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: Jun 1, 2023
Although this vehicle is 10 years old it has only logged less than 17k miles (near new condition). A few months back it was noted that the backlighting on the console, steering wheel, interior door panels and overhead console were inoperative under non-daylight conditions. At night, it's driving blind from an instrumentation perspective. Controls cannot be located as they cannot be seen. This back... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2023
I was driving along the street when the engine went dead. I shifted into neutral, cranked the engine and restarted the engine. I almost got hit. This has now happened several times with myself and other drivers.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2023
I was driving along the street when the engine went dead. I shifted into neutral, cranked the engine and restarted the engine. I almost got hit. This has now happened several times with myself and other drivers.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The car is very hard to keep in a straight line going down the road. Constant inputs have to be given to keep the wheel at center as the wheel will not re-center after small inputs (I.e. changing lanes, gentle curves in road, etc.). I feel it is a safety hazard
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
Reporting an old incident as it matches an issue with the current open investigation on the Emergency Collision Brake system in the Honda CR-V line. Was driving down the highway unobstructed, no vehicles in front of me but had vehicles a fair distance behind me. Emergency forward collision system engaged with no warning, with zero obstructions, and stopped my vehicle on a dime. Had the cars behin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
On my way to work as a travel nurse in another state from home, my car had an engine oil pressure light come on. It was the dark hours of the morning and I wasn't sure what it meant so I looked for the next place to stop safely. Not even five minutes later, I heard a large bang, almost like a gunfire sound, and large billows of smoke came from the front part of the car. My car handling went out an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
While I was driving, the entire accelerator pedal mechanism fell to the ground. My mechanic told me it is because the accelerator pedal mechanism is a bad design, including too small of a bolt, and I had to have it reattached to the car. The accelerator pedal functioned, but it was incredibly dangerous because it was on the floor and couldn't be practically used.
Incident date: Jun 22, 2022
My 2016 Ford Escape was in park and when I tried to put it in drive it went backwards almost into the car behind me. Luckily they saw something happening and backed up or I would of hit them. It wouldn't shift into gear. I put it in sport mode to get it to move forward then moved it into a safe location and shut it off. It was a hot day so I thought maybe it was overheating. It started fine an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2022
The contact's mother owns a 2013 Nissan Juke. The contact received notification of Manufacturer Communication Number: NTB14-030 in 2014. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for the recall repair and the timing chain was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated while approaching the parked vehicle, she became aware of an oil leak in the front passenger’s side tire. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when the cruise control was activated and they attempted to turn off the vehicle it would fail to power off completely as expected. On the contrary, the cruise control would suddenly turn off the vehicle when active. The failure occurred intermittently and at various speeds. There were no warning lights displayed. The contact took the veh... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
I experience multiple and frequent phantom braking events when using the Active Cruise Control. This continues to occur every time I use cruise control, and occurs even on straight empty roads on bright sunny or overcast days, and creates a serious safety issue for any vehicles that are following. The deceleration is rapid because of the regenerative braking capabilities of the vehicle. There are ... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
I experience multiple and frequent phantom braking events when using the Active Cruise Control. This continues to occur every time I use cruise control, and occurs even on straight empty roads on bright sunny or overcast days, and creates a serious safety issue for any vehicles that are following. The deceleration is rapid because of the regenerative braking capabilities of the vehicle. There are ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
My air and heat stopped blowing air on 4 (high speed) I took to mechanic who couldn’t find a issue with the resistor, motor, or any components related to it so he took the dash off to check the climate control. The connector going into the back of the switch control to control the temperature speed was burnt and so was the unit. He said it was a wonder my car hadn’t caught on fire and it shoul... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
What happened was I was Driving down the street at thirty miles per hour and the speed limit changed to thirty five miles per hour so I put my foot on the gas and nothing happened. The engine did not rev and the speed did not go up the speed kept going down. Quit thinking made me push the auto start off button and then I pushed on the gas again and the Car speed went up as I pushed on the gas peda... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
I purchased the 2023 Taos SE at the beginning of may. When accelerating on the highway, the ACC light and engine light came on and the car started rapidly decelerating. Lane assist, cruise control and ACC were not able to be used. I managed to pull to the side of the road, and was towed to a VW dealership in Rochester. The computer came back saying it was bad fuel. They drained the fuel, and charg... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz A220. The contact stated that the engine check warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and PCV and purge valve and other unknown valves were replaced but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and a software updated was performed; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the co... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
This is a new car purchased in August 2022. A few months after I bought the car the rear, left passenger seat belt stopped working. I brought it into Kia. They stated that they could find nothing wrong with it. A month later I brought it back and they agreed with me that it was not working correctly. This was April 10, 2023. I was told that a part would be ordered. It is now June 8th and Kia has... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
The rack and pinion steering box was beginning to fail. Vehicle would steering would lock into steering toward the left or right requiring a slight pull back to right the direction. With this pull there was a noticeable clicking sound. This issue was progressively getting worse necessitating a complete replacement of the rack and pinion steering box. The vehicle in question has 43, 700 miles.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
Windshield has developed a 14 inch crack from HVAC unit on bottom of windshield. Replacement windshield also developed a 20in horizontal crack.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
BMW Headlight wiring on the 530 series is defective. Wire Insulation throughout the headlight assembly crumbles. The design and wire specification were not fit for use. Heat may be an issue but has nothing to do with climate. The vehicle has spent most of its life in Michigan where the problem was first noted when the age of the vehicle was approximately 8 years. High heat within the headligh... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
After driving this vehicle for 50,000 miles, the car began to stop in the middle of the road, causing a hazard to the driver and the other people driving on the road. Trying to get it started again took some time and the driver was in the way of moving vehicles, but unable to get the car started. When I took it in to the dealership I bought it from, they said the issue was oil consumption and that... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
We bought this towable (5th wheel) RV in January 2021, new from Funtown RV in Denton, TX. Since the day we took deleivery, we have experienced a severe lack of braking ability from the RV brakes. We have had them services multiple times, and ultimately, the final RVIA certified repair facilities conclude that the trailer is just too heavy for the brakes they manufactured it with. They sell thou... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
I was driving to work and was stopped at a red light on a very busy road. The emergency brake engaged and then my car shut off. I sat around 10 minutes before it would restart. My brakes locked up and it wouldn’t let me do anything. I couldn’t even use my four ways. I was very scared that I was going to get hit because it just shut down on a very busy road. The throttle control warning light a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X3. The contact stated while her husband was driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle started to decelerate independently. The driver stated that he started to smell a smoke odor inside the cabin of the vehicle and saw smoke coming from under the hood. The contact stated that no visible flames were seen. The contact stated that the drive train warning light was illumina... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2023
MCU1 FSD beta still not working and nothing has been addressed from Tesla. Tesla states we will MCU1 will be supported for fsd.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
Rear end crash with front end affected, no air bag deployment
Crash
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact replaced the wheel... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2023
Vehicle shakes at highway speed (62-75mph) and under heavy acceleration (highway on ramp) since 1st day of owning vehicle. Steering wheel vibrate and rear mirror shakes and is unusable. Took to dealer on 3rd day of owning car and they balanced tires and performed alignment with no improvement. Dealer stated it is a problem known to Volvo with no corrective action and they were instructed by Vol... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2023
Vehicle shakes at highway speed (62-75mph) and under heavy acceleration (highway on ramp) since 1st day of owning vehicle. Steering wheel vibrate and rear mirror shakes and is unusable. Took to dealer on 3rd day of owning car and they balanced tires and performed alignment with no improvement. Dealer stated it is a problem known to Volvo with no corrective action and they were instructed by Vol... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
This has been a consistent on-going issue with my brand new 2023 Tesla Model Y. While using Autopilots Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and the Autosteer feature the car will without warning begin braking. Each time is different in regards to severity of the breaking but it is typically like letting off the accelerator pedal which in a Tesla is comparable to significant breaking. Have taken two hi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
A severe rain down pour started, I turned on my front windshield wipers, and they swiped about twice, than stopped completely, in a vertical position. I could not see, and had to try to get to the side of the road, to pull over to safety. This was extremely dangerous, and from what I am reading, happens frequently to GMC Terrains. Apparently, there was a recall for 2013-2015, seems the 2016 ne... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
Piston rings allowed oil to enter a combustion cylinder, resulting in misfiring and lack of power. The inability to accelerate was a potential hazard. The vehicle was taken to the dealership and they diagnosed the problem. Internet reports suggest that this is a known problem with this vehicle. The check engine light came on about a month earlier, but the light went off and stayed off until the ev... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
Drove to the carwash today a couple miles away to see if its just emergency vehicles the car doesn't see but its not seeing any vehicles in the right lane or passenger side of the car until they are about 150ft ahead of me. To clarify the cars vision system is NOT seeing ANY emergency vehicles (driver side, passenger side, ahead, behind, moving away, moving towards) like they don't even exist (inv... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
I have an alert that says "Front passenger safety restraint system fault". I took the car in to Tesla Service in late April. Was told it would be about $270 to replace the sensor in the seat that detects it someone is sitting in it. They told me that when the parts people went in, that wasn't the issue and that to fix the sensor they thought it was they would have to tear the whole seat apart and ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
I have an alert that says "Front passenger safety restraint system fault". I took the car in to Tesla Service in late April. Was told it would be about $270 to replace the sensor in the seat that detects it someone is sitting in it. They told me that when the parts people went in, that wasn't the issue and that to fix the sensor they thought it was they would have to tear the whole seat apart and ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
Vehicle shut off while driving, had to push vehicle to the side to prevent traffic, vehicle would not start after that. Towed it home and had a mechanic look at it. Read codes for a failed fuel pump and also tested by opening fuel rail and cranking the engine, no fuel was coming out. Read online that multiple people have failing fuel pumps with the same vehicle. Dealer says there are no open recal... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 528I. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, there was smoke coming from the engine and a burning odor coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine oil feed line had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was ap... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
Unintended Acceleration While at a standstill , on a hill, holding a foot on the break pedal , I lifted my foot from the break pedal to drift forward down the hill, (without ever getting near the gas pedal ) The car accelerated at a very high RPM. I pressed down on the break pedal to stop the car, but it was at such a high RPM rate that I was unable to stop the vehicle from hitting another vehicle... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 24, 2023
Beginning in February 2023, around 2AM, my car alarm would sound. Upon inspection, the vehicle dashboard was lit up and clicking relay sounds could be heard from the dashboard. In essence, the car was trying to "start" itself. When the attempted start reached a certain level, the car would recognize the absence of a key fob, and thus, the alarm would sound. To remedy this, I had to leave my ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2023
As I was driving, all of the brake lights turned on on the dashboard. The moment the lights turned on the brake power felt low on heavier pedal depression. I took the car in to the dealership for assessment and said they found internal failure of both brake actuator and booster and recommended replacement of both actuator pump and booster. I have had both the parts replaced and after now the secon... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 1995 Jeep Wrangler. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 02V041000 (Parking Brake) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that he had parked the vehicle in a parking lot with the parking brake set and the vehicle transmission was in neutral (N). The contact stated that when returned to the vehicle it had rolled down a slight... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
Front passenger headrest popped out of no where and won't go back into place. It snapped and broke, scared the living daylights of my child. No crash. Car was parked and we were putting items in the trunk.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2023
I bought my 2021 Ford Escape in June 2021 new. Shortly after I bought it, I started to hear a really loud screeching sound, very similar to a train coming to a screeching halt, whenever I reversed my car. I brought it into an Illinois ford dealership and they said nothing was wrong with it. Shortly thereafter, I received a notice in the mail about a warranty for the back brakes. Thinking that I so... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
May 27 and May 28: The car turned on the EPC and check engine lights while on parking mode and on. Started to loose power and didnt want to start again. Later on, the lights turned off and it started again. While trying to fill the fuel tank at the gasoline station it stopped and it was only half tank.(The system didnt allowed to continue). While driving in the highway, started to loose power and... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
May 27 and May 28: The car turned on the EPC and check engine lights while on parking mode and on. Started to loose power and didnt want to start again. Later on, the lights turned off and it started again. While trying to fill the fuel tank at the gasoline station it stopped and it was only half tank.(The system didnt allowed to continue). While driving in the highway, started to loose power and... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
I was driving on the highway at about 70 mph when the truck suddenly lost control. I almost crash into the nearest wall. Fortunately I didn’t, and I managed to break however as I was braking the truck kept shaking. All the tires were inspected and they aren’t the issue. Something to do with the suspension caused the lost of control.
Incident date: May 29, 2023
Failure of the starter motor, should be able to get the faulty part from mechanic. This rendered me unable to start my car and required a tow, thankfully not from the side of the highway. Confirmed faulty with tow driver and mechanic. The part has only been inspected by mechanic who mentioned this was the third starter motor failure he has seen on Subaru Imprezas. No warnings, though the car strug... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2023
I was sitting in my 2014 Town and Country and my active headrest restraint randomly activated hitting me in the back of the head. I was parked with one passenger in the vehicle. It hurt my neck as it shot my head forward.
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
I was driving on the interstate in a construction zone and begin reducing speed from about 62 mph after noticing brake lights from cars in the far distance. As the car start to reduce speed, I begin to apply the brakes as I'm approaching the stopped traffic and instead of stopping my car kept going. I pressed the brakes harder, and the car began to slide. After sliding about 9-10 car lengths, I wa... Read more
Crash