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 100,000 residents, play the years, and narrow it to a make, a model, a component or the words owners used.

Complaints on this map1,623,69496.8% placed on a city; all years on file

Your filtersKept as you move between pages

Manufacturer or make

Model

Model years from

Vehicle type

Component

Filed from

Complaint text

Owner complaints

Columbia, MD files the most complaints per resident of cities over 100,000, 904 per 100,000

Complaints per 100,000 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. 96.7% of complaints could be placed in a county.

All years

Highest per resident

per 100,000 residents; places of at least 100,000 people. 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. 51,288 complaints name a city that could not be placed.

Ranked

Highest per resident

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

Highest per resident
Place	per 100,000 residents	Complaints	Population
Columbia, MD	904	914	101,074
Springfield, VA	812	868	106,868
Fairfax, VA	797	1,317	165,289
Bowie, MD	778	823	105,843
Baltimore, MD	751	4,456	593,132
Toms River, NJ	743	964	129,706
Virginia Beach, VA	734	3,357	457,066
Carlsbad, CA	732	838	114,500
Midlothian, VA	725	758	104,494
Upper Marlboro, MD	715	751	104,989
Fredericksburg, VA	709	1,318	185,865
Laurel, MD	708	836	118,136
Rockville, MD	707	1,021	144,320
Washington, DC	699	4,912	702,250
Palm Coast, FL	692	739	106,729

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.