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: Dec 21, 2023
Car won’t turn off. Frequent shift to park messages when already in park. This appears to be common known problem and should be recalled immediately.
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Battery charge, over heated, failed power train, and failed 4x4 happened all within seconds of each other. We were on a 2 lane hwy where there was very little room to pull off the main road. It was Christmas Eve and we were about 60 miles from home. We had to pay around $400 dollars to have it towed home and it was freezing outside while we waited.
Incident date: Dec 25, 2023
The transmission has failed in less than 150,000 miles. I was driving in traffic and lost gears. I stopped and tried to get back going and I was stuck being a traffic hazard to the other motorist. I talked to a local transmission shop and he stated that the 2014-2016 Silverados are known for transmission problems even when they were new. He’s rebuilt hundreds of them and Chevrolet should ha... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2023
2014 low beams became dim. I changed out the bulbs for new ones and still cannot drive my vehicle at night. The SRX website states this is a known Cadillac SRX problem but there is no fix except to replace the lights with the same defective lights
Incident date: Dec 25, 2023
this vehicle upon heavy rain/downpours the vehicle foward collision sensors may activate and cause sudden dangrous and potentially life threatening braking. one day it was raining very bad i was alone on the road going about 45 mph. the storm caused a really bad downpours and the car suddenly braked hard with no reason whatsoever. it only happens when it rains severely. im not the only person who ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
Lifter failure is causing metal shavings from the cam to fall into the engine block and cause the engine to fail. This is a known problem with these cars and nothing is being done about it by the manufacturer.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
Drive train malfunction came on and veh started to act very different like check engine lights and a lack of power !!! had it sent back to the dealer they switch #4 coil pack to # 5 and the code cleared . Then about 1500 miles later the same thing happen ,so I changed plugs& wires and still the same thing happen again so then I received a P0100 code and P0172 so I changed the pcv and both Ma... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
Drive train malfunction came on and veh started to act very different like check engine lights and a lack of power !!! had it sent back to the dealer they switch #4 coil pack to # 5 and the code cleared . Then about 1500 miles later the same thing happen ,so I changed plugs& wires and still the same thing happen again so then I received a P0100 code and P0172 so I changed the pcv and both Ma... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
This car has about 9,000 miles on it and it now has issues with the steering wheel sticking and jerking when it gets above ~50mph. It feels difficult to keep between the lines on the highway because the steering is not functioning as it used to. So much that the car flagged a warning as “driver attention low” and recommended I take a break. My attention was incredibly high because of the steer... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
I am writing to you once again to emphasize and provide additional details regarding the critical safety issue I previously addressed concerning the Tesla Model X vehicles, which is similarly affecting Tesla Model S models. My personal experience underscores the severity of this problem: I have had to replace five tires due to accelerated inner wall wear. This specific wear pattern is a direct res... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
I am writing to you once again to emphasize and provide additional details regarding the critical safety issue I previously addressed concerning the Tesla Model X vehicles, which is similarly affecting Tesla Model S models. My personal experience underscores the severity of this problem: I have had to replace five tires due to accelerated inner wall wear. This specific wear pattern is a direct res... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
You absolutely can not pull out in traffic because the car has a horrible lag, it’s as if it stalls at initial acceleration. Whether it’s pulling out of a side street, setting off from a stop light, or occasionally while already moving and speeding up. When stepping on the vehicle’s accelerator pedal, there was a lag of around five seconds or so before the vehicle started to accelerate at al... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
You absolutely can not pull out in traffic because the car has a horrible lag, it’s as if it stalls at initial acceleration. Whether it’s pulling out of a side street, setting off from a stop light, or occasionally while already moving and speeding up. When stepping on the vehicle’s accelerator pedal, there was a lag of around five seconds or so before the vehicle started to accelerate at al... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
You absolutely can not pull out in traffic because the car has a horrible lag, it’s as if it stalls at initial acceleration. Whether it’s pulling out of a side street, setting off from a stop light, or occasionally while already moving and speeding up. When stepping on the vehicle’s accelerator pedal, there was a lag of around five seconds or so before the vehicle started to accelerate at al... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
Seat belt sensor went off. Took vehicle to Tesla and was charged for a replacement of the seat buckle that you place the seat belt in. This should be a safety hazard and should not be a charge to replace a safety seat buckle. I have an invoice of the work done and what I paid to fix.
Incident date: Apr 23, 2023
Car shut down while driving in middle of highway couldn’t even get it to shoulder. Everything stopped. Would not restart. Took to Honda Dealer. “Reset” fuel pump. Said we were out of gas but there was still 1/8 tank. No other diagnosis. Very unsafe.
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
My car has been getting the P092 code with check engine light, it runs really rough, i have had many parts replaced at my expense when i know the model years 2018 and 2019 have been recalled, I am many others are having the same issues, is it going to take people dying on highways because their car just shuts off. My cat has been having the same issues reported in safety recall 19V497-6744. afte... Read more
Incident date: Dec 24, 2023
My husband was driving about 20mls per hrs when our truck cought fire the whole front of our truct cought fire. The front mirror and everything if distroit due to the fire .
Fire
Incident date: Dec 24, 2023
Check engine light came on. Authorized Dealer Advisor stated "vehicle may shut-off or not start." Took to Authorized Dealer. Dealer found Evap System Error Code P0499. Dealer replaced Evap Valve Harness Connector. Approximately 48hrs Check Engine Light came on again. Will schedule service with Authorized Dealer.
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
On many occasions, the backup camera on my 2017 Ram 3500 DOES NOT FUNCTION when placed in reverse. I had my vehicle serviced and the Dealer said no problem with the camera could be found, but they did check all of the connectors were OK. The problem usually happens on wet or high humidity days, but also occurs during nice weather at random times. When the problem occurs, the display just shows r... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
The Infotainment System linked pixel 6 phone freezes. The icons for selecting navigation or other feature freezes. The car has been taken to the dealership twice. Unfortunately, the issue still persists. To resolve, the phone needs to be disconnected and reconnected multiple times for Android Auto icons to work properly. This can cause issues and risk when driving and need to change navigation i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
I received this notice of a safety recall for my 2012 Hyundai accent in late October. Hyundai stated that a remedy would be available in late November. Now it's late December, and I've heard nothing from Hyundai. This safety recall sounds urgent and incredibly dangerous; I don't feel safe driving or parking my vehicle anywhere because according to them, it can catch fire at any moment. Despite thi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2023
My HECU unit failed at only 61k miles. My car is a sedan not a coup, so Hyundai does not want to cover it under the recall. This is redicules, my safety is at steak
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
When there's a passenger sitting in the passenger seat, the car consistently fails to detect the passenger and the "AIRBAGS OFF" indicator remains on. I've brought the car in for service and Rivian says it's acting in normal parameters.
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
When there's a passenger sitting in the passenger seat, the car consistently fails to detect the passenger and the "AIRBAGS OFF" indicator remains on. I've brought the car in for service and Rivian says it's acting in normal parameters.
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while parked and the truck was opened, the truck closed on the child's head inadvertently. The contact stated that on another occasion while parked and the trunk was opened, the trunk closed inadvertently on her right middle, and ring fingers without sensing that an object was in the trunk's way. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. T... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while parked and the truck was opened, the truck closed on the child's head inadvertently. The contact stated that on another occasion while parked and the trunk was opened, the trunk closed inadvertently on her right middle, and ring fingers without sensing that an object was in the trunk's way. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. T... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer w... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
When driving at any speed, but particularly exceeding 40MPH, making minor adjustments to steering is sticky and requires excessive force to make the adjustment. When making the adjustment, the vehicle often makes an over-adjustment, and requires an over correction. This is particularly dangerous at highway speeds, where the problem occurs more frequently.
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the steering wheel assist braking system and other warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel injector had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle woul... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
Steering rack completely failed while driving. Causing steering to become unusable nearly causing a wreck putting everyone on the road at risk. Vehicle has less 80k miles and is driven occasionally. This was an issue on early models and seems to not have been fully fixed on this model either. Warning lamps require vehicle to pullover and stop.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 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 made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
My Civic SI has developed sticky steering while on the highway. When driving 70mph in a straight line I have to put increased effort into turning the steering wheel. It can cause over steer if putting to much effort into trying to turn.
Incident date: Jan 7, 2023
The first time I drove the truck was in stop-and-go traffic. I was behind a semi-truck that was slow rolling in traffic at four miles an hour with a forty-foot gap. I never felt as if the brakes should need to be applied. My new truck began slamming on the brakes for no reason, bringing me to a complete stop. This continued for several miles this was and is very dangerous the car behind me almost ... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
The "Check Antilock Brake" message appears on the dashboard. The vehicle has been inspected by a mechanic who confirmed that it is either the supplementary brake fluid pump, or the brake pump control unit. Because of the intermittent nature of the problem, the manufacturer requires replacement of both expensive parts, as they do not know the exact problem. Because of the issue, the following vehic... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
The "Check Antilock Brake" message appears on the dashboard. The vehicle has been inspected by a mechanic who confirmed that it is either the supplementary brake fluid pump, or the brake pump control unit. Because of the intermittent nature of the problem, the manufacturer requires replacement of both expensive parts, as they do not know the exact problem. Because of the issue, the following vehic... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
I have a 2017 Ford Edge with a 2.0 Ecoboost motor that was recently diagnosed (by Ford) as needing a new engine due to Coolant Intrusion into cylinder #4. The car has only 57,000 miles and is said to have a known manufacturing defect that causes this. Fortunately I reported this issue to the dealer before it got too severe; however I've been told that the car can catch on fire due to overheating ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
My daughter was driving on the highway and her oil light warning came on, followed by her car suddenly not allowing her to accelerate. This was followed by her check engine light coming on. She was able to make it to a Ford dealership in Lubbock, where they told her she needs a new engine. She seems to be one of many with similar issues. The vehicle has just over 80k miles.
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
The cast pistons in the turbo engine overheated and caused detonation which has disabled the engine. The extended warranty companies know about this possibility and specifically makes sure it is not covered.
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while reversing, he became aware that the rearview camera displayed a blurred image, severely compromising the back-over prevention system. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to slow the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed went to the floorboard and failed to come to a complete stop. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed that the brake fluid reservoir was empty. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Car has acceleration issues when making left turns, merging onto freeway, or passing cars on freeway. Transmission and blind spot light went on and we took car to Honda dealer. They could not find anything wrong, no codes were stored and they were not able to duplicate the issue. Scanned vehicle and unable to trace root cause. Updated TCM software which helped for about a month but acceleration i... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Car has acceleration issues when making left turns, merging onto freeway, or passing cars on freeway. Transmission and blind spot light went on and we took car to Honda dealer. They could not find anything wrong, no codes were stored and they were not able to duplicate the issue. Scanned vehicle and unable to trace root cause. Updated TCM software which helped for about a month but acceleration i... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
October 2017 I purchased a 2017 Hyundai Accent. During my very first month driving this car right bumper clip broke. As I was under warranty took car in complained to the dealership. A tech came out and basically wacked it back in place. So now I notice both left and right sides of bumper are off track. My son is a licensed mechanic. Before I took it back to dealership he had checked and said mom... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
To Whom It May Concern at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), I am writing to urgently express my concerns about the latest software update for the Tesla Model Y’s autopilot system, which, in my view, significantly compromises safety. As a Model Y owner for over two years, I have generally found the vehicle and its features to be reliable and safe. However, the recent up... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
Problemas con el sistema de precolosion falla del sensor el carro es inseguro e tenido 2 incidentes donde el sistema no responde ni se activa antes del impacto problemas con el motor, estabilidad del carro, conteo de velocidad, frenos, llantas, cruze de carriles, puntos ciegos
Crash
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
2017 Ram 3500 intermittently displayed service anti-lock brake system and service electronic braking system notifications on the dash display while parked and driving. A local dealer diagnosed the fault it as an ABS hydraulic controller/pump failure and stated the replacement part is on backorder with an unknown timeline for arrival. They have informed me that the truck may not perform braking saf... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
The ABS and traction control system in my 2014 Toyota Prius 4 are not functioning. They ABS light an the traction control lights are both on. I work in the automotive industry and I used a code reader to pull the codes and got a C1391 which is a brake booster and brake booster pump. That means either the brake booster has failed or the master cylinder is leaking. I contacted Gosche Toyota in H... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Recall still does not have a remedy from May. Promised a solution in October and then November but now there is still no remedy
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
This is concerning a recall. NHTSA recall No. 23V-734. Which can has a potential for vehicle fire. The remedy will not be available to mid 2024. This is a long time to drive a vehicle like this with such a high safety risk. I have reached out to Toyota and they have refused to do anything about it such as provide a loaner vehicle while they rectify the issue. My life and my families life is at ris... Read more