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: Nov 5, 2025
Traveling at speed of 30MPH. A tocoma truck in front of me suddenly stopped in road lane. Driver said that his vehicle made an auto assist stop were the brakes lock. My 2021 Crosstrek eyesight/braking system failed. I saw the truck stop but the system failed and I went into the back of a large truck. There is a witness who is happy to talk with you. He saw the truck's sudden stop and my crosst... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 15, 2025
The contact owns a Chicco Keyfit 360 Convertible child seat installed in a 2025 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the harness strap had detached from the T-bar in the rear of the child seat. The contact stated that the child was in the seat during the failure. The contact was unable to reattach the strap after speaking to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and in... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
My 2019 Honda Odyssey has a check engine light on due to failing fuel injectors. Honda service center told me, the Cost to repair would put you out the door @ 1919.38. My car has fewer than 60,000 miles, for me personally, it's a manufacturing fault. After seeing the check engine light, I didn't drive my car other than take it to the Honda service center.
Incident date: Oct 4, 2025
1. Component/System: One-pedal driving / regenerative braking (i-Pedal mode). Vehicle is available for inspecti On three separate occasions since leasing the vehicle in April, 2025, the vehicle failed to decelerate when i-Pedal mode was active and I fully released the accelerator pedal. Instead of slowing immediately as expected, the car continued maintaining speed for a few seconds before eventu... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2025
On 11/4/25 with only 377 miles on the odometer after backing out of my driveway I put the car into drive, nothing happened initially but then it stalled out in the road way. The vehicle displayed no warning lights and it did go into drive after that point. Vehicle has yet to be diagnosed.
Incident date: Sep 22, 2025
The navigational systems shuts off in the middle of driving. The screen will go completely black making it unsafe when using navigational directions. The system also shuts off at the slightest pot holes. Windows also won’t work when trying to put them down from the drivers side
Incident date: Nov 4, 2025
misfire on cylinder #6 lifter failure on cylinder #6 bent push rod on cylinder #6 happened going down the highway at 75mph, luckily no one was injured local Chevrolet dealer did diagnostic and repairs repairs were covered by aftermarket warranty - $100.00 deductible no warning lamps or messages or other symptoms before hand
Incident date: Jul 26, 2025
The car due to the parking brake system recall lost control, the brakes would not stop and caused the vehicle to crash into 2 parked cars, landing on top of the 2nd vehicle which was a pick up truck
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 15, 2025
On 10/24, a rented van (from Budget Truck Rental) was parked and stationary on private commercial property (a warehouse lot) when a fire originated in the engine compartment area. The fire rapidly escalated, causing severe damage to the van itself, and resulting in the total loss of a second, adjacent rented van. The local Fire Department (FD) responded to and extinguished the blaze. What compone... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport. The contact stated that upon entering and closing the door, the message "Door Ajar" was displayed. The dome lights failed to turn off. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined there was a failure with the electrical system for the crumple zone; the occupan... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2025
The wireless charging pad in the vehicle below the climate control system. Yes, it is. The charging component malfunctioned and overheated the back of my phone when it was set in the console while driving. I had no intention of charging my phone, but instead place my phone down while driving. When I picked up my phone at a stop light, I laid it in my inner thigh when the light changed. The burnin... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 20, 2025
While the lane keeping assistance is on the car will follow the exit lane beside the lane I’m in and jerk over into it. There has been a car beside me when has happened but I caught the steering wheel before a crash. Also if a car is turning in front of me sometimes, not always, the brakes will jam on when I’m not even close to the car that is turning but I would be going around the car after... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2025
While the lane keeping assistance is on the car will follow the exit lane beside the lane I’m in and jerk over into it. There has been a car beside me when has happened but I caught the steering wheel before a crash. Also if a car is turning in front of me sometimes, not always, the brakes will jam on when I’m not even close to the car that is turning but I would be going around the car after... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2025
My truck had a ticking, knocking on the bottom end of the engine as I was driving home with my children. When i pulled into my driveway, the low oil pressure light came on and the truck began to stall while the back of the truck was till in the roadway. Several cars had to come to a complete stop to avoid hitting us, right where my children were seated in the back. I was able to limp the truck i... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2017
2017 Honda Civic EX steering wheel is sticky on highway speed and feels very stiff during turns
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
The truck is on its 3rd camshaft and lifters due to failures. The truck has 43,000 miles on it. This is not normal. RAM has fixed it twice, and now the new lifters, that were installed a month ago are also beginning to make noise. When these camshaft and lifters fail they put metal into the engine which creates catastrophic failures.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
A fire started under the hood of my car while I was driving. There were no warning lights on in my car and the temperature gauge was in the middle where it usually is. Earlier in the day, I smelled gas, but I thought it was a different car as the smell of gas went away after a car that had a lot of exhaust coming out was no longer in sight.
Fire
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
Vehicle shuts off intermittently without warning. Random dash warning lights will flash, but not stay on. Air suspension will engage on its own while vehicle is not turned on, and electrical panels and lights will turn on and flash while vehicle is parked in garage, hours or days after last driven. Transmission will struggle to shift gears from low speeds, but then quickly “catch up” causing u... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
I had been having issues with my vehicle randomly stalling out when I would start it and put it into reverse. It also was hesitating during acceleration at times. On 9/2/25 I took it to a Nissan dealership for these issues and was told they couldn’t find anything wrong. I specifically asked if it could be related to the recall I had just received notice about in the mail and was told ‘probably... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving 20 - 70 MPH, the steering wheel independently merged onto a back road, pulling the vehicle off the road and onto main roads and highways, with the vehicle merging into the turning lane independently. No warning light was illuminated. A local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
I want to bring a widespread safety issue up that is not being resolved by the manufacturer. I have a 2017 Subaru Forester with a faulty ODS sensor. This is a known issue to Subaru and there are bulletins issued on this topic (WUM-98 and 17-19-24). I had the original ODS sensor replaced in 2021. Several months ago my passenger airbag lights started to turn off again. I took it to Subaru and they ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
The car started to have issues shifting when driving- automatic transmission. It would jolt or shudder to try to shift. I was at a light intersection attempting to turn left to go on the on ramp of a highway, it attempted to shift as I sped up from a stop and it got stuck and started making a sound as if you were to press the brake and gas at the same time, similar to that, a car was coming in my ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
The vehicle has experienced four separate engine shutdowns while stopped in traffic. Each time, the engine turned off unexpectedly, requiring a manual restart. One incident occurred near a railroad crossing with my child in the car. The vehicle also lurches forward at low speeds and hesitates when accelerating after being stopped. These issues persist despite service visits. I believe they may rel... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Tire Pressure Monitor failure intermittently reported while driving. The error lights up on the dashboard. Sometimes the TMP resets without my resetting the system. I took the car to the dealer and was told nothing is wrong with the system. The dealer told me to drive the car more frequently. This has happened over the last several years. Driver's door intermittently fails to lock and/or will no... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2025
Iccu failure for the 3rd time
Incident date: Mar 6, 2025
I had a frontal accident on March 6, 2025. When I turned to pull into the driveway of my rental apartment, I lost control of the vehicle. It surged forward, climbed a low retaining wall of about 14" and then hit a support post. I sat there stunned thinking "what just happened and how?" At first, I thought it was me, but thinking about it more, I'm wondering if this could be a potential safety pro... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 6, 2025
I had a frontal accident on March 6, 2025. When I turned to pull into the driveway of my rental apartment, I lost control of the vehicle. It surged forward, climbed a low retaining wall of about 14" and then hit a support post. I sat there stunned thinking "what just happened and how?" At first, I thought it was me, but thinking about it more, I'm wondering if this could be a potential safety pro... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
Tire pressure monitoring system would go out them come back them go out and now not working at all.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
CRITICAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE - HIGHWAY SAFETY HAZARD 10/23/2025: While driving 2025 Outback (11K miles) at highway speed on I-485 Charlotte, complete electrical system failure occurred without warning. ALL dashboard lights illuminated, COMPLETE LOSS of power steering (steering extremely heavy/difficult to control), all safety systems failed (ABS, brake sensors, traction control). SAFETY DANGER: S... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
CRITICAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE - HIGHWAY SAFETY HAZARD 10/23/2025: While driving 2025 Outback (11K miles) at highway speed on I-485 Charlotte, complete electrical system failure occurred without warning. ALL dashboard lights illuminated, COMPLETE LOSS of power steering (steering extremely heavy/difficult to control), all safety systems failed (ABS, brake sensors, traction control). SAFETY DANGER: S... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2025
Power train malfunction warning and chugging while accelerating
Incident date: Jun 25, 2025
October 27th- As my husband was parking at work, the vehicle suddenly refused to shift into any gear—Park, Reverse, or Drive—and defaulted to Neutral. The dashboard displayed a warning message: “Risk of Rolling! P not possible. Please apply parking brake.” Despite multiple attempts, the Atlas could not be shifted or safely parked. After several failed tow attempts, VW Roadside Assistanc... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19V435000 (SUSPENSION), 24V031000 (STRUCTURE), and 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). However, the parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a black screen while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstru... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jaguar XE. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V017000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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 experienced a failure.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
I started my car and about one minute later I heard an explosion from the rear of the vehicle and saw it engulfed in flames.
Fire
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
Previous recall for passenger ODS. Having continued issues with passenger airbag ODS not recognizing someone sitting there. Intermittently turns on and off even if no one is sitting there. Took it to a dealer and they want me to pay out of pocket for diagnostic and possible parts. Very high concern for even allowing someone to sit in the car (even my pregnant wife) in the case there was ever an ac... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2005 Buick LeSabre. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the fuel gauge sensors failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the fuel gauge sensor failed to provide adequate information regarding the fuel level. The fuel warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2025
On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, my friend was driving my 2016 Honda Pilot on Interstate 10 in New Orleans when all the dashboard warning lights came on and the engine started clicking/ticking. He was on a bridge and had to pull to the side of the bridge during rush hour traffic. He said it was very unsafe and was afraid to stay with the car due to the high volume of traffic. The car was towed t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
Car had 80 thousand no heating or oil problems has been maintained through Honda. Recall on fuel pump replaced. Car starts rough, took it in a diagnostic was done revealing a possible leak near 3 cylinder possibly head gasket. Code P0304 came up with all break light codes reading. No oil leak. No over heating. Honda indicates blown head gasket.
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
Steering wheel controls frequently fail to work properly on the cruise control system specially the speed control. Also the exhaust system bellow has cracked. The moonroof leaks into the cabin and floor area of the passenger side. Also leaking into the A pillar on the passenger side. I only have a picture of the engine valve cover that is leaking and had to be replaced. I have video of the exhaust... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
Steering wheel controls frequently fail to work properly on the cruise control system specially the speed control. Also the exhaust system bellow has cracked. The moonroof leaks into the cabin and floor area of the passenger side. Also leaking into the A pillar on the passenger side. I only have a picture of the engine valve cover that is leaking and had to be replaced. I have video of the exhaust... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V896000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The ABS, traction control, and an unknown warning light were intermittently illuminate... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds during colder weather, the heater failed to operate as intended. Additionally, the Eyesight system was inoperable. The check engine and other unknown warning lights were displayed. In addition, the contact stated that the engine failed to warm up as intended after being started, and the engine temperatur... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine before the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The check engine warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the knock sensor had failed, an... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the front driver's side headrest stem fractured. The contact stated that the vehicle was not occupied when the failure occurred. The contact zip-tied the headrest to keep it secured. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle remained at the residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
My wife and I were on a 200 mile trip and the engine failed about 150 miles into the trip. Was driving and the instrument panel indicated that the engine was in reduced power mode. I switched over to battery power but had only approximately 10 miles of range left so after a couple of miles I switched back to engine power and was almost immediately informed by the instrument panel that the engine w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2025
Wheel will lock up randomly on slow turns like an intersection, parking lot or anything. It’s very random and there’s no reason why it does it. The truck drives fine most of the time. It will say stabitrack service on my dash then it will go away my wheel locks up so I can’t turn it anymore then it will release like 10 seconds after. I nearly been in two accidents from this. The dealership c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2025
Driving on the highway, engine started making a rattling noise, then began to labor and eventually stopped being able to accelerate at all. Oil pressure warning light came on around the time the acceleration gave out altogether. We pulled over to the side of the highway and got out of the car, seeing steam/white smoke coming out of the front of the car. The smoke increased and after several minute... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 21, 2025
The right front (passenger side) brake caliper seize closed, pulling the vehicle to the right from uneven braking, and destroying the brake pads and rotor on that corner. Fortunately, this occurred on dry asphalt highway, and control was not entirely lost. The problem was diagnosed by the dealer to be the ABS module. This appears to be a common fault on the Transit Connect van and the Ford Focu... Read more