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: Feb 14, 2025
Dashboard has large cracks all over it including where the passenger air bag is located. I am concerned about the pieces of plastic flying if the air bag deploys. Also concerned that the cracks could release the air bag at any time, even during normal driving. Dealer only suggested getting a dashboard cover, but that would negate the purpose of the air bag. My research showed that there are many o... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
The check engine light became flashing and the vehicle went into limp mode while occupied by two adults and one minor child as they were merging to access the freeway
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
The check engine light became flashing and the vehicle went into limp mode while occupied by two adults and one minor child as they were merging to access the freeway
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
1) [XXX] - Was driving on the interstate at 65 - 70 mph when the truck suddenly shut off and shifted to neutral. I was in the far left lane and had to coast thru 2 lanes of high speed traffic to the right shoulder before the truck stopped coasting. Once I coasted to a stop on the right shoulder of the interstate, I tried to crank the truck up a couple of times and it finally cranked and I proceede... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2025
The power steering consistently locks up. It may or may not reset itself if you turn the car off and back on. It’s very dangerous. It’s hard to drive . It definitely licks up if it’s cold outside or if you hit a pothole.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
Occasionally steering was sticking, mostly highway driving. Car drifted slightly to left.
TESLA
CYBERTRUCK
(2024) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Feb 14, 2025
Incident date: Feb 9, 2025
Powertrain control module software is faulty, causing improper diagnosis of catalytic converters efficiency. Prompting a check engine light and P0430/P0420 code. I could not pass emissions testing with this code. The Ford dealer made me pay out of pocket to replace catalytic converters ~6 months ago, total cost of $2975.12. The have now addressed that it is unlikely the catalytic converters were f... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
Loud static noise from audio after car turned on for around 5 minutes. This is very unsafe to drive and can't hear anything surrounding when driving. I also searched online and youtube and also found lot of car owners of Honda Accord 2016, 2017 have similar issues. I also brought car to dealerships but they couldn't find the issue. This issues have been started since June 2024 until now unsolved. ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X5. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the check engine warning illuminated. The contact stated that a dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed and the battery needed to be registered. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the VIN was not include... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X5. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the check engine warning illuminated. The contact stated that a dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed and the battery needed to be registered. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the VIN was not include... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving in negative 10-degree weather at 75 MPH, the driver's and passenger’s side curtain air bags deployed without warning or impact. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 124,000. The VIN was not available.
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
There has been several safety recalls for my vehicle that was supposed to be fixed by software updates I cannot drve my vehicle, i have no access to service and no access to these updates
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
Pump recall (Recall No 24V865) work was done. I paid $340.00 out of pocket for labor to install the [ump. Subsequently, through Fisker Owners Association, I learned that the liquidating trustee decided that the maximum reimbursement is $175.00. Yet, there is no mechanism for filing for and obtaining the refund promised. The fix for the sudden jerking forward of the car with it hits a bump is sup... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2025
A semi truck passed me from the opposite direction and caused a gust of wind to be generated diagonally across the car. Both of us were traveling at highway speeds. The gust of wind caused the undercarriage retainers\clips to completely fail. The undercarriage folded back on itself and was pinned on both sides against each tire beneath the car. On the left side, the tire tore part of the undercarr... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
while entering a freeway the car in front braked suddenly and in the process of braking in response our Fisker did its characteristic "chatter" as the ABS first activated and then stopped braking all together causing us to hit the car ahead. Had the brakes not misbehaved the turning movement to avoid the impact would have allowed the collision to be avoided. Our Tbox has not worked since gettin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
Turn signal capacitive buttons are incredibly hazardous for safe driving. They are failing to register inputs for me regularly as resting your finger on one as is natural in a normal driving position, locks the signal out for a period of time. I had to look down trying to work out why the signal button was not registering my intent to change lanes on a freeway causing significant distraction at a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The transmission is messed up for no reason for such low miles
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
On [XXX] I was driving my ned 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness (420 miles), from inside the "Flamingo Pines Shopping Center” on the intersection of [XXX] and [XXX] , City of Pembroke Pines in Florida by the [XXX] , to merge into [XXX] . The traffic coming already on [XXX] southbound stopped 3 or four vehicles ahead of me. Slowly the vehicles in front where merging into the traffic until there ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 9, 2025
Transmission cable shifter bushing was defective and popped off of transmission shifter. This subsequently caused the transmission control module to overwork and fail.
Incident date: Jan 19, 2025
Traveling on highway, heard noise coming from the engine. I was close to an off ramp and got off the highway. In the process of getting on the off ramp alarms went off. Turned on the flashers, came to a stop partially on the shoulder. Turned off the vehicle, turned it back on and it started right up. Turned to head into town to get some place safe to check the issue and all the alarms went off aga... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
Rear backup camera and distance sensors stopped working. The issue is intermittent This issue could have resulted in an accident or injury/fatality due to no image sensor information No dealer involvement at this time No outside inspections at this time No prior warnings or messages were given before the failure
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
Rear backup camera and distance sensors stopped working. The issue is intermittent This issue could have resulted in an accident or injury/fatality due to no image sensor information No dealer involvement at this time No outside inspections at this time No prior warnings or messages were given before the failure
Incident date: Feb 2, 2025
The fuel pump was replaced and a new one was installed and now the engine is misfiring really hard and when the vehicle is placed in drive or reverse the engine tries to stall. The mechanic is saying that I will have to purchase a fuel rail pressure sensor that controls the fuel to each fuel injector. If this item or the whole fuel system is on a Recall List. Then I shouldn't have to pay anything ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Honda HR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had n... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
The contact was an attorney calling on behalf of the owner of a 2025 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that the owner was driving on a neighborhood street at an unknown speed with Autopilot engaged when vehicle control was lost. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a traffic light pole where it came to a stop and caught on fire. The owner was unable to exit the vehicle and was pronounced deceased... Read more
Crash
Fire
1 deaths
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
While I was on vacation in Gatlinburg TN my vehicle parked in my home garage turned on by itself producing carbon monoxide in my property I reached out numerous times to GM and they failed to do anything about it. I have footage please assist thanks.
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
The car has a Check Engine Light and "reduced propulsion" warning. Based on OBDII errors, the EGR on my chevy volt failed. I am not in a CARB state (i'm in Hawaii, though I bought my Volt in CA, which is a CARB state). The EGR issues plague all Gen2 Chevy Volts, and tends to break around 40-70k miles into the life of the car. EGR spare part availability is very limited. Given the frequency with ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts dis... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. The contact stated that while driving on [XXX] at 70-73 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. The contact slammed on the brake pedal and pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was turned off. The contact stated that the tachometer had increased to over 3,000 RPM. The vehicle then red-lined. There were no warning lights ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
While under hard acceleration to pass a vehicle on a two-lane highway, the engine power suddenly cut out completely that created a dangerous situation and suddenly put me at risk for a collision. Fortunately, the vehicle I was passing noticed I had a malfunction and reduced speed allowing me to return back into my lane and safely coast to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was able to idle on... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
AC does not work in cold weather. Only blows 140 degrees when set to 60 or higher but blows 40 degrees on low. No in between. Took to dealer and they replicated the issue and agreed it needs to be fixed asap but can’t find anything wrong. They had a corporate master technician look at it a week later when the weather warmed up and he could not replicate the issue so nothing was done. It is now c... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2025
Car showing warning : engine power reduced Car decelerate unexpectedly Car won’t accelerate past 20 mph intermittently - when putting car in park, car won’t recognize when in the park positioned and shows warning : shift to park
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
Passenger safety restraint system fault warning keeps alerting on the display screen. I contacted Tesla about the situation and they want to charge me for the fix. This is a safety issue and not a mechanical issue
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
In the last several years the dashboard is sticky and cracking. I am not only concerned about the glare and white residue but also the potential effect on the airbags. I have visited a dealership and sent written communication to Toyota in Plano TX. I also called Toyota asking for help with this issue and have been informed the cost would be entirely my responsibility. Toyota created a case num... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
In the last several years the dashboard is sticky and cracking. I am not only concerned about the glare and white residue but also the potential effect on the airbags. I have visited a dealership and sent written communication to Toyota in Plano TX. I also called Toyota asking for help with this issue and have been informed the cost would be entirely my responsibility. Toyota created a case num... Read more
TESLA
CYBERTRUCK
(2024) — SERVICE BRAKES
Feb 8, 2025
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
The ABS brake warning lights are on all the time. I have no cruise control. There are times when I can't even shift my vehicle into gear. I will be checking to see if I even have 4wd with this light on. But, haven't tried it since the lights have been on.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2025
I was driving along in slow traffic on the highway and lost ALL power to my truck and it just stop. No electrical, no drive. There is a recall for this but apparently it did not include my VIN.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2024
Have had a service error come up multiple times front passenger safety restraint system fault -
Incident date: Aug 11, 2024
Unknown. All I know is my son purchased a Genesis coupe used and within less then 48 hours. I watched the vehicle catch fire on the freeway and smoke uncontrollably. As I drove behind him. He was unaware of the first or smoke coming from the car. Finally I got his attention to pull over and now the car won't work. The seller refuses to give him a refund or mechanical assistance for his purchase.... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2024
Head unit constantly rebooting. Completely unable to use the head unit. No longer functional. Unable to power the screen off. Very distracting while driving especially at night. Power button no longer works. Started about a year ago, then randomly seemed to of temporarily resolved itself until a couple of months ago. Head unit is now 100% nonfunctional and constantly reboots. No warnings when fir... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and made an abnormally loud sound. The check engine warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the key fob failed to function as intended. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
Car started to misfire and sometimes accelerate by itself ended up spending over to 3000 on mechanic and dealership to ended up have to rebuild the ECM because dealership after pay them close to 2000 said the ECM was discontinued so it was nothing they can do about it so my local mechanic ended up sending the ECM to be rebuilt and it worked but after spending over 3000 so this car need to be recal... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2025
Alarm system going off for no reason. Battery drained and engine wouldn't start. I had battery tested at auto repair shop and it had burnt out cell inside battery. I purchased new battery last week. The automatic transmission is sluggish at times, feels like it hesitates to get into the next gear. Unknown reasons for cause of issues.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
Coolant entering the cylinder Wouldn't allow us to drive car home Convinced us to purchase a new vehicle.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
I purchased a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid in November of 2023. Within a couple of months of purchase I had 2 incidents where without warning the car lost power and made a noise sounding like some sort of fan. One of the incidents was on [XXX] in Massachusetts, the heavy traffic cleared, I was in the fast lane, and the car would barely move. It was a safety issue as there was no place to go on t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
This is a safety engine recall identified by the manufacturer. I have taken the truck to the dealer for remediation. At this point they do not have a date for correction.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to continue to drive. The vehicle failed to accelerate above 11 MPH. The vehicle failed to move. The contact turned off the vehicle and the vehicle failed to restart. The contact's neighbor pushed the vehicle into a parking spot. There were no warni... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
The check engine light comes on due to coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The repair is to replace the engine! This issue has been affecting many Fords, resulting in the issuance of a Technical Service Bulletin.
Incident date: Feb 4, 2025
Unsatisfactory Review for 2025 Range Rover SE I purchased a 2025 Range Rover SE in November 2024 for nearly $200,000, expecting a luxury vehicle with reliability to match its price tag. Unfortunately, my experience has been nothing short of a nightmare. In December 2024, just one month after purchase, the vehicle completely died while I was driving on the highway—a terrifying and unacceptable ... Read more