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, 2025
Side mirrors cracking in below freezing temperatures! This is a common issue with other users reporting on online forms. Mine cracked overnight such as others in this season
Incident date: Feb 2, 2026
Premature failure of TPMS sensors in 3 tires. Battery alert on them. Only 23,000 miles on vehicle
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
Regularly experience violet jerking into gream and slipping/gear hunting. often times on the highway, which leads to unsafe speed changes
Incident date: Feb 5, 2026
My fiancée and I just recently bought this car with the 1.6T-GDi engine I immediately replaced the oil even though the dealership said that he just replaced it. I put 7 quarts of oil topping off from awk consumption after I initially changed the oil filter. Those 7 quarts were added over the period of three weeks and it’s just progressively gotten worse. I’m putting a quart to 1.5 quarts of ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2026
My dealership (Jeep Bayside Annapolis, MD) is refusing to fix the recall. They say they’ve had issues with some of the cars, and it’s taking too long. They said they’ve are capable of fixing the recall, but are refusing to do so.
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
On the morning of [XXX] I received an error message on my dashboard (attached) "Stop Vehicle and Check Power Supply". The car had started to lose acceleration power to no more than 30MPH. I contact the service department at my local dealer. They instructed me to bring it in or have it towed. I was about 2 miles from home so I headed back. While in transit the car lost all power i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
I'm driving down the road and unexpectedly the power steering completely goes out and the car is almost impossible to steer. When I shut the car off it usually resets sometimes for only a couple seconds, sometimes longer before the power steering fails again. It has happened in the middle of multiple turns, highways driving, city driving and is very dangerous. If you look online it is a very commo... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
I'm driving down the road and unexpectedly the power steering completely goes out and the car is almost impossible to steer. When I shut the car off it usually resets sometimes for only a couple seconds, sometimes longer before the power steering fails again. It has happened in the middle of multiple turns, highways driving, city driving and is very dangerous. If you look online it is a very commo... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Impreza equipped with Sailun Tires, Tire Line: Black Hawk Street UHP, Tire Size: 225/40R18, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact had purchased the tires from Amazon. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware of a bubble on the outside of the rear passenger's side tire in December 2025. The vehicle was taken to Mavis Tire, and the tire w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2026
The truck would fall out of gear, going down the highway it would shift into 1 or 2nd gear reving the engine. I would have to put it in neutral and at times have to shut it comeplete down to have it reset.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2026
On 3 different occasions the car randomly accelerated at a high speed without stepping on the gas pedal. The first time was in a parking lot. The second time was on a busy road while traveling at 35 mph. The car accelerated to about 60 mph, fortunately once applying the brakes the vehicle slowed down to gain control. The third time it happened was recently on [XXX] while slowly backing down [XXX].... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
Driving in normal driving conditions, East bound [XXX], 70 mph, tire popped off rim, no damage to tire or wheel, no apparent cause. Contacted road side assistance and they proceeded to tow to Hank Graff Chevrolet in Davison. Warranty was reported by myself to both On Star and representative at dealership. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
The AC compressor/condesor needs replaced and I see a lot of complaints on-line about this specific model- 2018 Forester. My kids and I were on a road trip in August 2025 when it stopped working. It was extremley hot even with the windows down and heat stroke became very real while we were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. There was already a recall on this but now with the new part the AC stop... Read more
3 injured
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The AC compressor/condesor needs replaced and I see a lot of complaints on-line about this specific model- 2018 Forester. My kids and I were on a road trip in August 2025 when it stopped working. It was extremley hot even with the windows down and heat stroke became very real while we were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. There was already a recall on this but now with the new part the AC stop... Read more
3 injured
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
Loud knocking sound in the engine appeared out of nowhere. This is the same engine as what exists in the 2021 year models which does have a recall on them, but for some reason the 2019 models like I have are not included in the recall. I cannot drive the car for fear of the engine seizing up.
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
I HAVE NOW HAD 4 WINDSHIELDS CRACK AND BREAK AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY TIME ONE LITTLE ROCK HITS THE WINDSHIELD BOOM ANOTHER FULL REPLACEMENT IS NEEDED. EVERY TIME I GO FOR A ROAD TRIP THIS KEEPS HAPPENING THE MUST BE A DEFECT WITH THE DESIGN OR TYPE OF GLASS USED FOR THE SUBARU IMPREZA 2020 MODELS.
Incident date: Feb 2, 2026
When in reverse then put in drive the camera freezes while driving still see reverse. GPS BLACKS OUT ALOT.when you want to put windows up they go down, the car has caused so many problems even my mechanic said give it back.we bought the car new with 34 or 35 miles on it n I been feeling so unsafe in this vehicle for a couple yrs I cant even travel in it it dont go up hills .if I try check e... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2026
Vehicle has widespread software/electronic failures affecting driving and safety systems. Failures cause erratic, loss of information while driving, unintended systems activation, and loss of emergency services. While operating the vehicle during routine driving, multiple safety-related electronic systems malfunction. The instrument panel and center display intermittently go completely blank whi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2026
Car drains battery. 45,000 miles and has had 3 batteries and have been told it needs another. Dealer says start stop switch, requires a battery of 750 CCA and not the Subaru recommend battery. Car will die in traffic and driver seat adjusts to different positions by itself. Told that these problems will never stop unless I get a higher rated battery than required.
Incident date: Jan 6, 2026
Car drains battery. 45,000 miles and has had 3 batteries and have been told it needs another. Dealer says start stop switch, requires a battery of 750 CCA and not the Subaru recommend battery. Car will die in traffic and driver seat adjusts to different positions by itself. Told that these problems will never stop unless I get a higher rated battery than required.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2026
COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE AND LOSS OF POWER. While driving, I lost complete power of all systems and truck shut down with no warning lights or alarms at all. Truck is regularly serviced but has always used oil between servicing. Truck had only been driven for 500 miles since last oil service. Upon towing to the repair shop, we were told that the engine was destroyed and we have to have a new engine.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
The engine is a problem and all I’m ever told us “ this vehicle is know to have engine problems. This is dangerous to have in the road. Kia is aware of this. Why sale the vehicle knowing this and not disclosing this info to the consumer upon purchase. There is no truth in lending. It’s plain sight robbery. What if I’m far from home and stranded because vehicle set fire or broke down in haz... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
I am submitting this complaint to report a potential safety defect with the windshield glass on my 2025 Subaru Forester. Since purchasing the vehicle in May 2025, I have experienced repeated windshield damage that seems excessive and abnormal for a new vehicle. Within the first two months of ownership, the windshield developed a rock chip. Approximately three months later, I experienced another r... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
EVERCHILL refrigerator burnt wiring between the freezer and the circuit board. I had to replace the Everchill refrigerator just one week after the warranty expired.
Fire
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
Incident ~ 5:40 pm, Geneva NY Weather ~ 10 F, not snowing. Background. On or shortly after being started, the vehicle had exhibited prior incidents of extremely rapid engine acceleration not initiated by the operator. Most recently the day before. The incident: I was in the process of very slowly parking the vehicle in a narrow laneway, and positioning the vehicle behind and in line of one other... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
Incident ~ 5:40 pm, Geneva NY Weather ~ 10 F, not snowing. Background. On or shortly after being started, the vehicle had exhibited prior incidents of extremely rapid engine acceleration not initiated by the operator. Most recently the day before. The incident: I was in the process of very slowly parking the vehicle in a narrow laneway, and positioning the vehicle behind and in line of one other... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
Heard knocking noise when making a right hand turn on a steep embankment. Thought nothing of it but as time went on the noise became more frequent even with the slightest incline. Decided to take it to the dealership to get checked out. Was told there was a known issue with the cv joints and parts would be placed on order. Eight months later and still no fix, I spoke to my service consultant and w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2026
The CarPlay no longer gives me accurate directions. The directional arrow drifts on the map and sends me everywhere except the direct route. I've tried using both Google and Apple maps to no avail.
Incident date: Jan 23, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Outdoors RV Glacier Peak. The contact stated that the pin box had started flexing, resulting in cracks on the welds of the pin box. The RV was taken to a RV dealer where the deck plating was removed, and the mechanic discovered severe cracking on all four welds. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V587000 (Trailer Hitches); however... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2025
The vehicle experienced a sudden engine failure one day after undergoing a manufacturer emissions/service campaign at an authorized dealership. Prior to service, the vehicle operated normally with no warning lights, knocking, or drivability issues. After the failure, the dealership denied coverage and declined to inspect the engine oil. The vehicle was towed for an independent inspection, which f... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2025
The seat belt does not retract. There is a crack where the seat belts enter the post and compresses the seat belt. I took it to the dealer and they would love to fix it but there are no parts available so they can not do anything. In summary we use the seatbelt only as a decoration piece so we do not get ticket it by non-using a seat belt. I asked the dealer if I could try to fix it my myself but... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2025
2021 Subaru Ascent (VIN#***). Water found dripping down both second row seatbelts on multiple occasions during or following heavy rain, accumulated into mold growth on the carpet in front of second row seats to the front of the 3rd row seats (cargo area dry, front footwells dry). Authorized Subaru dealer technician report (dated 10/29/25 and 12/3/25 copy pasted into email) explicitly documents 'co... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2025
2021 Subaru Ascent (VIN#***). Water found dripping down both second row seatbelts on multiple occasions during or following heavy rain, accumulated into mold growth on the carpet in front of second row seats to the front of the 3rd row seats (cargo area dry, front footwells dry). Authorized Subaru dealer technician report (dated 10/29/25 and 12/3/25 copy pasted into email) explicitly documents 'co... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
Parked my car overnight, I had the car for 3 days , I came out in the morning and the windshield was shattered, it looked like it burst or exploded outward from inside the car , there was no foul play involved, I checked my cameras etc. I have no idea what caused this but this is a potential safety issue especially if the car was in motion or being driven…
Incident date: Dec 30, 2025
Oil filter housing leak. Does not impact oil levels but more notable during cold weather as the ring tends to shrink.
Incident date: Jan 25, 2026
Hood latch sensor alarms hood ajar when hood is actually closed and secure. This issues inhibits the use of remotely starting, or unlocking vehicle. This appears to be a possible recall with the make and year of my vehicle but has never been listed as recall.
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 FORD F-150 . The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V455000 (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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
PART 4 SUBARU STRUT ISSUE How come no one can tell me what’s actually wrong. Was this a faulty part or was it not installed correctly, who knows, no one can tell me. The strut was loose and I could hear it rattling or jolting on many occasions before I knew that’s what it was. Was it not torqued to specs, installed in hurry, or defective part. They had my car for atleast a week the first t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
PART 4 SUBARU STRUT ISSUE How come no one can tell me what’s actually wrong. Was this a faulty part or was it not installed correctly, who knows, no one can tell me. The strut was loose and I could hear it rattling or jolting on many occasions before I knew that’s what it was. Was it not torqued to specs, installed in hurry, or defective part. They had my car for atleast a week the first t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
When charging my Silverado EV at Level 3 DC Fast chargers it is not charging at the same Voltage / Power as it has been in the past at the same stations (roughly half the power). I have taken it to the service center for diagnostics but they were unable to isolate the component that caused this problem, only reproduce the problem. Further details below. What component or system failed or malfunc... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
Part 3 SUBARU STRUT ISSUE I called the service department at Peltier Subaru and told them what happened and that I should be reimbursed for the tire. I was told that I needed to bring the tire in so that it could be inspected, along with the car to make there wasn’t something else going on. I talked with the service manager and he talked with his manager, who okayed a reimbursement verbally to... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
Part 3 SUBARU STRUT ISSUE I called the service department at Peltier Subaru and told them what happened and that I should be reimbursed for the tire. I was told that I needed to bring the tire in so that it could be inspected, along with the car to make there wasn’t something else going on. I talked with the service manager and he talked with his manager, who okayed a reimbursement verbally to... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2025
2022 GMC Yukon AT4 was brought into the dealership for the service recall on the engine. No issues and received the 0W40 "fix". Approximately 4-6 weeks later, I was traveling on the interstate at approx. 75MPH when the truck completely shut down mid-passing with a code stating "conditions for not for shifting" and I was lucky enough to get the truck to the shoulder of the road without being stru... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2025
SUBARU STRUT ISSUE PART 2 Today is January, 28, 2026 To Whom this may concern, and all parties involved at Peltier Subaru, location 3200 S Southwest Loop 323, Tyler, TX 75701 I regret to inform you that you failed to address my many concerns regarding my vehicle. This caused me to be out of pocket on multiple occasions, with regards to my safety, and my family’s safety when in the vehicle wit... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2025
SUBARU STRUT ISSUE PART 2 Today is January, 28, 2026 To Whom this may concern, and all parties involved at Peltier Subaru, location 3200 S Southwest Loop 323, Tyler, TX 75701 I regret to inform you that you failed to address my many concerns regarding my vehicle. This caused me to be out of pocket on multiple occasions, with regards to my safety, and my family’s safety when in the vehicle wit... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2025
CDF Drum - Transmission Transmission unable to find gear, repeatedly skips when downshifting. Slips when engine braking. Unable to safely exit traffic on the highway. Problem is reproduced at dealer. A common issue nation-wide. Hefty repair bill on a young truck. (90,000 miles) No warning lamps, messages, or symptoms.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2025
Part 1 Today is January, 28, 2026 How it all started. My appointment was Tuesday, June 10th, 2025 at 10:15 am. During my last oil change, I was informed by Chris that an alignment would be needed to correct the rear passenger wheel showing -2.4 camber. I asked Chris could I go ahead and schedule the service repair now. Chris replied, you will have to schedule the appointment after you leave. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2025
Part 1 Today is January, 28, 2026 How it all started. My appointment was Tuesday, June 10th, 2025 at 10:15 am. During my last oil change, I was informed by Chris that an alignment would be needed to correct the rear passenger wheel showing -2.4 camber. I asked Chris could I go ahead and schedule the service repair now. Chris replied, you will have to schedule the appointment after you leave. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a white screen. The contact stated that it was difficult to see what was behind the vehicle. The failure was a persistent failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2025
I drove into the parking lot of Walgreens, then drove around and pulled into a parking spot facing the south side of the building and put my foot on the brake to stop and park. Instead of stopping, the car suddenly lurched forward violently and slammed into the brick wall of the building. My wife called 911 since I told her my chest really hurt. When the police came, I told them my foot must ha... Read more
Crash
1 injured