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: Jan 1, 2018
Key will lock in ignition and vehicle will not start. Happens intermittently. Battery is fine, alternator is fine, dealership replaced ignition when purchased which helped for about a year, but the problem continues to become more frequent. Rattling the battery fixes the problem, but only temporarily.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2018
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated while doing a routine tire check underneath the vehicle, the contact noticed that there was corrosion under the rear driver’s side of the subframe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated there was a hole in the rear driver’s side mount. The contact was informed that the fuel strap mount on the front driver’s side an... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2018
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on numerous occasions upon acceleration, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact then stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. Additionally, the contact stated that after the vehicle stalled, she was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred, and another vehicle provided a ju... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
I have owned the vehicle since October 2022, currently ~4,400 miles. During second week of ownership, backup camera was blank upon startup and placing vehicle into reverse. A system reboot solved the issue, but several reboots have been required in subsequent months. Common that audio doesn't initiate (from any source) as well. Second issue - cold-engine acceleration is borderline dangerous as the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while reversing into a parking space, the driver's side front seat headrest was deployed without impact. The contact sustained an injury to her head; however, no medical attention was received. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not ... Read more
1 injured
SUBARU
OUTBACK
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
Apr 13, 2023
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test and the dealer stated that the catalytic convertor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 88,520.
Incident date: Jan 11, 2023
Purchased car used with 60k mileage. Within 3 months notice car making a metal scrubbing noise and excessive shaking in in mornings when first started and cold but if car was warm no scrubbing sound and minor shaking. Took it to hyundai dealer to have checked was told they didnt hear the scrubbing and vibrating, I assumed they checked while car was warm. Continue to have same problem for about 2 ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, excessive force was needed to depress the brake pedal. The contact also stated that on various occasions, the gear shifter seized between gears. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired... Read more
Incident date: Apr 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Carnival. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power without warning. The contact was able to stop on the side of the road. After several attempts to restart the vehicle, the contact was able to start the vehicle and noticed that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer stated that be... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2020
I was driving speed limit, on a sunny day, when my car began to veer to the left. I eased back into the right lane and suddenly the car made a quick jerk to the left; then, another to the right. I slid on the bank and missed the ditch before becoming airborne and landing in a corn field. I was able to drive to a safe location when the traction control light appeared on the dashboard.
Crash
Incident date: Apr 2, 2021
225/60 R 17 99 H - This tire should be on the recall list. While driving to work (50 MPH), the right passenger tire lost air pressure quickly, resulting in a flat. Tire air pressure indicator on the instrument panel making me aware. The sidewall rupture is the reason for the other tires being recalled by Continental. Inspection of my other tires showed the left front had the same sidewall line ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
Toyota (and Toyota of Boardman) is purposely overstating fuel capacity on their vehicles. So this is unsafe as drivers don’t the actual amount of gas before the run out and could lead to unexpected stops. This makes it impossible to determine the actual amount of gasoline used, which would also then make it impossible to know the total amount of air pollutants their cars omit. This could easily ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
My 2020 Chevrolet Equinox, while accelerating, will give off a Service Warning "ESC", along with flashing check engine light, and continuous lighted oil & traction control. Once I pull over, shut the car down and restart it goes away. This happens at least once a month, and is very scary. I had taken it to the dealership before my warranty ended, and all they did was change a spark plug. This is... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
Electric problem / water likings inside the passenger floor. This has affected the rear cámara and touch screen of my vehicle. It suddenly stoped working when backing out. I almost ran over someone. Screen when black. I notice water in passenger side floor and Momentum Volkswagen on Richmond here in houston wants to change me too much money just to inspect the car when they clearly know these car... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that the message "Passenger Air Bag Off" was displayed. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215000 (Air Bags) which she related to the failure; however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approxim... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
On my 2013 Road King, intermittently the Rear Brake Pedal will not depress while riding, and whenever that occurs, I have no rear braking whatsoever. Obviously, this is an extremely dangerous situation that could lead to death or injury. After a little internet research, I found this is an extremely common problem with Harley-Davidsons that have ABS (Antilock Braking Systems). When the ABS fail... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
Right side of windshield frame piece fell off while driving
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
Engine start failure. Intermittent you never know when it will happen. Several times the car just will not crank you push the button and all you get is a click. Has not been taken to a dealer or service center because this is a known Honda issue. It has been reported multiple times. You will be stranded in the middle of the night or midday it makes no difference you cannot get to an appointment or... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
I was accelerating from a county road onto a state road, and the engine quit. The dash board displayed a bunch of tiny colored symbols of which I hadn't seen before. I coasted and pulled into an Elementary School parking lot and braked to a stop. I attempted to restart but got nothing. I smelled something and got out and opened the hood. The bottom end of the motor was on fire! I flagged down a la... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 11, 2023
I took the Chevy Equinox to the Chevy dealership to have the oil changed. The House Technician said it was unsafe to put it on a lift. The entire frame was corroded. On 02/28/2023, I had the dealership do a Multi-Point Vehicle Inspection. This is their findings: #1-1010: INSPECTIONS INSPECT/CHECK inspect due to customer request Inspected unit due to customers request found excessive re... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2023
Failure of vacuum pump caused the brakes and engine to fail on the highway. No warning indications appeared until after the vehicle was brought to a stop. The vehicle was diagnosed at Riser Ford. The mechanics claim that a plastic part in the vacuum pump system broke. After further research I found that this a common occurrence with the Eco boost engines. An investigation is warranted, Ford's negl... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
I was using cruise control on high speed road. I depressed brake and turned onto a slower road. I continued for about a hundred yards and when I tried to come to a full stop by depressing the brake the car seemed to be trying to accelerate and I was barely able to bring the car to a stop. As I stopped the engine cut off. A similar incident occurred the day before. I took car to dealer and afte... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
Fuel line has rusted and is leaking gas under the left rear wheel, near the tail pipe. First noticed by smell while driving, then witnessed gas leaking upon exiting the vehicle at home. Have not had vehicle serviced as I will have to have it towed due to safety concerns. Please continue the investigation into this issue as it is potentially life threatening and the number of complaints are concern... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
I purchased a brand new 2018 toyota camry le with nothing but problems from the beginning. The brakes have been bad from day 1. The make noise when braking and they supposedly fixed it. I was driving on the freeway down a hill and when I went to press on the brakes they did not do anything and I had the pedal all the way down. I had to pump the brakes putting me and my passengers in danger. The e... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
Vehicle has been owned for 15 months. This vehicle has been to Chevrolet dealer for the same problem over 7 times. Radio and instrument cluster has turned off and screen has stayed black. I’m august it made vehicle unsafe to drive and operate and had to be towed. Dealer replaced radio screen twice and problem still persists. Cruises control becomes unavailable at random times and won’t functio... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The steering assist system abruptly stopped allowing the front wheels of the vehicle to be turned to the right while the vehicle was being driven causing me to crash into a ditch and on into a field and caused myself minor injuries..
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
DIE HARD 24F3. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TI DEFECTIVE BATTERY. THE CONSUMER PURCHASED A DIE HARD BATTERY WITH A 2YEAR WARRANTY REPLACMENT GUARANTEE AND ALMOST 1YEAR LATER THE BATTERY WAS DYING ON THE REGULAR BASIS.
Incident date: Apr 9, 2023
Car system drains battery for no reason. Opening a trunk or door for a 5-10min to load or unload vehicle is enough to drain a new full battery. This can leave people stranded in parks and remote areas. We have had the battery checked and verified it is good. This problem has happened multiple times on our Ascent.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2023
Problem is the anti theft module located on the steering column has malfunctioned for my wife’s 2010 Nissan Cube keyless ignition. Vehicle would not restart for my wife after sitting for 5 hours, luckily she was not way off somewhere. From what I’ve seen Nissan did a recall of a similar defective module on other models but did not include the Cube. Nissan doesn’t even have the parts readily ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
The steering assist system abruptly stopped allowing the front wheels of the vehicle to be turned to the right while the vehicle was being driven causing me to crash into a ditch and on into a field and caused myself minor injuries..
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 14, 2022
I have a recall for PGM-FI and Honda said they won’t honor it due to salvage title.I am concerned that it could be a safety hazard due to vehicle not restarting after idle stop engages when stopping on the road.
Incident date: Dec 14, 2022
车辆系统行驶中死机故障。黑屏。重启消除，又发生。经销商无法解决。
Incident date: Dec 14, 2022
车辆系统行驶中死机故障。黑屏。重启消除，又发生。经销商无法解决。
Incident date: Apr 9, 2023
Everything was really grate no problems. My brakes sounds like there is LOTS of AIR Coming from somewhere. My key ignition sometimes want turn over or easy to come out. Than the car started running hot. I've had it looked at Few times and can't seem to fix the problem. I've even brought a new coolant box or another name for it.. so now I can't drive it because my fluids keep coming out of the co... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 9, 2023
Frame of the body is completely rusted through to the point that it is almost unsafe to drive. It was identified when attempting to replace the rocker panel on the passenger side and the list put a hole in the frame. The vehicle has been well maintained but the amount of rust seems unusual for the age of the vehicle. I know the previous owner and he took painstakingly good care of the vehicle a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
I bought this Pacifica used 2 months ago and was told there were no issues with it by Carvana. During this time frame I have taken it to 2 mechanics to have it looked at for running rough. Was told it was my fuel sensor needing replaced. We tried replacing that and less than a week later my transmission is now saying Gear 2 incorrect ratio. I have put approximately 6000 miles on it in a 2 month pe... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
I pulled away from my residence in the city and way generally under 25mph. When I finally reach a location that allowed for higher limits, the bike shut down the display and power to the wheels after it got up to 30mph. After the first occurrence, it would happen periodically without any kind of warning. I had to unlock the bike and restart it for each time it happened.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
While sitting in a long row of stopped vehicles at a traffic light for an extended amount of time due to an accident I had the Automatic Brake Hold feature activated { I did not have to have my foot on the brake while sitting still) as well as the Auto Idle Stop OFF button meaning {the engine shuts down when you come to a stop.} Apparently, the Brake Hold feature timed out with no warning whatso... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The automatic braking system engaged four times randomly on 4/4 and 4/5/23 while driving on us hwy 70 in Nashville TN. There were no obstructions nearby when this occurred. Two of the incidents occurred while traveling approximately 45 to 50 mph almost resulting in a rear end collision from the driver behind. The other two incidents occurred at slower speeds making the vehicle almost impossible ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The windshield easily cracked during standstill and parked. The vehicle was relatively new at 8000miles. There was no visible evidence as to debris coming from outside.
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
Anti-Lock Brake System Failure The following dates for the repairs are as follows: December 05, 2019 1440 miles 5 days out of service April 19, 2021 12662 miles 4 days out of service March 06, 2023 21405 miles 6 days out of service (part backordered/not repaired As of March 06, 2023, the repair of the Anti -Lock brake system on the above mentioned vehicle is at three times and over fifteen days... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The contact stated that she had to add a quart of oil after driving less than 1,000 miles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown repair was completed; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened; howeve... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
The check engine light has gone on three times in the last 18 months. Vehicle has 62,000 miles on it. The first 2 times the issue was with the fuel injectors. All 4 injectors were replaced the first time about 31,000 miles on car and the 2nd time needed to cleaned manifold and reset injectors. today's issue was malfunctioning high pressure fuel pump that leaked into the crank case. The codes... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
My vehicle is leaking fuel from the fuel pump. I can see the fuel collecting on the side of the fuel tank from the top of the tank where the fuel pump is located. This issue has been releasing gas fumes around my car and occasionally in the cabin. This not only makes my car invalid for emissions testing in many states across the country, it also poses a risk to the overall safety of the vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2023
Problem began Dec. 2021. Has occurred on 16 occasions since then. Warning light "Check Hybrid System; Turn off Engine" comes on while driving. The car then shuts off the engine and there is a 100% loss of motive power. Sometimes is associated with very rough braking with the car "knocking'." On 3 occasions there has been partial/near complete loss of braking power. All incidents have occurred w... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2023
The Eye Sight front collision warning did a hard brake going 55 mph when a car was well ahead of me slowing down to turn right. I was almost rear ended by the car behind me. This isn't the first time it's happened
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
My service shifter light stays on almost all the time. The gears PRND are all red lights.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
My service shifter light stays on almost all the time. The gears PRND are all red lights.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
Driving down the highway at 70mph, when the engine seized and shut down without warning. Towed to dealership and informed of “internal mechanical failure.” No warning lights on, truck only has 74,000 miles and Nissan is refusing to assist with repairs as acexpired two months ago. Hundreds of documented cases of same issue. Stuck with a blown engine that is 30k to fix, truck worth nothing and s... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
Today 4/7/23 My 2017 Toyota Sienna accelerated on its own. I was driving my 4 children to school and we were at a stop light. When I took my foot of the brake to start making a turn the car gunned it around the corner. It scared everyone in the car half to death. Thankfully no one was hurt but it looks like others on here haven't been so lucky with this issue. I hope toyota does the right thing a ... Read more