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 4, 2023
I was driving slow to a 4 way st and slowly had a car pass across me so far away and it passed and all of a sudden emergency break and slam on break by itself causing the passenger in my car to hurt them self ... I was unable to control this accident so bad!!!!
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
I was driving slow to a 4 way st and slowly had a car pass across me so far away and it passed and all of a sudden emergency break and slam on break by itself causing the passenger in my car to hurt them self ... I was unable to control this accident so bad!!!!
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
When travelling with adaptive speed control enabled the car will suddenly and violently decelerate 30 to 50 MPH below the set speed. This happens frequently and does not appear to correlate with anything specific. Sometimes it happens when passing a large white truck. Sometimes there is no other traffic anywhere near me. At the very least I would like Tesla to give me the option of disabling the "... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
I was driving when the tire pressure warning light came on indicating the rear drivers side tire pressure dropped to 17 psi. I immediate drove to a gas station to add air. I inspected the tire and didn’t notice any damage. I aired the tire up to 32 psi and drove off. Within 3-5 mins the warning came back on. Upon further inspection of the inside of the wheel I noticed that the rim now had a ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
Body control module. It gets wet when it rains because of an engineering mess up. It shorts out my lights. Sometimes it can't get out of car because it messes with the locks and windows. Can't use my electric mirrors anymore. Instead of being a much needed recall they decided to not even make replacement bcm. It is a problem everything it gets wet that should have been recalled and fixed. At least... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
The steering wheel was dysfunctional; the wheel was locked in the middle of the highway, and the car started to change lanes, causing a massive accident. There was a significant accident between my car and a truck; both cars were totaled. My airbags didn't open as well. I got a massive concussion, and I do not know about the condition of the other driver. There was a recall about the steering wh... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
On 6.22.23 at Lake Powell AZ this truck transmission locked up twice and nearly threw the wife and I through the windshield, very traumatic!! Happened towing a boat entering highway, had to pull to a narrow shoulder. Jarred our bodies, seatbelt into shoulder/chest. The engine light came on, had truck towed to Flagstaff Chevrolet. Had it 3 weeks. Drove home to Huntington Beach, CA without issue. Dr... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
The steering wheel sticks whenever I attempt to turn it (be it left or right) while driving.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
As part of transitioning from radar to a camera based system (this affects model years '22 onward), Tesla, has "temporarily" disabled key features such as lane departure, blind spot alerts and emergency braking. Though disabled, these features are still selectable (not greyed out) when the user chooses safety options. These features, which are available on most modern cars, have been disabled for... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
I was involved in a single vehicle accident at 5 am on October 5, 2023 on a rural road in Deland, Florida. I was on an unfamiliar road with a sharp curve and as I was trying to slow down the I was unable to slow down or steer the vehicle. It slammed into a cluster of trees and immediately the engine caught fire. I crawled out of the vehicle in pain from the force of the crash and was disoriente... Read more
Crash
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
I was involved in a single vehicle accident at 5 am on October 5, 2023 on a rural road in Deland, Florida. I was on an unfamiliar road with a sharp curve and as I was trying to slow down the I was unable to slow down or steer the vehicle. It slammed into a cluster of trees and immediately the engine caught fire. I crawled out of the vehicle in pain from the force of the crash and was disoriente... Read more
Crash
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
I've had the car since December 2019. The car will "phantom brake" when the autopilot adaptive cruise control is on. This happens intermittently, ~1 time per month on my normal commute. I will be going along, cruise set to 75 and out of nowhere it'll slam on the brakes and lose 10 MPH in a second before I can take over. This occurs with absolutely no traffic or reason, it'll be an empty highway an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
My car is a 2021 Tiguan. Car is burning oil and should not be.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and whenever attempting to accelerate the vehicle would display a jerking sensation. It would jump as if it wanted to fail and or stall. power train malfunctioning, hill start pre-collision assist, front camera low visibility, as well as others, all had illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle had been... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
I was driving my 2023 Tesla Model Y northbound on Interstate 69 in Indiana near the 219 mile marker. The time was around 9:30 P.M. My speed was approximately 70 MPH. I was using what Tesla calls "Traffic-Aware Cruise Control". All of a sudden and with warning, my vehicle braked extremely hard, slowing me down very fast. Luckily no one was behind me. I had no idea what was happening and looked ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
My 2021 Kia Soul was an attempted theft. The vehicle was locked and the would-be thieves gained access by breaking the passenger rear window. The True failure is in the ignition system. As the thieves tore apart the steering column and dismantled the ignition system, and they were ready to pull away before being interrupted. This defect in the simplicity and ease of access to the ignition system w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
My 2021 Kia Soul was an attempted theft. The vehicle was locked and the would-be thieves gained access by breaking the passenger rear window. The True failure is in the ignition system. As the thieves tore apart the steering column and dismantled the ignition system, and they were ready to pull away before being interrupted. This defect in the simplicity and ease of access to the ignition system w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver's side door made abnormal popping sounds while being opened, and all four windows failed to roll down. The front driver's side door later failed to open. The contact entered the vehicle through the front passenger's side door and climbed over to the front driver's side seat to operate the vehicle. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2021
Caught on fire. Started under passager floor board. Burnt completely up
Fire
Incident date: Oct 3, 2021
Car was traveling down the road at 45 miles an hour. The windshield cracked under normal driving conditions. Living in Iowa this would fall under the class action.
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. While the contact's mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shook excessively. The contact's mother stated that when she depressed the accelerator pedal the vehicle started shaking excessively. The contact stated that he contacted the dealer to inform them of the failure. The contact stated that the transmission clutch assembly had been replaced ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
The vehicle surges and hesitates when pressing on the gas. Several times I push on the gas and nothing really happens. Slow to move. Other times I push on the gas and it “bucks”. Like the turbo kicked in to max power all of a sudden. Almost lost control of the car a couple times. Once was on a mountain road. I am hesitant to drive it and even more so to let anyone else drive it. For fear of th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2023
It gives you a wrong message that your car is closed but actually no. And I got stuff stolen since this issue. First time close the door properly, but I can not lock it. I have to open it then close it again to lock it. video shows I uploaded the video in twitter [XXX] I can not upload a video in the below upload files area, so plz contact me to let me send the email if you can not see it on t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Problem #1- I had to replace the ABS module and HCU on this truck at about 10k miles. (this was completed under warranty). Then at 50k miles truck was diagnosed with the same problem. I had to pay out of pocket for this repair. I ordered these parts from the dealer in November 2021, and they did not get me in until August 19, 2023. I had to pay ($1152.33). This is very dangerous when it has this e... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
We have owned this car for a week and we have experienced unwarranted automatic breaking and rapid deceleration 1or 2 times on 5 out of the 7 days of driving. We are now considering returning the car due to overall safety concerns.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
I was sold a car with 1 unprepared safety recall and 22 technical service bulletins. In addition to was previously salvaged sue to collision, hail, flood and fire. The vehicle also was a 2019 made into a 2018. When the ecm was reprogrammed the new vin was wiped clean and altered. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
I was sold a car with 1 unprepared safety recall and 22 technical service bulletins. In addition to was previously salvaged sue to collision, hail, flood and fire. The vehicle also was a 2019 made into a 2018. When the ecm was reprogrammed the new vin was wiped clean and altered. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
Suspension lateral links attached to subframe became loose causing the lateral links to separate from the sub-frame. Wheel alignment shifted causing instability, which adversely impacted vehicle controllability and nearly caused a collision while driving. Problem was inspected, reproduced, and confirmed by the dealer/manufacturer/service center. Before the failure occurred, the primary symptoms ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
Hello, I'm not sure if this is something that you would handle or not. My husband and I have a Hyundai Santa Fe (husband-2015, Mine - 2013). We both bought the vehicles used and haven't had any major problems until about a year ago when both of our vehicles started drinking motor oil like people drink water. We don't have any signs of a leak anywhere. We had taken it to the Hyundai Dealerships and... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
Hello, I'm not sure if this is something that you would handle or not. My husband and I have a Hyundai Santa Fe (husband-2015, Mine - 2013). We both bought the vehicles used and haven't had any major problems until about a year ago when both of our vehicles started drinking motor oil like people drink water. We don't have any signs of a leak anywhere. We had taken it to the Hyundai Dealerships and... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2023
We heard a very loud gunshot noise on 2023-10-20 while traveling on the I40 during a weekend road trip. We immediately got off the upcoming exit to inspect the tires for a blowout and other vehicle issues, however no issues were seen. No 18 wheelers or construction vehicles were near us at the time of the event. Later on we kept hearing a rattling sound that was baffling. The shattered moonroof... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Loss of steering power while driving on the highway. Came out of nowhere
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
I took my wife to a doctors appointment and upon going back into the car to drive off the steering wheel became VERY stiff. I had to use a considerable amount of force to move the wheel. My wife couldn't move the steering wheel at all. Some errors appeared on the screen 'Power steering reduced', and UI_a020 Steering assist is disabled. Ultimately had to call Tesla and they had to tow it away to a ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Earlier this morning, while driving in stop-and-go traffic, I attempted to accelerate once traffic ahead of me had cleared. There was no car, obstruction, etc., in front of my car for at least one car length, if not more. As I accelerated, the CMBS system suddenly kicked in, flashing BRAKE on my dash and applying the brake. My car came to a complete stop. Luckily, the person behind me had started ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
Earlier this morning, while driving in stop-and-go traffic, I attempted to accelerate once traffic ahead of me had cleared. There was no car, obstruction, etc., in front of my car for at least one car length, if not more. As I accelerated, the CMBS system suddenly kicked in, flashing BRAKE on my dash and applying the brake. My car came to a complete stop. Luckily, the person behind me had started ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2023
In July 2023, my 2016 BMW 328i sedan with N26 engine began emitting a large plume of smoke for 15-30 seconds from the exhaust after a cold startup. I identified the following recalls which described the same situation as mine (SI B11 11 16 and SI B11 17 16) but was informed by the local BMW dealership my VIN was ineligible for both. In early October 2023, I brought my car to a local repair shop, w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
I have a 2015 Honda CRV and approximately 18-24 months ago the battery went dead and I took it to the Honda dealer. They checked the battery and said it was fine. I thought perhaps I left my lights on. A short time later, the battery went dead again. I took it back to the same dealer (February 19, 2022) and they gave me a new battery. A short time later, the battery went dead yet again. I ret... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Twice the truck has randomly activated the front collision emergency braking system. One time was going around a turn and it activated, put the steering wheel straight and I almost tboned another car. Another time I was going straight nothing in front of me and it activated almost causing me to be rear ended.
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
I received a letter from FCA concerning recall 97A NHTSA recall 23V-654 and the directions for the recall suggest that I can do an OTA update or as the video linked in the recall suggest a download from [XXX] to correct this issue. I cannot get either resource to work to correct this issue described in the recall. This website and OTA updates for issues is a known problem with FCA products and ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
I received a letter from FCA concerning recall 97A NHTSA recall 23V-654 and the directions for the recall suggest that I can do an OTA update or as the video linked in the recall suggest a download from [XXX] to correct this issue. I cannot get either resource to work to correct this issue described in the recall. This website and OTA updates for issues is a known problem with FCA products and ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
While traveling on an open highway with no obstructions, the vehicle applied the brakes very hard causing all passengers to slide forward in their seats activating the seat belt locks. All cargo became airborne and flew forward. Had a car been following, it is highly likely that we would have been rear ended.
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH exiting his driveway, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and park the vehicle back in his driveway. The contact stated that when he turned the vehicle off, the vehicle did restart but would not remain running. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed wit... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Lincoln MKC. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V378000 (Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part 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 awar... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
My door sounds like it is going to fall off. It is making a very loud popping noise when I open it the whole way.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Windshield cracked for no apparent reason.
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the electronic brake control unit warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the ABS was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 21,000.
Incident date: Jul 16, 2023
When I drive a Tesla Model Y under Self-Driving mode at night inside YellowStone NP, there is another car on the opposite side with a high beam turned on, and just near that car there is a bison on the road, the Self-Driving computer fails to detect the bison in the beginning, and too late to do emergency break, the car hit the bison after passing that car. The bison died but driver is safe, the f... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 16, 2023
Ford Motor Company David J. Johnson Service Engineering Operations He sent Customer Satisfaction Program [XXX] on November 19, 2021, to all U.S. Ford and Lincoln Dealers. This program extended the warranty coverage of the engine cam phasers. I purchased my vehicle on 11/22/21. It is my belief that this repair should have been covered by Ford/Lincoln before this vehicle was sold to me. We purc... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine, traction control, and 4WD drive warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring for approximately two months. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure and a service appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repair... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
I was turning at low speeds and my power steering kept going out temporarily causing my steering wheel to jerk abruptly. While this was happening the dash lights and radio all went blank, turning on and off. Huge safety concern.