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 28, 2025
On the night of 9/4/25, I parked my 2019 BMW 530i in my closed garage and believed I had turned off the vehicle. I removed the key fob. Hours later, our household carbon monoxide detector activated. The fire department responded and measured 480 ppm CO throughout the house and 1,500 ppm inside the vehicle. They stated we were seconds from death due to carbon monoxide exposure. The engine bay reac... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
After coming to a complete stop, vehicle will start to creep forward. If not paying attention, collision with vehicle in front will occur.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
My 2023, Ram 2500 truck with a Cummins 6.7L diesel engine has a known defect with the grid heater bolt. This bolt can loosen or break off, falling into the engine and causing catastophic engine failure. This creates a suddne loss of power, espcially dangerous when towing heavy loads at highway speeds. Numerous owners have reported this issue, yet no recall has been issued. I request investigation ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and a case was ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
Transmission failure, I had to have the transmission replaced and no longer have it for inspection. I was on a one lane highway in Franconia NH with guardrails on each side, and no phone reception. Traffic was trying to get by me including tractor trailers, we were horrified and couldn't get out. these 6L80 transmission in the Chevy Silverado, come to find out, have been failing for a long time. 2... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
The 1.5L turbo engine in my 2018 Honda CR-V is experiencing oil dilution. Raw fuel mixes with the engine oil, lowering flashpoint and thinning viscosity. This creates a fire risk, loss of lubrication, accelerated engine wear, and potential stalling. Honda issued TSBs, but the problem persists. This is a serious safety defect.
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
Was driving about 35 mph and out of no where the frontal collision warning went off for no reason. I was the only car on the road at the time and there was no objects in the road either
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
I am experiencing what is described as STICKY STEERING. This has been a consistent problem over the last several months. The ONLY time it sticks is when minute inputs to maintain straight are necessary. There is initial resistance to any input of the steering wheel (from straight ahead center) at the time of correction, and then that resistance breaks, resulting in over correction. Left or Right ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
The passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) sensor failed, turning off the airbag and illuminating the SRS light. This is a known safety defect covered by Subaru recall 19V701 / WUM-98 for 2015–2018 Foresters built through August 1, 2017. My vehicle, a 2018 Forester XT Touring (VIN [XXX] ), has the same defect but Subaru and NHTSA do not list it as part of the recall. I waited nearly a y... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2025
Hyundai has a known issue with GDI fuel injectors. Car begins to shake and lose power and eventually will stall due to cylinder misfire caused by defective injectors.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2025
Hyundai has a known issue with GDI fuel injectors. Car begins to shake and lose power and eventually will stall due to cylinder misfire caused by defective injectors.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2025
On [XXX] my Lexus would not start properly and then I heard noises which were associated with the battery closing down. This included locking all the doors. I was trapped in the car for 50-60 minutes until a repair person unlocked the door. This is a safety issue because the temperature where I live (las Vegas) is over 100 degrees months of the year. According to other Lexus owners, mine was ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2025
The rearview camera on my 2015 Lincoln MKC stopped working. The screen is either blank or distorted, which makes it unsafe to back up since I cannot see behind the vehicle. I have not yet gone to the dealer about this issue. I see there is an active recall (25V270000) for this problem, but my VIN shows no coverage.
Incident date: Mar 15, 1973
Bumps in the road caused steering wheel to shake violently (Death Wobble) until truck was stopped in the middle of a 4-lane expressway. Truck is now at the dealer for inspection of frontend steering components. If there was heavier traffic, there would have been an accident. no warning signs present, only bumps in the road which the truck was not able to dampen or control.
Incident date: Mar 15, 1973
Bumps in the road caused steering wheel to shake violently (Death Wobble) until truck was stopped in the middle of a 4-lane expressway. Truck is now at the dealer for inspection of frontend steering components. If there was heavier traffic, there would have been an accident. no warning signs present, only bumps in the road which the truck was not able to dampen or control.
Incident date: Mar 15, 1973
Oil Leak on Alternator Engine leaking oil from the front cylinder bank’s valve cover or from the valve cover’s gasket onto the alternator. An unknown amount of oil damaged the alternator resulting in illumination of the charging system warning lamp and disablement of the charging system. If the vehicle is continually driven with a disabled charging system, the engine can shut off, incr... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2025
Facing the sun, driving through an intersection with a green light. No cars ahead or behind me, and no pedestrians in sight. As I passed under the light, the car slammed on the brakes once, let up a little, and then slammed on the brakes again. It flashed the BRAKE indicator on the dash. Then driving resumed as normal. If there had been a vehicle behind me, it would have rear ended me, no question... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2025
The car is a 2016 Honda HRV. The car is orchid pearl (white) and has developed extensive paint issues where the paint is peeling on the doors and potentially places on the roof. The car is an excellent overall condition with no history of auto accidents. This paint issue is common for this color HRV and impacts the value of the vehicle and will lead to body surface rust and the problem continues t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
•On January 25th 2025 I paid approximately $3,383 for a turbocharger repair on my 2019 Buick Encore. This included a turbocharger oil return tube, turbocharger oil supply and re, intercooler, int. man. & vAL. COV. Kit, R&R inter cooler, R&R turbocharger, R&R intake manifold, and turbocharger assembly. Since that time, the same problem has recurred and I have returned the vehicle to the same loca... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
The instrument panel side of the infotainment screen has gone completely black on multiple times . The heads up display flickers and goes out, therefore, no way to see what speed I’m going.. extremely dangerous.. also all warning “dash” lights come on. I have A video of the dash lights on and the screen going black and coming back on.. I dont Make it a habit of driving with phone in hand. Yo... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2025
Broken catalytic converter at joint with exhaust pipe. Manufacturer defect with the exhaust piping.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
The interior back door panels on both rear doors at the bottom corner gets hung in the on molding of the car body and prevents you from being able to get out of the car.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact became aware of an abnormal clunking sound, and that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the failure had occurred while driving on a busy road. The contact attempted t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
The factory leather dashboard has detached/ungluded in places both on the driver and passenger side. Now the dashboard cover in the passenger area does not properly line up and has bubbled up on top of the passenger air bag door. There is a high possibility that this defect will prevent the passenger air bag from properly functioning or not function at all during an accident. Several Cayenne ow... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was a misfire coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the check engine warning light was reset; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, where several unknown repairs were performed, and the fue... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
I was traveling at 80mph on an interstate in the fast lane. There were only two lanes. Road was straight with a slight incline. Temperature was 98 degrees. I had been traveling for 10 hours that day. I hear the same bing chime the Jeep makes when it switches from electric to hybrid mode. I was already in hybrid mode and I experienced a lost of power. My vehicle started to coast which it ne... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
I was traveling at 80mph on an interstate in the fast lane. There were only two lanes. Road was straight with a slight incline. Temperature was 98 degrees. I had been traveling for 10 hours that day. I hear the same bing chime the Jeep makes when it switches from electric to hybrid mode. I was already in hybrid mode and I experienced a lost of power. My vehicle started to coast which it ne... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s and driver's side A-pillar trim fractured and detached. The contact stated that the dealer arrived at the residence and inspected the vehicle; however, the contact was informed that parts were not available. The contact purchased the parts from Amazon; however, the contact had to... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s and driver's side A-pillar trim fractured and detached. The contact stated that the dealer arrived at the residence and inspected the vehicle; however, the contact was informed that parts were not available. The contact purchased the parts from Amazon; however, the contact had to... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
The trailer brake controller goes off and on. A message in the truck reads trailer brakes off, trailer brakes on, check wiring. Repeats every 45 seconds or so. You never know when you have trailer brakes or not. Did not have trouble prior 3 years with a different truck? I saw 2022 trucks had a safety recall but my Vin was not included, which it should have. Very dangerous.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
My dashboard will black out, my HUD display will flicker or just go out. All of my indicator lights for vehicle issues all light up and stay lit up.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
I need my VIN added to the recall list as my vehicle is within the group of affected vehicles, I've been informed by my dealership that this vehicle is at risk of freezing up at any moment due to this condition which is a safety concern. The PTU is an extremely expensive repair.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
Around Aug. 3, I noticed that when I drove, the interior lights would not turn off. When the car was off, they went out as they should. But every time I started the car they came on and would not turn off. It made it very difficult to drive went it was getting dark. The dealership confirmed that it wasn't the knobs inside the car that were causing this problem. Later, I took it in for them to fin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2025
The car seat cover comes off easily from side. My daughter's finger got stuck in the groove that is on the side of the seat. There should not be a groove like that on the side as it almost caused her finger to break. Their fingers are tiny and it easily gets stuck there.
Incident date: Aug 19, 2025
I ATTEMPTED TO HAVE SAFETY RECALL 24V-104(INTEGRATED BRAKE SYSTEM MALFUNTION) PERFORMED AT BMW DEALERSHIP BMW AUSTIN, 7011 MCNEIL DR. AUSTIN, TX 78729-7687 PHONE (512)343-3570 ON AUGUST 28 2025 AT 11;00AM WITH JASON SANTOSUOSSO. THIS SERVICE ADVISORY TOLD ME THE RECALL IS NOT COVERED, BECAUSE MY VEHICLE HAS 36,100 MILES-JUST 100 MILES OVER THE 36,000-MILE FACTORY warranty. HE INFORMED ME THAT BMW ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
I purchased a used 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. The seller claimed the mileage was around 76,800 at the time of sale. After the purchase, a vehicle history report (Carfax/AutoCheck) showed that the actual mileage was approximately 223,000. This means the odometer reading was rolled back or misrepresented. The title paperwork shows a false mileage disclosure. This problem puts consumers at ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
Since I have purchased the car it has: 1) the car has failed and stopped moving 3 separate times. It only has 290 miles on it. 1) been unable to charge on AC power (L1 and L2 chargers) 2) barely able to charge on DC chargers. 325kwh Tesla supercharger gave 9kwh.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
Since I have purchased the car it has: 1) the car has failed and stopped moving 3 separate times. It only has 290 miles on it. 1) been unable to charge on AC power (L1 and L2 chargers) 2) barely able to charge on DC chargers. 325kwh Tesla supercharger gave 9kwh.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
TIPM system and/or electrical system failure. Right turn signal intermittently works when it wants to. Door locks from the inside at random or will not lock at all when using the master lock button. Now car will not start or turn over at all. Zero sound comes from he vehicle while turning the key. Commonly known problem with other Dodge Nitros and nothing being done about it. A recall needs to hap... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2025
The automatic braking system beeped alert then applied brakes when I was going around a sharp curve, with cars behind me. Luckily they were far enough behind that they didn't hit me. This has been happening since I first got my Odyssey. I asked the Honda dealer about it if it was a defect and they said no that's how it work. I asked if I could turn it off permanently and they said no - I had to t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2025
While driving on the interstate (I-35) and attempting to pass a vehicle, the transmission went out of gear and felt like it was in neutral for a few seconds and then ‘clunked” back into gear finally. This happened 4 times that day. This happens almost every time we go on a trip with this vehicle and is extremely dangerous to my family as well as other drivers. This seems to be a common issu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2025
08/08/2025 Brake system failure. Went through an intersection and was not able to stop. Dealer found internal leak in the master cylinder/hydraulic BPMV assembly. Warning lights and messages did not come on until the moment of failure. Had no warning before.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2025
on multiple occasions when driving and trying to increase speed (such as after pulling out of my driveway) the car makes a sudden jerking almost or like something "misses" and it slows down and takes a couple seconds to regain again. On the most recent occasion, the engine light then came on and wouldn't go off. The code when tested, said it had to do with the transmission.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2025
on multiple occasions when driving and trying to increase speed (such as after pulling out of my driveway) the car makes a sudden jerking almost or like something "misses" and it slows down and takes a couple seconds to regain again. On the most recent occasion, the engine light then came on and wouldn't go off. The code when tested, said it had to do with the transmission.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
I have replaced the mass airflow sensor multiple times also transmission is starting to slipping,not responding correctly, when this starts all the lights on my dash come on and also does not accelerate or respond as it should very dissatisfied when they saw me would never recommend to buy another one