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Vehicle Safety

Vehicle Recalls320,000+ NHTSA safety recalls Browse VehiclesEvery make, model and year Complaints2.1M+ consumer safety complaints TSBs4.7M technical service bulletins VIN LookupDecode any vehicle VIN instantly OBD Codes12,000+ diagnostic trouble codes Fuel EconomyEPA MPG data for all vehicles Safety Ratings11,700+ NHTSA crash test ratings Investigations5,300+ NHTSA defect investigations StatisticsRecall trends & safety analysis Compare VehiclesTwo vehicles side by side

Consumer Safety

Product Safety9,700+ CPSC product recalls Food Safety28,600+ FDA food recalls Pet Safety1.3M FDA animal adverse events Drug Safety17,500+ FDA drug recalls Device Safety38,400+ FDA device recalls Workplace Safety102,900+ OSHA injury reports Brand HistoryRecall lookup by company

Infrastructure

Bridge Safety624,000 bridge inspections Aviation Safety30,000+ NTSB aviation events Dam Safety92,600 dam safety records Water Safety433,000+ public water systems Railroad Safety438,000+ rail crossings Pipeline Safety8,800+ pipeline incidents State DashboardsSafety grades for all 50 states ZIP ReportAny 5-digit ZIP across 9 datasets

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Vehicle Safety Statistics

Trends, patterns and key numbers from 61 years of NHTSA vehicle safety data, 26,427 recall campaigns and 2,234,970 consumer complaints.

26,427 Recall Campaigns
2,234,970 Complaints Filed
139,667 Reported Crashes
8,578 Reported Deaths

Recall Campaigns by Year

The number of unique recall campaigns reported to NHTSA each year. The surge after 2014 is partly due to expanded reporting requirements and the Takata airbag recalls.

Consumer Complaints by Year

Total safety complaints filed by vehicle owners each year. Peaks often correlate with major defect discoveries, the 2014 spike reflects GM ignition switch and Takata airbag complaints.

Most Complained Vehicles of All Time

Individual vehicles (make, model, year) with the highest number of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA. These are real reports submitted by vehicle owners.

# Vehicle Complaints Crashes Fires Deaths
1 2010 FORD FUSION 7,026 180 22 3 View
2 2000 FORD FOCUS 5,152 358 171 50 View
3 2012 FORD FOCUS 4,977 187 35 3 View
4 1995 FORD WINDSTAR 4,799 179 66 2 View
5 2011 HYUNDAI SONATA 4,618 209 167 5 View
6 2002 FORD EXPLORER 4,097 178 71 6 View
7 2014 JEEP CHEROKEE 3,962 113 42 0 View
8 2013 FORD F-150 3,944 128 53 6 View
9 2018 RAM 2500 3,756 168 63 3 View
10 2013 FORD ESCAPE 3,679 78 119 0 View
11 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY 3,669 386 82 5 View
12 2011 FORD FUSION 3,654 121 17 1 View
13 2014 FORD FOCUS 3,628 164 23 3 View
14 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS 3,483 254 30 5 View
15 2015 CHRYSLER 200 3,411 198 36 0 View
16 2014 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE 3,399 224 56 0 View
17 1997 FORD F-150 3,285 206 296 18 View
18 2017 FORD ESCAPE 3,262 139 47 2 View
19 2013 FORD EDGE 3,239 52 17 2 View
20 2010 FORD ESCAPE 3,185 46 6 0 View

Most Recalled Manufacturers

Manufacturers ranked by total number of unique recall campaigns. Higher volume manufacturers naturally have more recalls, this does not necessarily indicate worse quality.

# Manufacturer Recall Campaigns
1 FORD 1,836 View
2 CHEVROLET 1,250 View
3 DODGE 882 View
4 GMC 757 View
5 MERCEDES-BENZ 643 View
6 FREIGHTLINER 624 View
7 BMW 568 View
8 HONDA 463 View
9 TOYOTA 453 View
10 FOREST RIVER 441 View
11 MACK 432 View
12 BLUE BIRD 428 View
13 VOLVO 427 View
14 NISSAN 417 View
15 JEEP 416 View

Most Recalled Components

Vehicle components most frequently subject to recall campaigns. Software-related recalls have surged in recent years as vehicles become more computerized.

# Component Recall Campaigns
1 EQUIPMENT 1,044
2 EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS 1,032
3 EQUIPMENT:RECREATIONAL VEHICLE/TRAILER 703
4 SEATS 538
5 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING 520
6 TIRES 473
7 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 471
8 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS 468
9 EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY 466
10 EXTERIOR LIGHTING 374
11 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS 364
12 STEERING 357
13 STRUCTURE 347
14 TIRES:TREAD/BELT 323
15 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 315

Most Complained Components

Vehicle systems that consumers report problems with most frequently. Electrical system issues top the list, followed by engine and powertrain problems.

# Component Complaints
1 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 190,456
2 ENGINE 167,698
3 POWER TRAIN 135,909
4 AIR BAGS 129,008
5 STEERING 117,315
6 UNKNOWN OR OTHER 116,763
7 SERVICE BRAKES 78,393
8 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 73,320
9 FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 61,894
10 STRUCTURE:BODY 49,443
11 SUSPENSION 48,965
12 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 48,534
13 TIRES 44,744
14 EXTERIOR LIGHTING 42,774
15 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 40,762

Deadliest Vehicle Defects

Vehicle components associated with the most reported fatalities in consumer complaints. These figures represent deaths reported by complainants, not independently verified totals.

# Component Deaths Crashes Fires Complaints
1 TIRES 829 151 15 294
2 AIR BAGS 820 551 38 575
3 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 611 231 31 257
4 UNKNOWN OR OTHER 368 152 48 197
5 TIRES:TREAD/BELT 315 120 2 214
6 STEERING 305 183 28 195
7 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 295 93 50 131
8 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 247 197 9 206
9 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 189 37 4 59
10 EQUIPMENT 187 44 4 61
11 SEAT BELTS 179 134 7 141
12 POWER TRAIN 171 44 7 54
13 SUSPENSION 147 58 10 67
14 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 145 21 17 42
15 ENGINE 145 43 26 74

NHTSA Investigations

Summary of all NHTSA safety investigations, formal inquiries opened when a pattern of complaints or crashes suggests a potential defect.

5,340 Total Investigations
223 Currently Open
968 Led to Recall

About This Data

Where does this data come from?

All data comes directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Recall data is from NHTSA flat files going back to 1966. Complaint data is from consumer reports filed with NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Why do some manufacturers have more recalls?

Higher recall counts often reflect larger production volumes rather than worse quality. A manufacturer selling 3 million vehicles per year will naturally have more recalls than one selling 100,000. Proactive manufacturers may also issue voluntary recalls more readily.

Are the death and crash numbers verified?

The fatality and crash numbers shown are based on consumer-reported data in NHTSA complaints. They represent allegations by vehicle owners and have not been independently verified or confirmed as caused by a vehicle defect. Actual confirmed numbers may differ.

How often is this data updated?

Our database is built from NHTSA bulk data files. We periodically refresh the data to include the latest recall campaigns and consumer complaints as they are published by NHTSA.