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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 138,338 complaints for TOYOTA

Incident date: Feb 1, 2025

2019 highlander has a winding sound coming from engine area, no warning lights turned on but winding sound only occurs when in drive and accelerating. vehicle has 90000 miles and winding sound started around 80000 miles. i brought highlander to toyota service and they stated they heard the sound but didnt diagnose it.

Incident date: Feb 1, 2025

Incident date: Jan 19, 2026

I purchased a new 2020 Hyundai Palisade SEL. When I only had 47,683 miles I had my rear shocks replaced for the third time. Poor handling, and noise when the shocks fail. The shocks needing replaced was confirmed by the dealer service department. No warning lamps or messages were displayed.

Incident date: Jan 17, 2026

Add a stoplight or stop sign at a full and complete stop…. I pressed down the accelerator and nothing happens for about a second and a half… When it finally does respond, it jumps as if it was struggling to get into gear and popped itself… However, then it goes right back to normal.. But the slow starting happens very often. Definite lag when punching on the gas.

Incident date: Jan 17, 2026

I was driving on a 2-lane road early in the morning with light snowfall. There was about 1" of snow on the road, with the roads not yet plowed or treated as it was the beginning of the snowfall. About 15 minutes into my trip, I was on a relatively flat and straight stretch of the road and let up on the gas paddle to avoid going too fast -- was probably traveling ~35 mph. Although the road was s... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

The car began making a knocking sound on my 5.8 mile drive. On my drive home from work, the knocking was louder, and the car barely accelerated on the highway and over-revved trying to hit at least 50 mph to keep up with the flow of traffic. I took the car to the Hyundai Service Center immediately using city streets rather than the highway. I had a family member follow me to make sure I made it to... Read more

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

There is a transmission shudder when traveling around 30-40 MPH as well as sporadically when increasing speed. Recently, there is a very hard shift/jolt when transmission is shifting from 2nd to 3rd. The issue is caused by a combination of a faulty torque converter and a software glitch in the engine control module (ECM). This is a safety hazard, and I contacted Toyota dealership in Vineland who t... Read more

Incident date: Jan 19, 2026

My Husband was driving my van with me and my 2 children inside the vehicle and the vehicle lost all power and stalled in the middle of the road and would not restart there was no warning light no noise from the motor or anything. The problem has been confirmed by a independent garage and a Kia dealer this happened on 12/20/25

Incident date: Jan 19, 2026

The brake actuator and compressor is having repeated problems and causing the brakes to lock up completely while driving both in city and ON THE HIGHWAY. Abs/parking/normal brakes The lights on the dash all start flashing and beeping. ABS / emergency brake / exclamation warning / sliding / lights all on It also caused the speedometer to stop working and most of the lights of the computer part of... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2007 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for an inspection. While the dealer was inspecting the ABS and struts, the contact was informed that the PCV valve was damaged. The ABS was repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V683... Read more

Incident date: Oct 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that after loading groceries into the trunk, she reached into a hidden compartment in the trunk when the rear liftgate unexpectedly closed. The contact tripped and fell on the pavement, injuring her cheekbone, wrist, and knee, and sustained a black eye. The contact received medical treatment. The contact stated that the failure had occurred... Read more

1 injured

Incident date: Oct 6, 2025

In October, 2025 I learned of a serious safety recall for improperly welded seat rails during manufacturing of a 2025 Toyota Sienna. I was not officially communicated of this safety recall by mail until December, 2025. I purchased this vehicle specifically to safely transport children and elderly parents, requiring full functionality of the captains seats and rear seats. While a repair/fix is be... Read more

Incident date: Dec 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2002 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle had failed the State Inspection because the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 03V251000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The dealer was contacted for recall completion and informed the contact that the recall was not applicable to the vehicle because the contact did not reside in the States listed in the recall. The contac... Read more

Incident date: Jan 6, 2026

My 2019 Lincoln MKC with only 52,200 miles experienced unrepairable engine damage due to an internal coolant intrusion condition that directly matches Ford TSB 22-2229. On or around Jan 1st or 2nd, a check engine warning light came on as I was driving home at night. I did not drive my car any further except to the dealership for service on 1/5/2026. The engine failure was diagnosed by the dealersh... Read more

Incident date: Jan 6, 2026

Coolant is rapidly leaking into the number 2 cylinder causing rough idle, extreme venting form exhaust. Vehicle cannot be driven without causing catastrophic engine damage which could result in loss of power creating a safety issue, or engine fire. Ford knows about the design defect for years and refuses to recall the affected vehicle. The photos below are not my vehicle. They were downloaded from... Read more

Incident date: Nov 6, 2025

Vehicle experienced sudden loss of power while driving at highway speed. While driving on the interstate at highway speed in dark, snowy, high-traffic conditions, the vehicle displayed a warning about an electrical system fault and instructed me to “stop safely.” The vehicle immediately lost some propulsion and ramped down speed. We were only narrowly able to exit the highway before it would ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 6, 2025

Unknown. Intermittently when merging into highway traffic from the onramp, the truck will stall and I will lose acceleration. There will be a loss in power and the truck speed will not change. instead it will just coast with no ability to change speed. I have owned the truck for 1 year and 3months. I advised the dealer and they can not duplicate the issue.

Incident date: Nov 6, 2025

Incident date: Jan 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle intermittently lost power steering functionality. The message "EPS Failure" was displayed. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14E044000 (Steering); however, the contact related the failure to the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed ... Read more

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V347000 ( Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the driver's side door exterior B-Pillar trim had detached, causing the mounted keypad to detach. The failure left a hole in the mounting area of the keypad. The contact stated that the B-... Read more

Incident date: Jan 9, 2026

**This complaint isn't directly related to the safety of the car** However, due to outstanding number of similar cases i've witness online. I would like to formally make a complaint for the defective White paint on my Kia vehicle. Like many other "white" Kia and Hyundai vehicles, the white paint is bubbling and peeling from multiple areas of my vehicle all at once. I have always taken care of an... Read more

Incident date: Dec 16, 2025

Vehicle is approximately 8 months old, has 9390 miles on odometer. While on a road trip, we stopped to charge the vehicle at a DC fast charging site. After about 10 minutes of charging, there was a loud pop sound and the vehicle stopped charging. Attempting to unplug and replug the charger into the car gave nothing but an error. Contacting support, was told that the vehicle has an air flap problem... Read more

Incident date: Oct 1, 2025

Piston oil ring recall update complete in July 20 25. A month later key fob battery dies. Replaced key fob battery every other month since recall. September 20 25 had brakes and rotors changed at dealership since then anti-slip alert has triggered twice on dry roads. Light comes on then immediately goes off. Remote car starter stopped working in December. Dealership had no resolution for key fob i... Read more

Incident date: Jan 19, 2026

The drivers side door latch does not allow the driver to exist the vehicle as the door lock on the drivers door has only worked intermittently. When the lock doesn’t unlock on the drivers door, I have to use the passenger or rear doors to enter and/or exit the vehicle. The drivers door won’t even allow me to manually unlock the door using the latch—when I grip the latch tight enough to gr... Read more

Incident date: May 20, 2025

On 8/22/25 was brought to my local GMC dealer for the L87 engine propulsion recall. The dealership tested and said the vehicle passed the test. On 12/3/25 while driving on a multi lane highway the vehicle engine stopped abruptly. The message restart engine appeared on the dashboard. I had to negotiate other vehicle travelling at highway speeds to get to coast off to a side street. The transmission... Read more

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

At the time of engine failure, my husband was on the offramp between 140N and 24N at approximately 8:30pm. This ramp is under construction and narrow, but state troopers stopped and were able to push the car to the side of the road. As it was nighttime, my husband and /or other motor vehicle drivers/passengers could've been seriously injured. The car did not display any warning lights or signals. ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 6, 2020

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, reversing, and then while driving 20 MPH, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the front of the vehicle. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was currently being diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: TSB-0... Read more

Incident date: Jan 15, 2026

Unknown

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

Very strong fuel smell coming from parked vehicle after filling the Gas Tank. After driving 40 miles to remove approximately 1/4 of a the Tank, fumes are gone. 1/06/2026: Took Truck to closest Dealership. Burlington Hyundai Nj and they had it for 3 days. (The Tank was not Full) and they didn't find anything wrong. They still have not given me any documents on what the checked. They said I would ge... Read more

Incident date: Jan 7, 2026

The 25 pathfinder SV back up camera lags 2 to 3 seconds when shifted to reverse. It show a still image of what's behind but does not update to live feed till a few seconds later. This is dangerous as there have been many cases where I thought what the camera was showing was a live view behind my car when it was just a still image. I have had some close calls when backing into parkings spots.

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

As I was drive home at 45 mph the vehicle started surging and then the engine started knocking. then I stopped the vehicle and called Toyota for a tow. The truck was towed to the local dealer (Sheehy Toyota) for inspection. upon inspection the motor has a bad knocking in the lower end of the engine. The truck is now in the shop getting the engine disassembled. believed to be a main bearing failure... Read more

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

“Engine Maintenance Required, See your dealer” light comes on the dashboard with a warning bell. Did a diagnostic test, and the code is the coolant bypass valve malfunction. This seems to be a common issue among 2020-2021 models. This has been inspected by professional mechanics.

Incident date: Sep 11, 2025

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Minivan Right passenger door fell off and out at the back when my wife was opening the door manually in NJ 20 degree temp - - almost injuring my wife. The back end corner of the door fell to the ground when both the top support and middle support came completely out of their tracks. The door is still attached front bottom. The door is very heavy and could have cause s... Read more

Incident date: Jan 10, 2026

I am reporting a safety defect involving my 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The vehicle experiences repeated hybrid system failures, including “system charging” errors, rapid battery depletion from full to zero within minutes, and vehicle stalling. These failures have occurred multiple times, even after dealership repair attempts. The vehicle has stalled and been towed more than once, most re... Read more

Incident date: Jan 10, 2026

The brake actuator/ABS hydraulic system on my 2013 Toyota Prius failed. The component is available for inspection upon request, as it was replaced by a Toyota dealership. Prior to failure, the vehicle intermittently displayed ABS, Traction Control, and VSC warning lights while driving, which would sometimes clear on their own but eventually became persistent. This condition reduced or disabled ABS... Read more

Incident date: Jun 18, 2025

Vehicle: 2016 Hyundai Sonata VIN: [XXX] While stopped in traffic with my foot firmly on the brake, my vehicle begins to accelerate before I release the brake pedal. This is not normal “creep” — the engine increases RPM and the vehicle moves forward as if the accelerator is being applied, even though it is not. This condition has occurred multiple times and creates a serious safety risk. T... Read more

Incident date: Jan 5, 2026

Rear brakes backing plates rotted prematurely despite garage kept and well maintained status. While driving, noticed loud scraping and grinding noises from the rear left wheel. Took to mechanic and he found severe rust, with deep corrosion and flaking "rotted". He said I was lucky because this was very close to causing the entire brake assembly to fail, which would lead to serious braking problems... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2025

I went to pull seat belt across me and the whole belt including the box that is attached by a wire cable came with it. It's no longer attached to the floor. I didn't have any signs that it was lose or anything it just broke when I got into my seat getting ready to leave my home.

Incident date: Jun 10, 2025

Transmission yes it’s available for inspection rite now on vacation on a very steep hill the transmission quit pulling at the top of the hill in the middle of a very narrow street and we had to ease backwards down to a place on the hill to turn around and get to level ground all this happened with no previous warning

Incident date: Nov 3, 2025

Brand new engine blew up while driving. It had 2,000 miles on it. It has been replaced but am worried it will happen again

Incident date: Jan 19, 2016

I am requesting formal escalation and review of my case due to a repeat failure of a safety recall component that has rendered my vehicle unsafe and not safely operable. My vehicle is a 2016 Ford Fusion. In 2024, a door latch safety recall repair was completed at an authorized Ford dealership. The same door latch has now failed again, causing the door to not close or latch at all, creating the sa... Read more

Incident date: Jan 19, 2016

Vehicle will not pass safety inspection due to severe deterioration of the frame. The rest of the vehicle is still intact and operable.

Incident date: Jan 12, 2026

265/50R20 Cooper Evolution H/T, all 4 tires have cracks all the way around each tire, possibly sidewall defects. Tires were purchased new from Bob’s tire in Attalla, Alabama.

Incident date: Nov 24, 2025

Battery drains overnight. Started with a boost all dashboard warning lights on, vehicle runs fine all day with many starts and stops, battery dies again overnight. Diagnosed with a bad fuel pump control module that continues to run and does not shut off until all battery power is drained. Mechanic changed the fuel pump control module, cleared all fault codes, and vehicle fixed. I saw a Carfax rep... Read more

Incident date: Jan 15, 2026

After driving the vehicle for 30 minutes to an hour in temperatures approximately above 45°F the steering wheel will get "stuck" on center and go loose then tighten again when trying to make minor corrections in steering. Easiest to duplicate on roads with speed limits at or above 55 mph. If temperatures are below 40°F when the vehicle is started, the issue cannot be duplicated unless the temper... Read more

Incident date: Dec 20, 2025

1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The airbag system, specifically the curtain airbags and related airbag control components, malfunctioned by deploying spontaneously without any collision or impact. The vehicle and deployed airbags are still available and can be inspected upon request. 2. How was your safety or the safety of other... Read more

Incident date: Dec 30, 2025

Warning lights came on at approximately 46000 miles. Brought to dealer for faulty lifters. One week later they decided that the lifters had damaged the cam and now the dealer wants to replace the motor.. Unfortunately for us the dealer has no car that we can use, so we had to rent a vehicle. Hopefully it will be ready in 2 weeks. That will make it four weeks with out a vehicle

Incident date: Jan 3, 2026

Any time a passenger sits in the passenger seat in the shows on my dashboard “ front right malfunction service required “

Incident date: May 1, 2025

The Incident: On January 16, 2026, around 9:00 AM, while I was driving on the Edens Expressway from Glenview to Evanston, I heard a loud "explosion-type" sound. Safety Factor: The moonroof spontaneously combusted, but the sunshade was closed due to the 30-degree snowy weather, which fortunately prevented glass from falling on me. Dealer Inspection: Muller Honda inspected the vehicle and co... Read more

Incident date: Dec 21, 2021

Transmission down shifts hard sometimes. Notice more when coming off highway and making exits slowing down.

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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