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Vehicle recalls & common problems database

A free, government-sourced look at NHTSA safety recalls and owner-reported complaints across 40 of the most common vehicles on U.S. roads. Find out how many problems owners have actually reported on your car — and which systems they report most.

609 NHTSA recalls
43,438 owner complaints
40 vehicles covered
2,072 complaints citing a crash
773 complaints citing a fire
1,823 complaints citing an injury

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public recalls and complaints databases. Figures are sampled at the 2012, 2017 and 2022 model years of each vehicle. A recall is a manufacturer- or NHTSA-initiated safety action with a free remedy; a complaint is an unverified owner report.

Most-reported systems across the dataset

The component categories owners file the most complaints about, summed across every vehicle and model year covered here.

Recalls & complaints by vehicle

Sorted by total owner complaints. Click any vehicle for its recall summary, top problem systems, and a per-model-year breakdown.

Vehicle Recalls Complaints
Ford Escape 24 3,364
Ford Explorer 43 2,694
Jeep Grand Cherokee 28 2,339
Honda CR-V 13 2,324
Honda Civic 13 1,894
Kia Sorento 15 1,828
Chevrolet Malibu 8 1,697
Hyundai Tucson 9 1,671
Subaru Outback 24 1,651
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 14 1,648
Ram 1500 35 1,537
Hyundai Elantra 13 1,515
Jeep Wrangler 29 1,477
Hyundai Santa Fe 12 1,450
Honda Pilot 16 1,176
Nissan Rogue 13 1,132
Chevrolet Equinox 8 1,100
Honda Accord 15 1,078
GMC Sierra 1500 14 988
Toyota Camry 6 842
Nissan Altima 7 823
Kia Sportage 10 819
Chevrolet Traverse 9 795
Ford Mustang 22 771
Subaru Forester 17 765
Toyota Corolla 8 721
Toyota RAV4 9 691
Toyota Highlander 11 650
Kia Forte 8 607
Toyota Tacoma 15 583
Chevrolet Tahoe 11 518
Nissan Sentra 5 484
Honda Odyssey 16 402
Toyota Sienna 22 393
Ford Bronco 21 328
Mazda CX-5 1 205
Honda HR-V 3 191
Toyota 4Runner 16 170
Chevrolet Trax 3 117
Ford F-150 43 0

Free to use, cite, and embed

This recall data is built from public U.S. NHTSA records and is free to use, cite, and embed — no signup, no API key. If it's useful for your readers, drop the interactive checker on your own site:

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<p style="font-size:12px;margin:6px 0 0">
  <a href="https://mechai.app/diagnose/recalls/">Vehicle Recalls &amp; Common Problems Database</a> by
  <a href="https://mechai.app/">MECH AI</a> — data from public NHTSA records.
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Vehicle Recalls & Common Problems Database, MECH AI — https://mechai.app/diagnose/recalls/ (source: NHTSA).

How to read this data

A high complaint count usually tracks sales volume — there are more Ford F-150s on the road than almost anything else, so they generate more reports. A complaint is an unverified owner submission, while a recall is an official safety action with a free fix. The per-component breakdown on each vehicle page is the more useful signal: it shows which systems owners actually report, which is what you want before chasing a check-engine code.

Working a specific trouble code? Cross-reference these reports with our OBD2 diagnostic code library, then open AI Mechanic for a diagnosis tuned to your exact year and model.

Recall database: frequently asked questions

Where does this recall and complaint data come from?

All recall and owner-complaint figures are sourced from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public recalls and complaints databases. We summarize and aggregate that public data by vehicle and component.

How many vehicles and records does the database cover?

The database covers 40 popular vehicles sampled at the 2012, 2017 and 2022 model years, totaling 609 NHTSA recalls and 43,438 owner-reported complaints.

Does a high complaint count mean a vehicle is unreliable?

Not necessarily. High-volume models accumulate more complaints simply because more of them are on the road, and a recall means a known defect was identified and a free remedy is available. Use the per-component breakdown to see which systems actually drive the reports.