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 138,338 complaints for TOYOTA
Incident date: Feb 24, 2021
I had a significant car accident in 2020 and luckily only broke my thumb. I was rear ended. The car I had at the time was a brand new Toyota Rav4, which luckily did have side airbags and they deployed appropriately. However, I have since had the opportunity to drive other vehicles and would like to ensure the safety of myself and others on the road whether the car be foreign or domestic. Please se... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
While driving approximately 75 mph in the passing lane on highway, the vehicle suddenly automatically brake. Pulled back into the right lane and didn't really understand what happened. Next time i pulled out to pass and had a car on my right hand side it did the same thing. Pulled back into right hand lane and stayed there for quite some time. I then turned off the all around sensor @ and it didnt... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
Two times I have been driving in busy areas and when I brought my car to a stop at red lights and it’s turned green, my car will no longer move, but stays running so then I have to turn it off and turn it back on for it to gain motor function again. I have almost been rear-ended twice.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
Upon a cold start my vehicle was making a rattling and ticking sound and the car would shake. There were no engine failure or warning lights that came on but the engine did not sound like it was running properly and clearly something was wrong. I took the vehicle in and was told that the Variable Cam Timing parts need to be replaced. In doing some research it appears that the VCT on the 2019 Navig... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
I have a 2020 Jeep Wrangler with 42,000 miles on it and the steering damper malfunctioned twice causing my vehicle to shake while on the interstate going about 70 mph. Very unsafe when you are in the middle of traffic going the same mph and have to slow down for the shaking / wobble to stop. I am scared that it will do it again. I’m paying a nice payment each month for my Jeep and I shouldn’t ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
Car had error on dashboard of Engine stopped power steering low, car is available for inspection. Car would not start in the middle of the night while raining, had smoke coming out the front. Problem not reproduced at dealership. No other warnings were shown beforehand.
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
I was driving on highway 68 and heard a loud bang. Like an explosion. Parked my car and found that the sunroof had exploded. It sounded like a gunshot.
Incident date: Jan 24, 2025
After purchasing this vehicle from my aunt and uncle my one headlight when bad after purchasing the headlights I replaced both the right and left one while removing the old headlights the insulation from the wires just crumbles off casuing a short bc the wires are zip tied several times together and causes my lights to flicker or not work at all while the the car keeps notifying me that there is a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling in the driveway, the temperature gauge was showing that the indicator had raised to HOT, and the message "Engine Coolant over Temperature" was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact shifted the gear selector into drive(D) and accelerated and the temperature gauge lowered back to the normal engine temperatu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling in the driveway, the temperature gauge was showing that the indicator had raised to HOT, and the message "Engine Coolant over Temperature" was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact shifted the gear selector into drive(D) and accelerated and the temperature gauge lowered back to the normal engine temperatu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2025
From the start, I would say after a few months of having my vehicle I had EBS issues and after that I had my vehicle shut down while I was driving and go into limp mode at it said engine reduce power or reduce engine power and it has done that four times This last time it said reduce engine power and all mercy breaking systems failed. There was a knocking in the engine, like there was no oil in it... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
Just bought this truck. I was driving down the highway and my sunroof had exploded and blew off the top of my truck. I also noticed that my windshield is wavy and hard to see through.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (STRUCTURE); 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 experience... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2025
When I turned on the car this morning, the instrument cluster screen was black and would not activate. Because of this, there was no way to determine speed or to utilize driver assistance functions. This created significantly unsafe condition because I had no gauges or dials to assist. I turned the car off multiple times and attempted to reset it and the instrument cluster screen was still black a... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags); 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 dealer was contacted and inquired if there was air bag warning light illuminated. The dealer confirmed that the w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
I am a [XXX]. I contacted Honda customer service to escalate my situation. I have not yet received help from the Winston-Salem Honda dealer as of 9:00 a.m. on 10/18/24. I have complained to the Department of Justice's consumer protection division. I have sent documentation. I reached out on Facebook. I was last contacted by Dallas, even though Mike's name is on my last paperwork. This is suspiciou... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2023 Honda Civic Type-R. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle lost motive and unintendedly decelerated. The contact stated that the vehicle regained normal functions shortly after the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred approximately 2... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); 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 manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Specifically when in somewhat cool and cold temperatures the Front Drive Unit is emitting abnormal high pitched sound that is intermittent at times and that is causing a distraction while driving and is very bothersome. Tesla acknowledged they hear it but nothing is being done about. Front Drive Unit should be replaced.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Specifically when in somewhat cool and cold temperatures the Front Drive Unit is emitting abnormal high pitched sound that is intermittent at times and that is causing a distraction while driving and is very bothersome. Tesla acknowledged they hear it but nothing is being done about. Front Drive Unit should be replaced.
Incident date: Jan 30, 2025
The trunk of the car stopped opening with the “open trunk button” from inside the car and also does not work with the key fob option. The trunk now needs to be opened by key from key fob everytime. Water is leaking through the trunk of the car and cause to have mold in the car. An electrical problem with the audio of the car stopped working. The radio or bluetooth no longer works due to the au... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2025
My 2018 Silverado 1500 has had 3 cylinder 4 misfires over a 9 month period that had to be repaired after warranty. This caused the repair/replacement of the lifters. I have had this happen for a forth time this year January 7 2025 with the same code of "cylinder 4 misfire". That means four of the same issues in one year. I can be driving along smoothly, then suddenly from one light to the next... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2025
It’s been raining for about 4-5 hours by now, I drove to church (1 hour drive) left my car outside in the parking lot in the rain while I was there. Then drove home (another 1 hour) and when I came home just now I sat in my car parked with the engine on for about 5 minutes when suddenly the car started shaking and then it turned off with a message “Engine Stopped - Power Steering Low, ignition... Read more
TOYOTA
LAND CRUISER HYBRID
(2025) — LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
Jan 30, 2025
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 35 MPH, the front hood latch unexpectedly opened, causing the hood to rise up. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact immediately stopped and parked on the side of the road, and the contact closed the trunk and continued driving. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagn... Read more
TOYOTA
CROWN SIGNIA
(2025) — POWER TRAIN
Jan 30, 2025
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact was able to exit the highway and stop the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and was able to regain vehicle functionality. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local dealer... Read more
TOYOTA
PRIUS PRIME
(2023) — ENGINE
Jan 30, 2025
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
Engine seized on 2 separate occasions and was reported to have repairs before we purchased also. Chevrolet took the truck both times, the first attempted repair claimed lifter issues. The second repair they replaced the engine.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2010
Vehicule does not respond when push the gas pedal. There is a delay on the vehicule respond after push the gas. Creating false idea of not pushing the gas enough. Suddenly the vehicule react loosing control.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2010
Harness is able to loosen on its own when child moves while secured in the seat. Seat is affected by recall. Notified of recall months ago but still do not have the supposed fix from the manufacturer. Looks like I am going to have to buy a different seat.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel was significantly difficult to turn. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the electric power steering assist became functional. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the failure was related to the electric power steering, bu... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
The vehicle abruptly stopped driving going 40 mph, this could have caused an accident or rollover had It been on the highway. The check engine light came on after the incident. This was towed by flatbed to the dealership where it was diagnosed as the ptu.
TOYOTA
CAMRY HYBRID
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OIL/LUBRICATION:PIPES, HOSES, AND FITTINGS
Jan 30, 2025
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle drove over a bump in the roadway and started losing motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. Despite the failure, the contact was able to drive at a reduced speed back to the residence. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that the intercooler hose had cracked, causing the vehicle to lose ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2025
I purchased this BMW X5 xDrive50e vehicle from BMW showroom in kalamazoo, MI as a pre-owned vehicle. It looks like this particular vehicle had already reported an drivetrain issue based on the NHTSA complaint: [XXX] Looks like Drivetrain malfunction issue is a recurring one in BMW X5 50e and hit with the same issue on [XXX]. Here, i want to file a complaint regarding a safety issues with this 20... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
On January 22, 2025, I was driving at highway speed and suddenly my car seemed to lag in power. It slowed from about 60mph to 40mph and pressing on the gas did not do anything. The Check Engine light began flashing. I felt like it would continue to slow down and it was rush hour. I managed to safely exit the freeway and parked the car. I turned it off, waited a moment, turned it back on. It seemed... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
brakes are difficult to press (VERY HARD)
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
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
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 29, 2025
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
I was trying to reverse the car from my Garage. I turned on the Engine and put the vehicle in Reverse Gear. The vehicle just zoomed out of the driveway leaving me without the ability to control it and hit a tree on a neighbor's house and stopped. Then I tried to bring the Car into the Garage by engaging the Drive Gear. Again, the vehicle zoomed into the Garage, hit a few objects in the garage and... Read more
Crash
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) — STEERING
Jan 29, 2025
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
The steering wheel "sticks" at dead center when on a smooth straight road. When I try to make a micro adjustment due to road crown, wind, etc., the wheel won't move without considerable force, then will suddenly give way and jump off center the direction I'm pushing. Then I have to correct back.
Incident date: Jan 19, 2025
Subject: Transmission Issue – 2021 Toyota Highlander Dear NHTSA, I am reporting a serious transmission issue with my 2021 Toyota Highlander (82,000 miles). I recently took it to the dealership for an unusual noise, and they diagnosed a transmission failure, quoting over $9,000 for replacement and service. After researching, I discovered Toyota has known about transmission issues in the 2021 H... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2025
THROTTLE BODY ACTUATOR BMW OEM PART # 13547619008 FITS ALL BMW MODELS 2016-2024. IT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO FAIL ACROSS MULTIPLE BMW MODEL LINES, particularly in the E60, E90, and E92 series. when it fails, the engine power goes into a safe mode which drops the rpms down to idle speed around 500 rpm and the car can only go a few mph. this happened on the freeway in lane number one at the speed limit,... Read more
TOYOTA
SEQUOIA HYBRID
(2024) — POWER TRAIN
Jan 29, 2025
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. In addition, the contact stated that an unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed lead frame. The contact was informed that th... Read more
TOYOTA
SEQUOIA HYBRID
(2024) — VISIBILITY/WIPER
Jan 29, 2025
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The windshield on this vehicle is unsafe. VW either has a design issue with the angle of the windshield or an issue with the type of material the windshield is made out of. Since owning the vehicle I have had to have 2 windshield repairs in the last 3 months, both of which were covered by insurance “free” of charge (or so I thought) however the charges were reflected on my insurance as claims,... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2025
In early 2021, the doorhandle on the driver's side of my car froze in minimal snow/freezing rain. The electronics in the doorhandle were corrupted, and broke. This cause a short in the system, making my car lock and unlock itself uncontrolled, thereby draining the battery. The car could not be jumpstarted for this reason because the battery was perpetually drained. It required being towed, and the... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. After several attempts, the vehicle was restarted, and the contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. After waiting for a while the contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving slowly; however, the failure recu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
Rod bearing three has started knocking and is throwing a catalytic converter code
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
This Toyota has several large rust holes directly on the frame. i hit a pot hole and more structure damage was revealed on the frame from rust. The truck drives rough now. The vehicle only has 150,000 miles. The rust holes are so severe that they're directly under my suspension. I feel very unsafe driving this vehicle. Their was once a recall for the frame. It doesn't seem that it was satisfied. I... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
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: Nov 8, 2024
The contact's parents owned a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact's parent stated that the vehicle was parked and turned off at a local grocery store. The contact's parents were informed that the front of the vehicle had caught on fire. The vehicle was extinguished by the Fire Department. A fire report was filed, and a fire report number was not provided; however, the cause for the failure was not yet ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
The air bag warning system shows "passenger air-bags not engaged" If involved in any accident that requires passenger air-bags to inflate, they will not. Causing serious to deadly consequences. January 28 2025 the Mazda service department had our vehicle to recalibrating the system. Checking the problem after the service still show the same problem. Another Mazda CX-30 was brought over, and the... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the A-pillar trim on the driver's side windshield started to detach. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated that parts were not yet availabl... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2014) — ENGINE
Jan 29, 2025
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
Truck with >15000 miles on it suddenly stops on highway (Dec 6, 2024). Engine won't start but all electrical components work, retractable steps, radio, bluetooth etc. When attempted to start, all electric went black and "push to start button again" came on display. Towed to dealer and after 3 days, advisor says it's not the battery but it might be something electrical. After six days I trade this... Read more