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: Aug 26, 2023
Using the self parking feature, the vehicle had controlled itself, with my intervention when prompted. It had backed up perpendicular into the parking space, miscalculated the parking job and smashed the side mirror into a nearby trucks mirror. It had then began to speed up to what felt like about 15 or 20 mph, with no time to react or brake, and smashed into the concrete pole behind us. The autom... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
I own a 2015 Ford Edge 4 door SEL with 76k miles which I purchased in 2017 as the second owner. The dealership sold me 5 new lug nuts due to swollen original lug nuts. One lug nut cap were damaged during routine removal to replace an 8 yr old failing tire pressure sensor. I was told the lugs were swollen and had to be replaced. This seemed OBSURD. I researched this to find out that the OBSURD... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2023
Vehicle caught on fire while inside home @ 4:00am cst. Fire department and police department were at the scene as well. Fire department was forced to pry open the trunk to stop fire from spreading. Police gave police report at the scene due to the incident. State Farm is involved as well as the investigation team currently. State Farm insurance informed me to provide this information.
Fire
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Expedition. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V648000 (Visibility, Electrical System) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the recall repair was completed. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and turning the fan on high speed, the entire vehicle vibrated, including the steering wheel and the floorboard. The dealer was... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
Upon starting car, and attempting to shift, display showed "Conditions Not Correct for Shift". Required turning off car, opening driver door, waiting for displays to turn off, then restarting car before shifting into any gear was possible
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
Driving on I-5 North from Los Angeles to San Francisco with adaptive cruise control activated. Suddenly and without warning car activates emergency braking as if it sees an obstruction on the road but obviously road was clear of any obstructions. This happened 4 times then I finally decided to no longer use cruise control. This happened on a clear sunny day around noon time 9/8/23.
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
Engine coolant bypass. Apparently this is a MAJOR, common and CONSISTENT issue that is extremely dangerous! I’m not sure why this hasn’t been recalled yet. please please PLEASE provide us with some information
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
I petition into USA to request COMPANY TOYOTA AVALON to should be recall AIRBAG , because in the time our car was involve accident Airbag to did not open , after some day the light AIRBAG appear , it is mean AIRBAG none good , All picture our car were damage I submitted into DMV Our car TOYOTA AVALON 2001 Vin [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] I contact COMPANY TOYOTA in USA For complaint , and to r... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
Power steering went out while backing out of a parking spot and warning popped up on dash with power steering fault and making the wheel super stiff and hard to turn
Incident date: Aug 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V581000 (Steering) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel started to shake. The power steering warning light and the collision warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the deal... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V668000 (Seat Belts, Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not 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 h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2023
vehicle would not drive pass 20mph, would not switch to manual mode , code p0720, p0500 v
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
I drive it from Gilbert Az to San Diego California The car lost power all of sudden Almost killed with my family I left at dealer in California and went back to Gilbert Arizona No diagnosis yet by dealer But I suspect gas pump failure Reported on Internet that Cadillac Recalled some 2021 Escalade For gas pump failure But there is no recall on my car It is now at Simpson GMC Cadillac dealer ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
I drive it from Gilbert Az to San Diego California The car lost power all of sudden Almost killed with my family I left at dealer in California and went back to Gilbert Arizona No diagnosis yet by dealer But I suspect gas pump failure Reported on Internet that Cadillac Recalled some 2021 Escalade For gas pump failure But there is no recall on my car It is now at Simpson GMC Cadillac dealer ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The safety recall has been issued for a very long time with no resolution or option to fix. This is a major safety concern since it deals with the airbags and needs to find a resolution ASAP.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
We took our first long-disance trip (Albuquerque NM to Arlington TX, round trip) in our 2022 Tesla Model 3 and experienced multiple (4-5) phantom braking episodes to and from Arlington when engaging adaptive cruise control or autopilot. The car had been driven 5,760 miles before the trip. There were no warnings before the braking. The car was travelling at 70-77 mph on interstate highways and sudd... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
The vehicle had 67000 Aprox miles. The rack and pinion and the intermediate steering colum needed to be replaced. This was done before any accident.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Jeep Wrangler. The contact received recall notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V263000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. No warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted and confir... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2023
I was driving the speed limit on the thruway and my passenger side windshield outer trim flew off of my vehicle! It almost hit the vehicle behind me and cause myself and the vehicle behind me to swerve as it happened so suddenly it was startling.
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V544000 (Exterior Lighting), 23V413000 (Suspension) and 23V577000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the parts 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 repairs. The dealer was made aware of ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2023
Brand new vehicle, the vehicle cameras do not seem to be conveying the correct information to the control systems resulting in all related safety features like forward collision, parking assist, lane departure, automatic wipers, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, green light chime, etc are not working. In the last few months these features have not been operational for more than a few da... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2023
An ABS system that was designed to save other people. And your life is now not operating functionably. And putting me and other people in danger. Or else why would they have made it way back in the day? Receiving vehicle message of serve ABS braking system. Code C0020-01. Dodge knows of the issue and needs to recall and repair.
Incident date: Jun 24, 2023
I have a death wobble. Ball joints, sway arms replaced, wheels rotated and balanced and still has death wobble
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
Ok button on steering wheel got stuck in while driving and it turns off all anti collision systems.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
Ok button on steering wheel got stuck in while driving and it turns off all anti collision systems.
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
The windshield trim is detaching and won’t go back into place. I’m afraid it’s going to fly off why driving and cause a wreck behind me. I’ve read this is a known problem. I shouldn’t have to pay for a known design flaw.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
Many occurrences of phantom braking have occurred since I purchased the vehicle several months ago. I was driving on I-5 in California with the cruise control set at 70mph, then changed lanes from left lane to right lane with about 5-6 car links from the semi truck to the rear in the right lane. The emergency braking feature engaged with no vehicles in front of me in either lane for at least 500 y... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? On July 28, 2023, while travelling Northbound on Hwy 287 N, the engine brake automatically engaged without depressing the brake pedal or decelerating. Prior to this, there was no indication of any problem. No messages or warning lights appeared. I notified Karl Klement Dodge in Decatur Texas to i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The Service Stabilitrak light came on at the same time as the check engine light. When this happened the first time I had it checked, it gave the Code P1101. I payed to having the Massive air flow sensor fix, than a few days after having massive air flow sensor replaced.The Service Stabilitrak and engine light came back on. The engine started to misfire I took it back to the car dealer shop and I ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 1976
Recently on a trip between Wichita Falls and Quanah Texas, my Tesla Model 3 while on autopilot repeatedly braked hard while traveling at 75 mph in moderate traffic. While this is a frequent occurrence with my model 3, this is the first time I felt at risk of an accident due to how hard the vehicle was breaking.
Incident date: Feb 7, 1976
This is the 3rd time in 2 months that the engine just shut off driving on a highway. I have noticed that it happens if I have driving on a highway for 2 hours or more. The car does not show any sign of issues and does not have any code or check engine light. All of a sudden the engine shuts down and it loses all power, power steering does not work, and brake does not work. It makes for very danger... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 1976
The audio in the truck increased to maximum volume on its own- without user/driver input. The only way to reset the radio is to pull over, shut off the truck, and open the door. This is extremely hazardous and distracting while operating the vehicle. It is an urgent safety concern for the driver and all passengers, as well as other vehicles.
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
My 2024 Honda HR-V has a jerky steering problem when I drive on the freeway is when it happens a lot specially when going in a curve. When my steering wheel gets stuck it causes my Honda to swerve and its dangerous because I don't want to hit a car next to me. I took it to the Honda dealer 3x and they keep telling me nothing is wrong.
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
Airbag did not deploy / system failed at the time of the car accident happens. My safety was at risked during the time of accident. There were no indications, warning, messages or symptoms of the problems when the accident occurred.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
Twice within one month my Corolla experienced Sudden Unintended Acceleration. The first time I had just entered the parking lot of my local Star Market. I stopped for a man in the crosswalk and was just about to ease off the break when I saw a woman approaching the crosswalk so I stayed on my break. Suddenty the car revved up and went forward. I think it was so loud the woman heard it and... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
Transmission failure at high speed on the freeway during a non shifting period. Transmission automatically downshifted to 3rd gear at speed on freeway and would not reengage properly to higher gears resulting in immediate red line and sudden slow down in free flowing freeway traffic
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
1. When vehicle is on autopilot mode. Vehicle will all a sudden brake by itself with no reason as to why, no cars in front of me intermitly. Mostly happens when driving at highway speeds and when approaching a overpass. 2. Could be crash from the rear. 3. Have not notified Tesla. 4. No inspections have been performed 5. No warnings and no beeping either just brakes by itself intermitly.
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
While driving the vehicle, the car will stall without any warning. The oil light will display, as well as the check engine light, but only after the car shuts down and is not operational. This has occurred at least 4-5 times in the past year or so, the most recent 2 weeks ago. The stalls occur while the vehicle is in motion, and there is no prior warning given. The car has been hooked up to a co... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
While driving the vehicle, the car will stall without any warning. The oil light will display, as well as the check engine light, but only after the car shuts down and is not operational. This has occurred at least 4-5 times in the past year or so, the most recent 2 weeks ago. The stalls occur while the vehicle is in motion, and there is no prior warning given. The car has been hooked up to a co... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
While driving with my wife and kids, on the highway, in the rain a warning message was displayed. The warning stated: steering malfunction, please stop the vehicle!. At which point the power steering locked-up & the engine powered down. As a result, I was unable to steer the vehicle. Thankfully, I was able to “muscle” the car off the highway and onto a secondary roadway. Vehicle was towed. Wit... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
Our ford escape has been leaking coolant excessively and is experiencing intermittent over-heating of the cylinder head. Ford has a recall for this matter however our local ford dealership refuses to service our vehicle, there are also two other recalls that they are refusing to acknowledge.
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
Our ford escape has been leaking coolant excessively and is experiencing intermittent over-heating of the cylinder head. Ford has a recall for this matter however our local ford dealership refuses to service our vehicle, there are also two other recalls that they are refusing to acknowledge.
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
Changed out the battery and now my windows and lights and locks are not working
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Vehicle Fire - model y performance 2021, XXXXXXXXXXX Dear Tesla Customer Relations & CarMax, I am writing to express my deep concern and file a formal complaint regarding a serious incident involving my Tesla [model y performance ,, 2021, XXXXXXXXXXXXX], which caught fire on August 1st 2023 while in operation. This incident has raised significant safety concer... Read more
Fire
1 deaths
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
This is absolully manufacture design error, it might causing accident day and night to anyone who drive Mercedes Benz S-class what I see it, I had really nightmare in New York city when rainy night, because I can not see side mirror when I need see it, only I can get a refection on side mirror, especially rainy dark night in the city when street lights is reflected from air vent to side mirror and... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
The right side started clicking out of no where when I turn the steering wheel
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel, there was an abnormal sound coming from the front end near the tires and wheel wells. There was a vibration in the front end of the vehicle while driving. The Autopilot feature became inoperable. The "Autopilot camera unavailable" message was displayed. While driving, the instrument cluster went dark. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
I was making a right turn, I pressed the gas and turned my wheel right to make the turn and the steering wheel then locked and I couldn’t straighten it out and ended up driving over the sidewalk and crashing into a building. My car was totaled and I went to the hospital due to airbag burns. My insurance picked up the car and it is available to be inspected.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
Keep getting an intermittent ABS failure / check brake system light, which also turns off the cruise control. Ram says may need replacement of hydraulic control unit, but no parts available.
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
ABS warning light goes on and off at intermittent times. Message says service ABS brake system. This truck has not been inspected yet but there is a class action lawsuit and NHTSA investigation on-going for this problem.