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: Nov 10, 2021
The brake pads fell apart inside the brake drums, leading to a near total loss of stopping power. This nearly lead to a serious accident. The entire brake assemblies were replaced under warranty.
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
ABS sensors I think are bad cuz my brake pedal fluctuates and hasn't done that in a long time it went away no dash lights for the ABS but it's definitely coming from the brake pedal?
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Mustang. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V082000 (Back Over Prevention) 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
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
I have the Pearl White color and it is peeling off everywhere! My hood is almost completely gone and it’s now starting to chip on the side near the drivers door. It started off as little chips but now it is in clumps. Somebody told me it was delaminating and a ton of other pearl white kia drivers are reporting this.
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
Over a 3 year time span my 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee has on multiple occasions had an extremely rough idle, has a hard time accelerating and car drives extremely rough and bumpy. I’ve taken it to multiple different auto shops and all they ever do is change spark plugs OR they just don’t know what’s wrong. No engine light illuminated and no codes. Spark plugs changed March 2020, august 2020, J... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Driving down highway slowed down brake assist kicked in for no reason I was stuck in traffic not moving but maybe 2 mph brakes locked up got super hard codes read brake booster and vacuum pump. Screen went black “parking assist off” came on dashboard earlier that morning but nothing seemed to be wrong with the car. Thank God I wasn’t going faster I could have died!
Incident date: Jan 7, 2023
The screen on the car would randomly turn on and off when the vehicle is on and it will do this the whole time . On Dec 2022 Another issue I had was the door wouldn’t unlock on the driver side. I had to get someone to open my door. The door was unlocked but physically wouldn’t open.
Incident date: Dec 31, 2022
Similar to the other Hyundai issues the car was driving just fine down the road and coming through to an intersection lost all power suddenly. Similar thing happened with my Sonata with the connecting rod failure. Happened coming into a busy intersection that drops from 65 mph to 35 mph and is also an intersection lots of tractor trailors and garbarge trucks are drving through which could have re... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2022
Vehicle was being driven and there was sudden loss of power. While vehicle limped to side of road, check engine light turned on. Noticed oil leaking from beneath. Vehicle was towed to Hyundai dealer and they confirmed a new engine is needed but will not replace because mileage is 5,000 miles passed the 60,000 mile warranty for 2nd hand purchasers. Being quoted $14,000 to replace engine.
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
I have a 2018 Ram 2500 Diesel and throughout the past 24 months I have been receiving intermittent ABS and Traction Control lights while driving. Recently (3 days ago), the lights have come back, are staying on, and the screen displayed the words "Perform Service". I attached my diagnostic tool and the Code captured is: C0020 Status: MIL/Confirmed - ABS Pump Motor Control - General Electric Fai... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone where a diagnostic test was performed and produced an unknown code indicating failure with the O2 sensor. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where the contact requested that a diagnostic test be performed due to the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, or while the vehicle was parked, the Infotainment system and screen made abnormal sounds with the screen flashing. The contact stated that the Navigation and Bluetooth also malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was diagnosed as a malfunctioning audio unit that needed to be ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2022
While traveling the outer skin of a lower compartment door folded off. This occurred in heavy traffic during a vicious windstorm. The repair costs just under $7000. During our first trip after the repair, the skin came off again-this time at a slow speed and with normal weather. On your website, there is a recall for the identical problem in the Thor line of motorcoaches but not the Tuscany. O... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2022
My engine seized due to excessive oil consumption. the car just had an oil change, there was no indicator there was an issue and the engine seized. It is currently sitting in my driveway- the extended warranty company is giving me a hard time when this is clearly an widely publicized issue with the 2013 Equinox. I need assistance in moving forward as I cannot be without a car or responsible for a ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2023
The emergency trunk release does not work when the cinch motor fails on the power tailgate. Part is scheduled to be replaced by Tesla.
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
After the coil pack recall was done, our car began shuddering, hesitating and stalling. Went to the dealership 4-5 times. ECM and Prindle valve were replaced but still doing it. then engine exploded going up a hill, stranding us for 2.5 hours on the freeway. Engine replaced under warranty (which expired while in shop for two months). No warranty on new motor. Same issues still going on and s... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
I was travelling down the highway at near 60 mph and without warning the truck shuttered and shifted to first gear. This nearly started and chain reaction crash with myself and 3 other vehicles as I was nearly rear ended, I also could've easily lost control. Had I been towing my travel trailer at the time this would have caused a major accident without question. 2 codes were thrown at this time P0... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
I was travelling down the highway at near 60 mph and without warning the truck shuttered and shifted to first gear. This nearly started and chain reaction crash with myself and 3 other vehicles as I was nearly rear ended, I also could've easily lost control. Had I been towing my travel trailer at the time this would have caused a major accident without question. 2 codes were thrown at this time P0... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2022
I was traveling at about 60 MPH on a four lane highway in Jan of 2023 when I suddenly lost all engine power. The dashboard reported a charging system error and the "D" indicator was flashing along with check engine light. I was able to get to the side of the road. I was able to restart after shutting all the way down and opening my door. I was able to get home after. The next day trying to get to ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
Car will stutter and stall. Usually after multiple short trips (5 stops and starts) in a short period of time (2 hours). 1 min/1000 gauge is fluttering around 0.75 on gauge when stopped. When car stalls it can be when pulling out at a stop sign. It will stall when gas is applied and then I need to coast around a corner. Occasionally the car will stall out when driving between 20 and 30 miles per... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
First, the rear passenger side door latch failed at 57k miles, allegedly due to water intrusion. They replaced with a revised part - p/n 32310869. Now at 63k miles, the driver side rear door latch failed in the same way. This compromises safety because it renders the rear seats completely inaccessible. I could not get my children out of the back seat through traditional means. The problem has be... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2021
i have a 2017 Ford F-150 I bought in April 2022 with 113,000 miles on it. I need a turn signal bulb replace on the passenger side and that was done and then I found out I have a recall on the vehicle since May 2022. Never received a recall letter-nothing! Now I find out that I have a water pump leak, oil pan issues, gasket by the motor is leaking. I have had the vehicle less than a year now have ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2023
VW ID4 2023 Day two owning ID4, driver's door would not open. I was at the dealership at the time and I was told to make an appointment to fix it. I was also told, it was a thing happening with some new VW ID4 2023. Some sort of short circuit. I went home, did some research, I learned about the recall. I questioned a person on the phone (from dealership) about the notice. They did not answer whet... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
High beams went off. Not showing any errors on dash. Switch seem to be working. High beam sign goes on and off when you try to switch between the low and high beams, But only low beam lights working.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
High beams went off. Not showing any errors on dash. Switch seem to be working. High beam sign goes on and off when you try to switch between the low and high beams, But only low beam lights working.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
On Dec. 20, 2022, my Outback totally stopped working while sitting at a red light, causing traffic to be forced to maneuver around my car. A kind policeman put out flares until the tow truck arrived. I could not shift into park, nothing electric would work, except the radio continued to play and the flashers worked until it all died. I could not turn the radio off and the seat would not adjust. Th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
I was driving approximately 60 mph. There were several small bumps in the road and the Truck went into a Very Violent Shake and Wobble. This is commonly known as the FORD DEATH WOBBLE... Very Scary and Dangerous. The Vehicle was extremely hard to control. Luckily the service advisor at Coggin Ford had warned me about this possible condition. I was told if this wobble ever happened to let im... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
I was driving approximately 60 mph. There were several small bumps in the road and the Truck went into a Very Violent Shake and Wobble. This is commonly known as the FORD DEATH WOBBLE... Very Scary and Dangerous. The Vehicle was extremely hard to control. Luckily the service advisor at Coggin Ford had warned me about this possible condition. I was told if this wobble ever happened to let im... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
I was traveling normally, exiting a highway ramp when my car acceleration system malfunctioned. It seemed as if it was a power train issue or engine issue. I was not able to accelerate or slow down properly due to this malfunction and it caused me to crash. My car was totaled.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
I was traveling normally, exiting a highway ramp when my car acceleration system malfunctioned. It seemed as if it was a power train issue or engine issue. I was not able to accelerate or slow down properly due to this malfunction and it caused me to crash. My car was totaled.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 27, 2022
EPS and traction light came on when driving around 20mph making the wheel stiff and barely able to turn. Looked up 2011 Hyundai recalls and came across recall 143 regarding the steering column. Took car to dealer and they said no recalls found for my vehicle. I told them about what I found online and that I’m experiencing the same issues so I’m not sure why my 2011 wasn’t affected. They basi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
The contact's friend owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while her friend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started decelerating, rattling, and then stalled. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phaser needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
Driving this passed saturday and my car was jumping when i would slow it down to decrease my speed. Once my car got to 5mph it’ll jump forward then it would stop. When i went to accelerate it would pick up no speed until 40mph then the engine light came on. I went to get a diagnostic from autozone and it was my power train system having an issue. I have no clue what that was. Went to make an app... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
When connected to a trailer with trailer brakes, the driver information center displays a message check trailer brakes when I apply the brakes. After usually the 3rd brake application the driver information center displays a message-Trailer Brake Disabled. Local certified chevy dealer tested the brake components on a computer and verified it is the truck that has issues. They also stated there is ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The gas pedal in my new 2022 Nissan Rogue has stuck open full throttle twice. Both times I managed to avoid a major car accident, but I was in the middle of a highway with traffic... I was in the left hand turn lane and pushed the gas pedal to the floor - the vehicle immediately seemed to be full-throttle in LOW gear - this is a problem with this vehicle. It slips into low gear about 20 percent o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
Since purchase the blind spot warning won't operate or goes off on its own. No audible warning when it is chosen. Purchased vehicle on a Friday, and returned Saturday and Monday. Both techs replicated the problem but no idea of a fix yet.
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
Failing Exhaust manifold and studs
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
Autobraking works sometimes and it doesn't many a times consistently. Also, there is a bad smell that keeps coming regularly. Not sure where that is coming from.
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. In July of 2022, the contact received a safety recall notification from the NHTSA under Campaign Number: 22V413 stating "the bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach." The owner then received another letter in October 2022 stating that remedy parts were available in which the owner took the vehicle to the local Ford deal... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
The emergency breaking system failed to engage. Failure to engage caused collision with another car
Crash
Incident date: Aug 11, 2021
MY VEHICLE (2016 C-CLASS 300) HAS A STRONG GAS SMELL WHEN THE VEHICLE IS COLD AND IDLING. SEEMS LIKE IT'S COMMON PROBLEM IN W205 C300 CARS. TAKING TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSTICS THERE IS A CLASS ACTION INVESTIGATION: HTTPS://WWW.SAUDERSCHELKOPF.COM/INVESTIGATIONS/AUTOMOTI VE/MERCEDES-C300-AND-GLA250- FUEL -SMELL-CLASS-ACTIONINVESTIGATION/ YOU CAN SEE MULTIPLE PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAM... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
This is a 2020 Nissan Murano S. The vehicle has been well maintained and taken to the dealership for maintenance periodically. I usually take my vehicle to either Antwerpen Nissan Clarksville or Antwerpen Nissan Security. I took my vehicle to Antwerpen Nissan Security for a transmission flush and change. Shortly after that service I started to notice an oil smell coming into the cabin. I took it b... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
Driving down interstate and heard a loud scraping sound suddenly. We were able to pull off quickly and saw the skid plate had broken and was dragging on road. There was no vibrating of vehicle or any indication of something going wrong before it occurred.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
Hello NHTSA, After exhaustively searching online on how to mitigate excessive oil consumption in my girlfriend’s 2016 Kia Rio; Cho et al v. Hyundai Motor Company, Ltd. et al. was brought to my attention. This vehicle failed the oil consumption test performed by KIA. According to the suit, cars with the allegedly faulty engines includes the 2016 Kia Rio. Year: 2016 Make: Kia Model: Rio Trim... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Engine failure on the highway driving 60mph , Rod bearing failed causing engine to be destroyed (new block , new pistons, new head needed). Car was under warranty . Dealership filed claim but subaru of America denied claim giving erroneous reasons for denial . Subaru of America has been sued for this before http://www.enginebearings.settlementclass.com/ but they are stating my car does not fal... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
- When I was switching lanes on the highway my dashboard started flashing brake system problem, steering wheel system problem, tire pressure system problem, etc. The engine light, breaker system light, battery light, steering wheel light, and a few others turned on. After coming to a complete stop my car would not turn off. After pushing the “power button” multiple times it turned off complete... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
The brakes failed. When I pushed on the brakes the car unexpectedly accelerated into a vehicle in front of me, then swerved out of control and crashed into a pillar, then stopped. The break remained smashed to the floor, and I had a hard time lifting the break to see if it would drive. UPDATE 06/13/2023- Consumer sent in copy of complaint addressed to BBB. Consumer states "Re: FCA Third Complaint ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
both control arms broke and the front tires were ruined. The tow truck driver said they are lucky , they didn't get hurt because if they were going faster , they would have lost control and rolled the van.
Incident date: Jan 12, 2023
Car started to make a knocking noise, however no lights on dash indicated anything was wrong. Checked oil and the oil was low, had to add 4 quarts of oil, checked for leaks and nothing was leaking. Two weeks later noticed the car was driving a little different, checked oil and had to add two more quarts of oil.
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
My airbag light comes on than goes off for a bit than comes on for a few months With only 1200 miles I needed braces and rotors , since the metal used was rusted out and worn