Most Common Car Problems, According to 1.5 Million Owner Complaints

The most common car problems owners report to federal safety regulators involve the electrical system, the powertrain, brakes, the engine and air bags. That’s from our analysis of every owner complaint in NHTSA’s database. This guide shows which problems lead, how the list is changing as cars add driver-assistance technology, how it differs between sedans, SUVs, pickups and EVs, and how to check the problems reported for your own car.

The most common problems owners report

Most lists of common car problems come from repair shops and cover routine wear, such as batteries, brake pads and tires. NHTSA’s complaint database is different: it records problems owners believe are safety-related, filed by owners themselves, for every make and model. That makes it the largest public record of what actually goes wrong. In the file we track, owners have reported 91,837 crashes and 38,350 fires.

A complaint can name more than one component, so shares add up to more than 100%. “Unknown or other” is NHTSA’s own category. Source: NHTSA ODI complaints file, retrieved Oct 6, 2026; computed by PlainVIN.

The categories are broad. “Electrical system” ranges from a dead instrument panel to failed window switches and battery drain. “Powertrain” covers transmissions that slip, shift harshly or lose drive. “Engine” includes stalling, oil consumption and failures; older complaints used the label “engine and engine cooling.” Each PlainVIN model-year report breaks these down for a specific car.

How car problems are changing

Comparing complaints by the vehicles’ model years shows how the problems follow the technology. Newer cars have far more electronics and driver-assistance systems, and the complaints reflect it:

A complaint can name more than one component. NHTSA renamed some categories over time (for example “Engine and engine cooling” became “Engine”), so compare related rows together. Source: NHTSA ODI complaints file, retrieved Oct 6, 2026; computed by PlainVIN.

• Driver-assistance complaints are new. Forward collision avoidance, which includes automatic emergency braking, accounts for 8.7% of complaints about 2018-and-newer models, often describing the car braking hard for no reason. Lane-keeping and backup-camera complaints are rising too.
• Electrical complaints keep growing, from 14.9% for 2000s models to 20.4% for the newest.
• Air bag complaints have fallen sharply, from 13.5% to 3.5%. Older cars still carry the risk of recalled inflators: see our Takata air bag recall guide.

One caution when comparing years: complaints keep arriving for years after a model goes on sale, so recent model years always look better than they will. Our guide to NHTSA complaints explains that reporting lag.

Common problems by vehicle type

The most-reported problems differ by the kind of vehicle:

Excludes NHTSA’s “unknown or other” category. Vehicle type is PlainVIN’s classification of each model. Source: NHTSA ODI complaints file, retrieved Oct 6, 2026; computed by PlainVIN.

Brakes top the list for pickups and tie for first in vans. For minivans, NHTSA’s structure category (the body itself) ranks in the top four. Electric vehicles show the newest pattern: electrical systems and forward collision avoidance lead by a wide margin. See the reports for popular models such as the Ford F-150, Toyota Camry, Honda CR-V and Tesla Model 3.

Warning signs worth acting on

Many safety complaints describe a warning sign the owner noticed first. These are the ones not to ignore, grouped by the systems that lead the complaint data:

If a problem could affect safety, it’s worth reporting even after it’s fixed. NHTSA draws the line clearly:

“An example of a safety-related defect is a steering component that breaks, causing a driver to lose control. However, paint quality or cosmetic blemishes are not considered safety-related defects.”National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Report a Safety Problem

Everyday problems vs. safety defects

Repair-shop lists of common car problems, such as AAA’s (AAA), focus on routine issues: the check-engine light, overheating, fluid leaks, dead batteries, worn brakes and uneven tire wear. Most of these come from normal wear and maintenance, and the fix is regular service. A safety defect is different: a design or manufacturing fault shared by many vehicles of the same model, which can lead to a recall. A brake pad that wears out at 40,000 miles is maintenance; a brake booster that fails on hundreds of cars of the same model year is a defect.

The two overlap when a common problem turns out to be a pattern. That is exactly what NHTSA watches for in complaints, and why checking your model year’s complaint list can tell you whether your problem is unusual or widely reported. When it is a known defect, there may already be a recall that fixes it free.

How to find the common problems for your car

1. Decode the VIN with our VIN decoder to open the report for your exact model year.
2. Read the complaint breakdown. Each report counts NHTSA complaints by component, so you can see whether owners mostly report transmission, electrical or brake problems.
3. Compare model years on the model’s best and worst years page (Honda Accord shown), which ranks years by complaints and recalls.
4. Check recalls for that model year, and run the VIN on NHTSA to see whether any are still open.

If you’re shopping used, our free VIN check vs. history report guide covers the other checks worth doing before you buy.

Complaint counts are owner reports, not verified findings, and they depend on how many vehicles were sold and how old they are. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank brands.