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 24, 2024
I purchased my 2024 Honda Civic Sedan Touring just over six months ago and have been dealing with an ongoing issue with the front driver-side window that remains unresolved despite multiple repair attempts. The first problem occurred when the car had only around 2,500 miles on it. The window began getting stuck while opening or closing, making it difficult or impossible to operate properly. I brou... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2024
Received a notice in October that there is a chance for the battery in the vehicle I currently own could start on fire. They stated they have no resolution for this at the time. I was informed not to fully charge it, not to park near buildings, and not to park near other vehicles. This is impossible for me to do at this time. I have HOA’s where I am renting that I cannot park in the street. I al... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2024
Porsche cayenne leather dashboard shrunk and peeling out. I was told that if the car was in an accident, the airbag might not deploy correctly. This is a common issue.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
The contact owned a 2018 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he observed black smoke billowing from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle lost motive power, prompting him and his wife to evacuate the vehicle in the middle of the roadway. While attempting to retrieve important belongings from the vehicle, the contact stated that he heard what sound... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact's husband discovered that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact's husband was consistently adding oil for the vehicle to return to normal operation. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Jaguar I-Pace. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to fully charge. The contact stated that a traction battery fault detected message was displayed. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V633000 (Electrical System). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not dia... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that the vehicle was jerking while driving up an incline, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated while driving 63 MPH, the vehicle shut off with several warning lights illum... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
We had made collision accident with a brand new 4runner as it appears in the uploaded pictures, the airbags didn’t deploy and never show any notification on the dashboard that there is a problem in the airbag system,after the accident a notification came to the screen that the airbag system malfunctioned and i have to visit dealer And now the insurance company wants to fix that car and give it... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
Purchased vehicle used 11/18/2023. Two days later vehicle went into limp mode on the highway. No brakes. Engine continued to shut off. Towed to dealer. Replaced injector. 11000 miles. 12/27/23 Vehicle was returned. 11/14/2024 Vehicle went into limp mode. Engine would not run. Vehicle was blowing white smoke thru exhaust. Another highway incident. Towed to dealership. This condition is very da... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
Headlights get covered with slush and snow while driving causing you to lose vision of the roadway at night. You are not able to see creating a safety risk to you and others on the road, potentially causing an accident that would cause serious injuries or death. Yes, it can be inspected upon request. Notified our dealer and was advised that this has never been brought to their attention as a prob... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
trans was shuddereing at 112000 miles replaced trans for 8000 dollars at dealership ..new trans has 80000 miles on it and now shuttering when accelerating ..trans needs replaced again..
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
Engine burns over 2 quarts of oil every 500 miles due to carbon build up in engine resulting in engine ceasing up.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
The trim piece above the grill and below where the hood sits when closed failed/cracked at all attachment points (8 clips and 2 screws). This happened at highway speeds. The trim piece which is approximately 4-5 ft long and 3-4 in wide flew above the hood, struck the windshield and then flew behind the vehicle and may have struck another vehicle or motorcycle rider. This is a dangerous situation ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
ABS and Traction Control light flashes on and off constantly. Dealer replaced the ABS module while the truck was under warranty, it fixed the truck for around 30 thousand miles. The truck is doing it again and now has no warranty.
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
AFTER CHANGING STEERING RACK ON THIS CAR, SOMETIME LANE KEEPING ASSITANCE AUTOMATICALLY ON IN BETWEEN HIGHWAY AND CAR TRY TO CHANGE LANE WITHOUT PRESSING ANY BUTTON LANE KEEPING ASSISTANCE AUTOMATICALY ON. ALSO LOSS OF POWER ON HIGHWAY
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Camry Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); 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. VIN tool confirms pa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
The antilock braking system is not functioning properly. The sensor for the anti-lock brake control pump module is defective
Incident date: Nov 18, 2024
HCU Hydrolic control unit failure. ABS failure Dealership has addressed the problem and charged me $1,300.00 Lights that have come on are… Service Electronic Braking System & Service Antilock Brake System
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
I took my vehicle in for its' first service. The code displayed was A 1 6 indicating the new to change the oil and change the transmission fluid. I thought it was strange that I needed to change the transmission fluid so soon. After the dealer inspected my vehicle, they found that the manufacturer improperly routed/attached a hose that caused the transmission to leak fluid. The transmission fluid... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the engine and the vehicle intermittently hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the con... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the engine and the vehicle intermittently hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the con... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
The car is slow to accelerate when stopped and after a few seconds will kick in and "peel out". It shutters, stalls, and goes fast. I was turning left on a yellow light and the car just stopped. The oncoming traffic had to slam on brakes, swerve to miss me and the car peeled out suddenly. I was nearly T-boned with my kids in car, then nearly hit other cars when accelerated extremely fast. The de... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware an excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was taking to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated while driving approximately 75 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact later discovered that there was a hole in the rear sunroof. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. A dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not rep... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
I have a wrangler 4Xe that I purchased August 2022. Yesterday the Jeep went dead while driving 30mph. This already happened 2 times
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
The suspension its really soft i dont feel safe driving on the freeway, the engine its 10000 miles its knoking already ,leather seats leather its coming out already transmission hits really hard all the plastic paint body panels around looks like it have dents on the plastic already
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
The suspension its really soft i dont feel safe driving on the freeway, the engine its 10000 miles its knoking already ,leather seats leather its coming out already transmission hits really hard all the plastic paint body panels around looks like it have dents on the plastic already
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
The ICCU failed, leaving the car with a Check Electrical System failure and ultimately cutting power to the vehicle, forcing driver to pull over and stop.
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2013) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 15, 2024
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKZ The contact stated while driving 35MPH, the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was in the number two cylinder and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 19-2172 (Coolant In Cylinders, White Exhaust Smoke... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
Hello, I have an Anti Lock Brakes electrical motor failure on my vehicle. The motor failed once at 20000 miles and failed again after a warranty replacement at 60000 miles. The part is on national back order for 2 years now and keeps the ABS from being fully engaged. It also disables cruise control and constantly dings. Two Dodge dealerships have confirmed the issue. The code is C0020-01
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
Since I purchased the vehicle I have found numerous it’s that are claimed as recommended fixes as the dealer has told me. And now that I keep seeing the rear camera show up for recalls is what made me mad enough to write this. My vehicle has the rear camera that will go off and either not show anything as if I was not in reverse which I am at the time, or it just shows a blue screen. And I hav... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
While driving on rural side road, two lanes, my check engine light (yellow, steady) came on. I pulled into a safe spot and did a quick survey, checked the owner manual, but could not identify any problem, and continued on my way. The check engine light was still on. About 15 minutes later the car would not accelerate past 25 mph (limp mode?). I was on a two-lane mountain road, speed limit 45 (but ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
While driving on rural side road, two lanes, my check engine light (yellow, steady) came on. I pulled into a safe spot and did a quick survey, checked the owner manual, but could not identify any problem, and continued on my way. The check engine light was still on. About 15 minutes later the car would not accelerate past 25 mph (limp mode?). I was on a two-lane mountain road, speed limit 45 (but ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
While driving on rural side road, two lanes, my check engine light (yellow, steady) came on. I pulled into a safe spot and did a quick survey, checked the owner manual, but could not identify any problem, and continued on my way. The check engine light was still on. About 15 minutes later the car would not accelerate past 25 mph (limp mode?). I was on a two-lane mountain road, speed limit 45 (but ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
There is an overwhelming super smell. Dealer says it’s from gas. I dont know but it’s making me sick.,I’m afraid it is so bad it will affect my driving safety. I think it’s from the AC/heating system. I think it’s from mold. I’ve tried everything to get rid of it. I’m not alone either. Everyone has the smell.,what if it permanently impairs me? While I’m driving? Make them fix it. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I am writing to notify you of the problems I have experienced with my (2022, KIA, SOUL, VIN - [XXX] ) and to request that you kindly check in on this problem within thirty (30) days of your receipt of this letter. I purchased my vehicle from (REED NISSAN OF CLERMONT) on or about [XXX]. Approximately (3 MONTHS) I began having trouble with (WITH THE ENGINE BURNING A LOT OF ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
PNA VTC ACTUATOR, TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER, ENGINE VALVES, FUEL JOINT PIPE AND TIMING CHAIN ALL WENT BAD AT 90k miles
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
The vehicle has a shudder problem related to the transmission. This problem was fixed back in 2015 and has persisted since I have owned the vehicle. During acceleration of 1200-1800 rpms, the transmission begins to shudder. I have asked the dealership to fix it due to the current recall but have stated that the transmission was already fixed.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
The side mirror defrosters are not operable. This is an extreme safety hazard to be able to see my surroundings while driving. This function should operate when the rear defroster is activated and is not working. I cleared the side mirror prior to leaving my house, during driving the mirror frosted back over causing me to not see other vehicles. The alert when a car is next to me would not functio... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
Model: Telsa Y 2022 AWD Long range What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Control Arm bolt fell from Driver side front Wheel. Not available for inspection. Bolt got fixed by Tesla Service Center How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Yes I imagine. Since I was driving in community driveway with less < 10 MPH. I was saf... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2023
The contact's employer owns a 2019 Ford F-450. The contact stated while his boss was driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal banging sound coming from the engine compartment. There was no warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer and was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact's employer contacted the manufacturer and was provided a case numbe... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2023
every since i got this $22,000 car, my backup camera has not worked. when i back up, the screen turns blue. first time i went to the nissan dealership they said there was a recall on the camera but because the one time it works, its at the dealership so they didn’t fix it. i bring it back a few months later to get the suspension recalled fix and tell them my back up camera doesn’t work. i have... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
While driving into school parking lot, vehicle very suddenly just STOPPED driving. Engine was on, but accelerator/gas pedal did NOTHING- totally unresponsive. Was in the middle of traffic coming in and out of school and vehicle would not move an inch. Turned on and off, and still nothing. After 10 minutes of turning on and off, it finally went again, and I pulled into a parking spot. Vehicle i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
UNKNOWN , Rubber seal in the sunroof ripped when I opened it, causing it to make little holes, after the car has sat in dealership lot for a while. I bought the car used so that is the reason the sunroof has not been opened for a long time as it was just in the dealership lot. This could possibly cause water to leak inside of the car.
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
At approximately 70,000 miles, vehicle transmission failed after intermittently falling to go into reverse and transmission warning system shifting vehicle down while driving. Rebuild parts not available from manufacturer, replaced transmission with used part. Immediately after putting car back into service, engine began to knock severely. Dealer recommended full engine replacement. Car curren... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
On October 31, 2024, I was nearing the end of a three hour trip. I was traveling on a rural two-lane highway with a 55 mph speed limit. I had just pulled away from a 4-way stop intersection and was following a single vehicle traveling 40 mph. Once I could see there was a safe distance from oncoming traffic, I decided to pass the slower vehicle. As I moved into the opposite lane and accelerated, th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
On October 31, 2024, I was nearing the end of a three hour trip. I was traveling on a rural two-lane highway with a 55 mph speed limit. I had just pulled away from a 4-way stop intersection and was following a single vehicle traveling 40 mph. Once I could see there was a safe distance from oncoming traffic, I decided to pass the slower vehicle. As I moved into the opposite lane and accelerated, th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
My truck has 75K miles and the transmission has a shudder and it shifts very hard. I have been told I need a new transmission by an AAMCO shop which will cost just under $7k. This is ridiculous for a 2020 pickup.
Incident date: Nov 10, 2024
Four dashboard warning signs (Check Engine Light, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Vehicle Stability Assist System, Electric Power Steering) appeared all at once suddenly. I had the vehicle towed to my local Honda dealership. They gave me a diagnostic code of P0304 and insisted that the repair did not fall under my car's active warranty. I searched the web and found it is a common problem in Honda... Read more