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: Sep 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was electrical smoke emerging from the starter. The low power and battery warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the starter needed to be replaced. While driving, there was a loud clucking sound detected, and the engine seized. The contact stated that th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
The codes I uploaded the dealer is telling us that it is now requiring a new engine. All of the issues has an NTHS bulletin and is a recall on the same trucks same year except my Vin is cut off and not included, but is having the same exact issues as the ones in the recalls
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
On multiple occasions, the forward automatic breaking system has forced the breaks to turn on when there was no potential collision, causing the car to auto break/slow down in the flow of traffic and nearly get rear ended. The collision warning system triggers and the breaks quickly come on, out of my/the driver’s control. It has happened multiple times with family members in the car including y... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a humming sound coming from the sunroof. Additionally, the contact noticed a fluttering sound coming from underneath the vehicle and the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the sunroof assembly needed to be adjusted. In addit... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle shut off while on the interstate, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the driver’s side door became inoperable, with the plastic frame hanging off the door of the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted on the third attempt; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle shut off while on the interstate, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the driver’s side door became inoperable, with the plastic frame hanging off the door of the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted on the third attempt; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
Nearly every time I go to turn the power off the screen says "shift to park" but it's in park. The engine turns off and the vehicle SEEMS to be in park, but who knows? Then it keeps "dinging" and won't turn off. When I walk away with the keys it honks at me. I'm assuming it eventually turns off, I've been setting the parking brake. I checked google and lots of people are talking about this issue -... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
The vehicle goes into what they call a sleep mode. It shuts systems down to save the battery. At this point, it’s more of a nuisance than a major problem. Fortunately, every time I got in the vehicle, it started and was fine but what happens is it shuts down all the remote functions, you can’t use your app on the phone go to get in the car at night the interior lights aren’t working. It’s ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
The CP4 fuel pump began failing with the truck just over 100K miles. When taken in for routine service there were traces of metal shavings in my fuel. This is a widely known problem with the CP4 and is still being used in Ford trucks. The cost of repairs is substantial. The best case is you catch it early and it only costs between $3-6,000. If I had not caught this and the entire fuel system had b... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The vehicle shifts between reverse, neutral and drive without the automatic shift knob being pressed. This is an absolute safety issues, since it can shift at speed, causing a major accident. This is an ongoing issue. But don’t see a recall for it. I’ve contacted Mini of San Francisco.
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
Component that failed is a/an electric coolant pump for turbo. Yes, it is available for inspection. Safety was compromised due to increased risk of fire. Yes, the issue has been confirmed by Audi Service Department. Yes the vehicle has been inspected by Manufacturers local service department. Yes, the check engine light and ECU light were illuminated on the dash of vehicle 3 weeks before ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
When braking the brakes will occasionally “quit”, causing unexpected acceleration. They kick back on if I stomp hard on the brake, causing the occupants to jolt forward. It could easily cause a collision if an unexpected vehicle or pedestrian were in the way, and could cause a rear end collision were I to have someone following close behind and hard brake unexpectedly. This has been reporte... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
Engine suddenly stopped working on the highway, we towed the car to the garage and they mentioned that the crankshaft was misaligned and that the engine must be replaced. We were good with our oil changes over the life of our ownership of the car. It only has 119K miles.
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
Under braking conditions and hitting a bump on a paved road, the vehicle will have a 1 to 3 second momentary loss of braking. At the same time, a grinding noise, similar to (if not the same as) the ABS system is heard, and the VSC light flashes. The occurrence of this problem is unpredictable, the severity is inconsistent. It happens across various ranges of brake pressure/deceleration rates and s... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Acura TLX. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19V060000 (Fuel System, Other) and 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were 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... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
On July 29, 2024, when my husband backed the vehicle out of the garage slowly, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and it hit the stone column causing a big damage to the car. I believe the pedal speed control and emergency brake have problems. When I reported to Tesla, they said the vehicle was not at fault. They said the issue had been resolved remotely by the engineer and cancelled my service appo... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
*Premature water pump failure that is housed in the timing chain chamber and driven by the timing chain. Component is not available for inspection as of this complaint because vehicle is being repaired. *Possible sudden catastrophic engine failure due to water pump failure, which will put safety of driver, passengers, and others at risk. *I am not aware if problem has been reproduced or confirmed ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
Infotainment systems makes a crackling sound then the whole system will shut down and screen goes black. Nothing with the system will work including the back up camera.
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
Greetings, my name is --- My vehicle's VIN number is --- At the end of April 2024 I purchased a car from the seller, the seller claimed that my title was clean, he showed me pictures and it was indeed so When I came to Denver with this car, I put the car on the local registry and got a new title and it was clean too My wife was recently in an accident and the Tesla authorized service center didn'... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
1. Both driver and passenger front seat latches that allow seat to fold forward to access rear seats have broken at approximately 70,000 miles. This will be the second time for the driver side to be repaired. It was repaired back in 2018 under warranty when brand new and has now failed. Currently the cost to repair is approximately $500. The replacement parts are made of flimsy plastic that wil... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2024
1. Both driver and passenger front seat latches that allow seat to fold forward to access rear seats have broken at approximately 70,000 miles. This will be the second time for the driver side to be repaired. It was repaired back in 2018 under warranty when brand new and has now failed. Currently the cost to repair is approximately $500. The replacement parts are made of flimsy plastic that wil... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
Sunroof glass seperated from frame And broke
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder and the brake booster pump assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil light and engine warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle had been consuming excessive engine oil. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed crankshaft and rocker arm. The contact was informed that the crankshaft... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2024
The A/C evaporator is leaking and it is not working anymore, according to the local Honda Service Center (Pacific Honda San Diego). That's a safety issue because when the A/C doesn't work, the car can't defrost the windshield properly. The local dealership let me know that many cars of the same model are suffering the same issue,
Incident date: Aug 24, 2024
The A/C evaporator is leaking and it is not working anymore, according to the local Honda Service Center (Pacific Honda San Diego). That's a safety issue because when the A/C doesn't work, the car can't defrost the windshield properly. The local dealership let me know that many cars of the same model are suffering the same issue,
Incident date: Sep 24, 2020
Hi i toke in my truck twice because of it was jerking was told it was fine noting was wrong my truck is now doing it so hard it feels like I been hit by another car
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the driver's and passenger's side seat belts failed to retract. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a delay in the seat belt retractor. The contact was informed that the driver's and passenger's side seat belts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Alerts: UI_a020 - Steering Assist Reduced APP_w264 - Lane Departure features unavailable This incident happened suddenly during a normal commute from work to home. It caused the steering of the vehicle to be very heavy and difficult to control which could have potentially led to an unwanted accident on the road. There root cause seems to be a failure in the steering rack component of the car. It... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact’s son owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while decelerating and coming to a stop, the vehicle lost motive power and shut off. The contact stated that after approximately 5 - 10 minutes the vehicle would independently restart with the A/C unit on high. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) had failed and needed to be r... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the tailgate failed to open while using the tailgate handle. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
Driving into my garage the vehicle is swerving the wheel and sounding alarms that I am “departing a lane” even though I do not have a lane departure Alerts or assistance enabled. Unlike Tesla response to my reports, this is when I am driving manually auto pilot is not engaged like they keep asserting
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
Brakes stopped working suddenly. All of the brake system started flashing warnings. electric parking brake light is on when parking brake is not engaged. Warning lights all flashed: Electric Parking Brake Problem, Brake System Problem, Brake Hold System Problem, Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, Collision Mitigation System Problem, and Road Departure Mitigation System Problem. This car has 50k mile... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
Brakes stopped working suddenly. All of the brake system started flashing warnings. electric parking brake light is on when parking brake is not engaged. Warning lights all flashed: Electric Parking Brake Problem, Brake System Problem, Brake Hold System Problem, Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, Collision Mitigation System Problem, and Road Departure Mitigation System Problem. This car has 50k mile... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
Problem #1: The Components that failed are the front wheel fenders, they blew off while driving down the highway, they have since been repaired. the repairman said that these blow off all the time due to how they are installed with plastic clips and glue. My families safety was put at risk because the moment that this happened the sensor was showing something that was about to hit us. had the auto... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve failed. Confirmed by dealer, Culver City Chevrolet, 8/29/2024. Failed EGR valve causes gas engine to emit harmful smog forming emissions. This part is still covered by 10 year, 150,000 mile warranty. However, GM/Chevrolet has not made a replacement available and GM representatives have provided no estimate of when or if that replacement part will be ma... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
Car shuts off when going into idle when at a traffic stop or in traffic. Does not restart. Completely shuts off goes into neutral then park and have to press brake and start the car again. Has happens 4 times in last 2 weeks.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2024
The transmission in these Ford Trucks has a failed bushing that allows fluid to escape the drum used to operate the three overdrive clutches. It causes the truck to suddenly stall, lurch forward unexpectedly, and it poses a major safety risk . Trucks with this issue can suddenly lose power at highway speeds causing traffic accidents.
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
We have tried to figure out what is going on with our brakes for months now. We have changed our brakes to new brakes and took into two car repair shops. Both even after explaining to them couldn’t figure it out because it does not do it all the time. We thought it could be the brake booster or something but they don’t want to changed it if it’s not Our brakes become hard will not brake eve... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while adding coolant, the coolant was leaking out. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly. The vehicle was turned off and restarted and there was smoke detected. The contact opened the hood and noticed that the coolant level was low. The check engine warning light was illu... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
Vehicle jerks at low speed when accelerate and idle when accelerate, P0766 Code shows, engine noise and gears jump, when reverse the vehicle jerks.
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The speedometer is not always accurate. About 75-80% of the time at highway speeds the speedometer shows 4mph higher than WAZE. While I understand this could be a WAZE issue itself, I have completed the following test. I was driving at highway speed with my wife following me in her vehicle. My speedometer is 4MPH faster than WAZE in my car, WAZE in her car and her speedometer. My WAZE, her WAZ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a chemical burning odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. Later, while driving the check engine warning light illuminated, and the "throttle body" message was displayed before the vehicle decelerated and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the crankshaft position... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH during a rainstorm, the windshield wipers failed to operate as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. Despite the failure, the contact was able to continue driving at slower speeds. The contact had called two dealers (Columbia Acura and Jeff Wyler Acura of Fairfield (5555 Dixie Hwy, Fairfield, OH 45014) who both pr... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Maverick. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under an unknown recall and the powertrain control module software update, and the key fob failed to communicate with the vehicle and the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the battery wirin... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
The following message suddenly appeared one day and since then, they kept coming back on every time starting the car: ACC problem, Collision Mitigation Problem, Lake Keep Assist Problem, Auto High Beam Problem, Brake Problem, and sometimes Transmission Problem as well. After research online, many other owners of the same vehicle had the same issue and which may be caused by faulty connector or fau... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2023
My safety & the safety of others was at great risk while driving my 2018 dodge charger sxt. While driving my dashboard lights went completely dark and the steering wheel locked. I was unable to move out of lanes threatening my life and the life of others around me. Independent mechanic put scanner in my car days later and code that appeared was “U0100 Lost Communication With ECM/PCM” I looked ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2024
Windshield wiper motor works and there’s windshield wiper fluid and wind water tank but when you pull the windshield wiper flu lever to disperse clean your windshield nothing comes out taking it to mechanic. He can’t find anything wrong with it fluid go somewhere when you pull the lever except for on the windshield. Don’t know where it goes because you can empty the fluid tank out and not se... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
Airbag front passenger side has defect will not deploy. The dashboard light alert is on, as per dealership review stated airbag defect will not deploy and needs to be replaced. Car has never used airbag. Other same vehicles have been recalled but this batch of atlas cross sport suvs were not included.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
The infotainment center in my 2014 GX460 is stuck in the rebooting phase. This system controls the cars temperature, radio, and vehicle settings. Not being able to access all of the temperature controls poses a safety risk especially with extreme temperatures. Ive heard this is a common issue with this vehicle and am shocked there hasn’t been a recall for it.