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: Sep 1, 2021
I can’t drive to back only to the from. When I did to back I listen is stocked.
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
On July 06, 2023, I took my wife's Ford Escape to Dick Masheter Ford for an oil change and tire rotation. It is the dealership that we bought the car new. The car is a 2015 and has only 44000 miles on it. The technician came over to the service representative so I knew there was a problem. They informed me that the wheel lug nuts had swollen and the parts department didn't have any lug nuts in sto... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
On 10Jul2023, approximately 1:00pm, while traveling southbound on Hwy 69, south of Toll Road 49 in Lindale, Texas, while driving in the right lane and speed set at 75mph, when all of a sudden the car activates the right blinker and - without slowing - pulls into a fairly short, dedicated right turn lane that turns into a business. At the end of the turn lane is a drainage culvert. The route of tra... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 45-55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the knock sensors were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a hole in the piston and there was no compression in the v... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
Six times on the interstate when we press on the gas it does nothing. The dealer told us it's in the software and was designed that way.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
N/a
Incident date: Jul 11, 2023
Automatic emergency braking has happened 3 times in the last 2 months without any reason. The 1st time there was a person who stepped off a side walk but I wasn’t to close to them. The last 2 times there was nothing around and all 3 times I was doing 40 or less. What happens if it happens doing 65+ on the highway. I’m worried this is going to cause someone to rear end me because it happens... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2023
I think the rear passenger suspension failed causing the car to veer right and hit two parked cars
Crash
Incident date: Jul 6, 2023
I have a 2014 Chevy Impala LTZ, owned it for 9 years. Just started with issues within the last 6months and it just seems to be getting worst everyday. While making a left turn, not even driving 5mph my power steering fails and the drivers side tires seem to lock up as if the car would be hydro planing. Once it happens the dashboard Alerts come on such as Stabilitrac, Traction Control, ABS, Service... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2023
I have a 2014 Chevy Impala LTZ, owned it for 9 years. Just started with issues within the last 6months and it just seems to be getting worst everyday. While making a left turn, not even driving 5mph my power steering fails and the drivers side tires seem to lock up as if the car would be hydro planing. Once it happens the dashboard Alerts come on such as Stabilitrac, Traction Control, ABS, Service... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
3 systems go out suddenly while driving and control becomes unstable. Return to dealer 2 times to have it "recalibrated" and it went back out within 3 days intermittently working and mostly failing. Dealer said it was do to calibration with the camera and 360 technology needing to be re-calibrated. The vehicle has never been in an accident.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
3 systems go out suddenly while driving and control becomes unstable. Return to dealer 2 times to have it "recalibrated" and it went back out within 3 days intermittently working and mostly failing. Dealer said it was do to calibration with the camera and 360 technology needing to be re-calibrated. The vehicle has never been in an accident.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
Hard braking on its own while using cruise control. Nearly rear-ended multiple times.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
The check engine light on my 2017 Honda CRV came on August 2022 and all safety features of my vehicle stopped working. I immediately took the car to my local Honda dealership. They claim the issue is due to faulty fuel injectors but refused to cover the cost to fix them under warranty even though it’s a known issue with this car and a couple of other Honda cars that use the same system. I’m re... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
The check engine light on my 2017 Honda CRV came on August 2022 and all safety features of my vehicle stopped working. I immediately took the car to my local Honda dealership. They claim the issue is due to faulty fuel injectors but refused to cover the cost to fix them under warranty even though it’s a known issue with this car and a couple of other Honda cars that use the same system. I’m re... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Maverick. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V594000 (Air Bags) and 23V38000 (Engine) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
I was driving on the highway and my car steering wheel became really tight and caused my car to drift in the right lane. The steering wheel locked up and became really stiff to turn. It has a faint burnt smell . I can not risk the chance of the car catching on fire with me and /or the kids in the car. I had to move into the shoulder on the highway I was about side swipe the car that was in the ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
Car will slip from drive to neutral while driving and when stopped. Need to shut car off numerous times to get it back into drive. Very dangerous when this happens on the highway
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
When I purchased the car back in 2018, I had extended warranty that was never added to my account. Went in for repairs and they were going to charge me $3000. I kept asking for my extend warranty. I found the emails from Tesla from 2018 and forward to Tesla. They finally added that I have extended warranty but they refuse to send me a copy of my agreement to see exactly what is covered. Thank you.
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
I was at a corner waiting for traffic to clear so I could make a turn left. When I started to accelerate the vehicle started to hesitate and continued. The on coming car had to slam on their brakes and swerve to avoid hitting my passenger side. Since that time I had found out there was a service bulletin relating to this problem. Honda Service Bulletin 17-040. This is my granddaughters car and now... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
When driving with foot on gas car starts to decrease in speed and pedal goes to floor but I lift foot off gas then put back on gas speed increases back to normal
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
Since early 2022 I have been having oil consumption tests done on my vehicle, after having an oil change and 2 months later, during my inspection, being told my oil is completely dry (no warning lights came on at all). There was an oil combustion done, which the dealer had to keep my car and put me into a rental (after me pressing the issue of a rental or loaner). I am now on my 2nd round of oil c... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2023
I have a 2019 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, and about two years after driving the car, I get a loud, very high-pitched/high-frequency screeching sound when getting in the vehicle coming from the speakers. It lasts about 10 seconds. It's so loud it hurts our ears. Upon contacting Toyota, they declined to repair the issue, and I discovered several other users have the same issue. It's loud and excruciat... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
I have a warning sign stating my air bag system on the passenger side is not working. Many drivers have reported this as an issue. Due to the fact that the car is no longer under warranty I am concerned if I get I to an accident and the air bags don’t deploy, my loved ones are in grave danger if they are in the passenger seat.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
My vehicle was scheduled to have Customer Satisfaction Program 19B37 completed which would have found that Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12 needed done and Corwin Ford of Reno pushed my service out by months causing those programs to expire. Due to that my now 5 yr old SUV with 66,634 miles needs a new engine per the diagnostic quote I received from the auto shop that Corwin Ford sent me to bec... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
My vehicle was scheduled to have Customer Satisfaction Program 19B37 completed which would have found that Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12 needed done and Corwin Ford of Reno pushed my service out by months causing those programs to expire. Due to that my now 5 yr old SUV with 66,634 miles needs a new engine per the diagnostic quote I received from the auto shop that Corwin Ford sent me to bec... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
Today, My 2012 Ford F150 would crank, but would never start. The vehicle had gas and no issues with the battery. When this occurred today, I found out online that the 2009-2014 Ford F150s have a common issue associated with Fuse 27. In 2015, Ford issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB 15-0137) related to this issue, but according to Ford’s Customer Service I was never informed of this TSB beca... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2023
Rear USB port was not working properly. Very first time an apple USB cable connected, it overheats and smokes and cable melts. Tried a second apple cable its also burnt. At the dealership tech reported high power output at the USB port. Dealer replaced USB port under warranty.
Incident date: May 7, 2023
I was driving normal speed on a highway and all of a sudden my speed slowed to 0 and I had to hurry and pull over fast. I was so scared and it was so dangerous. I took it to a shop and they said I need a new transmission. The car never indicated there was an issue prior to this incident.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
Engine failure, rocker arms broke into my timing chain, oil Consumption to where I had to put oil in every week. Now my vehicle has been in the shop for almost 2 months. Never had warning signs other than low oil
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
Starting around February 23 after about 10 minutes into driving. The hot temperature lamp would show up . I pull over an it was always empty of coolant I had done that few times within one week. I also didn’t use air conditioning for a few weeks left . An it was ok for few weeks. Then I noticed smoke coming out back pipes . Send to first reipair shop. They found Coolant in a combustion chamber... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
I was driving on the highway and the frunk came off breaking the front shield. The frunk was still showing as closed on the computer, but the screws came off releasing the frunk. Luckily I was able to react appropriately and move the car to the shoulder of the highway but the incident could’ve caused death. Visibility was zero as the front shield was obstructed by the open frunk
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
recall is extremely dangerous and I was informed very late. Was not given a rental for the time being. Difficult to find service immediately. Do not feel safe driving.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
recall is extremely dangerous and I was informed very late. Was not given a rental for the time being. Difficult to find service immediately. Do not feel safe driving.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
It started shutting off at a light for autostop.but when it would turn green it would intermittently just drop out of autostop without restarting. Then may start back up or maybe not, many time after restarting at the light it would died in the middle of the inspection. A parasitic draw kept killing the accessory 12 V battery replaced the 12 V battery but the problem continued. When the truck was ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 10, 2023
Automobile less than 1 year old w/ less than 14,000 miles has had the following service issues. Transmission Failure 06/28/2023 - Replacement of entire valve body Transmission Failure 07/06/2023 - Dealership claims entire transmission to be replaced. Mileage between failures was 334. No Accident or injury, but when a transmission fails with a family of 5 in the car, it is unsettling and unaccep... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
Hello, the vehicle needs new tires and the alignment is not working properly after going 60 MPH on the highway it shakes.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2023
Burning oil in the engine drastically
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
Auto acceleration(forward) caused while parking and crashed into fence and utilities. Requested TESLA to diagonalize the cause of auto acceleration. Tesla couldn't handle my request well and they canceled and delayed my request, finally, they rejected my request as the car was salvaged.
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
Scenario 1: Driving mid day in hot weather in desert highway with rolling hills and cruise control activated. Upon cresting a ridge with mirages the car slams on the brakes until the mirage dissipates. Also as another car approaches and its reflection is bounced back from the mirage in the road surface the car slams on the brake until the reflection shifts or the mirage dissipates. Scenario two: ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
My kia Sorento is severely peeling paint. it comes off in chunks. Since it has starting peeling above the passengers side door, it has not stopped. I saw that several other people have had this complaint and Kia has not fixed it yet. Kia will not agree to fix the paint job. My car has a SWP color on it and won’t stop peeling.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Phantom braking occurred 3 times over the span of several minutes while driving at highway speeds. The first two incidents occurred while utilizing Autosteer. The third time occurred while only using cruise control.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
Transmission locked up and almost got me hit my 2015 Versa note only has 67000 miles on it I’ve only had it 4 months and it’s not covered by warranty and even though I’m glad my kids were not in the car I’m not happy with the fact that the transmission issue is known but still being sold if I knew this was a possibility I would not have bought it
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
The engine does not always turn off when you press the start engine button. Although my vehicle is a 2016 Ford Escape it was most likely manufactured in 2015 and was manufactured in Lexington KY Ford has been unable to diagnose the problem although a recall already exists for the very same problem RECALL# 15V436000. Tallahassee FL Ford dealership is charging me for diagnostics (again) I have tak... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
When driving at the speed of 20 - 25 MPH the car feels like its skipping or struggling to shifting into the next higher gear. Then all of a sudden it feels like someone rams into the back of us. Then the car will not shift into the next. I took the car into Coconut Creek Automotive LLC. The car just sat there for almost 3 months. They tell me that they could not duplicate the problem. I spoke with... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
When driving at the speed of 20 - 25 MPH the car feels like its skipping or struggling to shifting into the next higher gear. Then all of a sudden it feels like someone rams into the back of us. Then the car will not shift into the next. I took the car into Coconut Creek Automotive LLC. The car just sat there for almost 3 months. They tell me that they could not duplicate the problem. I spoke with... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
Drove thru multiple states in spring and Tesla autopilot would come to abrupt sudden slow down without warning. Bad enough that I would disable the system and drive manually. This problem occurs regardless of one lane or two lane roads. With or without cars in front or behind me. Sunny or cloudy skies. Hot or cold. Straight or windy roads. With autopilot or even adaptive cruise control. I have no ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Drove thru multiple states in spring and Tesla autopilot would come to abrupt sudden slow down without warning. Bad enough that I would disable the system and drive manually. This problem occurs regardless of one lane or two lane roads. With or without cars in front or behind me. Sunny or cloudy skies. Hot or cold. Straight or windy roads. With autopilot or even adaptive cruise control. I have no ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Alternator started smoking almost cought on fire and PCM probably bad too due to alternator going out, me and wife got scared when we saw smoke coming out of underneath hood. Battery light turned on a few minutes before smoke started, but car didn't shut off