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 22,185 complaints for TESLA
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
This is unacceptable almost every CHR I have heard of has this same problem and Toyota refused to take responsibility for it! There transmissions in these cars are horrible and need to be addressed. Every 80k the transmission need to be replaced. Us people who continuously have to buy new cars or new transmissions are suffering because Toyota refuses to fix the issue. Instead they slide it under t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
Lost of power steering while driving and ABS not engaging only flashing lights when getting close to object in front of you at higher speeds. Car inspection at oil change shows seized u joint for steering shaft
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
I was on [XXX] heading towards Chicago and following the traffic. I started changing the line to pass the vehicle in front of me and suddenly my tesla completely lost control and started drifting to the sides. I released the accelerator right away but it made it even worse. It seems that acceleration continues to happen that’s what made car to drift. Eventually car slowed down and I was able to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
I was in a extremely bad accident, I was parked waiting for the light to turn green, when i felt a massive bang from the back and glided me to the next car, car was totaled and the car was saying the airbags deployed and none deployed at all. There was 4 passengers in total and at the very least one should have deployed.
Crash
4 injured
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
Severe windshield cracking requiring replacement. 2 in 6 month period. 1st was November 2023. Extremely cold temperatures. Cracked directly above heater vents on both sides same time. I watched it go from outer lower edges and move all the way to the center, entire length of the shield. I did not see anything hit the windshield, but they were iced and snow covered. I felt the temperature differ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
As I was driving my vehicle just turned off at the speed of 30 miles per hour with no warning no dash lights of any kind. It just shut off completely. I had to pull over to the side in hopes I don't hit anything, or anyone put my vehicle into park and restart my vehicle and this happened at around 2:45 PM. Early it happened at 12:15 PM, as I was turning around in a parking lot, the car shut off ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
My chevy equinox 2016 2.4L vehicle engine signal went on. Two days after the light went on, my vehicle stopped on my way to a dealership to ask for assistance. In the early years of purchasing this vehicle everything was working smooth. After the first 3-4 years I remember the mechanics asking if I had done my oil changes, and the answer was yes every time. Now that I started to look further into... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
June 2024, I received mail for safety recall notice re: 24S24/NHTSA 24V267. July 16, 2024, went to ford to have it fixed. Ford said everything works good. [XXX] @1450, Me and my son [XXX] old) drove to freeway in [XXX] and my car just suddenly stopped. No electrical power at all. Even the hazard lights doesnt work. Need to call 911 for safety. I was in the middle of the freeway for about 15 m... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
June 2024, I received mail for safety recall notice re: 24S24/NHTSA 24V267. July 16, 2024, went to ford to have it fixed. Ford said everything works good. [XXX] @1450, Me and my son [XXX] old) drove to freeway in [XXX] and my car just suddenly stopped. No electrical power at all. Even the hazard lights doesnt work. Need to call 911 for safety. I was in the middle of the freeway for about 15 m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
Description of the Problem: Component/System Failure: On [XXX], while using the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature of my Tesla Model X, the vehicle experienced severe phantom braking and unexpectedly veered off the road near Rio Vista, Antioch, CA. The failure appears to be related to the FSD system, braking, and steering. The vehicle is currently in Tesla’s possession and available for inspection... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
The trim surrounding my two front wheels, as well as part of the trim on my rear passenger-side tire, popped completely off of the vehicle while driving through a typical rain storm in Central Florida. That is a total of three pieces ejected during the normal course of driving. Part of the trim on the driver's side was protruding, but seems to have snapped back into place. There wasn't a lot of wi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
While driving at approximately 45mph, the car was suddenly dropped into "limp mode" which caused a rapid deceleration, loss of power, and required pulling onto the shoulder as the car refused to accelerate. In addition, the check engine light illuminated, along with warnings that the start / stop system was unavailable and to service the electronic throttle. Restarting the car did not fix the co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, exhaust fumes was detected inside the cabin of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact installed a carbon monoxide detector in the rear of the vehicle and was alerted by the carbon monoxide detector of carbon monoxide inside the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repair... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
While parked in a parking lot I attempted to lower the volume of the radio and the buttons were not responding. Attemped to turn off infotainment center and it would not respond. A call came in and my phone was connected and car would not allow me to answer call. Attempted to disconnect phone from car and it would not work. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
I was enjoying holiday driving with family in my 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Limited when suddenly a very loud pop was heard, with a forceful strike to the back of my head being felt. Alarmed & dazed for a moment, it was observed that my driver’s side active headrest had just exploded forward striking me on the back of my head. Once off the highway and stopped, I discovered that the active ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service brakes warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a failure to the frontal impact sensor. The contact was informed that the frontal impact sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made awar... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service brakes warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a failure to the frontal impact sensor. The contact was informed that the frontal impact sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made awar... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2024
My Tesla (dark gray) was t-boned by a 2015 Hyundai (white) while it was passing the intersection on green light. The Hyundai hit my car when it tried to turn right on red light. My car was running at around 25 mph at that moment. About one second before the accident, my car's front collision warning went off, but everything was too late; the Hyundai's left front bumper hit my car. The crash did no... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 27, 2024
This is the third time I have experienced The truck being too hot and overheating the fan not stopping and me losing power when I’m on a highway. I nearly was killed when my car would not move during traffic. This happened three times now and Jeep is giving me a hard time about towing it getting it fixed they replaced the water pump twice and said it was a recall however, the water pump keeps br... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2024
The problem is with the Accelerator pedal. It malfunctions, and is also known as a 'Dead pedal' at different times without warning and could cause an accident if it happens at the wrong time, like making a turn and the car will not accelerate, or move, just getting the car to move . I checked with a dealer if they have had any of these type reports and there answer was no they had not. It is very... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
When driving home and try to make a left turn, the steering doesn't work and car suddenly speed up even though try to brake, the whole car is out of control, and the car hit my neighbor, and it's extremely dangerous! Thank god that no one is hurt. Police came and did a report but didn't say anything about Tesla. After that, I checked the alert history, nothing special, the only alert is remind me ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
When driving home and try to make a left turn, the steering doesn't work and car suddenly speed up even though try to brake, the whole car is out of control, and the car hit my neighbor, and it's extremely dangerous! Thank god that no one is hurt. Police came and did a report but didn't say anything about Tesla. After that, I checked the alert history, nothing special, the only alert is remind me ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart immediately. The vehicle was able to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileag... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
Nearly every time I park my car and shut it off a message pops up on the message board that says SHIFT TO PARK even though it is in park. I have to restart my car MULTIPLE times and shift to another gear and back into park before the message goes away. This has been happening for a couple of weeks but is getting more frequent.
Incident date: May 24, 2024
Similar to recall 22V-273 for older Tiffin Allegro Bays and Open Roads, our 2024 Allegro Bay slide room comes out 6-8" on it's own and has now started coming out while driving. Part supplier Lippert confirms it and says parts are being manufactured to address the problem. This has been an issue since purchase and the dealer, Tiffin and Lippert are all aware. There is no warning that the slide i... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2024
7/6/2024 Was driving 45 mph on a busy road (running only on the gas engine of this plug-in hybrid). Propulsion Power Reduced message showed near the speedometer. My speed was immediately decreased. The check engine light also came on. Despite pressing the gas pedal, the speed could not be maintained and I had to pull off quickly before causing an accident. Luckily, no accident occurred but I fear ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
Tesla met with an head on collision with another Toyota. Tesla’s airbags didn’t deploy and i had my 6 year old in car as well. The other car which was 2007 toyota, its airbag still worked.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
The vehicle will not go into reverse. The vehicle shifted into neutral while driving 30 mph in traffic and then shifted back to gear aggressively. No fault codes or check engine lights are displayed.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
The auto shut off function while stopped has malfunctioned on a couple occasions. One was when stopped at a red light. The car would not start up again when letting off the gas. The vehicle was new to me and I didn't know how to fix the problem. Sitting there, even with hazards on, is dangerous as I could have been rear ended while trying to figure this out. I ended up having to restart the vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2023
The transmission has quite a bit of slop or play when placing it in park. I do not believe it could be parked safely in a residential driveway. Tranny knocks a little in low gears.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2023
The transmission has quite a bit of slop or play when placing it in park. I do not believe it could be parked safely in a residential driveway. Tranny knocks a little in low gears.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
Engine front hood pops up into the safety latch position while driving down the road at highway speed and in cold weather or in a strong headwind.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
Engine front hood pops up into the safety latch position while driving down the road at highway speed and in cold weather or in a strong headwind.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
Bypass coolant valve needed to be replaced after engine maintenance required warning came on
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
In May 2023, after I took my car from the Tesla service center in Santa Ana, I realized there was an issue of shaking and shredding from the motor, and it got worse when I pressed the brakes. That happened when I drove the car down a steep road from [XXX] down to [XXX] in the city of Laguna Beach; Then I drove the car to a different road from [XXX] , then down from [XXX] to [XXX] and [XXX] , w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
Vehicle has had multiple instances of lurching forward and/or not even moving when gas pedal is pressed. Several of these instances have occurred when coming to a stop or when trying to start from a stop. When the brake would be pressed the vehicle would jump forward. In one very memorable occurrence I was at a 4 way intersection coming to a stop and the vehicle lurched forward into the interse... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
Vehicle has had multiple instances of lurching forward and/or not even moving when gas pedal is pressed. Several of these instances have occurred when coming to a stop or when trying to start from a stop. When the brake would be pressed the vehicle would jump forward. In one very memorable occurrence I was at a 4 way intersection coming to a stop and the vehicle lurched forward into the interse... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that there was a rattling sound coming from the vehicle while attempting to start the vehicle causing a delay while starting. The vehicle had been taken to a certified mechanic where it was diagnosed that the timing chain and cam phasers had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic informed the contact that the failure was related t... Read more
TESLA
MODEL Y
(2023) — SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:ABS WARNING LIGHT
Jul 12, 2024
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the ABS and traction control warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000. The VIN was not available.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
The infotainment system has bubbles, and it interferes with touch screen process. I have seen lots of people that have different KIA's that have the same issue. This should be considered a RECALL due to how so many KIA's that have the same issue.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
Clogged particulate filter and catalytic converter No safety issue has been confirmed by a Ram dealer The vehicle has been inspected by the Ram dealer Engine light came on Dealer says the vehicle has to be driven a good distance to clean up the exhaust We only use the truck for short distances.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2024
Air bag light is on. Nissan dealer wants $800 to repair.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2024
My steering is making a scretching noise when I try to turn it either way. With it being hard to turn I'm afraid for my safety with driving it and I dont have another vehicle to drive. Yes, I have a quote from a repair shop that my steering rack is going out I didn't notice a warning light as of yet.- this happened about a week ago I have found several complaints about the 2014 Ford Explorer St... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
I was driving down the road when all of a sudden my car was in neutral and I was unable to get the car moving. Called AAA they towed me to In a state Transmission because the transmission light came on. Interstate Transmission said there was nothing wrong with the transmission. It’s a computer problem. Soooo we going to fix this anytime soon?
Incident date: Mar 11, 2020
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and started to shudder. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who determined that the failure was due to a misfire in cylinder #3 and was associated with DTC code: P0303. Additionally, there was coolant intrusion into the engine block. The... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 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 local dealer was contacted. 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 f... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission failed, and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The transmission was replaced, and the contact related the failure with an unknown recall; however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was pr... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2024
The components that failed or malfunctioned include the braking system, steering system, and the airbag deployment mechanism. These critical systems experienced sudden and unexpected failures. Yes, the vehicle and its components are available for inspection upon request. -The sudden brake failure and steering wheel lock resulted in a complete loss of control over the vehicle. The inability to sto... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 4, 2024
While traveling from Texas to Washington state we noticed pulsating/vibrating/shaking front brakes as we were coming down 3 mountain passes. I felt the car was very unsafe as we were unable to brake normally and had many vehicles around us that had to go slower because of this issue. We brought our car in for inspection as soon as we arrived in the Seattle area. They said it was hot spots (warping... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2024
There is an active recall for my vehicle Mercedez Benz GLC 300W4 for which I was NOT NOTIFIED BY THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER. The recall states that certain 80A fuses installed might not meet production requirements. As a result, a contact interruption or an increased triggering resistance might occur. In this case, systems connected to the fuse might become inoperable. Among others, the vehicle... Read more