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
Page 164 of 44,303 (2,215,138 complaints)
Incident date: May 7, 2026
The vehicle experienced a sudden steering malfunction involving the electronic steering gear. While backing out of a parking structure, the steering wheel suddenly jerked and locked instead of naturally correcting, resulting in collision with a pillar. There were no warning lights, steering fault messages, or prior symptoms before the incident. Restarting the vehicle did not resolve the issue. Th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 26, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Keystone Keystone Fifth Wheel Trailer. The contact stated that the frame was twisted and bent. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who confirmed there was no warranty coverage. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was unknown.
Incident date: May 13, 2026
The latch on the doors malfunction and you get trapped in the car. This happens on a recurring basis every few months. It can sometimes take days to get a door to open again. Most recently this has happened to our driver side door and we have been unable to get it open again. The dealership has also been unable to get it open and have said they will need to break the door to then make the fix,... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2024
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Honda Odyssey on April 13,2024. The sale was a private sell. The contact stated at the time of purhcase the odometer was recorded at 129,000. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact attempted to use the vehicle as a trade in. The contact was informed that the CARFAX report last recored the odometer reading on April 6, 2024, at 230,000.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
Per Warranty Bulletin D-23-17 from Mopar, I have a 2019 RAM 1500 that has the EXACT issue that MOPAR has outlined where the Power Sliding Rear window - also known as the Backlite - has a cracked frame. My vehicle has been sitting for 3 1/2 weeks at the dealership as the vehicle's rear window is leaking into the vehicle's interior and RAM/Stellanis/Mopar is not providing an update on covering the ... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2026
The car is consuming oil under the 3,000 mile mark.
Incident date: May 1, 2026
2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e PHEV, built October 2020 by BMW AG (Germany). In-service Oct 28, 2021. Vehicle intermittently shows "Drivetrain Malfunction — you can continue driving" warning. DME scan reveals 5 fault codes, all for the conventional 12V pinion starter: 21A50A — Pinion starter: timeout occurred several times in succession 21A511 — Pinion starter: timeout 21611A — Pinion starter:... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e PHEV, built October 2020 by BMW AG (Germany). In-service Oct 28, 2021. Vehicle intermittently shows "Drivetrain Malfunction — you can continue driving" warning. DME scan reveals 5 fault codes, all for the conventional 12V pinion starter: 21A50A — Pinion starter: timeout occurred several times in succession 21A511 — Pinion starter: timeout 21611A — Pinion starter:... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e PHEV, built October 2020 by BMW AG (Germany). In-service Oct 28, 2021. Vehicle intermittently shows "Drivetrain Malfunction — you can continue driving" warning. DME scan reveals 5 fault codes, all for the conventional 12V pinion starter: 21A50A — Pinion starter: timeout occurred several times in succession 21A511 — Pinion starter: timeout 21611A — Pinion starter:... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKT. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number:25V827000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the rubber strip located along the int... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
Driving down road in early afternoon at about 35 mph. Car began to run rough (jutter) then almost immediately stalled. The car’s engine icon appeared on the screen along with verbiage indicating service engine soon. After about 3-5 minutes, I started the car and drove it directly into a parking lot approximately 100 feet from where the car stalled. I had the car towed to a repair shop in town. T... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2026
I own a 2017 Ford Escape equipped with the 1.5L EcoBoost engine. The vehicle began experiencing severe coolant loss with no visible external leaks, requiring nearly a full coolant reservoir refill daily. Along with the coolant loss, the vehicle developed constant bubbling/gurgling noises from the cooling system, rough cold starts, engine shaking/misfires, intermittent failure to start, loss of acc... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2026
oil filter/coolant housing fail at 69,00 miles. Dumped coolant and got quoted for an expensive mechanic fix $4000
Incident date: May 14, 2026
When using the rear camera while towing a trailer, the image is partially blocked by a persistent message stating “full view not available”. This creates a safety issue as it obscures the driver’s view of the trailer and/or the trailer load. It is critical to be able to monitor the trailer and the load during towing to ensure a hazardous condition is not developing. I believe the rear view ... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
When using the rear camera while towing a trailer, the image is partially blocked by a persistent message stating “full view not available”. This creates a safety issue as it obscures the driver’s view of the trailer and/or the trailer load. It is critical to be able to monitor the trailer and the load during towing to ensure a hazardous condition is not developing. I believe the rear view ... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
My 2025 Toyota Tundra’s air conditioning is not cooling properly. The A/C does not perform as expected, especially in hot weather. I am concerned this may be a defect in the HVAC/climate control system. I am also concerned about driver safety because poor A/C performance in extreme heat can affect the driver and passengers, and HVAC issues may also affect proper window defogging/defrosting. I am... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
My 2025 Toyota Tundra’s air conditioning is not cooling properly. The A/C does not perform as expected, especially in hot weather. I am concerned this may be a defect in the HVAC/climate control system. I am also concerned about driver safety because poor A/C performance in extreme heat can affect the driver and passengers, and HVAC issues may also affect proper window defogging/defrosting. I am... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2026
Recently, my Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe was affected by the 68C Fire Safety recall where the Jeep was stuck at the dealership for battery replacement for 6 weeks. The dealership didn't have a loaner vehicle to offer during the time of the Safety recall. I was asked to contact the Jeep customer care about securing a rental vehicle during the time. I got this email from Stellantis before I started th... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized with no warning. warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for an unrelated failure, and during the inspection, the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with a failed rack and pinion steering assembly that needed to be replaced. The vehi... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER SPORT
(2026) — BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
The contact owns a 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The contact stated that due to the position of the camera, the glare of the sun would obstruct the contact's vision which made it difficult for the contact to view any objects while in reverse(R). The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there are no recalls on the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact linked the fa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
My 2017 Tesla Model X (VIN: [XXX] ) is experiencing stiff and binding steering caused by corrosion at the lower steering column I-shaft universal joint. The steering intermittently binds and resists normal turning force, which has caused Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system to disengage due to abnormal steering resistance — a direct safety concern. Tesla’s own Service Bulletin SB-20-32-004... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
I began to notice some occasional loss of the steering with violent shakes - the death wobble - and once in the rain down a street with potholes which seemed to agitate the car further. I made an appointment to get the car checked and took it into the dealership. At that time, the tech mentioned that there was a recall out - which I had seen in the mail before - and asked if I wanted to get the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
I began to notice some occasional loss of the steering with violent shakes - the death wobble - and once in the rain down a street with potholes which seemed to agitate the car further. I made an appointment to get the car checked and took it into the dealership. At that time, the tech mentioned that there was a recall out - which I had seen in the mail before - and asked if I wanted to get the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
I began to notice some occasional loss of the steering with violent shakes - the death wobble - and once in the rain down a street with potholes which seemed to agitate the car further. I made an appointment to get the car checked and took it into the dealership. At that time, the tech mentioned that there was a recall out - which I had seen in the mail before - and asked if I wanted to get the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2026
My ram truck will intermittently have a Christmas tree of warning lights on the instrument cluster, which occur while driving. During these periods, I do not have access to four-wheel-drive, accident avoidance, antilock brakes, etc. If I continue driving the truck for the remainder of the day, the lights will usually go off, but will be stored in the vehicles PCM. the dealership has previously e... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2026
My ram truck will intermittently have a Christmas tree of warning lights on the instrument cluster, which occur while driving. During these periods, I do not have access to four-wheel-drive, accident avoidance, antilock brakes, etc. If I continue driving the truck for the remainder of the day, the lights will usually go off, but will be stored in the vehicles PCM. the dealership has previously e... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Acura RLX. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at an undisclosed speed, the power steering became inoperable, the vehicle steering wheel veered left or right and is misaligned. The warning lights lane departure, forward collision, all wheel steering, power steering and other warning indicators illuminated. In another occurrence, a noise could be heard.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Acura RLX. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at an undisclosed speed, the power steering became inoperable, the vehicle steering wheel veered left or right and is misaligned. The warning lights lane departure, forward collision, all wheel steering, power steering and other warning indicators illuminated. In another occurrence, a noise could be heard.... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V896000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); 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 manuf... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E 450
(2019) — POWER TRAIN
May 15, 2026
Incident date: May 11, 2026
Backgroud: Recall #26V216 recalls classes of Mercedes vehicles for U-Joint failures. My vehicle - 2019 E460 4Matic Wagon is included in this class under the notice (Vehicle #6 [XXX] ) Issue: I took my vehicle to the dealer on Monday, 5/11 because of a hard knocking sound when I de/accelerate. Dealer inspected and noted that my Ujoint has failed. The estimate is $8100 for repairs. MB and deale... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 1969
When accelerating, occasionally there is a hesitation. This becomes dangerous when accelerating from a side street onto a 55mph road when there’s an occasional break in traffic that I need to jump into. There’s been times where I got concerned when it hesitated and there was oncoming traffic. The other day I was going under 10mph around a curve and it hesitated so much, I looked at my gas gaug... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2026
Driver's side mirror has a distorted view and vibrating, most noticable at highway speeds, especially at night. Took it to a dealership and they were not able to recreate the problem both times it was taken to them. This puts my safety and the safety of others at risk as the mirror has a distorted view, making it extremely difficult (nearly impossible) to accurately judge if a car is in the lane n... Read more
HONDA
CIVIC HYBRID
(2013) — HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM: INVERTER
May 15, 2026
Incident date: May 15, 2026
The contact owns a 2013 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated to start, and multiple warning lights illuminated, including the check engine warning light. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with trouble code P1437. The contact was informed that the motor power inverter had failed and needed to be repl... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while the contact's husband was driving, the contact noticed an abnormal loud sound. In addition, the contact noticed smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact noticed an unusual odor in the interior of the vehicle. The contact's husband drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The co... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while the contact's husband was driving, the contact noticed an abnormal loud sound. In addition, the contact noticed smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact noticed an unusual odor in the interior of the vehicle. The contact's husband drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The co... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while the contact's husband was driving, the contact noticed an abnormal loud sound. In addition, the contact noticed smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact noticed an unusual odor in the interior of the vehicle. The contact's husband drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The co... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
On April 20, 2026 we discovered our 2025 Tiffin Wayfarer was experiencing a thermal runaway of the house battery charging system. The coach was in storage at a public RV storage facility. Our unit is a single enclosed unit with a roll up door. When we opened the bay door, we could tell the entire storage bay and coach were severely filled with toxic H2S gas. After the bay had been allowed to ve... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the vehicle would fail to move when placed into reverse(R). The contact would be forced to place the vehicle back into park(P) and wait before being able to proceed in reverse. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would jerk upon depression of the accelerator pedal as a wrench(transmission) warning l... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
I currently own and am driving a 2014 Lincoln MKS, my fourth such vehicle over the past several years. Lincolns have been one of my favorite vehicles however, I am writing to bring to your attention a recurring issue with the climate control system that may warrant further review as a potential safety-related defect. Many owners, including myself, have experienced a situation where the vehicle's... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
My Subaru Forester has a significant safety defect. If my web searches are representative this software problem affects multiple models and years of Subaru. I have addressed this problem with the local dealer, Subaru America, and Subaru Japan and have been told "that is the way it was designed and it is supposed to do that." As you may imagine that is not a satisfactory answer to a significant ... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
My Subaru Forester has a significant safety defect. If my web searches are representative this software problem affects multiple models and years of Subaru. I have addressed this problem with the local dealer, Subaru America, and Subaru Japan and have been told "that is the way it was designed and it is supposed to do that." As you may imagine that is not a satisfactory answer to a significant ... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
My Subaru Forester has a significant safety defect. If my web searches are representative this software problem affects multiple models and years of Subaru. I have addressed this problem with the local dealer, Subaru America, and Subaru Japan and have been told "that is the way it was designed and it is supposed to do that." As you may imagine that is not a satisfactory answer to a significant ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLC 350 E 4MATIC
(2025) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
May 15, 2026
Incident date: May 4, 2026
All screens on dash were black and a clicking sound could be heard I side the vehicle. This has happened four times. Towed vehicle to MB dealer and they did a software update but it keeps happening anyway.
Incident date: May 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 RAM 3500. The contact stated that when he took his vehicle to be aligned, he was advised that the vehicle was not able to be aligned, due to a previous recall repair where the drag link was welded unless the drag link was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of this issue. The failure mileage was approximately 55,526.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
I submitted a safety complain on recalls that the Lincoln Client Relationship Center informed whereby my VIN is not included on the recalls I listed from NHTSA complaint I just filed, complaint Number: XXX I also have a case number with the Lincoln Client Relationship Center which is: C-XXX Please reference this number to confirm the conversation I had yesterday with them on this issue whereby ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2012) — FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes- Benz E350. The contact stated while operating the vehicle the odor of fuel was present coming from the vehicle. Upon inspection it was discovered that the fuel had leaked from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the fuel pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Also, the contact indicated th... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2012) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SEAT HEATER:WIRING HARNESS
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes- Benz E350. The contact stated while operating the vehicle the odor of fuel was present coming from the vehicle. Upon inspection it was discovered that the fuel had leaked from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the fuel pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Also, the contact indicated th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed and at a stop, the vehicle lunged forward. The RPM increased and decreased without applying the accelerator pedal. The check engine light was illuminated. A mobile mechanic reset the codes but was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred him to th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed and at a stop, the vehicle lunged forward. The RPM increased and decreased without applying the accelerator pedal. The check engine light was illuminated. A mobile mechanic reset the codes but was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred him to th... Read more
TOYOTA
SIENNA HYBRID
(2024) — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
May 15, 2026
Incident date: May 13, 2026
Stepping on brakes - Car slows then accelerates a few seconds and lunges forward a couple of feet. Extreme safety issue. This occurred yesterday with my sister in the car and we almost rear ended the vehicle stopped in front of us. I have complained to the Cumberland Toyota dealership in the past and was told if they cant recreate the issue and it doesn't happen all the time there is no way to ... Read more