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: Jun 16, 2023
Issue Summary: Since December 27, 2024, my vehicle has experienced a hybrid malfunction and leakage issue three times. Each time this occurs, the vehicle becomes completely inoperable and cannot move, requiring a tow truck to take it to the dealership. Since December 27, 2024, my car has been in the shop four times, yet the issue persists. This raises serious reliability and safety concerns, as t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
In April 2022 after owning the car for 4 weeks the Eyesight went out. I was told it was due to the thermal control module. That was replaced. I’m n June 2023 the AC went out. They said it was the blower motor. That was replaced. In September 2023 the AC went out again. At that point they found the cause was actually a fully melted fuse box and fuses. They replaced the fusebox and the entire AC s... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2025
Since I bought this car it would pull when I drive. Asked dodge once and told nothing wrong. Now years later an engine light always shows up. Car was checked and O2 sensor issue. I found recall on exact issue and my VIN not showing up. I want this fixed so my vin shows up as recall. This is not ok. I have enclosed the recall.
Incident date: Feb 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the transmission started slipping while accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V628000 (Power Train, Electrical System). The contact called an independent mechanic who provided a printout of a recall. The l... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 BMW 530I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V104000 (Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Service Brakes, Hydraulic); 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 e... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2025
Power Liftgate was functioning erratically and now it won't open at all. Currently there is no way to manually open the liftgate or access the rear of the vehicle without climbing through the vehicle to get to the trunk area. Electrical switches on inside, exterior of vehicle nor the keyfob will open the liftgate. Previously the liftgate opened on its own at unintended times and now it has simpl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, one of the A-pillar trims detached from the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted and replaced the A-pillar trim. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2025
Driving between 40-50mph on streets, my tire burst and the rubber part completely shredded off. I just had my tires checked a couple weeks ago where they said everything was great. This tire completely disintegrated out of nowhere and nearly damaged my rim! The tire guy said there's no way this happened from a nail or road injury to the tire
Incident date: Feb 19, 2025
Service transmisión message and loss of Power to the wheels not acelerating at All i have to pull over and turn off the Vehicle and turn i on so it Can reset and continúe driving.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2025
In April 2022 after owning the car for 4 weeks the Eyesight went out. I was told it was due to the thermal control module. That was replaced. I’m n June 2023 the AC went out. They said it was the blower motor. That was replaced. In September 2023 the AC went out again. At that point they found the cause was actually a fully melted fuse box and fuses. They replaced the fusebox and the entire AC s... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle started making a knocking sound. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact picked up his son from school and drove the vehicle to the dealer. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the knocking sound became louder, and the vehicle was losing motive power. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle started making a knocking sound. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact picked up his son from school and drove the vehicle to the dealer. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the knocking sound became louder, and the vehicle was losing motive power. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
Driving home going 60-70 miles an hour I lost power in the middle of the highway and cruised off to the emergency lane. Engine completely shut off out of nowhere. Spedeometer went down even though i was pressing the accelerator . Starter burned out as well. Dealership says there was metal in the engine. Ordered a new engine and that engine was also defected. Now going into my third engine. In le... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
Driving home going 60-70 miles an hour I lost power in the middle of the highway and cruised off to the emergency lane. Engine completely shut off out of nowhere. Spedeometer went down even though i was pressing the accelerator . Starter burned out as well. Dealership says there was metal in the engine. Ordered a new engine and that engine was also defected. Now going into my third engine. In le... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
Hello! I started financing my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek in 04/2023. A month after that date, I had a head gasket issue. Then in 2024, a radiator cap deformed after going to the dealer to get an oil change at SF Honda. (The time on that was suspicious being that I didn’t touch that cap at all.) so I had to pay for that repair. Now in 2025, after getting an oil change at Subaru, a day after that oil c... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2024
My car is experiencing trouble accelerating, making it difficult to drive. Every time I come to a complete stop at a stop sign, my car struggles to regain speed. This issue becomes particularly dangerous on the expressway, as I can’t accelerate at a decent speed to merge onto the expressway, which poses a risk to both me and other drivers.
Incident date: Feb 23, 2025
Fuel door does not open when using release button. Must push button multiple times before fuel door opens. Vehicle has less than 1400 miles.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
Turn signals on steering wheel don’t work sometimes. They also get stuck causing no signal to turn on.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
Turn signals on steering wheel don’t work sometimes. They also get stuck causing no signal to turn on.
Incident date: Feb 19, 2024
Auto-off reengaging makes the steering wheel jerk abruptly to the side and creates loud thinking noise which is startling to the driver. I was able to replicate at the dealer and have it on video. Dealer reports this is normal for the vehicle and they are unable to rectify.
Incident date: Feb 19, 2024
Exterior door handle, interior door handle, latching/locking mechanism on rear driver-side door. The exterior door handle started sticking and not retracting upon locking the car or upon driving it. Over a couple of months, the door stopped opening from the inside and outside. The door has not opened since July 2024, which is a safety issue if one needs to exit the car in an emergency. There is an... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the Auto START/STOP feature malfunctioned, and the vehicle turned off at the stop light while attempting to accelerate. During the failure, the instrument cluster shut off and displayed a black screen. Additionally, on one occasion while reversing, the back over prevention camera screen switched to a ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
I took my Hyundai Ionqi 5 Electric Set AWD in for two recalls. After picking up the car, I left the car dealership and merged onto the highway. Within 1-2 minutes after I left the dealership, the dashboard was flashing red circle with an exclamation point that said the electrical system was low. I could no longer accelerate. I proceeded to move to the right with traffic traveling 60-70 mph. I w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
The ECU control module Is a known problem with this car by a great amount of owners. It is such a problem that the car part is on back order for weeks at a time. The biggest issue about this is that the car just randomly doesn’t turn on and randomly shuts down on the roads, freeways and even U turns. It can potentially lead to critical injuries
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
The ECU control module Is a known problem with this car by a great amount of owners. It is such a problem that the car part is on back order for weeks at a time. The biggest issue about this is that the car just randomly doesn’t turn on and randomly shuts down on the roads, freeways and even U turns. It can potentially lead to critical injuries
Incident date: Dec 13, 2024
While driving on the freeway, the vehicle turned off. No engine, no electric, no headlights. I had to coast to the side during traffic. The mechanic is replacing the OCR module, stating the car thought it was in a collision and turned off. Though obviously it wasn’t. Before which, the screen flashes off from time to time. The car has had loss of power for a moment in the past but never all the w... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
My 2014 Kia Forte experienced random stalling/loss of speed. The vehicle was taken to the mechanic multiple times- the crank shaft sensor was replaced, new batteries were put in, and a starter was replaced. When starting the vehicle sometimes it would not turn over or click a few times to start. A ticking noise was noted aswell and relayed to the mechanic-mechanic could not find any issues. The oi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
Vehicle has major hesitation issues. If I am coming up to a light and it turns green when I am below 5 mph, maybe around 1-2 mph, it will not go. It lags for around 3-5 seconds before it decides to go again. Sometimes from a stop if I am turning left, I try to cross traffic and go, it is very slowly moving even with me pushing the gas and then seconds later it finally goes but almost causing me... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
Vehicle has major hesitation issues. If I am coming up to a light and it turns green when I am below 5 mph, maybe around 1-2 mph, it will not go. It lags for around 3-5 seconds before it decides to go again. Sometimes from a stop if I am turning left, I try to cross traffic and go, it is very slowly moving even with me pushing the gas and then seconds later it finally goes but almost causing me... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
Parasitic battery drain when vehicle is turned off. The DCM module in these vehicles will not shut off properly and continue to drain the battery. Subaru has firmware on the vehicle that will not fully charge the battery when driving to save fuel. The vehicle has had 6 or more instances over the past two weeks where the car was undriveable unless jumped from another vehicle or a boost device is us... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
I bought Prologue ELITE AWD on January 31st 2025 and drove 1000 miles. The steering is very stiff and makes squeaking noise while parking and turning. This sound is audible while the car is going slow; however, when the car speed is above 20 mph we may not hear, but my guess is it still there. If this fails during sharp turns, there is chance of damaging my own car and even other cars putting othe... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
I bought Prologue ELITE AWD on January 31st 2025 and drove 1000 miles. The steering is very stiff and makes squeaking noise while parking and turning. This sound is audible while the car is going slow; however, when the car speed is above 20 mph we may not hear, but my guess is it still there. If this fails during sharp turns, there is chance of damaging my own car and even other cars putting othe... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2025
I was driving my car and couldn't put it in reverse. Then it worked and I drove it I was on my way to work and stopped to turn left and all of a sudden it wouldn’t go into drive. I would put it in drive and then it would automatically jump to park.
Incident date: Feb 18, 2025
The contact owned a 2014 BMW 528i. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact stated that a neighbor knocked on the door and informed the contact that the vehicle was on fire. The fire department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The vehicle was condemned to total loss. The fire caused damage to the asphalt where the v... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Encore. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the message "Engine Power Reduced" was displayed on the instrument panel. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the failure persisted, and the vehicle was taken back to the same local d... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Acadia. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount o... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
Regarding 2017 Ford Escape: Coolant is intruding into the firing cylinder. In my case it was cylinder #3 and was confirmed by KeyScales in Leesburg, Florida. Upon speaking with a Ford Motor Company representative, they told me it was a known problem but no recalls have been issued by NHSTA even though a similar recall has been issued for 2013 Ford Escapes. I was told the engine will fail quickl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2025
An over the air update was pushed to my vehicle without my knowledge. It caused my GPS to malfunction having me permently in Alaska. I do not live in Alaska! I had to remove front driver panel and reset fuse manually. I still have not received a water pump replacement or completely been upgraded to new operating system due to availability.
Incident date: Feb 19, 2025
[XXX] Dear staff there are other people complaining of ENGINE MISFIRE also [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Jan 14, 2025
First we thought the fuel pump went bad due to the vehicle not starting. Pump was replaced and about 3 weeks later the same issue persisted. When the shop investigated it turns out the fuel tank harness and body side connector needed to be replaced due to connections becoming loose and delivering low voltage to the fuel pump causing it to burn up
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
The Adaptive Cruise Control and Automatic Emergency Braking have not worked properly for over a year. Sometimes I get a message that the AEB/ACC is not working and to see the Dealer other times i have a light lit showing it is not working. On some occasions there are no signs of it not working but ate ACC works like the regular cruise control and does not slow the car down unless you apply the bra... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
A huge lag before the engine decides to get up and go. It’s dangerous
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
1. The car shut off several times, with the steering wheel locking up and becoming stiff, the brakes failing to respond, and loud, erratic sounds emanating from the vehicle. The car is available for inspection. 2. Yes, the car crashed resulting in damage to the car, driver, and other driver (e.g. car in front). 3. This is the second time the car has been brought to the dealership (the second ti... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 18, 2025
The car door would not open after many many attempts, red light notifications no longer activated or appeared, braking noise, and car would not shift initially
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
There is a recall regarding fire danger with the battery. No solution to fire issue. We are left with a dangerous car still subject to fire potential, as well as significantly degraded range due to a software update forced on the car by the recall.
Incident date: Feb 18, 2025
No check engine light, and my transmission didn't engage gear. I left vehicle off for the night, started it and it worked perfectly fine. Still, no check engine light was on.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
Resubmitting from 2/3/2025 as the first form was not received. Attn: [XXX] I am the original owner of this unit and there is approximately only 1,500 miles on my trailer. This Grand Design is a swap from the original 2019 Grand Design that I already had. When I am able to camp, when my trailer is not in the shop, we only camp about an hour away from home as I don't feel safe. We have been experi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2025
I am experiencing an Antilock Braking System ('ABS') control module software malfunction that disables the Electronic Stability Control ('ESC') system. Last fall Sept 2024 was the first incident. I was driving back one night to my cabin construction project in Somerset, PA. It rained earlier in the day and everything was wet. I was almost back to the site, my dash lights started wildly flashing. T... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 16, 2025
Battery Drain. No lights left on, nothing plugged in. I suspect IBU Module or some other wiring tobe causing a parasitic draw. This has been a common issue and KIA needs to address it with a recall.