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 15,069 complaints for VOLVO
Incident date: May 12, 2023
seat collapse. Available to be inspected. Unable to see over wheel or reach the acceleration and break pedals. Airbag light comes on due to the collapsed seat either cutting the airbag electrical cable, or puncturing the airbag itself. Vehicle has only been inspected by our fleet manager, our in house mechanic, and the dealership. No prior warning(s) before the failures.
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Spartan K2. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the instrument panel started to flicker. The contact stated that the low voltage battery warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure also occurred whenever the vehicle was started. The contact stated that the electrical failure had become a recurring failure. The vehicle was diagnosed by a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V142000 (Visibility) and 23V163000 (Visibility) however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving during inclement weather, he activated the windshield wipers; however, the windshield wiper motor intermittently operated as designed. The contac... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2023
The rear right door cannot be open from inside the car. It opens fine from outside. I am aware there is a child safety lock, but in this case the problem is somewhere else. Regardless of the child safety lock position, the door cannot be open. This is a hazard, because in case oof an accident the passenger will e trapped inside the car.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2023
Brake lights stay on when not even pressing the brake pedal. This causes cruise control to shut off too. Sometimes "Service ESC" and "Traction Control" light will come on randomly too. Had taken it to Chevy dealership multiple times to have this issue fixed but problems seems to come back after a few months.
Incident date: May 14, 2023
Sunday, May 14, 2023 - 2:30pm Car reports "Brake Failure - Stop Safely" Driver does so, and-- -Parking Brake Sets -Car will not come out of Park -Engine can not be turned off -Rear lift gate cannot be opened by any means First attempt at a tow fails – parking brake locked [XXX] arrives at site at about 6:45 pm. I observe the following: -Car is running, engine cannot be turned off. -... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V162000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while her son was making a right turn and depressing the brake pedal, the pedal went to the floorboard but failed to stop the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was i... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2023
About every 10 to 15 seconds an alarm sounds and warning sign blinks on dash with message to service anti-braking system and traction control. If cruise control was engaged it disengages and sometimes will not reset until engine is turned off and restarted. Vehicle seems to have braking issues, especially on wet pavement. Brake pads have been checked and are ok. Vehicle odometer has 34102 miles on... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215000 (Air Bag) 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. VIN tool confirms parts n... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
My engine suffered the coolant intrusion issue that many ford eco boost engines are experiencing. I reached out to ford because its a part of their ford TSB (which I have copies of and sent Ford). I was quoted 12,249$ By the ford dealership to fix my engine, when this is an on going issue with ford ecoboost engines. There were no warnings other than my car overheated once and kept losing coolant i... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
The Flexplate/Flywheel cracks every 4 years for us, this is our second repair same part. Dealership says now there is a reinforcement plate. That we have to buy, Seriously, give us a break with a broken Flexplate that is either to thin or made of a inexpense product. IDK. Dealership told my Mechanic they keep a lot on hand because they know it’s a problem. Help Please🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 At ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
I've had my Volvo for 6 months and two weeks ago I started getting warning alerts that the braking system, lane departure system and other electrical systems were having issues (the doors wouldn't lock and car wouldn't start). I've taken the car to the Volvo dealership 3 times and they have been unsuccessful in determining what the issue is. There is something wrong with the software and a softw... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V116000 (Power Train) however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, she shifted into 3rd gear and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact also stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate while i... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
This car, along with several other models of Kia and Hyundai, are unsafe due to the ease with which they can be stolen. Hyundai/Kia must recall all of their vehicles that lock proper anti-theft mechanisms in the ignition, steering column, and drive train. Until this is done, all American auto dealers and insurance companies must refuse to sell and insure any new Hyundais and Kias.
Incident date: May 11, 2022
I purchased a certified pre-owned 2020 Chevy Silverado 3500HD (6.6 Gas) November 2021. Within the next few weeks, I noticed brake squeaking that kept getting worse and the truck braking system would not stop like the 2500 I had traded in when I purchased the 3500HD. I had to adjust the trailer brake gain control up to as high as 9 or 9.5, should not have to adjust that high. I had trouble stopping... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
I purchased a certified pre-owned 2020 Chevy Silverado 3500HD (6.6 Gas) November 2021. Within the next few weeks, I noticed brake squeaking that kept getting worse and the truck braking system would not stop like the 2500 I had traded in when I purchased the 3500HD. I had to adjust the trailer brake gain control up to as high as 9 or 9.5, should not have to adjust that high. I had trouble stopping... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Plastic/metal from steering wheel become dislodged/detached/warped, caused major laceration to my right ring finger when making left turn 5/6/23 4PM. Went to urgent care as a result, had to get tetanus shot.
1 injured
Incident date: May 1, 2023
engine does not respond when trying to pass slower traffic, press the gas pedal several times with no response, car started to slow down with fast traffic behind/sides on the freeway, took more than 20 seconds to respond to gas pedal input almost causing an accident
Incident date: Feb 28, 2023
Car refused to start. Multiple cranking that had to be stopped by turning car off. Car was not receiving fuel. Waited one day and tried again. Car started on third time but ran very rough, with smoke and odor until it evened out. Drove with initial engine hesitation episodes to dealer. Asked for fuel pump replacement under Customer Support Program but dealer refuses because they cannot duplicate t... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2023
The airbag popped for no reason, and Honda was unable to fix it, 8 months in the dealership with no progress.
Incident date: Mar 13, 2023
No warning lamps. I managed to reset the actuator but it jammed up again. The doors won't unlock or lock depending on the position the actuator failed in. I haven't taken this to a dealer, but based on several videos and forum questions I was able to self diagnose and reproduce the problem.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
Power steering failure. Vehicle became extremely difficult to turn while moving. Was unable to turn wheel while stopped. Restarted car and power steering came back online and failed again. Restarted a second time and power steering worked for the remainder of the drive. I am currently working with Tesla service to inspect and fix any issues. Safety concern, yes. was not able to make gradual turns... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2023
The vehicle still has not been serviced due to the dealerships informing me that they do not have the parts even though I received notice that the parts were in stock.
Incident date: May 2, 2023
2017 Hyundai hybrid Sonata Check hybrid system turn off engine, It’s been at a dealership for three months last time. after year later same issue again.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2023
The transmission was jerking jumping and was replaced under warranty and it still can not be fixed. Cause the vehicle to jump backward and hard speed.
Incident date: Apr 29, 2023
On April 29th 2023 while washing my Volvo XC90 I opened the trunk to clean out the crevasses around the car. As I continued to wipe down/dry the vehicle I placed my hand at the top of the trunk opening and moved my way downwards to wipe the bumper and side of car. Unfortunately, the handsfree tailgate feature activated and the trunk began to close on my hand. Due to my hand being so close to the ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 29, 2023
The vehicle features a panoramic sunroof with a retractable sunroof shade. The sunroof shade is attached to the sides of the vehicle ceiling with glue that fails over time and causes the sunshade to partially or completely detach from the ceiling of the vehicle, causing a dangerous obstruction to visibility.
Incident date: Apr 29, 2023
The rear crossmember subframe is rusted out very badly, and has all the rear axel and components attached to it. This is very unacceptable for car that cost nearly 40 grand.
Incident date: Apr 30, 2023
I have several doors that do not open when unlocked. The seems to be a common issue for this vehicle based on Google searches. The drivers door has to be unlocked multiple times before the door will open. The passenger front door will not open at all from the outside. The back drivers door does not open from inside or outside. It seems all of the door are slowly failing causing the potential to be... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
I was driving on the the 215 Freeway in Las Vegas and the car started to shutter with a loss of power in the engine. The check engine light starting blinking orange. I was going downhill so I let the car coast while I tried to pull off the road. After about 15 seconds the engine stabilized and the check engine light stopped blinking and stayed a solid yellow. I pulled the car off the road and let ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
When driving at a higher speed I started to notice the steering wheel getting stuck. This has been going on for about the last month. My car has 12k miles.
Incident date: Oct 29, 2022
1st Jeep recall. Data update completed. Next day engine light. 2 weeks for first appointment. 3 weeks to get next appointment. After recall next day engine light heater codes. PCM replaced. Vehicle went Totally dead. New 12volt battery. Still dead. Star Stellantis Technical Assistance Request #1 Technicians from Michigan came and reprogrammed vehicle. Star #2 engine light heater codes still. A new... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2022
1st Jeep recall. Data update completed. Next day engine light. 2 weeks for first appointment. 3 weeks to get next appointment. After recall next day engine light heater codes. PCM replaced. Vehicle went Totally dead. New 12volt battery. Still dead. Star Stellantis Technical Assistance Request #1 Technicians from Michigan came and reprogrammed vehicle. Star #2 engine light heater codes still. A new... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The driver door suddenly unlatched while driving on the highway and the door open warning appeared on the dash. This is the second incident, the first was the passenger door.
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The driver door suddenly unlatched while driving on the highway and the door open warning appeared on the dash. This is the second incident, the first was the passenger door.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
The warning, charging failure service urgent is displayed the service engine light comes on. Several mechanics have not be able to repair. The front passenger seat belt is not stable to fasten properly. The TMPS has yet another warning, inoperable
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the speedometer and tachometer fluctuated, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. After several attempts to restart the vehicle, the vehicle restarted. The contact became aware that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that the engine oil level was very low and toppe... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
UNKNOWN My issue is PAINT DELAMINATION. I own a 2015 KIA Sorento, color is PEARL WHITE. I understand that this type of factory paint defect is not uncommon with a 2015 KIA Sorento, especially with the color being pearl white. Here is a description and timeline of my paint delamination: Sept 2022, I noticed a relatively small paint chip (1" x 4" long) on the drivers side pillar. Very unusual but... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Freightliner XC-M. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V379000 (Tires) 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 contact stated that the RV was displaying inaccurate tire pressure numbers and tire temperature numbers as well... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
I have had 5 visits with problems with engine , braking sensors, and automatic braking incidents when no obstruction is noted. Propulsion System failure has occurred 3+ times and turtle mode has come on and limited my speed to 30 MPG. It has also started bouncing and shaking while in reverse. I am extremely concerned about the safety threats and lack of consistency when taking it to be repaire... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
I bought the car in August of last year and drove it for about 3 days before it started giving me problems. First incident I was driving my children home from the hairdresser and the car completely went out us on the highway, after repeated attempts for a half hour or so I was able to start it and drive it back home very slowly..this happened twice I went to get it diagnosed and codes came up for ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
I bought the car in August of last year and drove it for about 3 days before it started giving me problems. First incident I was driving my children home from the hairdresser and the car completely went out us on the highway, after repeated attempts for a half hour or so I was able to start it and drive it back home very slowly..this happened twice I went to get it diagnosed and codes came up for ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2023
Was driving on the interstate at approximately 80 MPH went to slow down for a slow car in the fast lane and lost power in the middle of traffic. Check engine light began flashing. Upon a check of the check engine code it gave a known recall with a number of kias in this model and year range covered with lifetime engine replacement. Error code P-1326 glow relay stuck on. Considering my fuel combust... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2023
Passenger seat belt was stuck retracted and had to be replaced. Coolant temperature control valve failed and car ran cold. They have many cars with this issue but no recall was issued
Incident date: Apr 17, 2023
Driving the car on the highway, EV warning light came on dash. Car went into turtle mode for approximately 5 miles. Then the dash board changed to shut car down now. Car would not charge at home. Had to tow it to the dealership. Car has now been at the dealership waiting for parts for 5 weeks. ICCU and a fuse need to be replaced.
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
It’s not a accident The car won’t start and brake and wheels keep locking by itself.
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
Suspension did not meet yearly state inspection standards. Service advisor/technician stated “control arm bushing deteriorated- excessive play”. Rear control arms could be moved with hand pressure excessive play. They stated that this is a very common problem with this make of car at this mileage (41,633).
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
Engine stalled at highway speed on a highway, safety of family and motorists endangered as vehicle coasted to side of highway, vehicle would not restart, check engine light on. Codes indicated camshaft sensor issue. Inspection revealed by technician that timing components came loose from engine block and interfered with timing chain which in turn snapped causing catastrophic valve train component ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
On March 8, 2023 our VW ID.4 (2022) became unsafe and un-drivable after we experienced several alarming malfunctions that threaten driver and passenger safety including: (1) driver door suddenly opening while driving, (2) driver trapped in vehicle as a result of the driver door failing to open (earlier that same day), (3) vehicle suddenly and immediately beginning to move on its own without pre... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
Airbag light on dealer says it needs replaced.