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: Oct 1, 2022
While driving on the freeway at 65 mph during morning rush-hour, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated without warning and came to a stop. The vehicle was barely able to make it to the shoulder before losing all momentum. There is a high-risk of a fatal collision when a vehicle unexpectedly stops or drastically slows on a freeway with 65 - 70 mph traffic, which is compounded during peak travel ti... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
I was making my daily commute to work on 5/8/2023. Location:Between Liberty Texas and Devers Texas on Highway 90 Rundown of Events: I was Driving on the highway 90 alone. No inclement weather and no other motor vehicles within atleast 700 ft or more. For absolutely no reason, my sunroof randomly exploded with no 3rd party influence such as a rock/animal etc etc. The music was at a low level where... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2023
I was driving in 55 mph zone in heavy rain and car slowed down to less than 25 mph and would not accelerate over 25 mph when I pressed the gas. Dashboard lit up amber and stated “collision mitigation braking system problem..see your dealer” and lane departure problem. Car eventually accelerated but automatically decreased speed again and I was unable to accelerate after pressing gas. This happ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
My steering rack and pinion as well as my power steering pump have gone out completely potentially put me in harms way By impairing my ability to drive defensively. by greatly reducing the vehicles reaction time . A worn steering rack can cause you to lose partial or complete control over your car steering wheel, which can lead to fatal accident. That goes without saying that steering rack is a ma... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V703000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact ha... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
At approximately 127,529 miles, our 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate AWD with the 3.3L V6 exhibited ticking sounds from the engine and a loss of power, while driving at non-highway speeds. As the vehicle decelerated to pull off the road, a catastrophic engine failure occurred with loss of all power and drivability. The vehicle was towed to our local Hyundai dealership, where a diagnostic revealed th... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2023
My 2015 Ford Expedition randomly dies when I drive it. The vehicle only has 60.000 miles on it, we took it to a ford dealership and they had the car for 3 months and cannot figure out what’s wrong with it even after having Fords Master mechanics try and remedy. After doing research it seems like this is a super common issue and Ford Needs to issue a recall to give its customers answers. My expen... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2023
i have a 2023 HRV AWD. We test drove it and bought it with the lane assist on. We had never had a vehicle with lane assist and thought it was something we needed to get accustomed to using. It grew irritating so I turned it off. We soon realized it was something else. The steering would stick and jerk. This vehicle is unsafe to drive and cannot be driven in rain or snow. We reported it in January ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
70,000 miles on vehicle. The engine has consistently burned excessive oil averaging 1 quart per 1,000 miles. The oil low warning light does not detect the low oil. The excessive consumption is potentially damaging to the car resulting in "bucking" at low speed, fouling of spark plugs and loss of power and efficiency.
Incident date: Apr 28, 2021
No warning lights/codes. Veh lost power. Was catalytic converter. Veh VIN did not fall under recall. Had to replace converter at our cost. Safety concern? Car had potential fire from overheated converter and could have killed my 19 y/o daughter who drove the car as primary veh. The car is barely 6 years old and just paid it off. Got the high end adult version w/ sunroof, leather seats, lights, all... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while the was stationary at a traffic light, the vehicle accelerated independently while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the RPM’s was elevated to 5,000. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle and was able to continue driving to his destinat... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving 25-35 MPH, all four windows slightly went down independently, wiggled and made clicking sounds. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the sound had become unbearable. Additionally, the contact stated that the front driver's side and passenger's side doors and the rear driver's side door failed t... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2023
While driving on the interstate at 65mph, the driver side windshield trim cover and outer rubber windshield seal flew off the vehicle. There was no evidence of this possible issue prior to the event and no previous damage to the part.
Incident date: May 7, 2023
la transmisión de mi vehículo presenta ruidos extraños y ala ves se escucha un zumbido qué es bien molestoso perdió fuerza y velocidad también el consumo de combustible es demasiado mi rav 4 solo tiene 40,400 millas corridas es frustrante porqué la marca no a hecho nada para corregir el problema tengo muchos conocidos qué frecuentan el mismo problema
Incident date: May 3, 2023
Driver door suddenly began making a very loud sound when opening and shutting as if the hinge is going to break.
Incident date: May 8, 2023
I live in southern Wisconsin and the rainy season is upon us. While driving in mild to hard rain on 35 MPG and 70 MPG roadways I've had the wipers stop or randomly slow where I can't see vehicles ahead of me. I have tried to manually change the setting quickly to try and engage adequate mode and had it continue to malfunction. This has happened in at least 4 separate incidents. Am concerned I ... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed and extended to the floorboard. The vehicle failed to immediately stop, nearly causing a rear-end collision with another vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to an independent dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Additionally, while driving at variou... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed and extended to the floorboard. The vehicle failed to immediately stop, nearly causing a rear-end collision with another vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to an independent dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Additionally, while driving at variou... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2023
Driver's side front wheel assembly separated from the vehicle. It was hard to tell exactl what happened but I am told that it may have been a ball joint failure. I was driving in the middle lane on the highway with cruise control set to 70MPH. All of a sudden, my truck jumped up and my truck starting pushing towards the left median. I thought I had a tire blow out. Luckily there wasn't anyone in... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2023
I was driving in stop-and-go traffic on 5/3/23 and when I released my foot from the brake to gentle accelerate when traffic ahead of me moved, many error messages flashed on the dashboard and the vehicle did not move. The various errors included "travel assist not available", "forward collision warning not available", "vehicle should NOT be towed", "all wheel drive function is currently limited" ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
2018 CR-V my air conditioner began to blow warm air after warranty expired. Research showed that many people are having same defect. Honda has put out service bulletin TSB APAS11162021901. The local dealer quoted 1500$ to replace seal. Honda help line declined to help with cost. We live in AZ so AC is a safety issue.
Incident date: May 3, 2023
My car is burning oil at an abnormal fast rate. I have taken it in to the dealership and they couldn't find the reason for the abnormal increase in oil burning rate. They couldn't find any leaking of oil. I am constantly putting in oil before the 3000 or 3 month oil change is due. If I don't the check engine light comes on and my oil is low. I haven't ran it out of oil but this worries me. Due to... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2023
I was researching recalls on my 2021 Honda Pilot and came across NHTSA Campaign number 20V725000. When i inspected my tires I can confirm that they are the ones in question as they are the Continental CrossContact LX Sport tires with tire size 245/50 R20 102H and DOT serial number of A376. When I brought the vehicle into the dealership over the weekend they were dismissive and stated they only hav... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2023
These cars have horrendous AC issues. A spotlight needs to be on put on it. Broken AC can subject drivers to dangerously high temperatures in the cabin, even if the windows are rolled down in some climates. Honda, the maker of these vehicles, is still answerable for the supplier of the compressor/ac system, Keihin's, failures. There are many of us, but we haven't been able to connect the dots to s... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 22, 2023
Center console/head unit will regularly lock up and eventually reboot when Apple CarPlay is in use, cruise control, lane keep will turn off, and car will warn that ADAS is not available, backup camera does not work during this time. HVAC controls are not accessible during this time as well
Incident date: Apr 22, 2023
Door latch on back two doors failed and will not open at all. First door failed at 60,000 miles while getting additional maintenance at Hyundai dealership and door was discovered broken upon pickup. Dealership diagnosed problem but refused to fix it. The second door latch failure occurred at 67,000 miles. It happened while out on family trip. Having both rear doors unable to open was a major safet... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2023
Brake pedal is hard and hard to stop. Also making a hissing noise
Incident date: May 6, 2023
Backing up slowly with/without a trailer and have to pump the brakes to stop or stand on the brakes or pumping the brakes and having to use the emergency brake to stop, rev up the engine, put in reverse and have to do the previous steps all over again. This only happens going slowly in reverse. I was told by a mechanic it could be the vacuum pump or TSB on the vacuum pump. No warning messages disp... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2023
The fuel pump failed while traveling northbound on hwy 127 in Glencoe, KY. The motorcycle lost power and had to be pushed to a parking lot and towed home because it would not start. No warning lamp came on. A recall exists for this part and I am waiting on its arrival at the dealership. No one was injured, though I had to contend with an unsafe situation pushing the bike alongside the highway.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
While driving, a large piece of debris came off of my windshield area causing the vehicle next to me to swerve. The remaining material was flapping in the air at highway speeds causing a startle reaction. I initially thought I had hit something. When stopped, I discovered the material in question was coming from around the windshield. Large portions of the material are coming loose.
Incident date: Apr 21, 2023
My vehicle has been properly maintained since new. At around 90,000 miles the transmission started making noise. I had trans filter changed and the noise abated. at 92,000 the car started shifting oddly. Several times on the highway the engine would rev and the car loses speed. Loud noises from the transmission and hard shifts. I most recently was unable to accelerate while getting on the highway... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2023
Eye-sight system shutdown and the car, although it was drivable, ran rough. Since there is a huge reliance on the monitors as they are designed to "forward think" to aid the driver, this was a major disruption to the driving experience. Not knowing what the disabled components affected, was a huge cause for alarm. Upon seeing the check engine light come, my wife brought the car home and I hooked u... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon reversing out of the driveway, several warning lights including the check engine and low coolant warning lights appeared on the instrument panel before the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where the mechanic discovered a crack in the engine short block. The mechanic informed the cont... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2023
The problem appears to be the power module. My van is psychotic. Problem usually occurs when headlights are on, although sometimes AC will also do it. Headlights and/or wipers will randomly turn off (or on, though the off is what is scary and dangerous.) Entire electrical system is unreliable. Sometimes engine just shuts off, dash lights randomly blink, TPMS light illuminates randomly when pressur... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH from a stop, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the high-pressure fuel pump had failed and caused the engine failure. The contact was informed that the fuel system needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. T... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2023
Cruise control stops working and starts working again at varies times. Thermostat sticks to cause the the temp to go from normal to hot quick. Fuel gage/floater is never accurate with how much gas is in gas tank
Incident date: May 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V469000 (Service Brakes, Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the dealer that the vehicle was taken to had not completed the recall repair. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 35 MPH and decelerating to make a left turn, the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The contac... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V469000 (Service Brakes, Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the dealer that the vehicle was taken to had not completed the recall repair. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 35 MPH and decelerating to make a left turn, the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The contac... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2021
Parking brake stuck and won’t release due to water getting into parking brake module 2014 jeep Cherokee
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
The contact owns a 1996 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the SRS air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the SRS unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,100.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
According to Toyota, the wire harness needs to be replaced due to damages caused by animals (rodents). My main concern is, this vehicle is not safe to drive. Because if a midsize animal could find its way inside the engine compartment and caused so much damages to a car I drive every day, what would happen if a snake or a rat shows up inside the cabin while driving at 65 or 70 mph. Secondly, what... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
The contact's husband owns a 2019 GMC 1500 Denali. The contact stated that the rear camera failed to operate as intended while engaged and attempting to park the vehicle. The contact added that while shifted to reverse, the camera screen remained completely black. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the rear window and control panel needed to be replaced du... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Vehicle will intermittently stall and/or lose power while driving. This causes me to have to pull over while driving, wait several minutes, and then I can restart the vehicle and proceed with my way. Overall acceleration is now sluggish in all conditions. The diagnostic code that is recurring indicates an intermittent speed sensor circuit A. I have taken this to my local Jeep dealership, and they ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2019
On 4/28/2023 per Balcones Heights Police officer Ford and Officer [XXX] there is an issue with the license plate light. The light has been replaced twice, to avoid traffic stops. Police continue to cite the issue of No License plate light. There are not any warning lights on the dash board only cited by law enforcement. On 12/19/2020 Officer [XXX] with Guadelupe Sheriffs Officer issued a warning... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2023
For the last year on several occasions the power steering locks up and I am unable to control the vehicle. The lights on my dash start flickering and the vehicle starts stuttering like it is out of gas. It seems like an electrical issue where the vehicle is getting mixed signals so the power steering locks up. On 2 occasions while in motion I tried to turn off the road causing the vehicle to stal... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Odometer reading more miles then driven (may have been tampered with altered) There is an electrical issue The computer required to be reprogrammed has not been done yet While driving the vehicle completely stop accelerating in the middle of traffic on the interstate placed my life in danger especially because traffic was moving rapidly the vehicle was jerking horribly also several codes came o... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Engine temporarily shut itself off by itself in the freeway as I was slowing down pressing my brakes because of the cars in front of me in traffic hour. The car flashed a “coolant temperature too high” message then immediately turned itself off for a minute. The engine/coolant temperature gauge was normal the whole time I was driving (in between the cold and the high sign). But even then it f... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2023
A few months after purchase, my hazard lights came on while the vehicle was off and parked in my driveway. I couldn't get them to turn off until I disconnected the battery. I scheduled a diagnostic with the jeep dealership and before I could get it in, it started happening while I was driving it as well. I never know when it's going to happen. At the diagnostics appointment, they told me it's a pr... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the transmission was not working as designed. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle accelerated abruptly. While changing gears at low speed, the vehicle was shaking and shuddering. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the RPM raised up to 3,000 RPM. While attempting to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle failed to move. Additional... Read more