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: May 2, 2023
Good Evening, I'm writing to request a callback in regards to my 2014 Toyota Prius which is subject to a recall. "The involved vehicles were designed to enter a failsafe driving mode in response to certain hybrid system faults. Toyota has found that in rare situations, the vehicle may not enter a failsafe driving mode as intended. If this occurs, the vehicle could lose power and stall. While pow... Read more
SUBARU
CROSSTREK
(2018) — SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
May 2, 2023
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated that the ABS and traction control warning lights were flashing intermittently. While starting the vehicle, the ABS and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated he replaced the ABS control module and the HCU. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who flashed the system. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V867000 (Back Over Prevention) 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 co... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2023
I received a message on the cars screen Steering alignment service recommended On the drivers side 2 bolts fell out at low speed which we picked up behind the vehicle. Using a jack one of the bolts was reinstalled to allow it to be driven onto a tow truck. I researched and found you had a recall on 2018 model 3 for bolts coming loose. It appears my vin was not part of this recall . I feel it sho... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine revved, the check engine light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact’s wife turned off and restarted the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
The infotainment screen cracked on its own due to weather or humidity. The infotainment then proceeded to have ghost issues where it would change randomly. These seems like an electrical hazard. There are numerous complaints in forums but on 2014-2016 were recalled when other years have the same issue.
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
Honda technician discovered connector to the fuel pump assembly was disconnected. His statement is: Technician found a softset connection on the fuel pump assembly. The vehicle computer did not produce vehicle malfunction message. It was confused with no input from the fuel pump assembly. The vehicle computer displayed many erroneous messages on the dashboard. It shut down the engine suddenly... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2023
I had issues with the electrical systems on various occasions. There were times when the vehicle shut down in middle of driving while other times some functions such as keyless entry or auto braking didn't work. I took the vehicle to the dealership on 3 separate occasions and they said that they could not recreate the issues but rewired the system. I still had issues and was told that as long as t... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 15, 2022
THERE MANY TIMES EATHER ONE BACKING UP THAT BREAKS COME ON OR IF I DRIVEING AND SOMETHING JUST SLIGHTLY IN MY LANE BRAKES COME ON THIS CAN CAUSE HUGE PROBEMS. 1) IT CAUSE CAR TO WRECK 2) IT WARES BREAKS DOWN FASTER AS IT APPLYING BRAKES WHEN NOT NEEEDED NOTE IN CURSE CONTROL GOING DOWN A HILL CAR IS UNABLE TO KEEP IT SPEED THE SAME NO PROGRAMING FOR THIS WAS DONE, TWO CRUSE CONTROL HAS BE ON ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2022
THERE MANY TIMES EATHER ONE BACKING UP THAT BREAKS COME ON OR IF I DRIVEING AND SOMETHING JUST SLIGHTLY IN MY LANE BRAKES COME ON THIS CAN CAUSE HUGE PROBEMS. 1) IT CAUSE CAR TO WRECK 2) IT WARES BREAKS DOWN FASTER AS IT APPLYING BRAKES WHEN NOT NEEEDED NOTE IN CURSE CONTROL GOING DOWN A HILL CAR IS UNABLE TO KEEP IT SPEED THE SAME NO PROGRAMING FOR THIS WAS DONE, TWO CRUSE CONTROL HAS BE ON ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
The code I received is p052e from the check engine light. This can cause the car to stall out mid way through driving and cause a potential fatal accident. This is a common issue across C300 And GLC benz.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
I experienced multiple instances of ghost braking while driving at highway speeds, one that resuled in a near collision with the vehicle behind me.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2018
I purchased the vechile brand new in July from North Olmsted Mercedes. I purchased winter tires in Oct they were installed in Nov. I stored the Yokohama in my finished basement 68-70degress on carpet. Upon installation this spring Mercedes refused due to seperation & dry cracking. They have less then 4000 miles on them. 325-35ZR22
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Metris. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V482000 (Tires) 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 experien... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2022
transmission control model in the car needs a new one
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The vehicle gives false forward collision warnings which increases my insurance premium. This happened multiple times in the last month.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
Frame rotting, brake line connections rotting
Incident date: Apr 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle started to shudder with a large cloud of bluish smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the vehicle was also shuddering and idling rough when started. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while reversing, the backup camera became inoperable. During the failure, the message "Park Pilot Inoperable" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
My car (the SL55 and all SL models) has a "Battery Control Module" (BCM) also referred to as the "Battery Stabilization Control Load Module" which shows signs of imminent failure which will lead to a meltdown or fire. I inspected the module after finding that this was a common problem with these cars online. This model of car has been documented to completely catch on fire, even when parked after ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2023
The Ford F53 Chassis built for motorhomes has a Ford Factory Advance Trac Warning System. When this system detects a fault the chassis looses Cruise Control, Hill Assists Feature, and Anti Lock Brakes. The Ford Pass App records the faults; however once the Ignition is turned off it erases the fault from the onboard computer. Ford has issue a TSB SSM51210 to reprogram the ASB Module only when the ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2020
Brakes began to pulse when pressure applied to pedal. Complete loss of brake crashed in parking lot wall. Was knocked unconscious. The brake system has been professionally serviced. Cant find any reason for loss of brakes. This vehicle has been parked since incident. Because it will keep
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the rear passenger’s side sliding door failed to unlock as designed. The contact that stated that she attempted to unlock the door using the key fob and manually from the inside and outside the vehicle however, the door failed to unlock as designed. Additionally, the contact stated that prior to the door failing to unlock, she ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
Driving on freeway at approx 65 mph when the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) notification flashed on the dash, and the car automatically hard braked on its own, while my foot was on the gas.Only lasted a few seconds but I felt the lag and it resumed back to normal. This is my second experience of this happening since purchasing the car in February of 2022. The first time however, was at a much slow... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2023
THERMO CONTROL VALVE (TCV) is suspected. I am a member of 2019 Forester group on facebook and reports are quit common for these model year. The check engine light is on and RAB system/eyesight is disabled.
Incident date: Apr 25, 2023
THERMO CONTROL VALVE (TCV) is suspected. I am a member of 2019 Forester group on facebook and reports are quit common for these model year. The check engine light is on and RAB system/eyesight is disabled.
Incident date: Apr 25, 2023
The belt lock indicator on the base stays green even when unlocked.
Incident date: Apr 25, 2023
Both rear taillights have condensation since 1 month out from purchase till currently. Dealer garage will not fix it says it normal and will not even write up or make an appointment to have it checked. Recently, I was proceeding into the highway and I lost acceleration to move into traffic that scared the life out of and my family. Pressed the gas and car doesn’t move at all then hardly at 40rp... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2023
* Eyesight disabled and Thermal Control Valve-P26A3 diagnostic code. Vehicle is available upon request. * Eyesight immediately disabled and maintaining that all safety features are disabled. Safety features that are relied upon, disengaged, and aborted for literally a Subaru known engine issue (TSB #09-80-21) - THAT IS SAFETY AT RISK to everyone that owns a Subaru with this issue. * 2 Independent... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2023
Hyundai has an active recall and open service bulletins for an ongoing issue with Knock Sensors in 2017 Sonatas (my vehicle is a 2017 Hyundai Sonata Sport). Over the last 18 months... the vehicle has been in for service 6 times... 4 in the last 6 weeks... due to ongoing issues with the knock sensor causing the vehicle to go into "limp mode" and causing the vehicle to decrease speed to a max of 60m... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2023
Oil consumption is outrageous, having to put a quart in every time I fuel up from empty. Car has a little over 126k miles on it....
Incident date: Apr 25, 2023
A crack has spontaneously appeared at the base of my windshield after no apparent damage. The crack is spreading across my windshield and will affect my adaptive cruse control and automatic emergency breaking if it interferes with the Subaru eye-sight system at the top of my windshield. I have not taken the vehicle in for service but I did see this was an issue that lead to recalls on previous ou... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2023
2019 Ram Ecodiesel 3.0. I was Driving back to work on Easter Sunday 2023 after visiting family. It was a 5 hour trip, I was halfway through when the engine started making a loud banging sound. I pulled over & the engine died and would not turn over. I am sure the engine threw a rod, two other driver stopped & asked if everything was ok because they could hear the engine noise from their cars when ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
A crack has spontaneously appeared at the base of my windshield after no apparent damage. The crack is spreading across my windshield and will affect my adaptive cruse control and automatic emergency breaking if it interferes with the Subaru eye-sight system at the top of my windshield. I have not taken the vehicle in for service but I did see this was an issue that lead to recalls on previous ou... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while at a stop light, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact was able to pull over into a parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacture stated that the v... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
The contact's father owns a 2009 GMC Sierra. The contact stated that while his father was making a left turn at 20 MPH, another vehicle from the opposite direction ran the red light and struck the contact's father's driver's side front end. The TPMS warning light was illuminated. None of the air bags deployed upon impact. The contact's father suffered rib, pelvis, and spine fractures and was trans... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 19, 2023
For an unknown reason, the car caught fire and exploded while parked in a residential parking lot.
Fire
Incident date: Mar 25, 2023
My 2013 Ford Edge is making a hissing noise when the brakes are applied. It has been a few months; I’ve tried to brush it off that it was just my imagination because my brakes are working (for now), there is nothing leaking, but now there is also a jerk feeling. As I’m driving and then slow down, somewhere between 35-40 mph, there is a little jerk or “hiccup” feeling. I have noticed that s... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2023
The trim of the windshield has come off. This may have hit other drivers behind me as well as caused significant distraction to me. Also the rear view camera does not work and should be recalled. This causes significant safety concern.
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
2021, Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, Crew-Cab, 6.6L Gas Engine. At @ 25k miles, the "Service 4WD" light came on dash. It later started a grinding noise/sound within the front axle transfer case. Was told they had a problem with moisture intrusion into the transfer case and it would cause corrosion to sensor. Truck was taken to dealership and in shop for @ 1 week or so. After repair was completed... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2019
Electronic power steering systems failure (2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid) due to issues of excessive heat on the motor), Power steering locked. I was on HWY90 when the steering locked, I almost got in big accident on the HWY 90.
Incident date: Apr 24, 2023
Engine failed in exact manner described in safety recall SC176, Kia refusing to cover engine under recall extended warranty.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
Sliding door will lock and not open when prompted, manually or electrically, sometimes it will pop open
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
I was experiencing intermittent Bluetooth connection issues along with vehicle not powering off and the gear shifting to park when moving the vehicle at (very) low speed without the seatbelt buckled. I noticed the Bluetooth connection problem after a bad software installation in Jan 2023, however the other two issues have been noticed since at least 2020. When I took the car for a second time, Te... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2023
After a small pebble hit my windshield, an extremely large crack appeared and grew within moments of the impact. It has spiderwebbed all over the windshield and obstructed the vehicle's EYESIGHT cameras. A second impact within a few days has done the same right in front of the driver's seat. The spiderwebbing of the cracks was near immediate and grew faster than 3 inches per minute.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2023
Steering wheels seems to stick while turning at low speed and highway speeds steering does no respond correctly when trying to do turns steering wheel will stick to where its moved and wont move back itself to original position. At high way speeds car is hard to keep in lane because of steering wheel feeling like it sticks.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2023
CVT Transmission issues The car looses power starts high RPM and will not shift then accelerator fails to respond altogether causing car to suddenly slowdown in traffic. This is second time this has happened; first occurrence was on 3/27/22. the dealership reprogramed the cars computer that time. 4/23/23 This time I had to have the car towed back to the dealership.
Incident date: May 22, 2020
CONSTANT CHECK ENGINE, NO ADAS FUNCTIONS AND MULTIPLE CODES AND HUD INDICATORS INCLUDING CKENGNE, XMODE FLASHING, ADAS DISABLE AND MAJOR ELECRTICAL PARASITIC DRAW AND TRANSMISSION AND OVERHEATING. I believe the past major leg relay was replaced during first recall, it was not performed correctly and tied into accesssorry aux into same wiring. defrost/ ac failure and clutch hums upon shutting down
Incident date: May 22, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had n... Read more