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
Page 166 of 44,908 (2,245,377 complaints)
Incident date: Aug 15, 2026
Subject: Vehicle Lost Power While Driving – Potential Battery/Electrical Safety Issue On August 15, 2026, my vehicle suddenly began malfunctioning and lost power while I was driving my daughter to a medical appointment. I was on/near Highway 20 and had to maneuver the vehicle into a parking lot to avoid being struck. My daughter and I were extremely fortunate not to be injured. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2026
Subject: Vehicle Lost Power While Driving – Potential Battery/Electrical Safety Issue On August 15, 2026, my vehicle suddenly began malfunctioning and lost power while I was driving my daughter to a medical appointment. I was on/near Highway 20 and had to maneuver the vehicle into a parking lot to avoid being struck. My daughter and I were extremely fortunate not to be injured. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2026
Mechanic told us while replacing the suspension that the steering rack has to be replaced.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2026
Vehicle blew upper radiator hose due to blown head gasket. Vehicle has trouble starting and releases grey blue smoke via exhaust at all times. Has not been looked at by anyone other than an odot employee and myself. Hose was replaced but issues continue. Vehicle engine light came on after low coolant warning and overheating. Vehicle is available for inspection. Google states this is an extremely c... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver, and the vehicle stalled. The message "Power Train" was displayed on the instrument panel. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the auxiliary battery needed to be replace... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2026
I drove my car home and parked it in front of my neighbors house. It was on Sunday, August 2, 2026. About 3.5 hours later I went to move my car, and noticed that the window was shattered, with a hole on the bottom right and a hole on the bottom left. There was glass on the road and inside my vehicle. There were no rocks or object in the back of my car that would of caused that. My neighbor ha... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2026
I drove my car home and parked it in front of my neighbors house. It was on Sunday, August 2, 2026. About 3.5 hours later I went to move my car, and noticed that the window was shattered, with a hole on the bottom right and a hole on the bottom left. There was glass on the road and inside my vehicle. There were no rocks or object in the back of my car that would of caused that. My neighbor ha... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2026
I made an appointment for July 22,2026 with Purvis Ford in Fredericksburg to have the 28S26 recall for a transmission issue outlined in the recall. The process was estimated to be 4-6 hours. Purvis Ford called said the software upgrade was completed and i could get my truck. The truck would not shift out of 1st gear so i turned around and went back to the dealer and told the service advisor the... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2026
The Mazda cx5 2026 I purchased has a white film behind both headlights. Mazda refuses to replace headlights stating this is normal. However it is a manufacturing defect. This is a structural problem from outgassing causing a permanent haze on inside of each lens which is considered to be a night visibility hazard. I bought vehicle second week in XXX.Took it back to service dept on XXX. They said n... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2013) - SEATS
Aug 19, 2026
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
On August 17, 2026, while my wife was driving our 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 under normal conditions, the front passenger Active Head Restraint (AHR/headrest) suddenly and violently deployed without any collision, impact, or other apparent triggering event. I was seated in the front passenger seat and the spring-loaded head restraint struck me hard in the back of the head. Approximately 24 hour... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
Torque Converter- The torque converter on my 2019 Nissan Titan -4X failed at approximately 68,000. Symptoms began as cold-start shudder lasting several minutes, progressing to pronounced shudder under light throttle acceleration between 25–50 MPH, erratic shifting at the 3-4 and 4-5 gear transitions, and TCC (torque converter clutch) slip. These symptoms created unpredictable drivetrain behavior... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced abnormal battery drain, and the vehicle failed to immediately start. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The battery was fully charged at the dealer, and the followin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced abnormal battery drain, and the vehicle failed to immediately start. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The battery was fully charged at the dealer, and the followin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2026
Immediately after pushing the lift gate release button on the dash, a loud and constant alarm tone began. The gate would then not open using the button on the dash, remote, or handle on the exterior of the lift gate door. To access the items in the rear (and to stop the alarm), we needed to get the door open. We followed the owner's manual exactly to access the internal emergency release. We remo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2026
Immediately after pushing the lift gate release button on the dash, a loud and constant alarm tone began. The gate would then not open using the button on the dash, remote, or handle on the exterior of the lift gate door. To access the items in the rear (and to stop the alarm), we needed to get the door open. We followed the owner's manual exactly to access the internal emergency release. We remo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2026
The Steering appears to be sticky on highway speeds. Honda has the recall for this exact same issue but seems like 2022 CRV was excluded from the recall. This is a major safety issue which can easily lead to over correction as you need to add extra strength to adjust the steering wheel when driving on the road.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2026
SAFETY DEFECT REPORT: UNMAPPED RECALL EXPANSION / COMPONENT COMMONALITY My 2021 Tesla Model Y experienced a sudden, dangerous loss of electronic power-assisted steering (EPAS) while driving, instantly displaying the alert: "Steering assist reduced / Steering may require increased effort."An official diagnosis by Tesla Service (Estimate #3000-009-0038060635, attached) confirmed a catastrophic fai... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2026
The contact owns a 2006 BMW M5. The contact stated that while opening the trunk of the vehicle, the positive terminal on the battery was fully melted and was very hot. The contact believed that the issue was a fire hazard and was lucky to have found the issue before any other damage could occur. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V126000 (Electrical System) as a possible cause for the... Read more
CHEVROLET
SUBURBAN 1500
(2026) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 19, 2026
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
1) Both screens (driver display and infotainment) go black intermittently. Sometimes the infotainment comes back on, however, you cannot use all the buttons. The hard buttons under the screen for climate control (aside from the on/off ) wont work. The climate will automatically go to 76 degrees on Max Defrost. The rear climate will shut off when this happens. It also causes the radio controls on t... Read more
CHEVROLET
SUBURBAN 1500
(2026) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 19, 2026
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
1) Both screens (driver display and infotainment) go black intermittently. Sometimes the infotainment comes back on, however, you cannot use all the buttons. The hard buttons under the screen for climate control (aside from the on/off ) wont work. The climate will automatically go to 76 degrees on Max Defrost. The rear climate will shut off when this happens. It also causes the radio controls on t... Read more
CHEVROLET
SUBURBAN 1500
(2026) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Aug 19, 2026
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
1) Both screens (driver display and infotainment) go black intermittently. Sometimes the infotainment comes back on, however, you cannot use all the buttons. The hard buttons under the screen for climate control (aside from the on/off ) wont work. The climate will automatically go to 76 degrees on Max Defrost. The rear climate will shut off when this happens. It also causes the radio controls on t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2026
My frame of my truck rotted from the inside out and now I don’t qualify for their safety safety program, they only give you enough time and cover it up with a coating so by the time you realized it’s fully rotted through it’s too late.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2026
My frame of my truck rotted from the inside out and now I don’t qualify for their safety safety program, they only give you enough time and cover it up with a coating so by the time you realized it’s fully rotted through it’s too late.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2026
My frame of my truck rotted from the inside out and now I don’t qualify for their safety safety program, they only give you enough time and cover it up with a coating so by the time you realized it’s fully rotted through it’s too late.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Rivian R1S. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken for service, and the service tech stated that all three rear seat belts had a wire that had been severed from the buckle. Additionally, the vehicle failed to detect an occupant seated in the rear seats. The dealer stated that the seat belt buckles needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was leaking engine oil, and there was white smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact stated that upon further inspection, there was a puddle of engine oil on the ground while the vehicle was idling. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
Rear camera not working. Recall was almost 2 years ago. They keep saying it’s a safety issue but no solution yet
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
Rear camera not working. Recall was almost 2 years ago. They keep saying it’s a safety issue but no solution yet
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
NHTSA Safety Complaint — Ford Recall 25V695 / 25SA9 Rearview backup camera has stopped working, limiting rear visibility. Camera is still installed and available for inspection. I cannot clearly see behind my SUV when backing, increasing the risk of striking a person, vehicle, or object. Hardy Family Ford confirmed the defective camera. Repair was delayed because the recall part was unavaila... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 19, 2026
Incident date: Aug 7, 2026
Vehicle bucks upon acceleration in the rear end. Dealer recommends replacing the transmission.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2026
I suddenly lost the power steering when I spoke to my mechanic he said the problem was intermittent and he has to replace a computer part that’s associated with it and had to replace the entire unit I saw there was an open recall regarding this matter
Incident date: Aug 15, 2026
While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden, catastrophic loss of engine power accompanied by severe engine shaking, reduced acceleration, and a lit Check Engine / ESC light. The vehicle was towed to a technician who diagnosed a complete dead misfire in Cylinder 4. Upon detailed inspection, the ground electrode/tip of the spark plug had broken off inside the combustion chamber while the engine... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that the rear axle, rear differential, and another undisclosed warning light were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V038000 (Power Train). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approx... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2026) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 19, 2026
Incident date: May 26, 2026
The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road and the vehicle shut off. The contact indicated that the failure had occurred on four separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure or find a fault code associated with the fa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2026
The windshield wipers and system of water delivery from the blades onto the windshield is a total disaster. You can easily have an accident due to extremely poor visibility after using the windshield wipers to clean the windshield with water, especially if the sun glares on your windshield which is now smeared not clean and reflects and refracts all the smear. You can't see and aggravates the driv... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2026
Vehicle wheel would suddenly jerk when driving. Video of steering wheel doing this was taken while parked. The suddenness of this created immediate dangers to the driver and any around due to the unpredictability of the steering. Vehicle was brought to a dealer/service center where they diagnosed a corroded wire harness that required the entire steering rack to be replaced. There were no warnings ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2026
My car slammed on the brakes on its own. I was almost rear ended. I was going 45-50 miles an hour. I think it saw a shadow. Previously it has alerted me to brake because of shadows. This is the first time it braked hard on its own.
Incident date: Aug 19, 2026
My car slammed on the brakes on its own. I was almost rear ended. I was going 45-50 miles an hour. I think it saw a shadow. Previously it has alerted me to brake because of shadows. This is the first time it braked hard on its own.
Incident date: Aug 19, 2026
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 Honda Accord. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of the purchase on June 20, 2026, the mileage was 100,000. The contact discovered under a Carfax report that the mileage was 264,897 on July 28, 2025.
Incident date: Jul 21, 2026
When using electric mode, repeatedly and consistently, when I try to accelerate (for example to get onto a highway) despite having the acceleration fully depressed, the car does not accelerate. After some time, the gas powered engine will rev, the RPM will shoot up and then the car will start to accelerate. If I slow down the electric engine will take back over, but then if I try to accelerate a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2026
When using electric mode, repeatedly and consistently, when I try to accelerate (for example to get onto a highway) despite having the acceleration fully depressed, the car does not accelerate. After some time, the gas powered engine will rev, the RPM will shoot up and then the car will start to accelerate. If I slow down the electric engine will take back over, but then if I try to accelerate a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2026
When using electric mode, repeatedly and consistently, when I try to accelerate (for example to get onto a highway) despite having the acceleration fully depressed, the car does not accelerate. After some time, the gas powered engine will rev, the RPM will shoot up and then the car will start to accelerate. If I slow down the electric engine will take back over, but then if I try to accelerate a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2026
The contact owns a 2026 Infiniti QX80. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, there was an abnormally strong fuel and rotten egg odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no cause for the failure was found. The failure persisted, causing the contact and her husband to become nauseous. The contact stated that they were going to seek medical attention later. The... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2026
My 3.5 instrument intermittently goes out for days and will come back on and back off again. I took it to the nearest dealer but this did not sjow up on his scan but it out again. As you will see in the photo the vehicle is running but no display. Milage is a little over 69,000. Dealer informed me that many of these were recalled but not my particular vehicle. He said it would cost me $1600 to get... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2026
First the transmission failed on the freeway and was almost squished between a semi and car. I pay thousands to get it fixed and now the engine light is on and the transmission fluid and the coolant are leaking into each other. I can't accelerate very well and they said it can't be fixed only a NEW engine. The mechanic at your dealership said it's a known problem and that there is no recall yet. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the back-over prevention camera was blank while reversing. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were on back order. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contac... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2025
On May 28, 2025, my 2023 BMW X7 underwent BMW recall B340224. Repair Order 669956 specifically states: “0077067 REPLACING INTEGRATED BRAKING SYSTEM.” After this recall repair and replacement of the Integrated Braking System, the vehicle began experiencing abnormal and potentially dangerous braking behavior that did not exist before the recall repair. The brake pedal can initially feel unusual... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
UPDATE to Complaint XXX. Reference VIN [XXX] Tesla Model S 2016. Incident XXX [XXX] XXX Report XXX. Tractor [XXX] Unit XXX + Trailer XXX. 11 sec forward camera video proves Tesla BEHIND trailer at Time 0, 30ft gap. Tesla travels 88ft (30ft gap + 53ft trailer + 5ft to diesel tank/step) in 3-4 sec to lateral impact at driver diesel tank/step. Calculation: 88ft/3sec=29ft/sec avg requires 50-60 mph ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
UPDATE to Complaint XXX. Reference VIN [XXX] Tesla Model S 2016. Incident XXX [XXX] XXX Report XXX. Tractor [XXX] Unit XXX + Trailer XXX. 11 sec forward camera video proves Tesla BEHIND trailer at Time 0, 30ft gap. Tesla travels 88ft (30ft gap + 53ft trailer + 5ft to diesel tank/step) in 3-4 sec to lateral impact at driver diesel tank/step. Calculation: 88ft/3sec=29ft/sec avg requires 50-60 mph ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
UPDATE to Complaint XXX. Reference VIN [XXX] Tesla Model S 2016. Incident XXX [XXX] XXX Report XXX. Tractor [XXX] Unit XXX + Trailer XXX. 11 sec forward camera video proves Tesla BEHIND trailer at Time 0, 30ft gap. Tesla travels 88ft (30ft gap + 53ft trailer + 5ft to diesel tank/step) in 3-4 sec to lateral impact at driver diesel tank/step. Calculation: 88ft/3sec=29ft/sec avg requires 50-60 mph ... Read more
Crash