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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 6,583 complaints for SUZUKI

Incident date: Feb 15, 2004

ALUMINIUM RIM FAILURE ON 2003 SUZUKI AERIO - RIM MANUFACTURERED BY ENKEI.AUGHTER REALIZED SOMETHING DID NOT FEEL RIGHT ON CAR AND TOLD HER TO TAKE IT TO LOCAL TIRE SHOP WE TRADE AT.TIRE SHOP SAID SHE COULD HAVE GOT IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF SHE HAD NOT TAKEN IT IN.RIM CRACKED ON INBOARD SIDE AND CHUNK CAME OFF.TIRE DEALER SAID APPEARS RIM HAD STRESS CRACK AND PIECE CAME OFF, RECOMMENDED THAT WE HAV... Read more

Incident date: Mar 12, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL NHTSA 03V51200 REGARDING VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL CABLE CASING CAP. DEALERSHIP STILL DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. *AK

Incident date: Mar 11, 2004

THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER REGARDING THE CABLE CASING CAP. THE DEALERSHIP STILL DOES NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT THE RECALL REPAIR. *AK *SC *JB

Incident date: Mar 10, 2004

I HAVE A 2000 SUZUKI ESTEEM. BOTH DOOR HANDLES ARE BROKEN. THE FIRST BROKE ABOUT A MONTH AGO. NOW A MONTH LATER, THE OTHER HAS BROKEN. I CANNOT LOCK MY CARE AND MAY ONLY ENTER FROM THE BACK SEAT OF THE VEHICLE. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP, HERE IN BATON ROUGE. I ASKED IF THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT COULD BE DONE BECAUSE I FELT THAT THIS MUST BE A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. I WAS TOLD THAT, ALTHOUGH THEY... Read more

Incident date: Mar 10, 2004

BRIDGESTONE DUELER 687 P235/60R16 TIRES PREMATURE WEAR, UNSAFE TO DRIVE, SUZUKI HAS 21,000 MILES, STEERING SHAKES, TIRE DEALER STATES IT MAY BE CAR ALIGNMENT WILL NOT REPLACE. TIRES HAVE BEEN ROTATED AT STATED INTERVALS, HOWEVER, MAINTENANCE HAS FAILED TO HELP THE PREMATURE WEAR. I HAVE SEARCHED THE WEB AND CANNOT FIND ANY RECALL ON THESE TIRES. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MANY CARS FOR OVER 30 YEARS, A... Read more

Incident date: Mar 9, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER REGARDING THE CABLE ACCELERATOR CASING CAP. DEALERSHIP STILL DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. NO DEALERSHIP IN PUERTO RICO HAD THE PARTS ON RECALL. *AK

Incident date: Dec 16, 2003

WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH CONSUMER DEPRESSED THE BRAKES AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. VEHICLE NEVER SLOWED DOWN. CONSUMER EVENTUALLY HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKES TO STOP THE VEHICLE. DEALER REPLACED THE PADS AND THE ROTORS, BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED.

Incident date: Dec 16, 2003

CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT A SEAT BELT PROBLEM. PASSENGER REAR SEAT BELTS ARE IN AN OUT POSITION, AND WILL NOT RETRACT.*AK

Incident date: Mar 5, 2004

WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH AND TURNING TO THE RIGHT CONSUMER LOST CONTROL AND HIT A TELEPHONE POLE.UPON IMPACT, NEITHER OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. *AK

Crash

Incident date: Mar 3, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED NHTSA RECALL LETTER 03V512000 CONCERNING ACCELERATOR CABLE CASING CAP. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND TECHNICIAN DETERMINED ACCELERATOR CABLE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, BUT COULDN'T GUARANTEE HOW LONG IT WAS GOING TO LAST. *AK

Incident date: Mar 3, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED NHTSA RECALL 03V512000 REGARDING ACCELERATOR CABLE CASING CAP. DEALERSHIP DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO PERFORM RECALL REPAIRS. NO DEALERSHIP IN PUERTO RICO HAD THE PARTS ON RECALL AVAILABLE. *AK

WHILE DRIVING DASHBOARD LIGHTS FLICKERED WHEN THE HANDLE BARS WERE TURNED SHARPLY TOP LEFT. ONCE THAT HAPPENED, THE MOTORCYCLE LOST POWER/STALLED OR SHUT OFF COMPLETELY. *AK

Incident date: Sep 29, 2002

VEHICLE CONTINUOUSLY LOST OIL DUE TO A OIL LEAK. *PH *MR

Incident date: Mar 1, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED NHTSA RECALL LETTER 03V512000 REGARDING ACCELERATOR CABLE CASING CAP THAT WAS ATTACHED TO THE VEHICLE FIREWALL COULD CRACK DUE TO EXTENDED EXPOSURE TO FORCES FROM THE ACCELERATOR CABLE, AND INSUFFICIENT LONG TERM DURABILITY OF THE PLASTIC CASING CAP. THE DEALERSHIP STILL DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT THE RECALL. *AK

Incident date: Jan 17, 2004

WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH VEHICLE SLID ON ICE, RESULTING IN A HEAD ON COLLISION. VEHICLE ROLLED OVER INTO A 15 FOOT EMBANKMENT. UPON IMPACT, DUAL AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DRIVER SUSTAINED SEVERE HEAD INJURIES. *AK

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Feb 24, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED NHTSA RECALL 03V512000 IN JANUARY 2004 CONCERNING ACCELERATOR CABLE CASING CAP CRACKING DUE TO EXTENDED EXPOSURE TO FORCES FROM THE ACCELERATOR CABLE, AND INSUFFICIENT LONG TERM DURABILITY OF THE PLASTIC CASING CAP. IF THE CASING CAP BECOMES CRACKED, MOVEMENT OF THE INNER ACCELERATOR CABLE THROUGH THE CAP CAN CAUSE THE INNER ACCELERATOR CABLE TO BECOME FRAYED. DEALERSHIP STIL... Read more

Incident date: May 12, 1998

VEHICLE HOOD LATCH UNLOCKS, CAUSING THE HOOD TO OPEN UP. CONSUMER HAS MADE CONTACT WITH THE DEALERSHIP, BUT PROBLEM STILL OCCURS. *AK

Incident date: Jun 13, 2003

WHILE DRIVING AT 50 MPH VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO PULL THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE ROAD AND TURN OFF THE ENGINE.*AK

WHILE DRIVING, AIR WAS COMING THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. THE WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED ONCE BEFORE FOR A SIMILAR PROBLEM. *AK

WHEN TRYING TO START THE VEHICLE FUEL FLOODED THE ENGINE, CAUSING VEHICLE NOT TO START. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO CHANGED THE SPARK PLUGS TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. *AK

Incident date: Feb 10, 2004

WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH OR HIGHER MOTORCYCLE BECAME UNSTABLE AND WOBBLED FROM SIDE TO SIDE. DEALER BALANCED BY THE WHEELS, BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED. *AK

WHILE DRIVING 30-40 MPH CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND HIT A TREE, AND VEHICLE ROLLED DOWN INTO A 15 FEET EMBANKMENT. UPON IMPACT, NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.*AK

Crash

Incident date: Feb 14, 2004

I HAVE A 2003 SUZUKI GSF1200S BANDIT. AND MY LIGHTING HAS DEGRADED SIGNIFIGANTLY AND HAS A BLACK RESIDUE LOCATED AT THE LENS OPSTUCTING THE LIGHT WITH THIS FILM. THIS MOTORCYCLE HAS CONDENSER STYLE LIGHTS AND THE OUTPUT IS SEVERLY REDUCED MAKING IT HARD TO SEE AT NIGHT.*AK

Incident date: Feb 12, 2004

RE: SUZUKI VOLUSIA: THE KICKSTAND WILL FOLD UP WITHOUT WARNING. I PARKED MY BIKE ON A VERY SLIGHT INCLINE AND IT FELL OVER. I THINK THE STAND DOESN'T OPEN FAR ENOUGH TO BE SAFE. *AK

THE "BRAKE" SIGN APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. *PH THE MECHANIC FOUND THAT THE FRONT BRAKES WERE LOW AND THE ROTORS WARPED. THEY REPLACED THE FRONT PADS, CUT THE FRONT ROTORS, CLEANED AND ADJUSTED THE REAR BRAKES. AFTER A WEEK PER CONSUMER,"THE BRAKE SIGN STILL SHOWED OFF." THE PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT. THE SERVICE SUGGESTED THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE AND THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. ... Read more

CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT AN ACCELERATOR CABLE PROBLEM. *AK

Incident date: Jan 1, 1901

PROBLEMS GETTING RECALL WORK PERFORMED ON VEHICLE. *PH THE DEALER INDICATED SINCE IT WAS A MINOR RECALL, THE CONSUMER COULD PAY AT HER OWN EXPENSE OR DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. RECALL WAS NOT SPECIFIED. *TT *JB

WHILE DRIVING UNDER VERY ICY ROAD CONDITIONS CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE, WENT INTO A SPIN, AND HIT A TREE HEAD ON. UPON IMPACT, NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.*AK

Crash 2 injured

Incident date: Jan 29, 2004

1999 SUZUKI GRAND VARTARA AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AFTER VEHICLE HITTING A @36'' TREE. THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING ON A SECONDARY ROAD, POSTED SPEED 45MPH, DUE TO ICEY,AND SNOWEY CONDITIONS , DRIVER TRAVELED AT @ 30 MPH. CRESTING A HILL THE VEHICLE HIT A SNOW COVERED ICE PATCH., ON THE DOWN HILL SIDE THE VEHICLE MOVED RIGHT THE LEFT BEFORE MY DAUGHTER ( THE DRIVER) COULD REACT THE VEHICLE VEERED I... Read more

Crash 2 injured

CONSUMER HAD TO WAIT 3 WEEKS FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE ACCELERATOR CABLE CASTING RECALL 03V512000 REPAIRS PERFORMED. CONSUMER MISSED THE APPOINTMENT DUE TO AN ICE STORM. WHEN THE CONSUMER CALLED TO RESCHEDULE THE APPOINTMENT WAS TOLD THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER 4 WEEKS. *AK

Incident date: Jan 29, 2004

WHILE TRAVELING AT ANY SPEED AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING A FUEL SMELL WAS COMING THOUGH THE VENTS. THIS HAPPENED ONLY IN COLD WEATHER. DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES, AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE OR CORRECT THE PROBLEM WHILE IT WAS ON WARRANTY. AS SOON THE WARRANTY EXPIRED DEALER REPLACED, AT OWNER EXPENSE OF $680.00, THE THROTTLE CABLE AND THE GAS FILTER. *AK

Incident date: Jan 29, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE, AND MADE 3 SEPARATE APPOINTMENTS. ALL WERE CANCELLED BECAUSE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE TO SERVICE VEHICLE. *AK

Incident date: Jan 13, 2004

2002 SUZUKI INTRUDER VL1500 - THE FUEL TANK HAS DEVELOPED A STRESS FRACTURE OR CRACK ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE TANK. SPECIFICALLY IT IS LOCATED ON THE RIGHT HAND MOUNTING FLANGE STARTING IN THE VICINITY OF THE RIGHT FRONT MOUNTING BOLT. THE CRACK EXTENDS FORWARD APPROXIMATELY 2" AND "LOOKS" LIKE A FINE SCRATCH IN THE BLACK PAINT. ON FURTHER INSPECTION THE CRACK WILL OPEN OR FLEX AND FUEL LEAKS... Read more

CROSSOVER PIPE LOCATED BETWEEN THE FRONT SEAT AND THE BACK SEAT CRACKED. EXHAUST FUMES ENTERED INTO THE VEHICLE. *AK

Incident date: Jan 22, 2004

AIRBAG LIGHT STAYS ON. TOOK IN TO BE CHECKED, SEEMS THAT THE CLOCKSPRING HAS A SHORT. *AK

Incident date: Jan 4, 2004

THE DRIVER WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN AT A SPEED OF 15 MPH, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO A TREE. THE DRIVER STATED THE TIE ROD WAS DEFECTIVE. PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *JB *JB

Crash

Incident date: Oct 5, 1994

APPROXIMATELY. 14 MO. AFTER PURCHASE, SPEEDOMETER CABLE ASSEMBLY BEGAN MAKING NOISE, GOT WORSE (INTERMITTENTLY), AND CULMINATED 7 YRS. LATER IN A "FROZEN" SPEEDOMETER PLUS EXTREMELY LOUD SCREECHING (STUCK CABLE HEAD) AT SPEEDS OVER 20 MPH. REPLACEMENT OF COMPLETE SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER ASSEMBLY BY INDEPENDENT AUTO REPAIR SHOP WAS COMPLICATED BY LACK OF AVAILABLE USED UNITS (WE LOOKED UNSUCCESSFULLY... Read more

Incident date: Aug 5, 1997

AT APPROX. 90,000 MI., TURN SIGNAL STEM BEGAN MAKING LOUD BUZZING NOISE INTERMITTENTLY WHEN MOVED UPWARD (RIGHT BLINK). PROBLEM INCREASED SO THAT BY 138,000 MI. BUZZING HAPPENED WHENEVER STEM WAS MOVED UPWARD OR DOWNWARD (RIGHT OR LEFT BLINK). BY 140,000 MI. BUZZING WAS CONSTANT, WHETHER TURN SIGNAL STEM WAS ENGAGED OR NOT. THIS PROBLEM WAS BROUGHT TO ATTENTION OF DEALER FROM 1997 - 1999. DEAL... Read more

Incident date: Jan 15, 2004

WITHOUT WARNING, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL STUCK TO THE FLOOR WHILE DRIVING 22 MPH. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *JB

Incident date: Dec 25, 2003

THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED THE CONSUMER TO CALL BACK IN 5 DAYS TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE ACCELERATOR CABLE CASING CAP RECALL 03V512000 PERFORMED, ALTHOUGH THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A FAILURE, WHICH CAUSED THE CONSUMER TO HIT A POLE. *JB

Crash

Incident date: Jan 11, 2004

WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH VEHICLE ACCELERATED TO A HIGH RATE, CAUSING IT TO ROLL OVER. DEALERSHIP NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK WHEN VEHICLE HIT SNOW, AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. ALSO, WHEN INCIDENT OCCURRED, CONSUMER WAS DRIVING HOME FROM HAVING RECALL REPAIR MADE ON ACCELERATOR CABLE. *LA

Crash

Incident date: Jan 11, 2004

Crash

Incident date: Jan 11, 2004

Crash

Incident date: Dec 11, 2003

AFTER PURCHASING MY USED VEHICLE IN APRIL OF 2003 THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO SHIFT HARD WHEN TAKEN OUT OF PARK, OR SWITCHING FROM FORWARD TO REVERSE AND SO ON. OCCASIONALLY IF FELT LIKE THE GAS PEDAL MAY BE STICKING A BIT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON & THE DEALER HAD A MECHANIC LOOK AT IT AND REPLACED THE OXYGEN SENSOR. BUT IT DIDN'T SEEM TO HELP THE SHIFTING PROBLEM. ON DECEMBER 11, 2003 AROUND 4:... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Dec 11, 2003

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Dec 11, 2003

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Jan 12, 2004

BRAKES PRODUCE A GRINDING NOISE. *AK

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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