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: Nov 21, 2024
On 11/25/24 while my daughter was driving my 2021 Trax all of a sudden the engine light came on and my car lost power while lots of smoke began coming out of the exhaust pipe the car started to shake she thankfully made it to the Dealership service department where the codes showed a FUEL TRIM PROBLEM once that problem was serviced my daughter picked the car up drove my car home and the very next ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2024
On Nov 23, 2023, I was reversing car from my driveway in the morning. Car started giving warnings with issue on all its cameras. While reversing car, it will give error that rear view camera not available. While giving left/ right turn signal, it is showing blank screen for that view. All other safety features like blind spot detection, lane assist are not working at all. I also started getting e... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2024
The right and left turn indicator buttons freeze up, and will not operate for indefinite periods. The problem is intermittent, however, the buttons may be frozen for several minutes before the problem clears. I believe the manufacturer is already aware of this problem affecting numerous 2024 model 3 vehicles. I believe this appears as a definite manufacturer design flaw, and does not appear as rea... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2024
The right and left turn indicator buttons freeze up, and will not operate for indefinite periods. The problem is intermittent, however, the buttons may be frozen for several minutes before the problem clears. I believe the manufacturer is already aware of this problem affecting numerous 2024 model 3 vehicles. I believe this appears as a definite manufacturer design flaw, and does not appear as rea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
The right and left turn indicator buttons freeze up, and will not operate for indefinite periods. The problem is intermittent, however, the buttons may be frozen for several minutes before the problem clears. I believe the manufacturer is already aware of this problem affecting numerous 2024 model 3 vehicles. I believe this appears as a definite manufacturer design flaw, and does not appear as rea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
This issue involves the lock/unlock system: Front passenger door does not respond to lock/unlock command by either approaching the door and/or pressing the remote button. This is a constant problem and is not random. Front drivers door has started doing the same thing but randomly.
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
There was a leak on the evaporator coil within the AC system for this car. We started having issues with the AC around the 56,500 mile mark ([XXX]). After a couple of rounds of recharging the system with refrigerant and looking for a leak, the repair shop finally found the leak on the evaporator coil system. The repair was recently completed on 10/22/2024 at the cost $4,254.03. This car has roughl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2024
I have 2 recalls with the ignition and switch. I went to Regal chevrolet in Lakeland Florida and was told essentially there's nothing they could do and if they did look at it I'd be charged $200 to have it looked at plus $219 a hour based on what needed to be done. I then called Stingray Chevrolet in Plant City Florida and was told that there was no listed recall or it had already been serviced, w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2024
FIRE FIRE FIRE Information light came on just saying 12 Volt Battery. I sat in the car letting it idle for about 3 minutes. It began to smoke and then burst into flames. I called 911 got the fire department here but by the time they were here there was not much left. The car essentially burned to the ground and insurance has declared it a total loss. Car was in my driveway, was certainly a da... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
The passenger side door won’t unlock at all. By remote nor manually.
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
Unintended, unexpected opening of front frunk hood while driving slowly in a parking lot into a strong wind gust. I did not deploy frunk switch and Secondary latch apparently inoperative
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
THIS VEHICLE HAS THE YOKE STEERING WHEEL.Issue is two fold. The right and left turn signal activation in on the face of the wheel and difficult to find since the arrows are not raised so you can feel them. You have to take your eyes off the road to find the left or right turn signal, then if they do not automatically turn off you have to repeat this again to press. Very unsafe and frustrating. Sec... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
On 11/2/24, Dashboard was displaying "shift to park" message when car was turned off and in park, ignition button displayed orange. Was advised by service advisor that this is a known Chevrolet issue but no recall issued to date. The fix required a park switch replacement; jumper park switched was installed on 11/7/24.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
Tesla needs to be required to implement trailer mode to all model 3/Y vehicles (not just those equipped with a tow hitch from the factory) because the basic autopilot and existing safety software does not correctly identify when the vehicle is towing a trailer. Legal Aftermarket tow hitch installations exist for small trailers, such as U-Haul trailer. However Tesla does not recognize these afte... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
1) Connectivity for hands free electronics usage, including but not limited to cellular communication and/or GPS. Vehicle and devices are available for inspection. 2) Routine disconnection by the vehicle causes inability to safely use directions from GPS and/or handsfree communication as mandated by state laws. The disconnection frequently, but not exclusively, happens while using the GPS functio... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
Dealership attempting to sell a vehicle with an open recall was more than prepared to let me drive and potentially sell a vehicle with a recall open causing the rear tires to randomly lock up. Made problem known to salesman and said they'd take it off the market. Now, they lowered the price by $2600 as it was previously listed at $25,571, now listed at $22,971. Listing still not down.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
Drivers seat belt not retracting.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
Tesla instrument cluster screens are leaking fluid and eventually failing. The instrument cluster is the only place I can see my speed, thus my car is now unsafe as I can not tell what speed I am driving at.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
When we took it in for the front seat, buckle recall, we informed the dealership there was an issue with the driver side rear seatbelt. At that time, we only had two kids. Now we have three children, and we are not able to buckle all our children in the backseat. Each time we take the car to the dealership for an oil change we tell him the same issue they state there is no recall and won’t look ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
Abs light is on Confirmed by goldys auto.Huntington wv diagnostic is abs Module no part to repair
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
All Cameras not working with latest Software update - told need new AP4 computer on 2024 model Y which is 2 months old. Tesla service advisor states - car is totally safe to drive with just mirrors till appointment in few weeks. No backup camera, navigation, battery life dying faster. It seems like a liability to me to drive this way and very negligent to me.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); 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 not ex... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud clanking noise coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the exhaust cap and catalytic converter had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated while dri... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
I have a previous file for this situation already submitted reference # 11626064. Since that filing I have had an additional occurrence of the same description. I also found a recall for 2021 explorers which sounds to be the same as what I have experienced , below is a reference to the 2021 Explorer recall. [XXX] Please confirm if the recall can be updated to include the 2020. Best Regards [XXX... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
I have a previous file for this situation already submitted reference # 11626064. Since that filing I have had an additional occurrence of the same description. I also found a recall for 2021 explorers which sounds to be the same as what I have experienced , below is a reference to the 2021 Explorer recall. [XXX] Please confirm if the recall can be updated to include the 2020. Best Regards [XXX... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Honda CR-V. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V763000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 24V744000 (Steering); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not expe... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Honda CR-V. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V763000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 24V744000 (Steering); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not expe... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The computer is not working which connects to the forward collision warning system, navigation, and all safety when it comes to driving. I am still waiting to hear back from Tesla about the problem and haven't had a resolution.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2002 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked with the rear passenger’s seat occupied, the rear passenger’s seat belt thread unraveled, and the buckle detached and remained latched. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 164,000.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
On December 4, 2024, I left a Volkswagen ID.4 electric car in for service of Volkswagen due to software and door locking issues. The service manager confirmed the problems but stated that the vehicle has not yet received any repairs from Volkswagen and that there is no solution available. I have been given ongoing, negligent responses, such as being told that the only option is to buy another ca... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
Vehicle cameras stopped working. Navigation stopped working. Screen also stopped working for a time. Was able to get it back on but it went off multiple times since. If I can't see the screen, I can't tell how fast I'm going to do anything else. Cameras control many of not all of the safety systems. So those are all inoperable. Issue is being reported across multiple forums all over the intern... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
While traveling on the highway at 65 mph, in the left lane of three lanes of traffic with no cars in front of, back of, or side of me, (AdaptiveCruiseControl and LaneKeepAssist were both on) when the vehicle did an “emergency” self-brake. A large red BRAKE sign appeared in the dash and the car felt “out of control.” I physically hit the brake, slowed down and exited the highway. I REMAIN... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
Power Steering Went out while I was on the Highway. It was all of a sudden, and I had been driving on the highway for at least 2 hours. This caused my steering to be not as controlled, and could have caused a wreck if driving by a less advance and experienced driver. The only time the warning lamp came on was the minute it happened, and when completely out. I had to drive on the highway over an ic... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
On May 20, 2024, I brought my Honda Odyssey to the Wesley Chapel Honda location to address the fuel pump recall. My vehicle had been exhibiting symptoms consistent with the recall, including hesitation followed by delayed acceleration, which almost caused a collision. This occurred twice at an intersection and another time while changing lanes, among other times that fortunately were not close cal... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLA250. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with crankcase vent valve failure and a block actuator. The contact was inform... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
There is an issue with the vehicle not receiving gasoline and the car has left me stranded
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the fuel door would randomly disconnect from the vehicle. While idling at a stop light, the vehicle shut off. The contact stated that while restarting the vehicle the vehicle jerked and hesitated while shifting gear before accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure because there... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
The car's turtle light was on, and the car started moving slowly with instructions to part the car immediately. I brought the car to the service on 10/18/2024, and they could not diagnose it after 3 hours. I returned the vehicle on 10/21/2024 with the same complaint, and the car has been at the dealership service since then. VW instructed the service to replace one battery module, which did not so... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2024
Nov 14 2024 my truck steering locked up and lost lighting/ front lights including interior and crash into another vehicle head on going 65 mph. Also no airbag deployed. I hit my chest hard. Need help. Water damaged now after I crashed and now won’t start. Smoke wire smells so disconnected battery. I feel unsafe taking this vehicle in repair without any recalls. This happen all at one time, still... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact was unable to charge the vehicle. There was an unknown electrical failure. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had to use fuel to operate the vehicle. The contact was concerned about the vehicle catching on fire while parked or while driving. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V720000 (Electrical ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
Vehicle lost power while in traffic was running weird jerking check engine light came on A! Light came on vehicle wouldn't stay running. Codes read Catalyst system efficiency. Recall u90 issues Recall u67 issues code p0430, p0300,p0175, p0174
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
Vehicle lost power while in traffic was running weird jerking check engine light came on A! Light came on vehicle wouldn't stay running. Codes read Catalyst system efficiency. Recall u90 issues Recall u67 issues code p0430, p0300,p0175, p0174
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that there was fluid leaking from the vehicle onto the driveway. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission was leaking transmission fluid. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case, but no additional assistance w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
The check engine light activated, prompting me to pull over immediately and have the vehicle towed. The diagnosis indicated a misfire, which is a known issue acknowledged by the manufacturer. However, the dealer has now stated that the vehicle requires a new engine, despite the absence of any prior warning signs. Refer to TSB 1022106 and additional service communications brought forth by Chrysler ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
Hi. My issue is partly related to case PE-22-002 and may also contribute to it as well. I will forward my dash-cam videos (the false detection of cars in-front of me for 63.5% of that drive is included here) to your email as support for the investigations. I have been noticing warnings that a car is in the lane I am changing into when there is no car present. This has happened several times, desp... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda CR-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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not e... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
Car started to present problems at around 100k miles when it would start to hard shift any time it shifted in to 2nd gear. On several occasions it would fail to accelerate beyond 25 mph one of these instances happened while driving at speed on the interstate where pressing the gas pedal to the floor did not accelerate the car. Resently the engine would not turn over instead all of the display an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
The touch screen is delaminating. Due to the delaminating the truck randomly calls people, randomly turns functions on/off, it can be very distracting. The only way to solve the issue is to turn off the unit, however half the cars controls and controlled through the unit including some of the safety features so if the head unit is turned off I can’t use some of the safety features.