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: Jul 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact started the vehicle and turned on the defroster. The contact heard a loud boom and became aware that the rear windshield had shattered. No one was injured. The dealer was contacted and stated that they were aware of similar failures however, there was no recall associated with the failure. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
While driving at highway speeds with the cruise control engaged we have experienced several ghost braking events. Fortunately no other cars have been behind us.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
my 2017 Tucson started using more oil between oil changes back in January/Feb of this year (2023). I took it to the Hyundai dealership I purchased it from & they performed an 'oil test' on it @ that time. It past the test & they told me everything was fine. On Good Friday 4/7/23 I had an oil change, again was told everything looked good & was fine. On Friday 5/12/23 (5 weeks to the day)I was o... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
My 2017 Kia forte with less than 100,000 miles on it started stalling and consuming excess amounts of oil. I was still paying on it. I made sure to keep oil in my car and always did my oil changes. No receipts for those because my father changed my oil for me. One day it stalled on the highway out of nowhere. It stopped stalling and nobody could figure out why it had done that even when taken into... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
PHANTOM BRAKING issue at highway speeds with autopilot engaged. The car will harshly start braking suddenly on highway to a near complete stop.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
Both front head lights (low lights) are very dim; right headlight may require re-wiring due to constant burning out of head light (low lights) and turning signal light. Measures have been taken by owner to address the situation by careful step-wise cleaning of headlight covers. After cleaning of headlight covers, there was significant fogginess still noted as having a film like appearance. This ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
Phantom braking continues to be a problem. I've never had it happen in the city or in traffic. I also owned a 2015 Tesla MS that NEVER had a phantom braking problem. For me PB has always occurred on a freeway with no traffic around at all. No overpass involved. Suddenly TACC thinks it must apply the brakes. Surely at least Tesla could log this kind of event and fix it. It's aggravating for me as ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Windshield randomly cracked while parked. There was no hit to the windshield that was detected. Crack runs down middle of windshield.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
2012 Tundra faced a lot of problems like air injection pump failures, sticking of secondary air pumps, knock, along with other issues like speed control, engine cooling, and throttle failure. At present, it has been slapped with 136 complaints, 4 recalls, and 1 investigation as recorded on NHTSA site.Sep 2, 2022
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
bought a 2017 ford edge 3 months later (2.0 engine) my car starts to overheat, white smoke. I Have it taken in to be looked at to get a bill for 8500 if i want it fixed. The car was also not safteyed. Ford has known issues with this just trying to bring awarness so many people having to go without a car for trusting ford and they are not fixing this issue with there 2.0 eco engines
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
1) Horn is hazardous. Small 1/4" area hard to locate and activate. Impossible to locate when steering. 2) Turn indicators is hazardous. Hard to locate. Impossible to locate when steering. 3) front parking sensors do not work, 4) rear parking sensors do not work, 5) active lane departure warning does not work, 6) forward collision mitigation does not work, 7) rear collision warning does not work, ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
The driver seat's manual door opening latch does not open the door. That means in case of battery failure, fire or accident ( when the car 's battery is not working) driver cannot get out of the car from driver's seat. And from the design there is no manual door opening function in the back seats.
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
The doors close securely with the keys inside. We had to call the police, since my 1-year-old baby was locked inside the vehicle and the app did not work for me.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
While I am driving the vehicle at the posted speed limit it will suddenly down shift into first gear. This causes the vehicle to decelerate quickly and unexpectedly. Fortunately this has happened while driving in the city at 30mph and not while I was driving on the freeway at 70mph as it may have caused a loss of control. The vehicle is not being operated at this time due to malfunction happening ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
Distracting pop up advertisements for Sirius XM keep popping up on my info screen with no clear way to disable. Dangerous distraction.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, he noticed an abnormal clicking sound. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the braking system was inoperable. The contact stated that the brakes engaged intermittently while depressing the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed and replace... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
The contact's stepson owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while his stepson was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The driver was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall. The dealer... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2022
On 6/23/23, my wife was driving on a street & was changing lanes (from left to right) when the driver-side rear tire suddenly ruptured. She heard a loud pop coming from the tire and immediately scanned for a car impact or debris on the road—but neither was present. The vehicles within her proximity yielded to allow her to pull out of the street and into a safe parking lot. Since our children wer... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Torn bracket holding very rear door in place
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Issue with unlocked driver's door after the collision reported on 6/25/23 # 11528724 Additional concern: After the accident, my car engine was not turned off automatically; even after automatic speaker announced collision and that 911 was informed. After I got out of the car ( # 1152874) I was standing by the car, drivers door I left opened and at one point I realized that my car was... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 29, 2023
Vehicle began hard braking using the collision avoidance system when there were no other vehicles or obstacles on the road. Then the vehicle safety systems (adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, collision mitigation braking system and road departure mitigation system and brake system) all began displaying warning messages. The car only has 1600 miles. The dealer inspected and states ... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
Vehicle began hard braking using the collision avoidance system when there were no other vehicles or obstacles on the road. Then the vehicle safety systems (adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, collision mitigation braking system and road departure mitigation system and brake system) all began displaying warning messages. The car only has 1600 miles. The dealer inspected and states ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
Subaru Safety Recall WRG-22 (NHTSA ID 22V-624) regarding inadequate front halogen headlamp lighting went out October 2022. This critical recall remains unresolved approaching 9 months now. No excuse for this. Why is this still unrevolved?
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
Issues: Sunroof leaks heavily: during the rain and in car washes, into the backseat, which is ruined now from the constant leaking this past winter 2022-23 *Sunroof replaced 3/2023 Continues to leak heavily Weather Strips: Doors lacking weather strips, or the weather strips are so loose and loosely connected, it serves very little purpose, i.e., the seal attaches loosely to widely spread inte... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the vehicle performed as designed; however, the vehicle failed to restart. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Nu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
Sometimes, the batteries trip while charging and don’t recharge, don’t charge at the expected speeds, or only charge partially. Recently, when charging at home all night and plugged into our Level 2 charger, I find find that the car has not charged at all overnight.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
Phantom braking in autopilot. Traveling at 75mph with traffic behind, fortunately the car behind was not following closely. No warning message beforehand, just happened very suddenly with no obstructions in sight. Weather was clear and sunny, no traffic in front. Two minutes later, the car completely ignored a deer standing on the hard shoulder!
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
Electronic power steering goes out randomly while driving highway speeds. Traction control light and ESC light go on when this happens.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while the transmission was shifted into park(P), the contact turned off the vehicle; however, the instrument panel and radio remained operational. The contact restarted and then turned off the vehicle a second time to correct the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The man... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
THIS IS ON RECAL SB-20-31-006 R3. THE BALL JOINT OF MY TESLA MODEL 3. SQUEAKS/CREAKING, WHEN I TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, WHEN I DRIVE SLOW, DRIVE FAST, HIT ANY BUMP, TURN. THE NOISE HAS GOTTEN LOUDER. I WAS TOLD BY TESLA TAHT MY CAR DOES NOT QUALIFY UNDER THE RECAL DUE TO MY VIN#. REQUESTING ASSISTANCE TO GET THIS FIXED.
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that after refueling, the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic several times; however, the failure recurred after each visit. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
Both air bags deployed for no reason driver and passenger
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
I was driving using "auto-pilot" for speed control while going 70mph my vehicle randomly braked hard for no reason (maybe a cloud shadow) causing the vehicle behind me to swerve into the shoulder. I just bought the car 3 weeks ago and am very disappointed that the vehicle doesn't come standard with cruise control that won't cause accidents. This is a recurring issue with using autopilot in my ve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
Transmission failure. Car has been losing power, slowly getting worse with episodes of near stalling when stepping on gas from a stop. No engine warning lights . When pulling out in heavy traffic, car would nearly stall. Scary and dangerous. I finally took car to Nissan dealer where I purchased the car and they immediately diagnosed transmission failure. At that point, I had 143,209 miles af... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
My car has flashed its automatic brake warning and initialized automatic brakes several times in my 10 months of ownership. This has happened when there has been no obstructions around the car. The car will beep, flash and brake in less than a second and will continue to brake for a second or 2. The car does not completely stop but it is jarring and could be dangerous if there was a car behind me... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
On every trip in my 2023 Model Y there is phantom braking for no reason with no cars in front of or around me. It happens on the highway on perfectly clear days, with no hills, no signs, no shadows or bridges, with no cars in front of me or behind me on completely straight roads in addition to happening when there are other vehicles around. I will be traveling at highway speeds and the car slows e... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
This is a white Lexus, and the paint on the roof has a manufacture defect. It is chipping and peeling.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
Recall Z48 service was performed 02/09/23. Fox Jeep invoice #556304. Facility mechanic confirmed issue was present prior to performing recall as the brake lights remained on for several minutes after parking, shutting off, and exiting vehicle. Recall Z48 PCM update was completed. Vehicle continues to exhibit same issue with brake lights remaining on for several minutes after vehicle is p... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
My new model y has caused numbness and tingling in both myself and passengers of my car while driving. Tesla has stated nothing is wrong with the car. It injures me every time i drive it. they forced me to take the car back and return my model y loaner car. The loaner vehicle caused no issues at all.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
My new model y has caused numbness and tingling in both myself and passengers of my car while driving. Tesla has stated nothing is wrong with the car. It injures me every time i drive it. they forced me to take the car back and return my model y loaner car. The loaner vehicle caused no issues at all.
Incident date: May 29, 2023
when You fill up the car. gas leaks to the ground. I culd smell the fumes coming out of my home heater vents in My bedroom. I went to the garage and the fumes were very strong. I open both garage doors a nd the man door. then worried about a explosion,Gas water heater is in the garaaage. But I got into the car and drove it out to the driveway! I bought the used car from Cathedral city Lexus dealer... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
New car LED headlights both reflector based and focus beam are overly bright and cause a great deal of blinding glare at night and during low light conditions. The intensity combined with the white color of the LED headlights is a saftey hazzard.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
Multiple moments of phantom braking 15+ times TODAY driving from North Platte, NE to Havelock, IA on cruise or auto pilot. Extremely dangerous, could've caused pile ups/rear end collisions. Screen would 50% of the time show a semi or vehicle in front of me when nothing was there. I tried cleaning the windshield, thought it helped for a bit then it happened again. This happened on both interstate d... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
The suit also says the lifters in affected engines were installed in an incorrect position in the lifter guide and do not always conform to design specifications. Plaintiffs claim their vehicles needed frequent valvetrain maintenance, including “more frequent oil changes, engine flushing and cleaning and/or replacing the valve lifter oil manifold and its filter at regular intervals.”
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
The suit also says the lifters in affected engines were installed in an incorrect position in the lifter guide and do not always conform to design specifications. Plaintiffs claim their vehicles needed frequent valvetrain maintenance, including “more frequent oil changes, engine flushing and cleaning and/or replacing the valve lifter oil manifold and its filter at regular intervals.”
Incident date: May 20, 2023
On a trip to Prescott, AZ and back to Los Angeles, I encountered the following problem about 5 separate times. While driving at freeway speeds (70-80mph), the car suddenly and violently, without warning, applied the brakes vary hard (with no input from me). This threw me forward while the car continued to decelerate. In one instance, there was a class C motorhome traveling behind me fairly close... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2023
I had a new Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) replaced with the new style that Ram expedited for me. This new unit gave me the ABS / TC Lights on my dash. Took it back to "2" different garages, they both confirmed that the pump was not being activated. Which means the 2nd HCU was a bad part! Ram / Fiat is fully aware of this problem! This needs to turn into a Class Action lawsuit! They are still... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2023
The brakes become stiff at low speeds especially when used frequently like stop or go traffic. The brakes will become stiff then unresponsive followed by a jolting grab by the breaks. There have been a few close calls parking and rolling to a stop and having the breaks being unresponsive. the problem is recurring and intermittent.
Incident date: Jun 24, 2023
When stopped at a red light or in traffic, (on many occasions), my car will suddenly surge and accelerate. It's leads no many near rear end collisions. Sometimes it leads up to my engine stalling. Also have shuddering (like it wants to die) when driving on freeway. The re has been to many incidents to keep track of.