How to file a complaint with NHTSA, and what happens after

Who should file

If something on your car failed in a way that could hurt someone, NHTSA wants to hear about it. Its own examples of safety defects include steering parts that break, fuel leaks, backup cameras that go dark from a software fault, wiring that causes a fire or a loss of power, and airbags that deploy when they shouldn't.

Some problems are outside its remit. NHTSA's recall booklet lists radios that don't work, ordinary wear on brake pads, shocks and batteries, cosmetic paint flaws, non-structural rust and excessive oil consumption as defects it doesn't treat as safety-related. You can still file, but a complaint about peeling paint won't lead anywhere.

Two ways to file

Online. Go to nhtsa.gov and pick "Report a Safety Problem." The form is called a Vehicle Owner's Questionnaire, or VOQ.

By phone. NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline is 888-327-4236, and its booklet also lists 800-424-9393. There's a line for people who are deaf or hard of hearing at 888-275-9171, and Spanish-speaking staff are available. NHTSA's press releases give the hotline's hours as Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.

What to have ready

NHTSA's public complaint file has fields for the date, the mileage, the speed, and whether there was a crash, a fire or an injury, so expect the form to ask about each. Gather these before you start and it goes quickly:

• the VIN (lower left of the windshield, or your registration)
• the date it happened and the mileage at the time
• the speed you were going, if the car was moving
• whether there was a crash, a fire or an injury
• what a shop found and what it replaced, with the invoice handy

Then write the description the way you'd tell it to a friend who knows cars. Say what you felt, heard or saw, in order, and what you did about it. Keep the mileage and dates exact. Those details are what an analyst can match against other reports.

The mileage matters more than people think. In NHTSA's files for the vehicles on this site, only 49% of complaints state a mileage we can read, either in the mileage field or in the text. A complaint without one still counts. It's just harder to line up with the others.

The privacy choice

Near the end, the form asks whether NHTSA may share your name, address and phone number with the manufacturer. You don't have to say yes. NHTSA's booklet says sharing can help the evaluation, since the manufacturer can then look at your specific car. Either way, the public version of your complaint has your personal details removed.

Where your complaint goes

NHTSA enters every VOQ into its complaint database, sorted by make, model, model year and the part or system involved. Your report, minus the personal details, is published in NHTSA's public complaint files. Those files are what this site reads: the 349,567 complaints behind these pages are other owners' VOQs.

Owners tend to file quickly. Among complaints here that give both a failure date and a filing date, the median gap is 11 days, and 64% were filed within a month. About 8% came more than a year after the failure, which is fine. Late reports still count.

Will anyone call you?

Probably not. NHTSA's booklet says an investigator may contact you to clarify your report, but the volume of complaints doesn't allow a reply to each one. If you want to know whether your problem is under investigation, NHTSA points you to its recall and investigation search rather than a phone call.

What NHTSA does with it

The Office of Defects Investigation reads complaints continuously, looking for patterns. According to NHTSA, analysts weigh the number of complaints and the severity of what happened against how many of that vehicle were built and how long they've been on the road. A handful of fires in a small production run can matter more than hundreds of annoyances in a bestseller.

There's no magic number of complaints that triggers an investigation. NHTSA says so directly, and says every report is reviewed. When the data points to a possible safety defect, the agency opens a public investigation, asks the manufacturer for its own data, and can end with a recall request. Our guide to NHTSA investigation stages walks through that process, and how long each step has taken for the vehicles on this site.

What a complaint can't do

A complaint doesn't get your car fixed, and NHTSA doesn't act as your advocate with a dealer. It's evidence. Keep pursuing the repair on its own track: the dealer, the manufacturer's customer line and your warranty. If a recall comes later, you may be able to claim back what you spent (our recall reimbursement guide explains the rules), so keep every receipt.

If you were hurt, a complaint doesn't limit your legal options either. NHTSA's booklet says recall remedies sit alongside whatever other legal remedies you have, and suggests a lawyer or your state attorney general for questions about state law.

Before you file, read the others

Search your year, make and model on this site or on NHTSA's recall page to see what other owners reported. If your problem matches a common pattern, say so in your complaint and describe the symptoms in the same plain terms. A cluster of clear, matching reports is easier to spot than scattered ones. And if there's already a recall that covers it, the fix is free, so check that first.