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: Jan 28, 2025
When battery was beginning to get old/need replacement but vehicle would still start: 1. The power steering assist stopped working intermittently (virtually impossible to steer even at speed) 2. Power brake stopped working intermittently (very hard to get vehicle to stop) Unsafe for me, would have been very unsafe for certain without significant physical strength.
Incident date: May 28, 2025
I purchased a 2015 GMC Yukon in March 2024 I drive the vehicle 9 mons, 7500 miles the vehicle has been in service at my local dealership since Dec 13, 2024, for engine and transmission replacement, I have had the vehicle back 3 weeks not the warning light and service warning chime for the "Service Trailer Brake System is on, I have not ever use a trailer with the vehicle, I was told the vehicle ne... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2025
There is a part that fails on a lot of GM vehicles due to getting clogged (an EGR valve). It prevents the vehicle from reaching high speeds on the highway and can fail while driving (which happened to me). I could have lost control of the vehicle on the highway and crashed or gotten rear-ended. GM refuses to pay for repairs involving this part despite so many people reporting the issue that t... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2025
The transmission jumps gears at any speed, I was researching the topic and saw the NHTSA is probing some F150s for a similar problem. And I was wondering if my vehicle was in the affected line of production.
Incident date: May 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH and exiting the freeway, the message "Catastrophic Failure" was displayed. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine oil cooler lines had detached from the crimp. The dealer replaced the oil cooler lines, the oil filter, a... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2025
REAR SHOCKS FULLY WORN OUT STRUTS AND SHOCKS ARE NO GOOD VERY DANGEROUS WHEN HITTING A LARGE BUMP IN THE ROAD CAN CAUSE STEERING OFF ROAD BECAUSE OF HARD HITTING NO SHOCK REAR END
Incident date: May 25, 2025
SAFETY RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR OVER A YEAR AND MY VEHICLE HAS STILL NOT BEEN REPAIRED.
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
In October 2024, my air conditioning was blowing hot when I had just had it recharged in June 2024. I took it to vw in pasadena, ca. They noted that there was an oil leak being caused by the breather valve aka the pcv valve which was making oil leak into the ac components. It took a few visits to get this resolved as a smell was in my car that was making me feel sick afterward. Eventually it was f... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
On 3 separate occasions the truck has completely broken down while traveling 60-84mph. Each time, while in motion, the check engine and battery lights come on on the gauge cluster. Voltage starts rapidly draining from the battery indicator before systems start being shut down. Fiirst is entertainment, then climate, the ABS, then steering, and then all power and engine loss. I almost lost control t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
Driving 25 mph on a straight road, the automatic braking system engaged with beep sound only but not on the dash display as it should. the car was suddenly braked to a stop. nothing was near or in front of the car.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
Driving 25 mph on a straight road, the automatic braking system engaged with beep sound only but not on the dash display as it should. the car was suddenly braked to a stop. nothing was near or in front of the car.
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
There is an outstanding water pump recall on my vehicle. It has never been addressed and has never been fixed. The vehicle can lose power at any given time and is not drivable. Fisker has gone bankrupt and there isn't anyone to address this safety issue. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED! IT IS A ROAD HAZARD ! 24V499000 (Water pump)
Incident date: May 28, 2025
I was going home after work on labor day, when l heard a noise on my roof. I opened the sunscreen window and l heard what sounded like a gunshot and the sunroof exploded raining down glass on my face.
1 injured
Incident date: May 28, 2025
In August 2024, a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Salisbury, MD installed the wrong type of rear tires on my vehicle. I was not informed they were mismatched or inappropriate for my vehicle. I later drove across the country with my infant child in the backseat, believing the tires were new and safe. On April 17, 2025, a certified tire shop in Texas (Discount Tire) inspected the tires and told me they... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2025
The vehicle will randomly show service shifter then it will loose power steering, gears won’t change. It happened while driving on a winding road. Scary. The instrument cluster will show random erratic readings like mileage will be off. Temperature goes to zero fuel gauge misread vehicle get stuck into a higher gear and won’t downshift doing research online I found a recall bulletin for 24V652... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2025
115V Cargo power outlet on error message blinking, blind spot alert unavailable service required message flashing, shuts down lights on dash, and radio. turns on heat, shuts off air conditioner and windows won't roll down.
Incident date: May 28, 2025
Engine is burning oil, having to continuously add. No low oil light coming on.
Incident date: May 28, 2025
ECP light came on and vehicle entered limp mode
Incident date: May 5, 2025
2018 Toyota Landcruiser. Potential vehicle crash, injury, damage, loss of value, reduced lifespan & reliabilty. Issue #1 - 2-3 times a month I experience shift shock. The transmission hesitates shifting up between 1->2 gear or down 2->1 gear at less than 15 mph. Depending how far you push the accelerator to force it to shift into gear, the car can shift into gear after hesitating so hard i... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the front passenger’s seat air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the passenger’s side occupant sensor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2025
Q: What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? A: My 2014 Kia Soul "threw a rod" (as confirmed by a Kia dealer in Jan 2025) at only 115,773 miles after years of regular (every 3-5K miles) maintenance. I bought the car used in 2017 and have documentation to show the maintenance for the subsequent years. The particular motor at issue is know... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2025
When entering a left hand turn at moderate speed, the vehicle will go into a lurching, bucking, hesitation period, usually when under slight or moderate acceleration. This results in an uncontrolled wobble that will eventually smooth out but can also result in a sudden burst of power that tends to rapidly propel the vehicle further to the left unless the throttle is quickly relaxed. Hard to descri... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2025
Tailgate unlatched one its own when I was backing up. It dropped and struck another vehicles bumper. Tailgate is smashed now. I was watching the back up camera and the tailgate was closed. It electronically opened itself and dropped down with me doing anything.
Crash
Incident date: May 25, 2025
The back door, or liftgate, closes automatically (without me pressing the close button). This is inconsistent, as it doesn't happen all the time. Each time the car has been off, and maybe it's on some kind of timer. It's happened 3 times, at random, where each time it caught me off guard. One time it hit me on the back of the head. The next time my kids were sitting in the back and I had to yell f... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: May 25, 2025
2017 Ford Escape, have had less than 1 year. Transmission failure. Stopped at traffic light, would not move forward when pressed gas pedal. After a few seconds it jerked hard and went into gear. I was able to get to a parking lot out of traffic. Had vehicle towed to Ford dealership where they ran diagnostics and said there was a torque conversion failure which allowed sludge to get into transmissi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while shifted into reverse(R) at night, the rear-view camera image was very dark, creating a hazard while reversing. The contact stated that during daylight, the image was perfect; however, at night the reverse lights failed to provide adequate illumination, causing objects on the display screen to be very dark. The contact had taken... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
Without any prior issue of having the engine turnover from being parked for more than 20 hours, the car would not start. It’s like the battery completely died overnight. I was able to unlock it but the car would not start, and therefore was unable to go into neutral because I didn’t have a long enough screwdriver with me to manually override into neutral. So it had to be jumped partially to be... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
This recall notice, was first identified in September or October, with the Official Communication issued in November of 2024. How long am I, or anyone expected to endure the nuances of this recall. We are well beyond 6 months now with no remedy, and it does not appear as if RAM\Stellantis is concerned with a fix. They've sent a disclaimer notice, but what is the resolve to a vehicle I purchased... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
This recall notice, was first identified in September or October, with the Official Communication issued in November of 2024. How long am I, or anyone expected to endure the nuances of this recall. We are well beyond 6 months now with no remedy, and it does not appear as if RAM\Stellantis is concerned with a fix. They've sent a disclaimer notice, but what is the resolve to a vehicle I purchased... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud clanking sound coming from the vehicle with smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the heater hose and cam phaser had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud clanking sound coming from the vehicle with smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the heater hose and cam phaser had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2025
Ford Ecoboost 2.0 L engine, ~95,000 miles. The check engine light came on while on a cross country drive and the diagnostic code was a cylinder 2 misfire. The vehicle would chug and sputter when started up and had trailing white smoke from the exhaust. The garage reset the code and replaced the spark plugs. 2 weeks later the engine started chugging again on start up, with white smoke and a smell o... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2024
Airbags didn't deploy when I was hit by another driver whose speed was greater than 35mph n the other driver didn't break or slow down when hitting me on the driver n left passenger doors. I requested for my insurance company to preserve the vehicle for inspection but I don't know how long they can hold it because it was determined a TOTAL LOSS. When I was hit NONE of my airbags deployed n because... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 19, 2025
The recall (Manufacturer Recall # 23TB13; NHTSA Recall # 23V734) has been un-repaired since 1 Nov 2023. The un-repaired recall did not cause a safety issue in this case, but I have moved to Canada and the recall has prevented me from registering and using the vehicle (it is not possible to complete the import process or register any vehicle that has an outstanding recall).
Incident date: May 7, 2025
The first time, the vehicle was, in effect, "dead," as nothing worked. After 24 hours it started without any codes being present. The second time, the vehicle stopped, shut down and engaged the e-brake. Nothing was thereafter operational. Four days later, it started without any mechanical intervention The only thing I did was remove the battery connections and then reinstall them. Three to four h... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2025
I am reporting a recurring and well-documented issue involving broken exhaust manifold bolts on my 2017 Ram 1500 with the 5.7L HEMI engine. My truck has only 47,000 miles, and the driver-side manifold has already required repair once due to broken bolts. Now, I am again hearing ticking noises and suspect further bolt failures and the passenger side , indicating this issue is not isolated but chron... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2025
cuando obtuve el vehiculo a los 5 meses comenso con un golpeteo al girar el volante lo lleve al consecionario y me dijeron que tenia que cambiarle una pieza pero que no la tenian que tocaba esperar un tiempo. pregunte si no habia ningun problema y me dijeron que no que podia seguir conduciendo asi el vehiculo. yo lo lleve en el mes de enero y hasta el mes de abril me llamaron para decirme que la ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2025
cuando obtuve el vehiculo a los 5 meses comenso con un golpeteo al girar el volante lo lleve al consecionario y me dijeron que tenia que cambiarle una pieza pero que no la tenian que tocaba esperar un tiempo. pregunte si no habia ningun problema y me dijeron que no que podia seguir conduciendo asi el vehiculo. yo lo lleve en el mes de enero y hasta el mes de abril me llamaron para decirme que la ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2025
We were traveling on a highway doing 70mph and the whole truck started to shake really badly. My husband could not steer the vehicle safely, nor could he brake without losing control. He had to slow down until the shaking stopped. When we got back on the road, the vehicle did the same thing three times. This is known issue with Dodge, yet they don't have a fix for it. They call it the "death rattl... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2025
We have issues with transmission, braking, AC, and warning lights as well as the radio.
Incident date: May 24, 2025
We have issues with transmission, braking, AC, and warning lights as well as the radio.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
Enter water when open doors after to rain. All the doors. Dealer in Puerto Rico not resolver problem.
Incident date: May 24, 2025
Truck was stopped. Then as I started pressing on the gas pedal, there was a warning sound. The gear selector knob rotated on its own from D to P and the message on the screen said to start / stop the vehicle to put it back in gear D. This put myself and my family at risk of a car accident as we were merging onto an expressway. This happened while the truck was starting to accelerate. This is the s... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2025
Transmission. When coming to a stop the truck lurches forward from a hard downshift that can potentially cause a rear end collision. I have taken to two Nissan dealerships (Marietta, Ga and Roswell, Ga) and both claimed they could not replicate this issue. I am not sure when the problem started as the salesman drove it from Carrollton, Ga to Marietta for me to purchase. The first time it happened ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2025
I started my car in the morning and when I started the engine it was an instant extreme rough idle with the engine light and traction control light blinking on my dashboard and the engine cuts out on its own. I have my car at a Toyota dealership since it’s closer than the Lexus dealership and they have ran an extensive testing diagnostic on my car resulting in a valve stuck open and a valve spri... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2025
It is making a noise when turning steering wheel to one side and it has play and clinking noise in steering wheel. Is this included in SC155 recall?
Incident date: May 24, 2025
Door handle not working also water pump for A/C not working
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
I was driving when a car pulled into a driveway. My car was not near this car and the brakes stopped very hard. At other times when the brakes should have stopped they did not. I had a major accident in Feburary and my safety features were on however the car did not stop when the other car turned into front of me causing total damage, broken thumb and torn ligament in my right hand.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
Rear camera works intermittently and is often blurry/glitches. Rear powered hatch often only closes partway then reopens