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 34,453 complaints for SUBARU
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
The driver's seat headrest came apart like it is supposed to in the event of an accident. However, my vehicle was not in an accident; it was sitting in the driveway. The plastic tabs that hold the headrest together broke apart. It is available for inspection. If this had happened while driving, my head would have been hit and pushed forward suddenly, which could have resulted in an accident/loss o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The fuel pump has put metal shaving all through my fuel system and It is available for inspection if anyone is interested in taking a look at it. It made my truck die in the middle of the highway. It put me and a lot of others in danger! AutoNation Chevrolet seen and confirmed and said it was because the cp4 fuel pump isn’t compatible with my truck and that a class action was just granted ove... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
Initially, 6 months or so after owning the vehicle, the PCV reported tech bulletin occurred for me, and my rear main seal blew, causing $2000+ in repairs. Then, the Engine stalled out on the coldest day of the year, got an engine replacement under warranty from my dealership, that replacement engine had 66k miles (rebuilt) and was only driven around 5,000 miles when the same issue happened. “R... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
The engine on my vehicle is knocking and causing the vehicle to slow down on its own and the vehicle to overheat.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2021
Lost steering assist while turning left at intersection, steering wheel became very hard to turn. Warning message displayed on dash indicating steering malfunction. Assist returned a few seconds later.
Incident date: Aug 23, 2023
The breaks give out to a point where you run the risk of running into someone or something. We've visited Toyota 3 times now complaining of this issue yet they just state it's the regenerative breaks and how they operate. Although the breaking never got to this level of safety concern until we reached around 30,000 miles. I filed a complaint with Toyota that resulted in nothing being done. A cou... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The service 4WD light has come on and I have no AWD or 4WD so I took my jeep to Merlins to get diagnosed. They reported back to me that code C14A7-97 PTU Motor came up. They also told me that it is a safety recall and to take it to Jeep to have repaired. I have called 4 Jeep dealers and they have all told me that I do not have any open safety recalls and it will cost between 3 to 6k to repair. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2023
Excessive play in steering, especially during turns, truck tends to slightly drift
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to pull to the side of the road. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while her daughter was driving 10 MPH, the vehicle started to hesitate. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to her destination. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the dual clutch to be replaced. The v... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 53 MPH, there was an abnormal booming sound detected. The contact noticed that the windshield panels had detached from the driver’s and passenger’s side. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact was notified after a state inspection about NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) 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 made aware of the issue. The contact h... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated while the accelerator pedal was being depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that a software update was needed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle started to downshift independently and then upshifted abnormally. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact pulled over and the power steering and brakes functioned as needed however, the i... Read more
SUBARU
OUTBACK
(2016) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
Aug 22, 2023
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle started to downshift independently and then upshifted abnormally. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact pulled over and the power steering and brakes functioned as needed however, the i... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
My key keeps getting stuck in the ignition, and forced me to have to leave the key in the car while I went in to a store, when i got back someone was in my car. I realize that this is a different type of safety issue, but it truly is a safety issue. I am having to leave my key in my car everywhere i do because it doesn't come out,, eventually it will come out randomly but not everytime I shut the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
My key keeps getting stuck in the ignition, and forced me to have to leave the key in the car while I went in to a store, when i got back someone was in my car. I realize that this is a different type of safety issue, but it truly is a safety issue. I am having to leave my key in my car everywhere i do because it doesn't come out,, eventually it will come out randomly but not everytime I shut the ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
Began to receive error messages stating "Front Camera Fault" and "Forward Collision Detection Fault". For a while it fixed on its own, then the messages started to become more and more frequent until now the error messages come up every time we turn on the car. With the malfunction that is happening with front camera and collision detection, it prevents cruise control from being used (which is ada... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
For the last four months, February 2023, through June, July 2023 the main computer screen will intermittently go black. This illuminates the N vehicle, NAV system, phone system, backup, cameras, Ford cameras, driver, seat, control. This vehicle was covered under a warranty. This vehicle was brought to the dealer and an error code could not be generated. The dealer states that this is the sink... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
I got pulled over and they said my plates belong to a different and different year
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the EVAP canister and purge valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 85,000.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
When slowing down with steady brake pressure, sometimes there is a short pause, 1-2 seconds where it feels like you just lost the brakes. Sometimes this happens when turning and braking too. It isn’t something I can recreate and Toyota opened a case, looked at the car, and said it is normal. Not my 1st hybrid and this is not normal. This has happened many times over the last year and Toyota... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and failed to accelerate as needed while the accelerator pedal was being depressed. The contact also heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed with wheel speed sensor failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
I currently have a 2023 Nissan Titan Pro-4X 4WD that intermittently when slowing to a stop between the speeds of 0-7mph it will, at times, feel as though the transmission is dropping from 3rd gear to 1st gear without cycling into 2nd gear properly creating almost a bumping effect to where it feels like you are almost being bumped from behind. Like being rear-ended at a very slow speed. There is a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
I currently have a 2023 Nissan Titan Pro-4X 4WD that intermittently when slowing to a stop between the speeds of 0-7mph it will, at times, feel as though the transmission is dropping from 3rd gear to 1st gear without cycling into 2nd gear properly creating almost a bumping effect to where it feels like you are almost being bumped from behind. Like being rear-ended at a very slow speed. There is a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 21V537000 (Suspension) and 20V675000 (Suspension). The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the scheduled recall repairs, and the contact was informed that the toe links could not be replaced due to the knuckles needing to be replaced prior to completing the recall repa... Read more
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2013) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Aug 21, 2023
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the air conditioning blower unit would intermittently shutoff. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who serviced the vehicle under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V648000 (Visibility, Electrical System). The contact was informed that while servicing the vehicle it was discovered that the air conditioner blo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2023
Did a DC Fast Charge at Electrify America in Astoria Oregon from 62% to 87%. Used wide open throttle to pass car on mountain climbs about 4 times with in about 30 minutes of charge. When accelerating on to Interstate 5 south received the Service Vehicle Soon warning - Ford App said stop and get car towed. Continued to drive for 22 miles and made it home. Charged car to 85% on Level 2 charger ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
My 2017 Ram 2500 Cummins Mega Cab pick-up truck started displaying symptoms of a bad HCU module several months ago, "Service Electronic Braking System" warning message, ABS dash light indicating loss of ABS, and Traction Control Light indicating loss of traction control, as well as kicking the vehicle out of Cruise Control when this set of condition lights are, albeit intermittently illuminated. T... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2023
Ever since a tire was changed on the vehicle, it has had a recurring error message that states there is a malfunction in the tire pressure monitor system. As such, I rarely know the status of my tire pressure as the system has the malfunction at least 50% of the time. The car has been in service 2x for this issue and they have had it for close to 30 days and driven it all over saying they needed t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2023
unknown but I have submitted a previous complaint.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
ABS module and HCU module are at fault. Have been driving it and lights and dings will come on and off at random. When lights are on I cannot use electric brakes for my trailers either. Dangerous when I’m hauling live horses and no trailer brakes. This is a common issue that Chrysler refuses to recall.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
While driving on the freeway at about 65mph, the driver side windshield Trim and Rubber Seal detached. The trim moulding flew off completely and the rubber trim began flapping against my driver window. Now I need to look into getting this replaced/repaired. Apparently this is a common issue with these model and year Ford Explorers. This is a serious issue that should be recalled and repaired by Fo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
While we were at a speed of about 55 mph on a state highway, I had just selected cruise control when all the lights went on in the dash--including the warning lights for the brake, the check engine light--and power shut down in the vehicle as if we'd run out of gas. We were able to keep a very slow speed of about 20-25mph, but had to activate the 4-way flashers to alert other drivers that we were... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
While on highway service brake system warning light came on,brake became hard to apply almost causing an accident. Vehicle had to be towed to a repair shop(dealer).after paying over $1600 the problem was not resolved and found there are numerous complaints about issues with the terrain and no recall issued.are they waiting til someone dies before a recall?
2 injured
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
While on highway service brake system warning light came on,brake became hard to apply almost causing an accident. Vehicle had to be towed to a repair shop(dealer).after paying over $1600 the problem was not resolved and found there are numerous complaints about issues with the terrain and no recall issued.are they waiting til someone dies before a recall?
2 injured
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
My Subaru just failed inspection for a defective airbag sensor in the front passenger side. We had this repaired at a Subaru dealer in Jan 2020, to the tune of $1500. There was a recall in 2020 for this exact problem, and our vehicle fell with the guidelines (2015-2018 Foresters equipped with heated seats), but for some reason our vehicle wasn't included in the recall. So we paid for our fix out o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and violently shook while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it was discovered that the spark plugs, and engine coils were damaged due to moisture from rain or a car wash. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
8/10/2023 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 had a collision with a deer on driver side front bumper and grille near Piedmont KS in the country. Airbags did NOT deploy although the airbag light DID come on at time of incident. On-Start contacted husband, driver, to make sure he was ok since it was a front end collision. Truck is currently at Gerber Auto Collision 10760 W Kellogg Wichita KS being ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power while accelerating. The contact heard a ding and became aware of an irregular voltage spike, steering power, and other unknown messages were displayed before quickly disappearing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure milea... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
In April 2023 I was advised via a letter from Mopar of an important recall concerning the “High Pressure Fuel Pump” in my 2022 Jeep Wrangler. The correspondence warned that a failure of the fuel pump could result in a catastrophic crash without prior warning. The letter also indicated that “a remedy for this condition is not currently available”. Having not heard from the manufacturer for... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215000 (Air Bags) 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienc... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Greetings: As outlined in Service Bulletin 05-70-19, Rear Wheel Backing Plate Design change, I am having an almost overwhelming “whining or humming” sound coming from the rear portion of my vehicle. Given the significance of this WHEEL BEARING & BACKING PLATE issue, I respectfully request an RECALL & subsequent repair be initiated. Coupled with a VERY large number of related customer issues ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
ABS failed, brakes locked up causing truck to skid out of control
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Subject: Urgent Complaint: Airbag Defect and Lack of Resolution Dear NHTSA, I am writing to file a complaint regarding the airbag defect in my 2015 Buick Enclave. As a concerned father of four, I'm troubled by the lack of progress in addressing this issue despite contacting GM multiple times. The recent letter from GM states that the airbag inflators are defective, posing a severe safety risk. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
Went car this morning and notice the front passenger head rest was pop/broken. There are no accident, hit misuse to car. This is a family car.
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the vehicle failed to stop immediately while depressing the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure but indicated that an intermittent fai... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
This vehicle has a faulty lead frame assembly that is causing it to unexpectedly downshift at any speed. Additionally, the vehicle is unable to shift out of first gear without cycling the electrical system. At the time of writing (8/18/23), I reported this problem nearly five (5) months ago without any resolution from Ford Motor Company.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
Excessive tire wear under normal conditions. Tires evaluated by service dept of local auto dealer as defective. Pirelli refused to honor implied warrantee as expressed by tire dealer after a two year delay in responding to request for a pro rated adjustment. Tires were unsafe early in their life cycle.
Incident date: Oct 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Acadia. 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 amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced... Read more