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: Nov 4, 2023
Part easily break away during washing. Fuel door cover lid panel (BDYT-42-411) broke in automatic car wash.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact's partner owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) 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 ex... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
The latch for the rear hatch/door does not release every time. There have been instances when itmes have been in the cargo area and when the button is pressed, it will not release the latch. This causes someone to have to crawl over the back seat to retrieve the items from the cargo area. This also is causing my son to have to store items, that would normally be in the crgo area, on his back seat.... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
On or around Oct.15th 2023, My abs light, engine light, and all these other lights came on. So i got it home i got a recall notice in the mail that day saying to park my car away from structures and other vehicles. So i had it towed to a kia dealer here in town. they had it for a week. they said they performed a diagnostic on it and replaced the recall part to come get it. So i go get it i drive o... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Halfshaft and Control arm broke while backing up from a Walmart store. Tesla dealer diagnosed it but the repair was not covered. I had to pay out of pocket but this could have been prevented it the car was recalled.
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
A passenger of lighter weight will not trigger the passenger seat’s weight sensor, rendering the passenger side airbag disabled. The passenger must sit up perfectly straight and center their weight on the center of the seat for them to be properly detected. A service center visit claimed the seats are working as designed, but there is clearly an issue.
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while reversing, the back over prevention camera was inoperable. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera displayed a cloudy image without a picture. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided n... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
Running rough with no MIL warning light. Possible engine issue as described by the below TSB: Ford TSB 22-2229 Make: Ford Number: 22-2229 Title: 2.0L EcoBoost - Coolant In Cylinders, White Exhaust Smoke and/or Illuminated MIL Date: 6/9/2022 Models: 2015-2018 Edge SE 2015-2018 Edge SEL 2015-2018 Edge Sport 2015-2018 Edge Titanium 2015-2019 Escape S 2015-2019 Escape SE 2018-2019 Escape SEL 2015... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
1, At about 12000 miles the car's windshield wipers stop working. And did not ever work again for the past several years. Wipers which was checked the motor was replaced to admission to the key was replaced and wiper still don't work. 2, About 24000 miles Was turning the vehicle around on a inclined road in the mountains went to pull forward and the steering wheel would not work anymore whic... Read more
Crash
Fire
Incident date: Mar 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated. The contact allowed the vehicle to cool down and restarted the vehicle; however, the temperature level immediately registered from cold to hot. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred three times and the process was repeated; however, the vehicle remained inoperable. The ve... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) 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 experienced ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2022
It was a cold evening. I was driving on the highway for roughly 15 minutes, with rear defroster on, when the rear windshield shattered spontaneously, with enough force to send pieces of glass into the back seat. There was a loud thud when it happened. There were no warnings by the vehicle. Police inspected the vehicle and said it was not caused by any external objects.
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
Before leaving the house, it sounded like a static noise was coming from the speakers. I turned the radio off and the noise was still there. I get out of the truck to check the back seat area (where the noise was coming from). I put my ear near the window and it almost sounded like a can of something was being sprayed. It was weird, because nothing was in the back of the cab. Anyway, I thought "... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
I was driving my car and as I was driving my car shut off and would not turn back on. Right before it powered down it said a message that said service shifter and all the lights to the shifter were lit up (P,R,D,N) I was reading that the shifter should last as long as your car does and this is a big safety issue
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
Vehicle makes a violent rattle at every startup(Cam Phasers)but quiets down after a couple of seconds.
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
Clutch "A" stuck engaged...loses power and if driven for a while dash lights up saying "transmission is hot wait 5 minutes " In addition to the previous issue, the car will not will not start right away. If you turn the key forward and pull the car down into last gear and back up into park, the car will start most times, otherwise I will have to jump start it.
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
14-Dec-2023, Brought my car into the tire repair store to have flat fixed. Was told the 5 lug nuts would have to be replaced because the original ones were corroded due to their design. This cost me $51.00 on this trip. 20-Aug-2020, Brought my car into the Ford dealership to have tires rotated. Was tolld 12 lug nuts would have be replace becaue the original ones were corroded due to their desig... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Acadia. 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while attempting to drive off from a stop light, several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and unknown messages were displayed, and the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. During the failure, an audible alarm was activated and the message "Shift to Park and Restart" was displayed. The vehicle was later towed to the local dea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2021
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that after remotely starting the vehicle and activating the rear window defroster, moments later the rear glass hatchback window exploded outward from the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 12,057.
Incident date: Apr 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 25 MPH, the brake line cracked and burst. The contact stated that the vehicle jumped the curb, and the parking brake was activated. The vehicle was jerking and failed to move. Additionally, the lug nuts were swollen. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Multiple Occasions of Driving on Road and the Engine shuts off. I have had to safely coast the truck off the road, after several minutes the truck starts again and drives fine. This is occurring Regularly. I may go a week with the Truck driving fine, then all of a sudden it powers down and shuts off.
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
Steering wheel feels like it “sticks” or is stiff. Brought to dealership and they drove it and compared to an identical vehicle on lot and confirmed that they felt the steering wheel was stiff. They contacted the tech line but were told there have been no issues so sent me home. They had taken a video of the technician stating the wheel was stiff when driving.
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
I was headed back home for thanksgiving, traveling down I20 from Birmingham to Anniston AL, when the oil light suddenly came on, then 2 minutes later a "default Engine-service now" warning appeared. The car immediately started making a loud rattling noise, sputtered and stopped accelerating. I almost got rear-ended and was terrified! I managed to exit the interstate and pulled into a gas station. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
I smell exhaust/gas fumes when driving my car. It is a very intense smell. This happens several times a week.
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
On two separate occasions while driving at night two weeks apart, the car dash lights went out, power dropped real quickly, steering became hard. Barely got off overpass and road to safety. Turned the car off. Waited approximately 5 minutes and car restarted and was fine for two weeks. On second time had the car towed to Fred Haas Nissan. They could not reproduce problem and found no codes. Wi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
On two separate occasions while driving at night two weeks apart, the car dash lights went out, power dropped real quickly, steering became hard. Barely got off overpass and road to safety. Turned the car off. Waited approximately 5 minutes and car restarted and was fine for two weeks. On second time had the car towed to Fred Haas Nissan. They could not reproduce problem and found no codes. Wi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
While driving it begins decreasing speed to 40 mph and then loses an acceleration and I drifted to the side of the highway. The low oil pressure message appeared on the dash. I was driving through a very desolate area on 31 in Indiana busy with semis and holiday traffic. The car only has 67,000 miles and the mechanic said it had a bad cylinder and the engine would need to be replaced at $5,700.
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that while reversing from the garage, the rear-view on the camera screen was working as designed; however, the camera screen turned dark in the daylight. While continuing to reverse down the driveway, the screen corrected independently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was in... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
Driving from Louisiana to Kansas for the holidays in our 2022 Pacifica Hybrid, and received notice popped up that car was about to shut down and pull off road quickly. This appears to be associated with a recall we did take the car in for but apparently the recall only changed software to tell you the car was about to shut down and didn't fix the issue with the car actually shutting down! This h... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2022
Adaptive cruise control falsely decelerated on dozens of occasions during a single 500 mile road trip. Sudden braking in the vicinity of other vehicles may cause a crash. Tesla's service technician stated "no hardware related faults were found" and "potential incorrect object detections leading to slowdowns may occur".
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
The vehicle is equipped with wireless phone charger. I was charging my phone and could not lift it off the charger with my bare hand. According to the dealership test, their test started at 80 degrees Fahrenheit and tested after 10 minutes at 102 degrees Fahrenheit. The dealership stated that the charger is operating as designed. The phone was too hut to handle and could have caused an accident.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
Loud pop from sound system is back again, and did it so loud scared the crap out of a passenger, this is beyond dangerous, the software update didn’t work, Ford denies any issues at all exist on anything.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
Loud pop from sound system is back again, and did it so loud scared the crap out of a passenger, this is beyond dangerous, the software update didn’t work, Ford denies any issues at all exist on anything.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
Power train is pathetic, Ford has a software fix, that isn’t the issue. NHTSA [XXX], and force a recall if you research you will see across all platforms the 10R80 is failing, clutch blowing, Ford has known for years you morons. Power train isn’t safe, fuel economy has tanked on this truck INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
After 4 attempts by the dealership to correct the issue, The windshield inside view mirror malfunctions when adjusted. The mirror dislocated and falls off and cannot be adjusted per driver viewing needs. There is a defective assembly and it inhibits driver view causing hazardous conditions that could cause accidents.
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
Takes long to switch gears going up hill it’s like a delay I have to sometime switch it into manual to switch gears going uphill and even sometimes on flat ground
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
On November 21th, 2023, we were driving on a 30 mph street at 8:00 pm with no traffic and our automatic emergency braking system deployed on our 2020 Outback, we jolted to a stop for no apparent reason. This could have been dangerous if a car was behind us. Just had our oil changed with free inspection at Miller Hill Subaru 1 week prior. First incident. Will have the dealership inspect ASAP. The "... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
Driving as usual and all of a sudden no acceleration. No warning lights at all. Started smoking. Towed to Flynn’s. They said there is a known oil consumption issue and the motor locked up. Communicated with KIA and they say to have it looked at - at a cost. Said it’s not under warranty. But is a likely know issue!
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
Active grille air shutter
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
235/60R18 service bulletin 20-081 October 8 2020 after only 16000 miles and a trip to the dealership I advised that the wear and tear of every tire was different and need attention. I ask why the difference between the wear they suggested check the vehicle for problems with the suspension, nothing was found. I ask for replacement under warranty I even showed the service bulletin from honda mentio... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2023
The error occurred on [XXX]. The car got me to my destination. Error occurred past the 1/2 way point. The next day was busy w/ personal issues. Later in the afternoon, I was by the vehicle, I called the Nissan Roadside Assistance number. It was at this point that I was informed that no one was available or that my location was out of network. I was then instructed to find my own tow & arranged eve... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aw... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
While driving on the Interstate at 65 mph I experienced a severe side-to-side shaking of the steering wheel. This included the entire front-end of the vehicle shimmying and visibly vibrating. If I didn't have a good grip on the steering wheel at the time, we would likely have crashed. This appears to be the "death wobble" described in numerous online forums and subject of a previous recall on 2018... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact added oil to the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called an independent mechanic who referred her to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ball bearing and valve cover gasket needed to... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) 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 manufact... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The entire engine failed and threw a rod on cylinder 3. My safety has been put at risk twice since the beginning of the engine troubles. The safety issue is I was merging onto a busy highways just fine until the accelerator wasn't doing anything. So frantically I had to start checking Visuals and there were none. There weren't any warning signs of the impending doom of the engine. It would ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
GM has a recall on my vehicle since May. The recall states possible death to vehicle occupants. I have called weekly and they continue to tell me a remedy will be available soon, last week they even told me one was available which turned out to be false. The fact that GM has yet to handle this recall, and continue to force myself and my family to drive a dangerous vehicle around, is absolutely rid... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
Turbocharger actuator failure. Recognized as known issue for vehicles manufactured one year later (2015). All replacement cost covered by manufacturer and warranty extended. The replacement part for the 2014 RAM 3500 turbocharger actuator is MOPAR part 68481772AA and the replacement part for the 2015 RAM 3500 turbocharger actuator is MOPAR part 68481772AA (identical part numbers). Similarly, the t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The sensor comes on intermittently even when there is nothing in front of the vehicle.