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: Aug 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 equipped with Kumho Tires, Tire Line: Road Venture TR, Tire Size: LT245/75/R16, DOT Number: H211YD5F1717. The contact stated that while he was cleaning the vehicle, he noticed that the front tires had pieces of tire rubber around the tire and that the tread was delaminating. The contact inspected the rear tires and noticed that there was prematur... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
My vehicle has been parked for the better of about two years due to head lamp failure and engine shutting off without warning at any particular time. Steps were made to fix the issue but the problem continues still to this day.
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
Oil started leaking from the car and checking underneath it looked as though it was leaking from the plug so i replaced the plug, which did not fix the issue, and accidentally forgot to put the gasket back on. took it to the local shop was given a gasket and an oil change. the car started leaking oil worse than before so i took the car back. The oil pan had a little over an inch long crack on the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
Driving vehicle at a low/medium rate of speed, and car completely shut off without warning. Check engine light appeared after restarting the vehicle. This is the second time this has happened to me since November 2022. I filed a report then as well. This car should not be allowed on the road and Audi should be forced to buy it back. The vehicle has less than 35,000 miles. Dealer has not confirmed ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated that upon retrieving the vehicle from the local dealer after a recall repair, the brakes were inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where a diagnostic test was completed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mile... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
RECALL dated June 09, 2022 NHTSA Recall Number 22V-406 VIN: [XXX] 2016 RAM 1500 EcoDiesel . It has been over one year since I received the recall notification. The part is still unavailable. This is a high risk problem, as the safety risk is "fuel starvation which may result in an unexpected loss of motive power, which can cause a vehicle to crash without prior warning." This is grossly unaccep... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
AS I was driving mr rv. down the road , the rear side window just fell off onto the roadway. I believe the window is made by lippert. On the rv forum there are a lot of people experiencing this same problem.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
WHEN GOT THE ESCAPE I WAS IN TENNESSEE ORDERED IT FROM TEXAS. FORD SALES MAN BROUGHT IT TO ME, BUT I DIDNT GET TO TEST DRIVE. GOT THERE AT NIGHT SIGN PAPERS THEN THE NEXT MORNING(FIRST TIME DRIVING) WAS DRIVING AND WHEN I STOPPED AT THE RED LIGHT, THEN ACCELERATED IT STARTED SHAKING THEN IT STOPPED. STILL DOES TILL THIS DAY EITHER WHEN ITS A FULL STOP OR GOING LIKE 30 ,70. THEY DIDNT TELL ME IT WA... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
WHEN GOT THE ESCAPE I WAS IN TENNESSEE ORDERED IT FROM TEXAS. FORD SALES MAN BROUGHT IT TO ME, BUT I DIDNT GET TO TEST DRIVE. GOT THERE AT NIGHT SIGN PAPERS THEN THE NEXT MORNING(FIRST TIME DRIVING) WAS DRIVING AND WHEN I STOPPED AT THE RED LIGHT, THEN ACCELERATED IT STARTED SHAKING THEN IT STOPPED. STILL DOES TILL THIS DAY EITHER WHEN ITS A FULL STOP OR GOING LIKE 30 ,70. THEY DIDNT TELL ME IT WA... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
Coolant leak from casting defect. Common issue.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
The brake lights stay on all the time, thus preventing vehicles behind mine from knowing if I'm actually stopping. Hence, they may stop without reason, and endanger drivers behind them. The manufacturer has likely known of this being an issue in Sonatas from, at least, 2007 through 2013 models. The manufacturer is putting the task of solving the problem (if that's even possible), upon a dealer. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
We have sent this in for recall repairs and Dodge either did not have the parts or said it would be weeks before they got the parts and we, as a company have had three dodge ram 5500's in the last week that have broken all the wheel studs off, snapped a single stud, or the the lug nuts have gotten loose even after torquing them to the newly recommended 129ft/lbs. We have 30 plus of these trucks an... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
We have sent this in for recall repairs and Dodge either did not have the parts or said it would be weeks before they got the parts and we, as a company have had three dodge ram 5500's in the last week that have broken all the wheel studs off, snapped a single stud, or the the lug nuts have gotten loose even after torquing them to the newly recommended 129ft/lbs. We have 30 plus of these trucks an... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while reversing out of a parking space, the vehicle jerked significantly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred on the second attempt to reverse. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence, where the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, bu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
When I turned my Ford Explorer on yesterday, the Power Steering Fault light came one. This has happened in the past, but when I shut off and restart my car, it has always reset and worked. But yesterday, it didn't reset. Besides the power steering, the Advance Trac light is also on. My blinkers will not stay engaged unless I hold the lever. I can't get in to the Ford Dealer for a month. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Frontier. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V067000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not mad... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
Tesla floor Mats are being held in place by small pieces of Velcro. These mats continually slide and get stuck under the pedals. Tesla has refused to address this common problem.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
This car is having tons of electrical issues. From wire malfunctions in the radio to the ORC module failing. All lights for air bags, abs breaks, check engine, and everything electrical are beeping and flashing. The air bags will not work if I get in an accident and I've read they can deploy at any time while I am driving! If you look online, Chrysler/Jeep has LOTS of ORC failure issues and have ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
The car stalls constantly and has been going on for years. Kia had claimed to have fixed the problem that they had fixed the problem however they never did because the car has been continuing to stop in the middle of the road. This car is very dangerous and it has no recalls on it. The catalytic converter is a problem and even though it has been a problem for Kia souls mine is not listed in the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
25AUG2023 At 75 mph multiple vehicle systems failed simultaneously and car lost power. Numerous codes were displayed on the dash in succession. Vehicle's loss of power slowed it rather quickly. Messages that I recall being displayed as the car lost power: TPMS; Brake System, Power Steering, Air bag; Vehicle Stability Assist, etc. Small video clip was taken during the event; however, due to obv... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
The window regulators of this vehicle break down and stop working consistently. The plastic wheel on the inside of the door panel warps and breaks after a few months of use/being replaced. The temperatures this summer have been close to or over 100 degrees on a daily basis. This is what makes this a safety issue. Windows on the vehicle are stuck in a down position and cannot be rolled back up.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
While driving the alternator failed. The battery also failed. Multiple instances at the dealer trying to repair.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
The radio screen is de-laminating, causing the radio to go haywire with constant ghost-touching. The radio screen controls most of the car, so besides the non-stop beeping being very distracting, it is giving dangerous commands to my car. It makes unwanted phone calls, including to SOS. It turns on the backup camera when I am on the interstate. It continues to beep when I am in reverse so I cannot... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
There are 3 recalls and one open on this car I was sold by a dealership, none of them ever fixed. I drive to work in the highway the car never had any warning light on but the RPMS would occasionally go up for no reason. I told the dealership the second day that it had issues , they took it and say they fixed the back brakes but did nothing about the engine or transmission whatsoever ever. This wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
My vehicle had check engine line was blinking and I took to the Honda. They immediately diagnosed the code as Cylinder 3 Misfire. Upon checking they identified the root cause is Piston ring needs to replace as oil was leaking in the cylinder. I was told that this can cause severe dame to vehicle and passenger as time engine can stop and cause the fire also. I was told that this issue is well known... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
Touchscreen entertainment system is malfunctioning, changing on it's own. It has called 911 on multiple occasions and the rear camera comes on while driving.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
I was driving on the highway with no one in front of me and not under any overpass or bridge when my sunroof exploded. It was a sunny day and there is no way anything struck the glass. The dealership is claiming outside sources caused the problem but there is no way. It spontaneously exploded.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the rear window suddenly shattered. There was no impact to the window to cause the window to be shattered. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
While merging onto the highway the car violently jerked itself into the left lane without warning, nearly causing me to collide with another car. Error messages about "driver assistance" appeared. All screens then went black and the car rebooted. It pulled away from the direction I was driving several more times on my way home, but less severely. 3 weeks earlier multiple systems failed and power ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
While merging onto the highway the car violently jerked itself into the left lane without warning, nearly causing me to collide with another car. Error messages about "driver assistance" appeared. All screens then went black and the car rebooted. It pulled away from the direction I was driving several more times on my way home, but less severely. 3 weeks earlier multiple systems failed and power ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz S550. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the message "SAFETY" was temporarily displayed on the instrument panel. Additionally, the contact stated while starting the vehicle on several occasions, the message " SAFETY " was displayed on the infotainment system screen. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the messages "Active Head Lamp Ino... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz S550. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the message "SAFETY" was temporarily displayed on the instrument panel. Additionally, the contact stated while starting the vehicle on several occasions, the message " SAFETY " was displayed on the infotainment system screen. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the messages "Active Head Lamp Ino... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the front driver’s side tire detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to the residence and then towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the independent mechanic was unable to duplica... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
2015 made C399 PVC change cost more than $1,000. Almost every driver has this issue.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
While driving the car threw a code for EPC and throttle became extremely un responsive. I had to limp to the side of the road and re start the car. The code is for “start/stop” this car has had many recalls and issues since I bought it. It feels extremely faulty.
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
When installing front-facing car seats for children in the 2nd row seats of the 2022 Tesla Model X, there is not a safe way to attach the tether strap. While there are LATCH anchors, and a place to attach the tether clip, the strap for the tether cannot pass under or over the fixed headrest, it must pass over the “shoulder” of the seat. This is not effective as no matter how tight a person c... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
My vehicles Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) was rewired at a dealership as part of a manufacturer recall. Ever since this has been "rewired" I have had problems with the car shutting off while driving, and as a result, a loss of power steering and power brakes. I notified the dealership, Rentschler Chrysler of Slatington, PA, and they state that everything looks ok with the wiring and tha... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2023
electric parking brake turn on while towing behind Rv did damage to driver side ,had towed it for 340 miles before this happened it is not in my manual to disconnect the ground cable ,when I took it to dealer they gave me a paper stating I need to disconnect the ground cable after putting truck in neutral I told them GM should have put that in the manual instead of tell the dealer .I have turned... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
Authorization failed Limited access is the reason there recalled I can't pair ⁶
Crash
Fire
15 injured
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The vehicle will not fully charge at home at night on a level 2 EVSE. It charges for a few minutes, than stops entirely. When I restart the process, the same issue remains. I cannot charge the car fully at Level 2, 40amps. I wake up in the morning and only 5% of charge has been added.
Incident date: Aug 26, 2023
Coolant value had to be replaced apparently this happens more than we realize and if it’s a repetitive issue for many I believe it should be looked into. Thanks
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
My vehicle is a 2017 Lincoln Navigator. The Backup Camera works maybe 50% of the times that I attempt to back up. I understand that Lincoln has a recall on other Lincoln vehicles for this issue, but not for the Navigator. The Cross Traffic Alert does not work. In combination, attempting to back up has a real potential for a vehicle crash or pedestrian injury, especially in parking lots, for drive... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
In the 1.5 years since I bought the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 (new vehicle) there have been three instances where the car has failed to turn on or off due to rapid discharge of the 12 V battery. In all three occasions, the main battery was fully charged; however, the 12V discharged rapidly. The first two times this happened it took about 20 to 30 minutes of waiting for the main battery to charge the 1... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
Driver side door and power window malfunction
Incident date: Jul 30, 2023
There is 3 things going on with this Jeep. First thing the service shifter is on. Second the power steering will go out and come back on at different times. Lastly if you shut the car off it may not start again for awhile and you will get a message on the dash that says engine to warm to start. I contacted Jeep they said to take it in. We aren’t in a position to just Let them keep runnin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2023
Engine major failure during driving. Engine blew with all manutance on date.
Incident date: Aug 6, 2023
LED headlights 1) are too bright 2) burn the pattern of LED bulbs in retina for 5 minutes or more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
I was driving down the highway on cruise control going 67 on a 65. The car started revving up and then proceeded to go faster. I turned off the cruise control but its continued to speed up. I stomped on the brake 4 or 5 times with no effect. I rammed into the back of a bus at 110 mph.
Crash
1 injured