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: Jan 29, 2025
mY VEHICLE STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY AND WAS UNABLE TO PUT IN DRIVE
Incident date: Dec 5, 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 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 stated that several attempts were needed to... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Transmission randomly shifts into 1st when going 55mph and then slams back into 9th gear after engine revs to redline. Has happened 4 times the past couple months.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Maverick. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V684000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel failed to move as intended and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving at a slow speed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the pinion steering gear failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Honda Civic. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (STEERING); 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnec... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
I was driving on the highway and my car signaled a "Low Oil Pressure". I pulled over and checked the oil level which confirmed I had the proper amount of oil in the engine. I turned on engine and began to drive again. Five minutes later I got a warning saying "No Oil. Turn Engine Off" and pulled over immediately. Had the car towed to GMC Beck and Masten Dealership the same day. Next day GMC Beck a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
Multiple mechanics working at and including but not limited to: Firestone, discount tires, Midas, Walmart, independent mechanics have informed me the rear wheels can not be realigned with the front wheels due to how it was designed. This has caused my rear wheels to become more and more out of alignment with no way to repair the misalignment. So all steering components have been more and more har... Read more
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
Prior to taking delivery of this car (new, March 2017) the selling dealer replaced the tail/back-up light assembly on the tailgate because it had moisture in it. After I had the car for about 3 months the moisture came back and I called the dealer. They said it was a know problem and they would get back to me when they had the part to fix it. They never called me and I forgot about the problem. In... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2025
the power steering system fails sometimes. that happens most of the time when you start the vehicle. A red symbol comes on for the power steering locking the steering. When you turn off the vehicle after some minutes you can start the vehicle. sometimes works and sometimes not. you have to try couple times to make it work.
Incident date: Dec 21, 2024
Backup camera does not always work
Incident date: Dec 21, 2024
Was driving my vehicle on the highway when it start chugging and died. Had to act Fast to get off the highway as there was no shoulder nor warning. I had the vehicle towed to my shop and they confirmed the engine was done. The water pump gave out while driving with no warning and took the engine out. It appears after doing some research Ford has 2 years of Explorers (2016 & 2017) that they did... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was a loud clanking sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not able to restart.... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, a message to pull over immediately was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the timing chain had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the c... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, a message to pull over immediately was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the timing chain had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the c... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
Ford recall 17S09 indicates back up camera malfunction indicating not working. My Ford Escape fits the year make and model, currently having that exact issue with a not working malfunctioning back up camera. Ford refuses to allow my VIN to be included into that recall repair even though it fits the parameters of the recall. Indicating the fault has to come from the NHTSA.
Incident date: Aug 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. The contact observed that the air bag warning light was illuminated when the vehicle was started. The contact researched online and concluded that the warning light illumination experienced was possibly related to the failure articulated in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V464000 (Air Bags). The contact called a dealer to explain the symptoms and the dealer advi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was an audible chime while a passenger was seated in the front passenger’s seat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The deale... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
Lost of drive power and the vehicle steering wheel locked on my mercedes from a damaged malfunctioning steering lock actuator module due to mechanical issues within the steering column such as bad steering wheel assembly, faulty steering lock module or issue with the wiring or other electrical components and the mercedes dealer is the only one who solves this issue no other mechanic in general. My... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
My wife was driving to the store on surface streets at about 9am on a clear morning. At a stop light, waiting for the green. After light turned green she accelerated at a normal rate. Midway through the intersection (at about 10 mph) the vehicles emergency braking system engaged for no reason slamming her to an immediate stop. There were no obstructions in front or to either side of the vehicle. T... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
On 1/17/25, I was on my commute to my office when I noted a very strong and unpleasant odor. Thinking it was from a truck in front of me, I passed the truck, cracked my passenger window and continued the short distance to my office. After work, when I returned to my car, I noted a hole burned through my driver's side leather seat. I didn't make the connection to the odor from that morning until... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
On 1/17/25, I was on my commute to my office when I noted a very strong and unpleasant odor. Thinking it was from a truck in front of me, I passed the truck, cracked my passenger window and continued the short distance to my office. After work, when I returned to my car, I noted a hole burned through my driver's side leather seat. I didn't make the connection to the odor from that morning until... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
The front windshield has cracked all the way across the bottom without a reason, while I was parked at work. There were no prior chips or dings that would cause the windshield to crack all the way across. There were no outside factors that would have caused this either since the stop was only a few minutes and was in a completely empty parking lot. I’ve read online, and also heard from the glass... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
Component Malfunctioned, All dashboard light are on. service check needed immediately. PCV heater not working ,cruise control not working, loose suspensions, knocking noise from the front and rear of the car. Air bags driver and passenger. All other UNKnown problems. I was told my Casey BMW of Newport News Va. That my car had no recalls? I am spending so much money just to try to keep my car updat... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
While accelerating up to 55MPH, the vehicle automatically shifted into neutral without warning. We tried to shift it back into Drive, nothing happened. We pulled off the road to try and shift in a reduced speed and still nothing. We finally came to a stop and tried to shift it into Drive, still nothing. There was an error message: “conditions not correct for shift”. We place vehicle into Park,... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the cruise control activated, the contact stated that after depressing the brake pedal the cruise control briefly failed to disengage. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The Electronic Power Control (EPC) and power train warning lights were... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the cruise control activated, the contact stated that after depressing the brake pedal the cruise control briefly failed to disengage. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The Electronic Power Control (EPC) and power train warning lights were... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
This is the fourth time this has happened to us during normal driving. I pulled out onto a highway and suddenly with no prior warning, the car lost all power and went into what I can only describe as a "limp mode" and wouldn't go above 5 mph. I had to quickly pull off the road as traffic was catching up at highway speed. The dashboard flashed "Malfunction, see owners manual" and we had an orange t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2025
iN jUNE 2024, the engine suddenly stopped running; IT was towed into the dealership and they had to replace the engine for rod bearing problems.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. The contact stated that upon driving from the dealer's parking lot after the dealer had performed the recall repair under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V542000 (Power Train), the transmission was shifting hard. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer the following day. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was related to the wheel bearing; however, the co... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2025
This has been an ongoing issue since I purchased the vehicle in July 2024. It has become so bad that the vehicle is nearly un-driveable. FORD states it is a non-issue, non safety related and there is no know fix at this time. FORD has been buying vehicles back due to this "secret recall" but after numerous calls and visits to both dealers and the Ford customer care line, nothing is being done... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
After driving vehicle for 20-30 minutes. I receive on the dashboard an error message that the Driver Assistance System is not working properly. This has happen even if the sensor is clear of any type of debris or objects.
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
[XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Fire
Incident date: Dec 19, 2024
Driving down highway at 60 mph and truck shut off. had to try to get it over to the shoulder to off the travel lane. Dealer found wire harness chaffed at front left shock tower ECM bracket. Several wires damaged, repaired and cleared codes. This could have been much worse had I been in heavy traffic and needed to cross additional lanes of traffic to park in a safe area. I had no power steering... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
I enrolled in the Volkswagen Car-Net Safe & Secure Trial for my 2020 VW Atlas, and shortly after, received a SOS error code disabling the Emergency Assistance available for the vehicle. I had no prior issues with the SOS error code/Emergency Assistance until I was enrolled in the trial. The dealership has confirmed that there is an internal failure with the Car-Net module in the vehicle.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
I purchased the new 2022 Cadillac XT6 in June 2022. The first week I owned the vehicle, I was driving and I lost power and the vehicle came to a stop. The mileage on the vehicle was 134 miles. The Cadillac dealer indicated there was a failure in the engine and power train that caused the engine to lock up. The dealer/GM replaced the engine in the new car with 134 miles on the vehicle. Attached ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
I purchased the new 2022 Cadillac XT6 in June 2022. The first week I owned the vehicle, I was driving and I lost power and the vehicle came to a stop. The mileage on the vehicle was 134 miles. The Cadillac dealer indicated there was a failure in the engine and power train that caused the engine to lock up. The dealer/GM replaced the engine in the new car with 134 miles on the vehicle. Attached ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2025
There has been a problem going on with my 2016 Honda Accord Touring and it’s unbelievably terrible it has something to do with the sound system in the car and it can’t be stopped even if you try to power off the Radio it still occurs and it’s an on going problem until the vehicle is powered off, basically it’s a static noise that comes through all speakers that starts off not too loud then... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
Upon starting the vehicle, there is a distinct gas smell that fills the cabin. It goes away after awhile driving, but happens again when the car has been turned off and started again. This comes through the air vents in the cabin. The outside of the car, from under the hood, also smells of gas when parked. The car cannot be parked inside a garage, or the entire garage smells of gas.
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
I obtained my vehicle on Lease in 2017 with 40K miles from Ford of Branford CT. When off lease I purchased it outright. I still own the vehicle and am still having Two main problems, One since almost the beginning. The First is the automatic seat control(driver's). This system would periodically push the driver into the Steering Wheel. I brought it into that dealership several times for that re... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2025
Car makes clicking/knocking noise in front end when turning left or right. Took to dealership and they said it is likely CV joint issue. Part is on back order and awaiting part for replacement. Unclear how safe it is to drive in this condition. Occurred with around 2000 miles on the car.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2025
During the month of September 2024 my Ford Escape Ecoboost developed a rough idle. I took it into our Ford dealership for evaluation. The diagnosis was that coolant had leaked into the cylinder #3 due to a head gasket failure and that I would need to have the engine long block replaced at an estimated cost, at the time, of about $8000. My vehicle has less than 45,000 miles on it. We had the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
I am writing to bring attention to a critical safety issue affecting the 2012 Toyota Prius and other Toyota models equipped with the brake booster and actuator system. These components are failing at alarming rates, leaving vehicles with no functional brakes, ABS, or traction control. Additionally, this failure compromises the hybrid system due to the regenerative braking no longer working, potent... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
I am writing to bring attention to a critical safety issue affecting the 2012 Toyota Prius and other Toyota models equipped with the brake booster and actuator system. These components are failing at alarming rates, leaving vehicles with no functional brakes, ABS, or traction control. Additionally, this failure compromises the hybrid system due to the regenerative braking no longer working, potent... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
I purchased a new 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4wd in May 2024 from a Chevrolet Dealer in East Tennessee, after having the truck for 5 months, it started experiencing a transmission "shutter / vibration" at higher speeds, it has also experienced a transmission "hard downshift" at times... a month later at only 4914 miles, it was dropped off at the chevrolet dealership here in my home state of Ala... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
The problem happened twice, this month: First incident, waiting at a red light, light turned green, I took foot off of the break and car turned off. Placed hazards on, put car into park and turned car off and then started back up. Reserving out driveway, went to shift from R to D and my car turned off. I placed the gear shift back into park and turned the car back on. There was no warning light... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2025
SUDDEN ACCELERATION, I WAS DRIVING IN MY OWN DRIVEWAY AND A MODEST SPEED T15 MPH I HAVE A CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY AND I WAS ASCENDING UP THE CIRCLE WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT MY ACTION. i TOOK MYI FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND HIT THE BREAK BUT THE CAR DID NOT STOP OR SLOW DOWN. IT CONTINUED UP MY DRIVEWAY ON MY LAWN AND ACCROSS MY LAWN THROUGH A FENCE AND I WOUND UP IN MY NEIGHBORS LOT W... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 5, 2025
SUDDEN ACCELERATION, I WAS DRIVING IN MY OWN DRIVEWAY AND A MODEST SPEED T15 MPH I HAVE A CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY AND I WAS ASCENDING UP THE CIRCLE WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT MY ACTION. i TOOK MYI FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND HIT THE BREAK BUT THE CAR DID NOT STOP OR SLOW DOWN. IT CONTINUED UP MY DRIVEWAY ON MY LAWN AND ACCROSS MY LAWN THROUGH A FENCE AND I WOUND UP IN MY NEIGHBORS LOT W... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
Water pump electrical plug not properly protected from water causing short circuit and possible fire hazard. Smell wires burning at water pump plug. It’s a known issue and actual recall on other bmw models.