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: Aug 3, 2023
At 60500 miles the engine oil pressor stops and engine went into limp mode while in traffic. This caused the engine to blow and required a new engine.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the center console became loosened. The contact stated that the center console started to crack and fall apart. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.
Incident date: Sep 26, 2023
When cruise control is engaged, the vehicle suddenly decelerates, (at times dropping speed by more than 20 mph in less than 2 seconds). This occurs as often as 5-10 times in a single 60mi trip, and occurs at least once per trip on this same route (divided highway, sometimes with hills, often with no other cars ahead of or around the vehicle, speed 60-70mph) These events are unsafe because unexpect... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2023
When cruise control is engaged, the vehicle suddenly decelerates, (at times dropping speed by more than 20 mph in less than 2 seconds). This occurs as often as 5-10 times in a single 60mi trip, and occurs at least once per trip on this same route (divided highway, sometimes with hills, often with no other cars ahead of or around the vehicle, speed 60-70mph) These events are unsafe because unexpect... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
The Tesla Model Y autoaccelerated even with me pressing the brakes. The car was on regenerative breaking and instead of stopping it accelerated lunging into the walkway and almost killing a person. The car hit another car, 2 bike racks and a tree as well as concrete slabs beofr coming to a stop. There have been reports of unintended auto acceleration from Tesla cars. The car components has not be... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
The Tesla Model Y autoaccelerated even with me pressing the brakes. The car was on regenerative breaking and instead of stopping it accelerated lunging into the walkway and almost killing a person. The car hit another car, 2 bike racks and a tree as well as concrete slabs beofr coming to a stop. There have been reports of unintended auto acceleration from Tesla cars. The car components has not be... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Lexus RX400H. The contact stated while driving at slow speeds in a parking area, the ABS warning light illuminated. Upon returning and attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle had electrical power but failed to start. The check hybrid system warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. A... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
Falcon doors failure to open on numerous occasions since Dec. 2020. This is a very frequent issue and I've had it into Tesla 6 to 7 times, they say can't replicate issue, same this past week and 30 min after I got it back same issue. Heat and Sun cause the doors to not open and it's getting worse. Aug 28, 2023 at 10:39 am and on thru Aug 30, 2023 on road trip to and from Phoenix, AZ in Indio CA I ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2023
Rattling noise we’ll driving and when going over 30 mph can lose control
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
BREAKS STOPPED WORKING AND ALL WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON ON THE DASHBOARD. RAN OFF THE ROAD AND RAN OVER A SIGN CAUSING DAMAGE TO Rf QUARTERPANEL. THE LEALER SIAD THAT MY HABNDICAP PLACKART HAD CUT THROUGH THE WIRING IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR, SHORTING OUT THE SYSTEM. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THE PLACKARD WAS BEIG HUNG AS INTENDED. PLACKARDAS ARE HARD PLASTIC AND COULD CUT TH... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
The vehicle's battery has gone dead on several occasions since replacing the OEM battery. The OEM battery which was approximately 3 years old, also had gone dead, prompting its replacement. The battery has gone dead within 1-2 days of not using the car. Charging the battery by running it is only a temporary fix as the car needs to be constantly driven in order to charge the battery, which is not u... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Cooling system hose blew from a faulty clamp rubbing a hole in it. There’s a TON of reports of this same problem with the same model/year. All antifreeze leaked out and overheated engine.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
My transmission has failed multiple times. Luckily my car is under warranty, because I have been able to have it replaced twice, but both times, these malfunctions have put my life and countless others in danger, because the failure is sudden and not preceded by any warnings. This problem has reproduced twice and been confirmed and fixed both times by Sun’s Auto in Spring Texas. The vehicle has... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
My transmission has failed multiple times. Luckily my car is under warranty, because I have been able to have it replaced twice, but both times, these malfunctions have put my life and countless others in danger, because the failure is sudden and not preceded by any warnings. This problem has reproduced twice and been confirmed and fixed both times by Sun’s Auto in Spring Texas. The vehicle has... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
on Sep 17 2023 my wife was driving her Audi Q7. which has 25,780 miles. She drove to a parking lot for a hiking trip, pressed on the brake and the car instead of stopping accelerated. She kept trying to press the brake, however the car did not stop until it hit a tree. The car has been towed to our house and it is not driveable. The car has not been inspected yet. I plan on calling the Audi d... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
on Sep 17 2023 my wife was driving her Audi Q7. which has 25,780 miles. She drove to a parking lot for a hiking trip, pressed on the brake and the car instead of stopping accelerated. She kept trying to press the brake, however the car did not stop until it hit a tree. The car has been towed to our house and it is not driveable. The car has not been inspected yet. I plan on calling the Audi d... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
While driving on a freeway on Sep 15th 2023, wrench light showed up and immediately vehicle speed dropped from 65 to 30mph. This is second time this issue has happened and luckily my family survived accidents. First incident occured on Aug 13th 2023, after which i towed my vehicle to dealership. They repaired and said its safe to drive now. But issue is recurring. Please help me on this as I am re... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2023
The window trim came off while I was going 60mph. It was very loud and scary. I had no warning. I didn’t realise what it was until I stopped. I’m very lucky that it didn’t hit the car behind me at that speed. I see this part missing from a lot of Ford Explorers so it must be common. There needs to be a recall before someone gets hurt.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2023
The defroster only blows out of the center of the windshield. So the drivers side and passenger sides of the windshield do not clear up at all. This causes me to not being able to safely see where I am driving when my windshield is foggy or covered with snow and ice. This is not the only Jeep Gladiator or Wrangler JL/JLU that is affected. People are complaining all over forums on the internet and ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 DRV All Aluminum Trailer. The contact stated he was an independent mechanic, and while he was rotating the tires, he noticed that the upper side of the brake caliper was missing the clips. The contact stated that he attempted to install new clips on the brake caliper; however, the clips failed to tighten because the brake caliper bracket was fractured. The manufacturer was ... Read more
VOLVO
XC90
(2017) - LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:FUELING/CHARGING DOOR/HATCH/PORT:LATCH/LOCK RELEASE SYSTEM
Sep 11, 2023
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
My door handle requiring repeated attempts to open the door, same as in the TSB Number: 21-BD-006H (NHTSA Number: 10196574). It is possible that hyundai does not includes a lot of vehicles with similar problems.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
Was driving when engine light came on, then warning that engine was to hot. My car then began to slow down and I pulled over and allowed to cool for a while. Finally able to drive but each time I would drive it happened. Took to a independent contractor and was told my coolant was leaking into engine and it needed to be replaced
Incident date: Dec 30, 2022
Thr manufacturer did not put rear tire links on my vehicle. I purchased brand new tires 3 months ago and my two rear tires are already showing sings of wear and tear. I went to a mechanic to see if I could get a full alignment on my vehicle. When they started on thr alignment, they informed me that they could not proceed because the vehicle was missing the manufacturer rear toe links. If I decided... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
When backing up it sounds like a tug boat. Super annoying and embarrassing. Also when you are turning it seems like the wheels are shaking like a polaroid picture! I’ve taken the car to the dealer and they have stated that there’s nothing that they can do and ford is aware. Extremely unprofessional and just plain disappointing.
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
I drove about 20 minutes to an eating establishment. Left the establishment after about an hour and a half. Got into my car. It would not shift into gear. The shifter moved., but not into gear. No reverse. No drive. No neutral. I called triple a. The arrived in 45 minutes. The gentleman went into my car after telling him what happened. He came back to me and told his tow truck can’t tow my car.... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V566000 (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 while driving approximately 55 MPH... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
Gear shift lever jammed in reverse and could not be changed. With battery powered motor, the vehicle could possibly take off and cause damage or injury. Vehicle is new and still under warranty. Dealership is evaluating the problem
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
I went to OffLease Only to purchase a vehicle and when I got there it was already a hot day which is expected because it was summer time but I didn't expect to be there for that long. The inventory is 800+ which means you're searching for a while before coming across anything. When we finally got done and went to finance I was just ready to go. I didn't realize how high the interest rate was espec... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
While driving on a major highway, my newly licensed 16-year-old son experienced shuddering, jerking (slight at first, but progressively worse) and failure to take off from a traffic light. He turned on the emergency flashing lights to alert other drivers, and he was able to take off about 5 seconds later, but the RPMs raced sporadically and acceleration stopped working. He drifted into a left turn... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2022
We are 900 miles from home driving on the interstate, and received an error message saying that there was a drive train malfunction and we had to stop the car immediately. We were in the middle of nowhere, but able to pull over and turn the car off, and contacted roadside assistance. We were unable to start the car again. We were told there was a major malfunction of the drive train power supply a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2022
While driving in normal street conditions, the dashboard lit up and all the lights came on. Traction control, stability control, check engine light, tire pressure, brake, ABS all lit up. The digital dash showed two errors: 1. Forward Collision System Unavailable and 2. Steering assist is reduced, drive with care. I noticed that steering became much more difficult and braking was extremely difficul... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2022
While driving in normal street conditions, the dashboard lit up and all the lights came on. Traction control, stability control, check engine light, tire pressure, brake, ABS all lit up. The digital dash showed two errors: 1. Forward Collision System Unavailable and 2. Steering assist is reduced, drive with care. I noticed that steering became much more difficult and braking was extremely difficul... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but also occurred while depressing the accelerator pedal after stopping. The vehicle would not move forward for several seconds. The contact stated that the engine would not rev when... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
Unknown? Air bag light blinks all the time when vehicle is running. Steering controls on steering wheel does not WORK. Might be a malfunction. Not sure.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT checked and diagnostic code P052E71 showed that the Valve for Crankcase Ventilation has a malfunction. The actuator is blocked, P06DA00 the Actuation of the valve of the oil pump in the combustion engine has an electrical fault or open circuit. The problem is prolific on the Metris vans and the repair costs extremely high for such a lemon sensor and can cause catastrophic failur... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
I have had to replace my tires with less than 5K on them because the leaf spring on the right rear of my RV trailer has flattened out and caused my tires to rub the underside of the camper causing smoke. This appears to be a common problem with my RV trailer (2019 Forest River Surveyor), and the company has told me this is a critical component and will not give me any information about part replac... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz E350. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and shut off inside the garage, there was an abnormally strong fuel odor detected. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a cracked fuel filter that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the fuel filter. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
Battery light comes on, power steering goes out, start/stop function switches in and out of accessory mode, then total power drain and vehicle will not turn over or maintain a charge. vehicle is available for inspection. safety was compromised by lack of control of steering and vehicle shutdown in a roadway. issue has not been reproduced by independent services or dealer or other representative... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2023
Battery light comes on, power steering goes out, start/stop function switches in and out of accessory mode, then total power drain and vehicle will not turn over or maintain a charge. vehicle is available for inspection. safety was compromised by lack of control of steering and vehicle shutdown in a roadway. issue has not been reproduced by independent services or dealer or other representative... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35-37 MPH, the vehicle failed to shift into the intended gear, and was jerking significantly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the vehicle was inspected for fluid leakage, but no issues were found. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring whil... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle from second to third gear, there was an abnormal banging sound heard. The transmission was slipping gear while driving at various speeds. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the transmission was slipping when shifting from second to third g... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
Since purchasing this truck brand new in 2018 we have had nothing but problems with this vehicle. Dodge Ram failed us every time. They failed to work with the dealer and ignored every attempt to find solutions. It started with vehicle loosing power on very dangerous locations a specially freeway located in curves in the middle of nowhere. It took years to fix that problem. Multiple times we dr... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
In June 2023, the consumer received a notice for NHTSA Safety Recall Campaign No. 15V-826. The consumer made an appointment with the local dealer, but was advised that the remedy is not available at this time. Also , the consumer is concerned about the "park the vehicle outside" warning cited in the recall notice. The consumer proposes a prompt repair or the use of replacement vehicle until the... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
While driving, I was in the middle of a left turn and had a reduction of the power steering assist system. I had to hit the brakes before entering the opposing traffic. I had to muscle the steering wheel to get out of the middle of the road.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
Passenger backup light failure. Taken to dealer and they recommended replacing part TSB 2063766/2. Yes I will supply this part if requested. No backup light is a safety hazard. Yes the vehicle was inspected by the dealer. They gave a parts and labor estimate of $805. Yes there was a warning message in the dashboard for this malfunction. This is a “common failure” in Audi Q5 automobiles to ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
While driving on the highway my sunroof glass detached from the frame and flipped over to the back. It was still being held by about 5in of glue on the rear part of the frame and luckily it didn't depart the car which would have caused damage to cars behind me. This issue seems the same as NHTSA Recall No. / MFR Recall No. : 16V-415 / 60C3, however my VIN is not part of it. I'm reporting this beca... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
While driving on the highway my sunroof glass detached from the frame and flipped over to the back. It was still being held by about 5in of glue on the rear part of the frame and luckily it didn't depart the car which would have caused damage to cars behind me. This issue seems the same as NHTSA Recall No. / MFR Recall No. : 16V-415 / 60C3, however my VIN is not part of it. I'm reporting this beca... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
I lost my ability to steer my vehicle. I attempted to step on the brakes and nothing happened. I hit a box truck in front of me going at least 30mph and only my shin airbag deployed.
Crash
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
I lost my ability to steer my vehicle. I attempted to step on the brakes and nothing happened. I hit a box truck in front of me going at least 30mph and only my shin airbag deployed.
Crash