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 35,035 complaints for SUBARU
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact's husband owns a 2008 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a fellow motorist alerted her husband that an unknown part had been hanging from underneath the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact's husband discovered that the fuel tank had detached from the vehicle due to severe corrosion. The contact stated that several years prior, the vehicle ha... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 75-78 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,300.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 75-78 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,300.
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
1. Engine shuts down while in operation. 2. Engine light switched on 3. Loud engine noise follows 4. Car unmovable for ~ 20-30 mins. 5. Operations resumes, engine light turns off. Next incident includes all of the above, except engine never recovered, and vehicle had to be towed to dealership. 6. Dealer service claims no issues revealed on diagnostic report.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2022
Regenerative braking system remains applied/engaged/enabled when accelerating.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
There is a vibration that is randomly felt. Over the last year I have replaced struts shocks control arm control arm bushings sway bar link sway bar link bushings tires twice and the vibration just keeps increasing to the point it's doing it now when I turn or take bends in the highway. There is now a flat spot in a tire feel when going it slower speeds to be added to the vibration that happens la... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
There is a vibration that is randomly felt. Over the last year I have replaced struts shocks control arm control arm bushings sway bar link sway bar link bushings tires twice and the vibration just keeps increasing to the point it's doing it now when I turn or take bends in the highway. There is now a flat spot in a tire feel when going it slower speeds to be added to the vibration that happens la... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2022
I’ve had numerous incidents where we were driving with adaptive cruise on and the vehicle will inexplicably engage the FCA system and slam on the brakes. This has occurred with no vehicles in front of me in clear conditions And had nearly caused a rear end collision.
Incident date: Aug 14, 2023
The ABS Module has Failed at 66,829 miles. I just left the Dealership Magic City 1750 Independence Blvd, Bedford, VA 24523 who advised me that they have had other trucks with the same issue. This Part is not available "under engineering review until March, 2024" and the same part has been re-engineered 3 times already. I currently have a warranty that will expire before the part is available.
Incident date: Jul 21, 2023
Back in May 2022, my Toyota Prius experienced issues with the braking system. I lost braking power while driving, the brake experienced a loss of power and felt very squishy to press. I had my car towed to a nearby auto shop who examined the vehicle but could not resolve the issue and recommended I take the car to Toyota. This third party auto shop reset the computer diagnostic system and cleared ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Acura TLX. The contact stated while driving at various highway speeds, the transmission randomly shifted into the neutral causing the vehicle to lose automotive power, decelerate, and failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. During the failure several messages were displayed including the "Transmission Failure" message. The vehicle was towed to the local... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle when started. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall on the VIN. The failure... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after stopping to refuel the vehicle, while driving out from the gas station at 10 MPH, the vehicle drove over a pothole; however, further down the road the vehicle started pulling and tugging. The contact drove the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that subframe was fractured, the rack and pinion, and... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
The seat heating element is stuck up out of the seat pushing into the person driving.
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
At the moment, the vehicle is releasing a strong order smells like burning oil or gasoline. It’s coming from the rear of the vehicle. You can smell it immediately when you step out and in the car. The rear is making a loud cranking noise and starting to shake. It appears based on the information that it’s a huge possibility it’s my rear differential going out. It posses a threat due to the a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Advancing forward in traffic to a stop sign on a downward slope in tow/haul mode. Stopped at the intersection and began to accelerate into a left hand turn. Initial acceleration was fine and then the rear tires locked up and squealed on the asphalt. Truck came to a stop and when I looked down the screen said the parking brake was on. I never activated the parking brake. Seemed to disengage on... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
Truck started doing the death wobble when hitting brakes and sometimes when hitting bumps in the road. Death wobble was very violent and last for a few seconds each time before we could get vehicle stopped. I made my local ford dealer aware of my problem and they inspected it and said it was related to the drive shaft recall. I made the earliesr appointment which was a couple weeks later. I droppe... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
The driver's side window trim blew off, striking the side of my car and hitting a car passing me. Also - the piece that holds the keypad on the driver's side has come off once, tried to come off a 2nd time and is currently being held in place by a binder clip.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Backup camera malfunctions, often turns blank or fails to activate
Incident date: Jul 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH with the transmission in 6th gear, the transmission inadvertently downshifted to 5th gear. The contact stated that the speedometer and odometer went blank. The wrench warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle had been diagnosed by an independent mechanic and it was confirmed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2023
The main center screen that has all the cameras and settings stopped working. It was just a blank screen. Car would start and drive with with just a black screen.
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
Electrical: Intermittently, the headlights will dim for a second then return to normal—whether at an idle at a traffic light/stop sign, or at highway speeds. The turn signal will also pause briefly, breaking the normal clicking rhythm. Sliding door: The sliding door (Driver side) just began experiencing problems on 08/10/2023—upon completing the opening cycle, the door would not latch in the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
Power steering locked up during a drive around the block, had to turn off the engine and turn it back on. After the car was running again, no issue. If this issue persists or comes back again, drivers aside from myself will be put in danger on the road as the steering can lock up anytime during the drive. I was lucky enough to only have it happen during a short drive around the block.
Incident date: Aug 9, 2023
Coolant intrusion into cylinder 3 on 2.0L ecoboost motor. The original motor was replaced under factory warranty at roughly 58000 miles. The replacement motor now has roughly 18,000 miles and 18 months on it and the same problem is occurring. Ford is refusing to stand behind their product and cover the repair/replacement of the defective replacement long block.
Incident date: Aug 9, 2023
Power steering system failed when starting the car. Steering wheel was jittery/jerky and was near impossible to turn it; it was very difficult to back it out of a parking space to get it towed. This happened once the service shop replaced a relay and the car was driven home without incident. However, the problem came back the next morning when we started the car again; it cannot be safely drive... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact's wife owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while attempting to coast to the side of the roadway. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts; however, the vehicle made abnormal knocking sounds. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road. The vehicle was t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
came to stop sign at busy intersection and engine shutoff as part of the auto engine stop. The issue is when I let off the brake the engine did not restart and put the car in neutral. had to cut off and restart.
Incident date: Jul 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shuddering and vibrating while shifting gear. Additionally, while driving, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission clutch was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
-There are 3 problems. The 1st and most dangerous, is a combo of the engine, transmission, and fuel system. The 2nd is malfunctioning sensors. The 3rd is water leaking in under my glove box onto the floor mat. The car upon 3 different occasions has stopped accelerating in the middle of traffic. 1st: the car would not go past 30mph and it stuttered/ shook. I parked and turned the car off, but 5 min... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
I have been in the motorcycle industry 1988-2000 and the auto industry since 2000 to current, a break for about 10 years in there. I am fairly mechanically knowledgeable. On 8/1/2 was showing a customer a BMW 330I that we had in inventory. The customer sat in the driver's seat, started the engine and popped the primary hood latch. I was at the front on the vehicle. Since I deal with every ma... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated driving 75 MPH and making a turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality inadvertently and veered into another lane, nearly causing a crash. The message "Service Power Steering" was displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the message disappeared. Additionally, the power ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2023
The steering column shakes violently between 60 MPH and 75 MPH. I have taken it to two different mechanics and they both said the same issue is the cause. There is a joint down in the steering column that has a rubber piece in the middle of it for securing the joint to keep it from shaking. That piece wears out and then it's metal on metal; hence the shaking. It always makes a loud clanking noise ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2023
The electric power steering failed. The warning light and message to "service the steering unit" did not come on until the unit completely failed. At that point, the truck was impossible to control. I am lucky that I was not on a high speed highway when it happened.
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally high whistling pitch sound coming from the vehicle. The contact had to add additional oil to the engine. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
Uconnect 8.4 which controls a number of functions in the vehicle has a screen delamination problem which is causing functions to be selected turned on or off at random, including; radio stations changing, navigation points altered, keyless entry to be turned off/changed, auto headlight settings to be changed, heated seats and steering wheel turned on in July, windshield wiper settings to be change... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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 a failure. VIN tool confirms part... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileag... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
Vehicle will not accelerate faster after stopping. Runs at less than 5 mph for 3-4 minutes and will accelerate afterwards. If stop again it will continue stalling during acceleration. Very unsafe in traffic. Rear end collision would take place as the driver id that vehicle is not aware of the stalling.
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
The power steering stopped completely could not steer went shop they installed a new one for 3000. This this is the same issue that you are investigating on ram power steering 2013 2016
Incident date: Apr 15, 2023
When the 8-speed automatic transmission attempts to shift from 3rd to 4th gear it will slip into neutral causing the engine to redline at maximum RPM. The accelerator pedal does not function and poses a serious safety issue. The vehicle will unexpectedly stall when the auto start stop is used and intermittently requires you to shift into park and restart the engine. The transmission also has diffi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
The contact owns a 1999 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the steering wheel was vibrating abnormally. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had the alignment checked by an independent mechanic who determined that the passenger’s side subframe was extremely rusted, causing the vehicle to be out of alignment. The mechanic also advis... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz E350. The contact stated while driving at various speeds on a bumpy road surface, the sunroof shuddered. The contact also stated that the sunroof failed to open. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 40-45 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the pedal went to the floorboard, and the vehicle failed to respond. The brake fluid level message was displaye... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
2000 Ford Excursion recall was never done. Allan Vigil Ford in Clayton County GA disconnected my airbag, horn, and cruise control. They stated that a part was on order to complete the recall. We checked up on this over and over and over, the part was always "on order". This part was never installed/replaced on my car and the three things that were disconnected were never re-connected. Yet, they re... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted and was unable to upshift above 3rd gear. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality; however, the failure had since become a regular failure. The check engine war... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The daytime running light is out only on driver side
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
When you put car in reverse the camera screen may go blue or black. Sometimes it is all in cone in rear, other times it’s on the right side and at other times it is the entire screen. Turning blue or black. This started in the first several months of ownership in 2020. The dealership tried several things including replacing the camera in 2020-2021-2022. Problem continued. Was told it was all fix... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2024 Forest River Cherokee Wolf Pup RV. The contact stated that while at the dealer purchasing the trailer, the trailer was hitched to a 2018 Toyota Tundra during a test drive however, the brakes failed to stop the RV. The contact stated that four other 2024 Forest River Wolf Pup RVs were hitched to the 2018 Toyota Tundra and experienced the same failure. The trailer was diagnos... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering and brake functionality. The contact stated that the instrument panel went blank. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred. Additionally, the vehicle was hesitating and jerking wh... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
I was driving on 85 south @10:15 am it was very busy traffic and all of a sudden the vehicle starts loosing power all kinds of lights came on the panel engine malfunction also was on the panel it was so scary.I was trying to get off the highway safely the steering wheel was hard to turn.I saw2 18 wheelers & other vehicles coming l really thought I was going to die.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
I was driving on 85 south @10:15 am it was very busy traffic and all of a sudden the vehicle starts loosing power all kinds of lights came on the panel engine malfunction also was on the panel it was so scary.I was trying to get off the highway safely the steering wheel was hard to turn.I saw2 18 wheelers & other vehicles coming l really thought I was going to die.