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: Nov 17, 2023
There has been multiple incidents the first time the car started jumping and smoking on 12/7/2022 I had it put in the shop and they said it was 2 oxygen sensors and crank position sensor after that repair the ac goes out completely. So it drove fine for a couple months then started jumping in middle of interstate again and check engine light came on so I pull off interstate before I got hit it dr... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
While on her way from work, my mother was involved in an accident in her 2021 Kia K5 LXS where she was rear ended at a high speed by a driver not paying attention to the road and she ended up hitting the car in front of her. During the accident NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEVELOPED. My mother was hospitalized for a month and do to the SEVERITY OF HER MAJOR INJURIES (rib fractures, a closed fracture of her... Read more
Crash
1 injured
1 deaths
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
1. Both rear springs have broken within 1 year of each other. There were no accidents or any kind or off road driving. These are Expensive to fix. 2. Driver side airbag light is on. No idea why. Afraid to drive this vehicle.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
1. Both rear springs have broken within 1 year of each other. There were no accidents or any kind or off road driving. These are Expensive to fix. 2. Driver side airbag light is on. No idea why. Afraid to drive this vehicle.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
Automobile overheats due to the loss of antifreeze coolant into the engine piston cylinder. This is a known 2016 Ecoboost engine problem where a crack develops in the engine block and the coolant leaks/intrudes into the piston cylinder. Sudden loss of power at any speeds when the engine overheats. Repair for this problem requires an engine replacement with a newer, redesigned version of the en... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000 (Structure); 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 made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
While I was driving the rear window suddenly shattered creating a loud thud. Chunks of shattering glass fell into the back section of the car. No foreign object hit the car. This was just a spontaneous event. We often transport our grand children and it is possible that they could have been seriously injured if they would have been in the car at the time. The car is unsafe to drive at this... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
While I was driving the rear window suddenly shattered creating a loud thud. Chunks of shattering glass fell into the back section of the car. No foreign object hit the car. This was just a spontaneous event. We often transport our grand children and it is possible that they could have been seriously injured if they would have been in the car at the time. The car is unsafe to drive at this... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2023
My service abs light comes on and off, which makes cruise control inoperable and rear park sensors inoperable. This also makes putting into 4x4 impossible unless I turn off the truck, switch to 4x4, and start it before the sensor kicks off. I’m worried about the abs mainly. I contacted my dealer and they said it’s a common issue but the part is almost $1k and backordordered for months. How is ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
"On August 18, 2023, I was driving at 70 mph on I-95 near the 100-mile mark using Full Self-Drive. The front driver-side suspension housing cracked, causing the bottom part of the suspension to detach. This led to the front tire striking the upper part of the wheel, resulting in a tire blowout. A piece of metal from the suspension fell onto the road and hit the rear driver-side tire, causing it to... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
"On August 18, 2023, I was driving at 70 mph on I-95 near the 100-mile mark using Full Self-Drive. The front driver-side suspension housing cracked, causing the bottom part of the suspension to detach. This led to the front tire striking the upper part of the wheel, resulting in a tire blowout. A piece of metal from the suspension fell onto the road and hit the rear driver-side tire, causing it to... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
Concerned about interim notice. Would like to get issue fixed immediately to keep passengers and others safe. HECU replaced
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
The sunroof on my Jeep opened by itself. There are issues all over the internet with same said problem with the Jeep Renegade MySky sunroof system. Jeep wants people to spend $3,500 to fix. can count on both hounds how many times I’ve actually opened the sunroof to use it.
Incident date: Oct 19, 2023
While driving on the highway from philadelphia to allentown using I-476 north i was driving using cruise control and the car suddenly applied brakes ( phantom braking) there was no one either in front or sides or behind me. No accident happened
Incident date: Oct 19, 2023
While driving on the highway from philadelphia to allentown using I-476 north i was driving using cruise control and the car suddenly applied brakes ( phantom braking) there was no one either in front or sides or behind me. No accident happened
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
I bought this carseat in March and began using it August 2nd for my infant who was born July 31st. The straps have slowly become an issue. We try so hard to tighten the straps but to no avail. This puts my child at risk if we were to get in accident as he is not secure and the straps are still loose. I did reach out to graco who informed me I had to do a warranty claim. I am not sure yet if thet p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
I bought this carseat in March and began using it August 2nd for my infant who was born July 31st. The straps have slowly become an issue. We try so hard to tighten the straps but to no avail. This puts my child at risk if we were to get in accident as he is not secure and the straps are still loose. I did reach out to graco who informed me I had to do a warranty claim. I am not sure yet if thet p... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
I purchased a brand new 2017 Ford Titanium 2.0L Ecoboost from a Ford dealership. I also had the maintenance service so every service was done by the dealership. Due to the Covid pandemic, I had not driven the car much so it only has 39,777 miles on it. On the evening of Nov 9th, 2023, I noticed the car sputtering a bit when pressing on the gas while on my way home and the engine light briefly came... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V380000 (Engine) 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2023
Twice while at a stop light, when the car was in Auto Idle Stop, it suddenly shut down completely. There was no power on the dashboard. I couldn't even turn on the hazard lights. The first time, this lasted several minutes, the second time, a few seconds. After this time, the electronics spontaneously came back up and I was able to restart the engine.
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
My car randomly brakes while using autopilot/cruise control on the highway. It will brake and move the car toward one side of the line. This happens sometimes every 20 minutes on a roadtrip. On one occasion, it threw the car to the far left side of the line and then reacted to the on the left. It threw the car back to the right side of the lane, near the car on the right side. There were cars on e... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
When traveling at speed the steering breaks loose. Steering jumps, looses firmness and then corrects. It will do this constantly on the interstate or highway. Feels like steering slack. Similar to hitting ice on a dry road. Started about a month ago and continues. Dealership will not document.
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
2013 Elantra GT purchased new less than 63,000 miles. Airbag warning light on constantly. Hyundai has issued an extended lifetime warranty on clock spring. 2 local Dealers are 45 days behind in scheduling repairs and will not look at clockspring without agreement to pay $200.00 diagnostic fee to find what other issue may be at fault. This makes the extended warranty bait and switch smokescreen wo... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
1) Drivers seat moves while driving. 2) Seat positioning failure. Failure causes seat to move back increasing length from pedals. Made it harder to reach the gas and brake pedal. Unsafe to drive while seat in motion. 3) Problem was reproduced by dealer. 4) No warning or error messages prior to failure. 5) Dealership and Tech support unable to fix problem with multiple attempts.
Incident date: Nov 25, 2023
I went to get the Takata recall done. I made an appointment at the dealer, and I showed up. After spending several hours of my day, the dealer told me the airbag was on back order and they even asked me if I actually want to get it done. The dealer informed me my dash would be broken after they finished the job. I told them the airbag is dangerous and it needed to get done. They told me they wou... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2023
The hood under car is messed up and makes noises while driving. I heard there was a recall on the hoods underneath. I need fixed as I live on disability. Tire light won't go off sensor is not working right.
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
I've owned this vehicle since new. Purchased in 9/2022. Since then the code 62 has been set twice by the ECU, causing the throttle to hang-up at or near 4000 RPM. I had to turn off the ignition as well as the key. After restarting, the vehicle runs fine. The dealer looked at it & performed diagnostics, however when the vehicle is running well. They are unable to find a problem. This code & throttl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The rear camera on my Explorer shows a blue screen most of the time and this has become a serious safety issue. A few weeks ago while backing out of a parking spot I almost hit a pedestrian who came out of a double-parked car because the pedestrian was in my rear view mirrors blind spot. Luckily a passenger in my car saw them and alerted me. The remedy for this recall was supposed to be availab... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The rear camera on my Explorer shows a blue screen most of the time and this has become a serious safety issue. A few weeks ago while backing out of a parking spot I almost hit a pedestrian who came out of a double-parked car because the pedestrian was in my rear view mirrors blind spot. Luckily a passenger in my car saw them and alerted me. The remedy for this recall was supposed to be availab... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
The Power conversion system (PCS) failed during driving, disabling the rear motor and regenerative braking. This severely affected the driving characteristics of the vehicle, including top speed, braking profile and handling.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Dashboard cracked in multiple areas lifting up. Seatbelt jams up
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Dashboard cracked in multiple areas lifting up. Seatbelt jams up
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
While driving back from holiday dinner with family I noticed I was having to correct the driving significantly more than usual. When I would correct left or right the steering wheel would visually jerk. While taking an exit ramp I had to correct the steering and actually got some body roll. For a moment I was worried we were going to roll over. I took the car out the next day and the steering whee... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
Phantom braking occurred while traveling eastbound from Austin to Houston on US 290. Vehicle was traveling 76mph and slowed to quickly to 55 mph for no reason. There was a highway overpass about 75 yards away which may have triggered it, but no vehicles around us. Scared my wife and kids!!!
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
My issue is with the Manufacture Recall #Z46, NHTSA Recall # 22V-406. This recall has been open since Jun 9, 2022 and involves the Fuel Pump (HPFP) failure. I have taken the vehicle to my local dealer and they advised there still is no remedy available to correct this recall. The vehicle I purchased used, had several open service tickets related to emissions which have been corrected and covered b... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
I experienced a sudden unintended acceleration while parking the car in my home garage, something I have done thousands of times with no difficulty. I had this brand new car for a 12 days before it smashed through my garage wall. My garage is a fairly tight fit, so as I always do, I partially entered the garage and stopped to make sure that the side mirrors were going to clear the garage entrance... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 12, 2023
ABS light and Traction Control service alert light on dashboard. Second time this has happened. I had this issue prior and had Ram replace both parts that needed to fixed and was not covered by Ram. This/ these are faulty parts and Ram needs a recall. There are thousands of Ram owners that have the same issue and Ram refuses to acknowledge and recall these parts/ issues! Please help us!
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
During cold weather, and when backing up, the vehicle makes a loud knocking noise as if an accident has occurred. This is an intermittent problem. The vehicle is equipped with Auto-hold brakes. The dealership stated that this might be the issue where the auto-hold is engaging without warring. The dealership tested the brakes and stated that it was operating per manufacturing specs. This issue happ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Abs and traction Control keeps going off and on showing service brake system.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Abs and traction Control keeps going off and on showing service brake system.
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Water pump is defective, leaks, and provides no warning in system. Replacing is unbelievably expensive ($5,000 for a water pump, but inside engine so extensive labor) and Ford needs to perform a recall as it can create major motor damage rendering the vehicle inoperable. Had to replace ours this past summer and now our daughter's 2013 Lincoln MKS has the same issue for same unbelievable expense an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
Even with the steering safety assistance turned off... the steering "sticks" while trying initiate turns/adjustments. Turning straight after a curve becomes jerky and unsafe. Keeping straight in a lane without jerking an overcorrection can cause concern. This is also adding to hand/wrist fatigue over long distance commute. Bottom line it feels unsafe.
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
Even with the steering safety assistance turned off... the steering "sticks" while trying initiate turns/adjustments. Turning straight after a curve becomes jerky and unsafe. Keeping straight in a lane without jerking an overcorrection can cause concern. This is also adding to hand/wrist fatigue over long distance commute. Bottom line it feels unsafe.
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
In September 12,2023 I took my 2020 Toyota Rava 4 vehicle in to Cobb Toyota for a coolant by pass valve to be replaced after my check engine light kept coming on. I only had 25 790 miles on my vehicle at the time. Anthony Sullivan was my service rep. at the time And he stated that this something has been common with this type of vehicle. But could not explain why. I just wanted to report this to T... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Experiencing sticky or notchy steering at moderate and highway speeds. Started when odometer hit 4500 miles. I called the dealer and referenced Service Bulletin 23-037. Dealer informed me I would have to pay a $148 diagnostic fee for them to even look at it.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to indicate that the engine was overheating, displaying a message reading "Stop Vehicle Immediately". The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway to let the vehicle cool down. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
My 2021 Hyundai accent has randomly not started a in more than 10 different times. The lights go on and you can hear it trying to start but it never catches to actually start. It’s under warranty but the dealer says if they can’t see it when it’s happening then they can’t fix anything. I bought a new battery with dealer recommendations but I still hace they problem. I only have 25,300 mile... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
Intermittently over the past two months, the vehicle has been showing error code RCM_a056 with the accompanying message: Front passenger safety restraint system fault Service is required I reached out to Tesla and the service estimate was nearly $1500 to replace the Airbag "to maintain compatibility with Front Passenger Seat" for $942 and $414 to replace the Occupant Classification System (OCS) o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
Unknown, I was just sitting at a red light and my back glass just shattered out of nowhere, I got out and looked to see if anything hit but there wasn’t a sign, I feel very unsafe in this vehicle between the recall and now my back window just shattering
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
"Self-Driving System" turned into a one-way road, going the wrong way when the road was well labeled. I have had similar problems every time I have activated self-driving over the past 6 years. It is easy to reproduce the issue at any time.