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 15,318 complaints for VOLVO
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
I had to take my vehicle to Toyota bc it failed to start. There was an error code that of coolant issue error code and this was reported to the dealership they said that wasn’t the issue and my wires were chewed however I see that there actually is a history of issues with that incident and I wonder if I was given incorrect diagnosis from dealership this costed thousands of dollars from my insur... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
Never in all my years of driving have I or anyone i know experienced a vehicle with such a sensitive windshield that cracks with even minimal impact. I've owned this Ford maverick for under 3 years with 3 chip repairs and 2 replacements. This is unfair to consumers as often we are not aware of this issue until it is too late to change undo the purchases on these vehicles and have to drive faulty... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
On multiple occasions, my 2020 Chevrolet Blazer RS has failed to recognize when it is shifted into the "Park" gear. When this occurs, a "Shift to Park" message appears on the dashboard, and the vehicle's electronics will not shut down, preventing me from turning off and locking the vehicle. This defect presents several critical safety hazards: Inability to Secure Vehicle: The engine/electronics ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Cadillac Escalade ESV. The contact stated that while driving with the cruise control activated, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the pa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the fai... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2025
Vehicle stall - engine cut off - on highway at speed (50-55miles/hr) posing driver and passenger safety. No OBD error code or ECU error Similar incidents reported by Mercedes owners S500 model across USA As posted on Mercedes forums.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2025
Jeep's engine turned off while driving, was able to coast and use the brakes to come to a full stop. The engine turned off while driving in a tunnel in the mountains; it was very unsafe. There was no shoulder to pull off to, no extra space to walk around the car, with only 1 other lane available for all the backed-up traffic behind me; CDOT had to tow me out of the tunnel, where I then had to wait... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
Without warning my car went into “Limp Mode” while driving on the highway almost causing a collision as I was forced to pull off the road on the highway. Flashing engine light car would not accelerate and was shaking dramatically. Was forced to wait for a tow on a busy highway. P1326 code. Rod knock. A known issue for the Theta II engine. Many recalls have been made for this exact engine for t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
Driving interstate and a wrench warning came up on dash screen. I knew that wasn’t good. Two Local mechanics diagnosed as circuit A (transmission) needs replaced. Park light not illuminating and won’t even crank to start. I got it started , finally, and wrench came back on. Loud “thunk” noise when switching into reverse Was advised NOT to drive until repaired as it is dangerous to me a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
Driving interstate and a wrench warning came up on dash screen. I knew that wasn’t good. Two Local mechanics diagnosed as circuit A (transmission) needs replaced. Park light not illuminating and won’t even crank to start. I got it started , finally, and wrench came back on. Loud “thunk” noise when switching into reverse Was advised NOT to drive until repaired as it is dangerous to me a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
Automatic braking system came on when the vehicle sensed another vehicle. As the breaking system turned on, the steering wheel locked and did not allow for the driver to steer in order to not avoid a collision. This happened in the streets. It is currently under investigation with insurance. The vehicle had applied the emergency breaks system a few days before, in the highway, while the driver alr... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 1, 2015
While driving the vehicle I began to hear a loud grinding noise from the engine compartment when the A/C was engaged. I pulled over to look under the hood and it sounded like the noise was coming from the serpentine belt. Upon inspection by a Subaru dealership it was determined that the A/C compressor is failing. I was informed that there was a known issue with the 2018 Forester A/C compressor ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2015
While driving the vehicle I began to hear a loud grinding noise from the engine compartment when the A/C was engaged. I pulled over to look under the hood and it sounded like the noise was coming from the serpentine belt. Upon inspection by a Subaru dealership it was determined that the A/C compressor is failing. I was informed that there was a known issue with the 2018 Forester A/C compressor ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Genesis GV70. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the battery warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact stated that at that point, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed, and determined that an unknown software update was needed. The so... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
When turning my car on, I received warning lights for the ABS, Stability Track, and Traction Control systems. These stated they had all been deactivated. The Check Engine light also illuminated. I was in a safe, open lot location so I put my truck in drive to confirm this was not a dash/technical issue. The brakes were in fact almost completely deactivated. It took me over 100 feet to come to a st... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
I was driving my 2019 Subaru Outback North on [XXX] just North of Alanson, Michigan on [XXX] when it applied the brakes and made a noise similar to driving on the rumble strip. There were no vehicles in front of me. Scary and now I am nervous driving this car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
Transmission in our 2021 Toyota Highlander required a full replacement due to a known part defect (front carrier assembly front pinion shaft). Toyota will not cover any portion of the $8k cost. In looking into the issue, this is very widespread with even our dealership confirming four transmission replacements by customers in a short period of time. The transmission is also back ordered (ours took... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2025
Recall repair for Chrysler recall W09 did not work. Airbag emblem still peeled from steering wheel. In event that drivers airbag deploys the emblem would be launched at the drivers face which could cause injury.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
Vehicle applied brakes for no reason. Lost ability to see reverse camera during backing up. Half of the instrument cluster went dim to become barely visible. Radio screen freezes randomly. Engine cuts out or shudders intermittently.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
We had had no issues at all with our 2022 Subaru Outback until June 2025. Mileage at the time of the incident was approximately 52,000. We were driving one evening in June and all of a sudden the engine stopped and we could not drive it. It only produced a knocking sound when we attempted to turn the engine on. We had the car towed to the dealership and after taking the engine apart, they reporte... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2022
I have a blue/white 2018 C-HR made in Japan. I do regular maintenance on my car monthly with oil changes every 3k miles. I had this car for 3 years only. I bought it from a toyota dealership with only 25k miles with one owner. At 35k miles it was whining and shaking and I took it to toyota to be serviced they kept it for a day and they found nothing wrong. I thought nothing of it but since then my... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2025
Current owner of a 2015 BMW X1 bought in Feb 2025. Was informed by the car dealer at that time there is currently an unresolved important safety recall campaign for NHTSA Recall Number 24V608000 - "Water Pump Connector May Short Circuit" opened back in August 2024. I reached out to the local BMW dealer for a status update if the remedy was available and they indicated a remedy is still not ava... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 22, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 22, 2025
2017: transmission replacement UW 2021: Vehicle stopped/ lost power on I44 at a speed of 70 mph. I immediately pulled over and called Roper on a recorded line per roper Honda. Took it to roper- needs a new motor. 2021: motor replacement Not UW 2024: vehicle was called in about hatch defect . Apparently, Roper reports that it is fixed yet- it IS NOT. I was unaware of the rods recall. That would... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); 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 and a secondary dealer, Weston Nissan (3650 Weston Rd, Weston, FL 33331); were mad... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2025
Loss of audio throughout an entire drive/ignition cycle. This includes the loss of the blinker click/clack audio when the blinker is on. When the loss of audio issue occurs, the driver has no audio input indicating a blinker is on even though the actual blinker is flashing to other drivers. Therefore, an unaware driver (due to no audio feedback) with a blinker left on could have another driver ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2025
Brakes squeak very loudly. This has been an issue since I purchased this new vehicle.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 428I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The contact called the local dealer, who confirmed that recall parts were not yet available and advised the contact to wait for another notification to arrive when parts become available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2025
I was informed by the service manager at Labadie Toyota (Bay City, MI) that the new 2.4L Turbos have injector issues! Some Sienna's Tacoma's, and other models have faulty direct injectors that spray way too much fuel into the cylinders, and it drains into the oil reservoir! I had my oil changed at 1K, 5K and 10K by the dealership. I've had this issue at 5K and I presumed service center incompeten... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Grand Design Solitude Trailer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60-65 MPH, the cargo doors opened independently. Additionally, the contact stated that the built-in tables were detaching from the wall, and the wall panels were separating in the bunk room. The contact also noticed that the walls were separating from the floor. The contact related the failur... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2025
While driving today, my Ford F150 manual light came on while I was driving and then break assistance. Light came on, and it told me to check the brake system. And immediately immediately the truck slammed on the brakes while driving. I almost wrecked with my [XXX] daughter who is [XXX] in the vehicle. This needs to be fixed ASAP. This is very dangerous and could’ve been a lot worse this morning.... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2025
SAFETY DEFECT: Database Classification Failure - 2013 Ram Vehicles Vehicle: 2013 Ram 1500, VIN: [ENTER VIN ABOVE] Owner: [ENTER NAME ABOVE] Email: [ENTER EMAIL ABOVE] Phone: [ENTER PHONE ABOVE] Defect Description: The 2013 model year Ram vehicles suffer from a systematic database classification failure that prevents normal ownership operations and creates safety hazards. Due to the Dodge-to-Ra... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2025
The front crash warning will come on and then the car will just cut off. This has happened multiple times while driving. It’s dangerous because it happens without any warning and there is nothing going on with traffic to trigger the warning light.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2025
ESC light came on, knocking noise started, blinking engine light, car started lagging. I was just getting onto freeway and my slow speed could have caused an accident. I have taken it to Lithia Cheverolet of Redding where they diagnosed it. All the warning lights came on as the problems happen all at once. This is message from the dealer/service center: Update: REMOVED CYLINDER HEAD AND INSPECTED... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2025
I had catastrophic engine failure while driving with no warning lights indicating my engine was losing oil, the engine and power shut off at 55 miles and hour causing me to lose power steering and power assisted breaking.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2025
Rear backup camera works intermittently, when failing says contact dealer. Makes it unreliable and eventually may lead to an accident due to unexpected visibility issues when backing up.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2025
While driving under normal conditions, the vehicle experienced a sudden, violent deceleration. The emergency braking and collision avoidance systems activated spontaneously, as if the vehicle had struck or was about to strike an object. There was no obstacle, impact, or external threat present. This uncommanded braking caused significant physical stress and injury to the occupants. Critically,... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Feb 15, 2025
rear tailgate window exploded for no reason. i work for a fleet company and we have had this happen on at least 8 nissan rogues some in winter some in summer. Glass being blown out is extremely frightening while driving and could increase the risk of a crash. its also a safety issue with glass entering the passenger compartment. This has been reproduced 100s of times. there's plenty of online ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. The contact stated that the driver’s side seat belt failed to latch securely. The contact stated that the seat belt warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V668000 (Seat Belts). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contac... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2025
All of our warning lights would come on at once we would lose steering power then it would go dark. We’d have to pull over shut it off then we’d have to wait at least 30 minutes before we could get it back in gear to drive it anywhere. This has happened more than three times. We now have it in a dealership and want to know, I think there was a recall on it in September but we did not get a let... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2025
under normal driving conditions on a state highway the Engine Malfunction error displayed on my Multi-Information Display. The error indicated that I find a dealership and have the car inspected. The error would go off then come back during acceleration. after two days at the local Toyota Dealership I was told the Coolant Bypass Valve was stuck in the closed position and it would have caused s... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
i bought the car used, i took it in for diagnostics on my transmission. they claimed i needed a new one, not claiming i need a new clutch. my car’s model and year match the DCT recall problems. but not the vin. when my car was in the heat or accelerating it had the same issues listed. i believe this is a manufacturing issue.
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
While using Tesla’s Auto Park feature, the vehicle struck an obstacle without detecting it before or after impact. The system failed to log a collision event in its detection systems, giving no warning and providing no reasonable opportunity for driver intervention. Data retrieved directly from Tesla confirms that forward/side collision sensors did not activate, “Near Deploy” collision detec... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
Yesterday afternoon the front wipers stopped working during down pouring rain. I had to drive home 10 miles with no wipers.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed to function as intended, and the steering wheel was stuck while attempting to turn the steering wheel to the left or the right. There were no warning lights illuminated. The failure had progressively worsened, and it was difficult to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering assist functionality, and the steering wheel was stuck while attempting to turn the steering wheel to the left or the right. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact spoke with the dealer and was informed that the power steering assist had failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was no... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact stated that while his granddaughter was attempting to start the vehicle, there was smoke coming from under the driver’s side hood, and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the PCV heater had overheated and burned along with the fuse box. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH and coming to a stop, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine sounded rough, and the vehicle was driving roughly on the way to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed, and ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2025
Car interior smelled like gas when the car is started. but seemed to clear while driving. Found that the Fuel hose between the pipe and the fuel intake was leaking when the car initially started. You could smell the odor when the hood was raised. This is the Pipe and Hose that you need the Fuel clamp removal tool for that is located in the rear center of the engine just in front of the firewall... Read more