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 23,203 complaints for TESLA
Incident date: Apr 10, 2024
At certain times, when coming to a stop, and then attempting to proceed, the throttle with delay or lag from a stop. This has happened since the start of ownership in Feb 2022 up until today. Toyota has issued on previous Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) - T-SB-0111-22 - that Toyota states should resolve an issue with "Hesitation From Stop and Surge Concerns". The TCM -Transmission Control Module ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2024
At certain times, when coming to a stop, and then attempting to proceed, the throttle with delay or lag from a stop. This has happened since the start of ownership in Feb 2022 up until today. Toyota has issued on previous Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) - T-SB-0111-22 - that Toyota states should resolve an issue with "Hesitation From Stop and Surge Concerns". The TCM -Transmission Control Module ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
Tesla FSD consistently ignores temporary lane closures, and will cheerfully try to drive over the barrier poles. The locale is the San Diego Pure Water Project construction zones. They set up lane closures that change every week or so. They use a line of red poles along the middle of the road to block off a lane and direct both lanes of traffic into one lane. Sometimes there is also a large CL... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2024
Without warning, vehicle loses power and ability to accelerate is greatly reduced. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (aka "check engine light"), the Reduced Engine Power light, and the Traction Control System/Stabilitrak light all illuminate at the same time and are not flashing. Using a diagnostic tool from a local auto parts store, code P2138 is reported as follows: Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
Without warning, vehicle loses power and ability to accelerate is greatly reduced. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (aka "check engine light"), the Reduced Engine Power light, and the Traction Control System/Stabilitrak light all illuminate at the same time and are not flashing. Using a diagnostic tool from a local auto parts store, code P2138 is reported as follows: Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
ABS/Electronic brake indicator light on continuous, no Dodge repair facility cannot seem to fix issue. This should be a recall item.
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
ABS/Electronic brake indicator light on continuous, no Dodge repair facility cannot seem to fix issue. This should be a recall item.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
The car lost speed even though the engine was racing. A "transmission requires service" note appeared on the instrument cluster followed by a CEL. The car slowed to a stop and would not proceed normally after a stop sign. Traffic was backed up while the car was nursed along the road at half the speed limit.
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
Completely rusted rear crossmember subframe
Incident date: Jun 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering and the engine was overheating. The message "See Dealer for Maintenance" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the dealer determined that an unknown cooling system valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was no... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V844000 (Electrical System) 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... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
I was rear ended very hard, the car had to have been going at least 50 mph and didn't brake. It lifted the rear wheels of my truck off the ground, and the airbag light came on but none of the airbags deployed. This caused or exacerbated injury to my right leg and a laceration in the back of my head, concussion and TBI. I was in and out of consciousness. The police report contains a statement they ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #3. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-234... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
Safety concern is that the car lost power without warning while driving on 4 lane highway. My son was attempting to pass another vehicle and he noticed the hyundai was not accelerating with his foot on gas pedal. he had to coast back across the lanes of traffic to avoid being hit. Confirmed issue:The car had to be towed and Hyundai dealer states the vehicle needs a new engine. Vehicle has been in... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Buick Enclave equipped with Sentury Tires, Tire Line: National Commando HTS, Tire Size: 255/55/R20, DOT Number: [XXX] . The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23T009000 (Tires); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the front passenger's side tire was frequently flat. The contact stated that air was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Buick Enclave equipped with Sentury Tires, Tire Line: National Commando HTS, Tire Size: 255/55/R20, DOT Number: [XXX] . The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23T009000 (Tires); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the front passenger's side tire was frequently flat. The contact stated that air was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
when the vehicle approaches 45-50 mph on the highway, the car begins to shake violently, where it feels like the body/frame of the vehicle is going to separate from the car. the only way to resolve/reset this is to bring the vehicle to an almost complete stop and then re-accelerate. when this happens on the highway everyone violently shakes in the vehicle, and it is difficult to quickly bring th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
I previously reported an engine complained submitted on 9/14/2023, ID 11544548. My engine started knocking while I was driving on a major highway without any warning lights or indications. a claim to Kia was made as I was told by the Kia dealership I would need engine replacement however Kia offered no explanation as to why the engine failed nor any explanation or seemed to care one bit that I wa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2024
Car was being driven and coils snapped caused, tire to pop damaging front end. Car was being driven and randomly shut off in middle of road. Driving vehicle shifting into gear lags, check engine light is on, had reader and said that valve 2 has low pressure. As a result clanking and loose noise sounds are heard when driven from drivers side.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
Car was being driven and coils snapped caused, tire to pop damaging front end. Car was being driven and randomly shut off in middle of road. Driving vehicle shifting into gear lags, check engine light is on, had reader and said that valve 2 has low pressure. As a result clanking and loose noise sounds are heard when driven from drivers side.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
WHILE DRIVING AND USING THE ACCELERATOR , THE RPM WOULD REV UP BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. THE CAR WOULD THEN JERK BACK AND FORTH. ONLY ABLE TO GO APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES PER HOUR, BUT THE RPM WOULD GO AS HIGH AS 6K OR 7K RPM. DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. WHEN IDLE, ALSO FELT RPM GO UP AND JERKING MOTION
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the check engine warning light intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician discovered that coolant had leaked into an engine cylinder. The manufacturer was notified of the failure bu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the check engine warning light intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician discovered that coolant had leaked into an engine cylinder. The manufacturer was notified of the failure bu... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warning ligh... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
Rear back up camera keeps going in / out, freezing and I have almost hit cars/people because I thought the car was stationary (screen frozen). The screen flickers constantly making backing up very treacherous.
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
In the two years I have had this car it has gone into limp home mode stating “start/stop error” while I am drivig the vehicle. I have taken it to my dealership and they will not do anything to fix the problem. The vehicle has also cut off twice while I am driving it with no warning lights which has caused other Volkswagen models to be recalled
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
When driving at highway speeds the steering feels like it is sticking and requires a little effort to move the steering wheel. First noticed it about 2 weeks ago
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
I was driving along thankfully at a low rate of speed when suddenly my passenger seat head rest popped really loud and sprang open. Scared the Crap out of me, and caused me to swerve really hard and almost out of my lane. Thank God no one was sitting in the passenger seat at the time!!
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
ABS Service light flashes on after rainy days and or going over a bumpy road.
Incident date: Feb 14, 2024
In May of 2023, as I entered an intersection, my 2016 Hybrid Kia Optima suddenly did not feel right and gave me a hybrid system warning error. I pulled to the side of the road and shut it down. I restarted the car. The error light remained on, but the car seemed to drive okay. I finished my short distance into work, and shut it down. I called the dealer and was asked to restart it to see if t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
I was driving down Sooner Road and heard a weird noise other passenger side and I slowed down a bit when my wheel came off. All 4 studs were recently replaced and all 4 snapped the lug nuts and studs right off. My front fender is almost tore off my car. They had to drag it to get it off a very busy road and we were almost hit multiple times. The studs do not look like real metal. They look like th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
I was driving down Sooner Road and heard a weird noise other passenger side and I slowed down a bit when my wheel came off. All 4 studs were recently replaced and all 4 snapped the lug nuts and studs right off. My front fender is almost tore off my car. They had to drag it to get it off a very busy road and we were almost hit multiple times. The studs do not look like real metal. They look like th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
On March 18, 2024, I noticed that water began to enter the car when it was in the carwash. I opened a claim with the insurance company and an investigation was carried out that lasted approximately 3 months. On June 11, the body shop received my car to diagnose and provide a quote to the insurance company for the necessary repairs due to this water damage. The workshop considered it to be a proble... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
I was having to go to stl to see my sons in the NICU in Creve Couer, and when doing so anytime I got over 70 mph for maybe 5 minutes, it would pop up with "Transmission fault, service now." I have to pull over, turn the car off, sit for 30 minutes, then turn my car back on and stay under 65 the rest of the way home. As a mom of a [XXX] little girl and a mom of twin boys I don't have the money to ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
My steering wheel is clicking and hard to turn all the sudden then my airbag light popped on, they recalled the 2016 year models for this problem but not the 2015
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
I was driving at 60-70 MPH on the highway and lost gas power. The electrical power in the hybrid motor continued working, but I was unable to accelerate or maintain full speed. IMPORTANT: I had this very thing repaired in accordance with a previous recall and an identical issue in January, approximately five months ago. I am reporting in case an additional recall and new software patch is needed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
Leaking coolant from bad radiator “just out of warranty”. Roughly $2000 repair estimate
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
I recently took my truck to the dealer to have it looked at because I have been consistently hearing a clicking and rattling noise coming from the drivetrain. The service adviser stated "According to Ford , this is a normal condition and there is nothing to be fixed." The same problem/condition that I am experiencing is described in a Ford Recall # S2365. This is NHTSA Campaign ID 23V896000. What... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
Potential frame failure. First noticed [XXX]. Grand Design contacted, but no appointment due to "Customer Care Center" being moved. Referred to Royal RV in Middlebury, IN. Appt. set for Mid May. No concern by GD that we would be traveling 1500 miles. Visual inspection @ Royal RV suggested potential frame failure. Appt. set for June 18th for full inspection. Both Grand Design {case# XXX} an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the SRS warning light illuminated when a passenger entered the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired from a previous recall with the OCS wiring harness. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the OCS Mat sensor/seat bottom which needed to be replaced. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
Engine got really loud but idled would got shift out of 1st gear. Happened why accelerating after stopping. Traffic was moving at 45 -55 miles past me. And I was unable to pull over. I got to the next red light. Put the vehicle in park then back into drive and was able to drive to the closest dealer. They found no trouble codes when plugging into the computer. The vehicle has not been inspected ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
The ABS control module on my truck goes in and out from working to not working constantly dinging. Because of the ABS control module being defective it makes the traction control faulty as well which I have almost gotten in numerous car accidents at this point living in Florida with the rain and sliding all over the place. I have tried researching this and it is a huge problem with the 2018 RAM 25... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
Windshield Cracked on vehicle, this is the 2nd incident and second full windshield replacement In 2 years, noth OEM.
TESLA
CYBERTRUCK
(2024) - STEERING
Jun 13, 2024
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
Sticky steering at highway speeds. Have to manually correct steering causing unsafe control of vehicle.
Incident date: May 31, 2024
Nobody has inspected my vehicle. However my rear passenger airbag on the driver's side has malfunctioned and blown out the rear interior panel and the service airbag light is on this just happened 4 days ago and there was no accident to cause it.. my transmission is not functioning properly as of yesterday it has a jolt like jerk when shifting into another gear and doesn't want to go all the wa... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2024
All of the lugs nut have swelled likely due to rust under the chrome caps and we can not get the lug wrench provided with the car onto any of the lugs nuts. A properly sized 19mm 4 way lug wrench would not fit either. This prevents us from being able to change a flat tire which could leave us stranded during my commute or on a vacation and left in an unsafe situation on the side.of the highway. T... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
I was traveling on autopilot in left lane with autopilot engaged on 06/13/2024 on HW 101 at around 9:40am my car all of the sudden slammed on brakes and dropped speed from around 65mph to 30mph before I was able to react and recover speed. Reached out to Tesla on their app about this and they are sending me estimate of $275 to check it out
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
My car had trouble starting then shut off while driving. Engine light was on and the RMP's stayed at zero. Code was for camshaft. Camshaft was replaced and the car shut off three more times while driving. I only have 83,000 miles on my car.
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
The engine design used for my car and multiple other makes of Ford have a common problem of leaking coolant into the engine cylinder. After having it diagnosed at the Ford dealership, I was told that I would need a completely new engine because there is no fix and there is no recall for my specific vehicle, but funnily enough, for similar ones with the same issue. I was told that because it was ma... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
The shift lever is not sensing that the vehicle is in park. This is the second time this has happened. I have to click the shift lever button rapidly to get it to sense that it is in park. The problem was confirmed in 2019 by a dealer and the whole housing was replaced. It is ultimately failing again. GM needs to be held liable for this fix.