-70 MPH. I was driving on the highway and then lost all power. I was able to pull off of the interstate and got a few blinking messages. The only one I remember was "Shift to P to Start". I could not accelerate at all and probably had less than a minute to get to safety before the car coasted to a stop and I was forced ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
My 2019 Lincoln MKC with only 52,200 miles experienced unrepairable engine damage due to an internal coolant intrusion condition that directly matches Ford TSB 22-2229. On or around Jan 1st or 2nd, a check engine warning light came on as I was driving home at night. I did not drive my car any further except to the dealership for service on 1/5/2026. The engine failure was diagnosed by the dealersh... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
We have had issues with tires not wearing equally and tears on the inner tire/s shortly after replacing. This has happened twice so far. This has lead to air loss, severe vibration, and pulling while driving. Most recently, both back tires were losing air with one back tire having a structural issue on the inner portion of the tire making it unsafe to drive. We had just put on new tires in 1/2024 ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
In October, 2025 I learned of a serious safety recall for improperly welded seat rails during manufacturing of a 2025 Toyota Sienna. I was not officially communicated of this safety recall by mail until December, 2025. I purchased this vehicle specifically to safely transport children and elderly parents, requiring full functionality of the captains seats and rear seats. While a repair/fix is be... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2025
My Husband was driving my van with me and my 2 children inside the vehicle and the vehicle lost all power and stalled in the middle of the road and would not restart there was no warning light no noise from the motor or anything. The problem has been confirmed by a independent garage and a Kia dealer this happened on 12/20/25
Incident date: Sep 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln Navigator. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V091000 (VISIBILITY) and 25V572000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a black screen image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln Navigator. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V091000 (VISIBILITY) and 25V572000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a black screen image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2026
Vehicle will not pass safety inspection due to severe deterioration of the frame. The rest of the vehicle is still intact and operable.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
I was driving and emergency lights went on declaring no more energy to the car despite being at 68% charge. I was able to pull the car off the road. A tow to the Hyundai dealership revealed it was an ICCU failure. I had done the ICCU recall. It was towed to the dealer on 12/21/2025 and the car was fixed on 1/12/2026 (they needed to wait for the new ICCU unit to arrive).
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
Car safely parked in driveway was turned on to defrost snow from it (no ice). When completed, drivers side mirror was cracked from corner to corner. No possible impact to the vehicle and had not been moved, so had to be the result of defrosting. Called dealer to schedule appointment for replacement and was told this would not be covered. Owned car for 10 months.
Incident date: Mar 28, 2025
Right front caliber went out at 47,186 miles in 11/14/2025. No abs sensor went on alerting me to the problem. Had it fixed. Two months later, 1/05/2026, at 47,620 miles later, the control HCU and module ABS went out. Again, no sensor alerting me to a problem. I could hardly drive it. Had Ford look at it, assess the problem, and had to drive home due to another cost. Could have been on the highway ... Read more