Complaint map

Where vehicle problems are reported, per resident

Owner complaints, every fatal crash and the crash reports filed for driver-assistance and self-driving systems, on one street map. Shade states, counties and ZIP areas by complaints per 1,000 residents, play the years, and narrow it to a make, a model, a component or the words owners used.

Complaints on this map388,21798.6% placed on a city; all years on file

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Manufacturer or make

Model

Model years from

Vehicle type

Component

Filed from

Complaint text

Owner complaints

Carlsbad, CA files the most complaints per resident of cities over 100,000, 2.3 per 1,000

Complaints per 1,000 residents by state, county and ZIP area, all years on file. Population: Census 2024 estimates and ACS 2023. A ZIP area shows its postal city's rate, because complaints name a city. 98.5% of complaints could be placed in a county.

All years

Highest per resident

per 1,000 residents; places of at least 100,000 people. The total is under each name. A few prolific filers can lift a small place's rate.

Cities: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) and U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer. Population: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 estimates and ACS 2023. Complaints: NHTSA ODI. Points and ZIP areas are city-level: NHTSA publishes only the complainant's city and state. 5,275 complaints name a city that could not be placed.

Ranked

Highest per resident

per 1,000 residents, places of at least 100,000 people. Change the population floor beside the map.

Highest per resident
Place	per 1,000 residents	Complaints	Population
Carlsbad, CA	2.3	261	114,500
Saint Augustine, FL	2.2	352	159,928
Georgetown, TX	2.0	232	118,718
Palm Coast, FL	1.9	207	106,729
Midlothian, VA	1.9	201	104,494
Parker, CO	1.9	214	113,756
Columbia, MD	1.9	188	101,074
Fairfax, VA	1.9	307	165,289
Simpsonville, SC	1.9	191	102,921
Lexington, SC	1.8	217	119,860
Dallas, GA	1.8	186	102,996
Upper Marlboro, MD	1.8	188	104,989
Summerville, SC	1.8	291	164,613
Fredericksburg, VA	1.8	326	185,865
Leander, TX	1.7	188	108,441

Sources: NHTSA; U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Read with care

A map of reports, not of defects

Per-resident rates correct for population, not for how many vehicles of each kind people own, how old they are, or how often owners report. Read high rates as places worth a closer look, and compare filters to see where one make or model stands out.

City, not address

NHTSA publishes a complainant's city and state only, so a ZIP area shows its postal city's rate. Fatal crashes (FARS) are mapped where they happened; automation crash reports at the reported city.

Three sources

Complaints are filed by owners and not verified. FARS is NHTSA's census of fatal crashes on public roads. Standing General Order reports are filed by manufacturers and robotaxi operators and not verified either.

Counted once

A complaint that names several components or vehicles is one complaint. Severity means the owner reported a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.