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: Jan 4, 2024
While using adaptive cruise control, at highway speeds, there was aggressive, automatic braking when there was no vehicle in front of me. It happened about half a dozen times on a three-day trip from Indiana to Florida. Luckily, in each case there was no vehicle directly behind me.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2024
Steering wheel feels very heavy and breaks response little bit slow.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
Steering wheel feels very heavy and breaks response little bit slow.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
Failure of all cameras, gps, and lane keeping system. It is available for inspection. It occurred after software update was pushed to the car. Tesla service has seen the vehicle and says that the internal computer has a fault and needs to be replaced. Yet, oddly enough, there are a lot of identical failures reported in Tesla owner forums. Around the same time as my failure in mid-December 2023. N... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
Door hinge on 2020 Ford Escape has failed. The window no longer works, the door is difficult to open and close, sometimes it will not open or close. It makes a loud popping noise when opened or closed.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
I'm reporting the growing concern of my engine having rod knock or seizing . It has been burning excessive oil since I bought it at 80k miles. I have reached out to hyundai and they have denied me any help as the vehicle is past their 10y/100k mile warranty. Although my vehicle has extended warranty up to 150k miles for engine seize or rod bearing failure through them. There's no warning lamp but ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2024
The steering on this vehicle will stick at times when driving on the highway. When steering to the left or right off of center, there is a noticeable resistance before the steering wheel will turn. There are no warning lamps or other messages that appear on the instrument cluster. I have called the dealer and there is no recall at this time. I also called Honda customer service and they said that ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2024
The contact owned a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V787000 (Electrical System) however, the parts to repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the vehicle was charging for 2 hours in the driveway when it caught on fire. No one was injured during the fire and the vehicle was destroyed. The fire and police department was notified and the ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 5, 2023
Battery wil not charge or stay charged. Battery have been replaced twice the issue presist.
Incident date: Jan 24, 2024
Rear brake lines are rusting out prematurely caused by a defective rear sub frame
Incident date: Jan 24, 2024
While I was driving I heard an extremely loud noise (like fireworks). I slightly opened the sun roof cover and saw shards of glass. I pulled over to inspect further and realized that my sun roof glass had exploded! I saw no signs of anything (particularly rocks) that may have caused it. I called the dealer, and they had me bring it in. They have ordered a new sunroof, and gave me a loaner car... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Odyssey. 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 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: Jan 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Traverse. 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 manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repairs were 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 spe... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 128i. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started running rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to Meineke where it was diagnosed with a failed fuel pump. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed integrated power module (T... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to Meineke where it was diagnosed with a failed fuel pump. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed integrated power module (T... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
The incident happened on 12/22/2024 8:30 am to 8:40am. Weather: heavy foggy. On freeway, no raining. Road was dry. Autopilot was off. I was trying to change lane to 2nd lane (I was in 3rd lane) and I saw a white pickup truck suddenly changed lane to the 2nd lane from 1st lane, so I turned my steering to left quickly (speed was 55-60 miles) and back to 3rd lane, and then suddenly the steering whe... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
The beginning of November my driver side door would not open. There was no warning, and nothing happened to cause this. I took it to the dealership. For $161.00 they told me I would need $980.00 worth for parts, which I had to pay upfront, so they would order them. Needless to say there is only one mechanic that is able to do this repair, so I’m still waiting. My appointment is on January 31... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
Loss of power steering while driving, could cause loss of vehicle control. Issue occurred 3 hours after vehicle purchase and was accompanied by multiple warning lights on dash. Dealer stated they had performed some wiring repair before my purchase, but did not disclose that at time of purchase
Incident date: Jan 23, 2024
Accelerating with no input braking unsuccessful resulting in running a stop sign across two-way traffic. Vehicle stopped after approx. 100 meters after running the stop sign. I have discussed with Tesla service to run a diagnostic report (not completed at this time). No warnings or error messages. Vehicle resumed normal functional control after. Tested accelerating and braking at the same time giv... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2024
Sticky steering, The steering sticks and releases in a gradual turn, very annoying. I feel this can be a safety issue. Dealer service tech could not confirm issue.
Incident date: Jan 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in cold weather, the message "Caution. Engine Power Reduced" was displayed, and the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the charge air cooler was replaced, and the CAC shutter, the temperature control valve and the winter grill cover were installed. Additionally, th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The back windshield completely shattered. No object hit the car. This is not safe for driving. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by a service center (Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance, CA). I am taking the vehicle to be inspected by a service center and will get insurance involved if needed. There were no warning lamps or other symptoms prior to the problem.
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
On [XXX] at [XXX] my 2020 Tesla Model X Long Range Plus suddenly started braking while on the highway. I was driving 75MPH to San Diego from Arizona. There was no vehicles around or in front while using the cruise control. This also has been an issue with our 2023 Tesla Model Y and previous Model 3 while driving to Las Vegas at 70MPH. I really think this is safety concern. Luckily there was vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The auto opening passenger side door was only opening half way and stopping. Aware that there might be a component that prevented proper function we stopped the door by using electric eye and opened the door manually. This worked fine. We were traveling when this issue started. When we returned home I was unloading the van. It opened half way and started to close. I stood in the door to get i... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
I picked up this car on 12/30/2023. On 1/10/2024, I noticed that the power folding side mirrors were folding slower than normal. On 1/13/2024, I went into the Kia Access app and was greeted by an error message stating that remote commands could not be sent as the battery was under 40%, however the app showed the battery at 80%. On 1/14/2024, I discovered the app was referencing the 12-volt battery... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota 4Runner. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E051000 (Suspension) 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact h... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
I has replaced 2 coil packs then the engine started clicking
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
We received an IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL in June of last year (2023). The engine could fail, spewing oil with imminent fire danger. The "fix" was estimated to be available by October 2023. We have kept in contact with our Ford service manager, where we purchased the car & they still do not have any word about how to fix this or what parts to use. The last Ford recall for this car was a haphazard fi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly jerked and shook abnormally before returning to normal functionality. The contact retrieved the vehicle from the dealer following the repair under NHTSA Campaign Number 20V750000 (Engine) and NHTSA Campaign Number 22V096000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that the check engine warnin... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2024
Driving down the freeway at normal speeds and my panoramic sunroof literally just exploded, raining tempered glass all over the interior of the vehicle while I was driving. No evidence that it was caused by any road debris, objects, nor falling objects from the sky. I wasn’t driving under a bridge and no cars/trucks were immediately next to me nor in front of me. Traffic was flowing at normal... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2024
The ABS and traction control lights keep chiming and flashing. This condition disables the cruise control as well and possibly the 4WD system. Parts aren’t available at this time from the dealership and after doing research, this seems to be a very common problem with the 2017-2018 Ram 2500/3500 models.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
In July 2023 we started receiving airbag fault messages on the main screen, “Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault". Based on our research this meant that in the event of an accident the airbag would most likely not deploy. We tried to schedule service and due to a "bug with the recent update" we could not get the invoice through their app or schedule the actual service for over a week.... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
Power steering stops working while driving at highway speeds. Power steering light illuminates on the dashboard. When this happens, it is barely possible to steer car to the side of the road to prevent accident or injury. Other than brakes defects, this is the most serious safety concern there is.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
Started my truck and drove off. 10 seconds later all of the lights on instrument cluster came on and displayed steering assist reduced the. It said service brake assist. My brakes weee very spongy and hardly worked luckily I was only driving 20 mph and no one was in front of me. I had to disconnect battery and reconnect to fix the problem. What if I was on the highway doing 70 mph and had to hit m... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
1. Under certain circumstances, the vehicle is able to decelerate using its regenerative braking system without illuminating the brake lights. This occurs during "one pedal driving" where the operator is driving only using the throttle to both accelerate and decelerate the car, without the input of mechanical brakes. This is a programming issue, not a mechanical issue. The brake lights are "trigg... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
While driving on the interstate while using the cruise control, the vehicle started increasing speed and rpm’s. I could not turn off cruise by braking or using the off button on steering wheel. I had to put it in neutral which caused the engine to redline in rpm’s, so I could use brakes to safely stop on the side of the interstate highway. I turned off the engine and opened the hood to look in... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
Soft engine block issues causing headboats to pull out and head gasket to fail. Slight movement in temperature gauge and check engine light begin to flash. Sometimes sometime later after stopping at light check engine light came on flashing, Turn car off and restart engine., Car would not move, Turn vehicle off and then back on again. Finally able to get it removed off the highway. Service manag... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2024
My fuel injectors are failing and there is no updated part from Honda with new fuel injectors.
Incident date: Jan 19, 2024
The backup camera started getting very foggy, overly sensitive to lights at night making it very blurry. I bought an aftermarket camera as a direct OEM replacement which works fine, however the onboard Uconnect 12" display will not allow me to turn back on the backup guidance lines over the video for the aftermarket camera on the display. I put the original camera back on, sometimes it has a horri... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2024
I was driving on the highway around 65mph. I saw my RPM gauge going up and down from 2k rpms up to 4k rps and the vehicle was jerking. The car felt like it was going to turn off. The vehicle RPMs spiked all the way to 7k RPMs and the car started to lose power. I was able to get to the shoulder lane by the grace of GOD. I turned the car off for about 5 min. Once I started the car and put it i... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2024
From the day I bought the vehicle, it had coolant leak issues. I read that Ford knew this so they installed a feature where the vehicle will shut down/not move if there is low coolant, so as to avoid fires. An abrupt stop is very dangerous as well depending on location. $1000s later and years later, the leaks turned into not being able to hold any coolant at all. I took it to FORD they kept for 6... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2024
I have not been in an incident yet, but when I slow down coming off the highway and try to come back up to traffic speed the the transmission bucks or shutters. Also when starting from a red light or stop sign the truck bucks or shutters very notable in 3-4-5th gear. I watched the tachometer and it shutters most of my drive. In all fairness, I have not brought it to the dealership yet. I see other... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2024
I keep adding oil and the dealership says there’s nothing wrong. For electric problems the speakers have static noise and the screen goes black and turns on hours later. I took in my recently they said there wasn’t any problems with the car but I literally deal with it everyday. I told them my car shakes when I brake on high speed they said they checked car but found no issues I personally do ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
Vehicle has frequent occurrences of phantom breaking while in cruise control. Tesla reviewed 3 occurrences and determined the system was working as Tesla intends it to and refuses to remedy. The system is prematurely identifying potential hazards which are not yet hazards and applying the brakes thereby creating a hazard due to vehicles being behind me and could reared my vehicle. One instan... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
My steering recently locked up on me while turning left with oncoming traffic, I slid (snow) onto the shoulder to avoid traffic, almost causing an accident. There were no warnings at that time. After a few moments it freed up and I was able to continue. Then, a couple days later, the power steering warning came on and there was no longer any steering assist. I continued a couple miles to get o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
I was driving my car when i saw an emergency sign on the dashboard telling to safely park. then the car could only drive using the power generated by the electric battery and when the battery went out of power the car could not switch to gas to use the engine power I was on san mateo bridge when it happen I could feel the car rolling back on a park gear.
Incident date: Jan 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 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 local dealer was made aware of the issue. 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 and confi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2024
Rear main seal engine could have blown causing accident on highway or other road while driving. GM knows of this ongoing problem with this vehicle . Problem was reported by auto shop. Auto shop pulled up to customer of this GM ongoing problem. Car produces no warning lights . no warning lap messages no other symptoms of problems prior to failure. First. When temperature was around 5°