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 31, 1969
This car uses auto-dimming rear view and side mirrors. However, the rear view mirror is only able to be dimmed automatically, or be disabled in the settings. The issue is that the dimming is not based on a light sensor at all, it is merely timed to dim around 30 minutes after sunset and return to normal 30 minutes before sunrise. I have confirmed this timing on many drives and it is repeatable. T... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 1969
Power steering. While I was driving in my neighborhood the power steering went out and I could not make a turn. It locked up while driving. I could have got into a head on collision/accident becasue the road turns. Yes, I reported it to Ford and they told me my flex did not have a recall despite the ford website stating that some 2013 ford flex are affected. The description of 15s18 sterring reca... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 47 MPH, towards a four-way intersection, the vehicle coming off the road on the left side of the vehicle ran a stop causing another vehicle to collide with his vehicle. The contact stated that no air bags deployed. The contact stated that he sustained whiplash and bruises to the head. Medical attention was required via hosp... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
I paid off my var in June. By the ed of august my cars engine started going bad out of no where. started with oil and coolant mixing into the engine and then transmission started whining. Long story short I had to get both replaced. Oh yea my car only has 56k miles. Can you guys explain or give me any ideas on how this happened?
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
I paid off my var in June. By the ed of august my cars engine started going bad out of no where. started with oil and coolant mixing into the engine and then transmission started whining. Long story short I had to get both replaced. Oh yea my car only has 56k miles. Can you guys explain or give me any ideas on how this happened?
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 BMW 530I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System). The contact called a local dealer several times and was advised that the part for 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 manufacturer was not informed. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
transmission just stopped shifting yes its available for inspection. car suddenly wouldnt accelaerate on the highway. independant service center. has not been inspected by them. no warning lights prior to the incident also the junkyards want double the amount of money for these transmissions cause they say theyre in high demand because they tend to fail
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
Digital rear view mirror failure, electrical failure, replaced by Manufacturer.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view display displayed a black image. In addition, the rear-view camera displayed an error message, which indicated that the rear-view camera display was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed rear view camera system. The contact was informed that the rear-view camer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
Vehicle: 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe My vehicle has two separate critical safety recalls with no remedy available: High-voltage battery fire risk (vehicle may catch fire even when parked; cannot charge; must park outside). Recall 68C for engine contamination with sand causing catastrophic engine failure, fire, and sudden loss of propulsion. Jeep states that repair parts are unavailable for both re... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
1.) Exhaust System Failure (Flex Pipe / Catalytic Converter) The vehicle’s exhaust system—specifically the flex pipe connected to the catalytic converter—cracked and malfunctioned. This component is available for inspection upon request. As a result of the failure, exhaust fumes entered the cabin, creating a significant safety risk due to potential exposure to carbon monoxide. Prior to the f... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
1.) Exhaust System Failure (Flex Pipe / Catalytic Converter) The vehicle’s exhaust system—specifically the flex pipe connected to the catalytic converter—cracked and malfunctioned. This component is available for inspection upon request. As a result of the failure, exhaust fumes entered the cabin, creating a significant safety risk due to potential exposure to carbon monoxide. Prior to the f... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
The engine light starts blinking and telling me propulsion power reduced, and then I cannot use the cruise control after that turns on, and it starts losing power, driving on I 70 after work all of a sudden it turned on and wet from going 76 miles an hour to 52 on highway I 70 where the speed limit was 75. This problem was a recall problem which was fixed and now is happening again on the same par... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
The dashboard material cover is pulling away lifting up from the dashboard where air bags are located.Not safe
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
I'm the owner of a 2019 Hyundai Kona (US spec) imported to Poland. The VIN is included in recall 21V-301 (fire risk). The engine showed symptoms consistent with this defect and failed at 44,000 miles. Photos confirm cylinder damage. Following Hyundai Motor America (HMA) instructions, I completed diagnostics at an authorized Hyundai service center in Poland. Results: error P0366, compression 2–3... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
Beginning at approximately 750 miles on a brand-new 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid EX, the vehicle experienced a flashing Check Engine Light accompanied by severe shaking while driving, rough idling, loss of power, and loud engine/exhaust noise. The vehicle became difficult and unsafe to operate due to the vibration and reduced drivability. These symptoms appeared suddenly on November 22, less than three... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2025
This issue actually started in November of 2022. Driving down from the mountains the car started losing power. I took the car to the dealership on Monday. I was then advised that there was not an issue they could they could find. A few months later the car would not start. They replaced the battery and the issue was resolved (I don’t recall the exact month the battery was replaced). November 2... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2025
POWER ASSIST STEERING FAILURE light appears on dash board The power steering went out
Incident date: Oct 22, 2025
Vehicle is in park, and the shft sensor does not recognize the shifter is in park. Won't let you turn off rhe car.
Incident date: Oct 22, 2025
Below issues has been going on for a months now, latest was yesterday (11/30/2025). The rear-view camera image not appearing on the display (a safety hazard). Audio and display flickering or the entire screen going black. Error messages like "MOST Net off" or general communication errors. There seem to be a recall by Honda below but my car was not included. All the same symptoms as described in ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
Check Vehicle Electric System warming shows up on dashboard, then vehicles enters turtle mode and then cuts power shortly with violent jerking of the vehicle. Shortly after, all system shuts down, 12V is said to be weak and car cannot move.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
My 2023 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid has experienced repeated high-voltage battery safety issues and prolonged loss of intended function. In February 2025, Ford notified me under recall 24S79 that I must immediately stop charging the vehicle due to the risk of internal battery cell short, potential battery thermal venting, and fire. That “do not charge” instruction lasted approximately six month... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
My 2023 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid has experienced repeated high-voltage battery safety issues and prolonged loss of intended function. In February 2025, Ford notified me under recall 24S79 that I must immediately stop charging the vehicle due to the risk of internal battery cell short, potential battery thermal venting, and fire. That “do not charge” instruction lasted approximately six month... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2025
My 2015 ram ecodiesel is getting a brake light for ABS, traction control, emergency brake all not working. Dealership wants $4000 to fix it with a part that’s back ordered 2yr. I’m having a hard time understanding if so many people online are having this issue why it’s not a SAFETY RECALL. The stock part failed at no fault of the customers.
Incident date: Nov 24, 2025
The vehicle caught on fire in our garage The Vehicle had been parked outside than moved into the garage nothing smelled like smoke after it was parked other than the exhaust after I got out of my suburban I have a good idea what caused this but until its done being ispected I happened to look back and saw a flame in the Suburban coming from the center area of the dash on the right hand side of t... Read more
Fire
4 injured
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
Sirius XM popping up ads in the interior screen while driving is dangerous and ridiculous
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
Last year I started getting the dreaded shift to park issue. Takes usually about 30 seconds to realize its in park, even though the dashboard days its in park. WHY is there no recall? I see hundreds of thousands of complaints for this. Plus im constantly getting the P1101 code. I know this is a common issue with this car for the dirty throttle body or MAF sensor. Why isnt this under recall? I dont... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
Report from dealer: Customer states that the vehicle feels like it's sporadically shooting forward when accelerating between 20-30mph. Check and advise vehicle failed AF test,all cylinders failed (rich).
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
I purchased my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid brand new and in three years, both horns (high and low) have stopped working every year. I have had the horns replaced in March 2023, January 2024 and as I type this complaint, both horns are out again. It is a serious safety issue driving a vehicle without a horn. There is no warning that the horn is going to stop working; and I have discovered the m... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
The high-voltage battery on my 2022 Nissan Leaf is subject to Recall 25V655. The recall notice states that the battery cells can develop excessive lithium deposits, which increases electrical resistance and can cause rapid battery heating during Level 3 fast charging. Nissan instructs owners not to use Level 3 charging at all until a “remedy” is available. EVGO, one of the major lv3 chargers ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
Driving on the interstate with cruise control. All of a sudden the car braked (no one in front within eye shot) and cruise control stopped. I had to tap the brake manually then accelerator to get the car back under my control. Ever since then I get ACC, LKAS and other warnings when the car starts up. It seems like the front camera catastrophically failed while driving and almost caused the car to ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2025
I purchased a car from a used car dealer in Sacramento. Two days later, the lifters went bad. This truck only has 115,000 miles on it. This is a know issue that GM has and they're doing nothing to remedy the issue. They keep putting DOD/AFM in these expensive cars knowing the lifters will fail and cause damage to the cam. They should be responsible for doing a DOD/AFM delete on all trucks that hav... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2025
Rear view camera goes crazy when in reverse, sometimes shows a blank white screen, sometimes a message appears that the camera is not available and to contact a dealer, it will randomly activate while driving forward sometimes immediately after putting it in drive and other times after driving forward sometimes immediately a while after continuously driving for a while without having put it in rev... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2025
My 2022 Ford E-Transit has experienced repeated electrical, propulsion, and powertrain failures that cause the vehicle to become completely inoperable. On September 8, the van displayed multiple critical alerts including powertrain malfunction, brake system failure, vacuum pump failure, and full electrical system fault, and it would not start. The next day, the same failure occurred again and the ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
USB connectivity is intermittent. This involves using the USB A connection in the center console as a port for stored media (music files) on a USB drive and Android Auto. The connection will connect and disconnect randomly regardless of the car being stationary or moving. The intermittent connectivity occurs regardless for all USB cables or thumb drives that I have tried. The vehicle is availa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2025
Two weeks after purchase, experienced multiple, random driver assistance failures. After attempting to repair issue once unsuccessfully, The dealership was unable to provide a second service appointment for two and a half months. Was explained all 2025 Audis were having issues, so couldn’t get car in any sooner. Before that second scheduled service appointment and while driving in traffic, the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2025
After safety recall 73B was performed on my 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid on 11/24/25, the vehicle's check engine light illuminated. Code U0412 is identified as a 'stored' code upon pulling OBD information. This is described as "Invalid Data Received From Battery Energy Control Module 'A'" indicating failure of the high voltage battery pack and its control system. The HV battery is available for ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2025
To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally report an ongoing and serious issue regarding the transmission in my Nissan vehicle and to request assistance from Nissan North America. This is my third Nissan Sentra Sport, and unfortunately, I have experienced the same transmission failure in all three vehicles, each occurring before the vehicle reached 100,000 miles. In the two previous vehicles... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2025
Since purchasing the car in March 2023, the battery has died 5-7 times. We contacted our dealer and they claimed nothing wrong and the battery was fine. We have contacted them about this issue and there is no fix. They performed an update in June 2025 which was supposed to fix it but it didn’t. The latest it has died is November 25. There was nothing left on for the battery to die. I have 4 chil... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2025
My 2020 Tesla Model X experiences severe vibration, shaking, and rattling during acceleration, especially between about 20–45 mph and at higher suspension settings. The vibration is strong enough to affect steering stability and safe control of the vehicle during acceleration and lane changes. Tesla has already replaced the front half-shafts twice under warranty for this same problem, but the i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
Airbag Clock spring has failed in my 2015 Jeep Wrangler. The airbag dash light is now on and the whole steering wheel system no longer functions properly. I see there was a documented recall for this year/model. It’s not showing on my VIN. The clock spring has failed in my vehicle.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
Due to the severity of the current safety recall i am reaching out for BMW to supply a correction/remedy for the starter issue. This issue is causing added anxiety and this being my only reliable transportation is troublesome. If they are unable to fix the issue I am asking that they buy the car back so people can get other vehicles that don't run the risk of spontaneously combusting.
Incident date: Nov 20, 2025
While driving my 2020 Acura MDX with 29,647 miles, all AcuraWatch safety systems suddenly failed at once, including Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Lane Keeping Assist, Road Departure Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Automatic High Beams. Multiple warning messages appeared simultaneously. This disabled forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and lane departure/l... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2025
A couple of months or so ago...summertime maybe I started feeling a choppy feeling in the steering almost like lane correction was enable but it wasn't. I started seeing posting about sticky steering and that's what it feels like. It's mostly noticeable out on the highway but sometimes on 40 mph zones. I've emailed the dealer about it to see if it can be covered. Mine is a 2019 so it's not include... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal grinding and clanking sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the front differential was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistan... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2025
While driving on a city road below the speed limit, braking was compromised leading to loss of traction and failure of the ABS system. During the incident, the brake, ABS, and engine warning lights all turned on and a collision was only avoided due to pumping of the brakes. Further investigation by a mechanic revealed a failure of the brake actuator system. Failure of this system has increased the... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2023
I am reporting a serious defect involving my 2017 Kia Sorento 2.4 Liter GDI engine (VIN [XXX] ) At approximately 84000 miles, while still under the powertrain warranty, I brought the vehicle to the dealership from which I purchased it (Hutchinson Kia in Macon GA) due to engine hesitation and abnormal performance. I was initially told the engine might need replacement, but the dealer later claimed... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2025
Coolant leak again. Third time having the same issue. Coolant leak issue has been fixed twice within recent years.
Incident date: Nov 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the warning light was intermittently illuminated, and the vehicle had started idling rough. The contact stated that the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact stated that upon scanning th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the warning light was intermittently illuminated, and the vehicle had started idling rough. The contact stated that the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact stated that upon scanning th... Read more