Why your complaint is important
Your complaint information will be entered into NHTSA-ODI's vehicle owner's complaint database and used with other complaints to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists. More...
- If a safety-related defect exists in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment, the manufacturer must provide a remedy at no cost to the owner. Your complaint is the first step in the process.
- We do not have to receive a specific number of complaints before we look into a problem. We gather all available information on a problem. Your complaint is important to us.
How Your complaint is Handled
- We protect your privacy. We do not share your personal information with the general public. Your complaint will be added to a public NHTSA database only after we remove all information from complaint fields that identify you personally. More...
- Government analysts review each complaint in a timely fashion. If warranted, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) will open an investigation to determine if a safety defect trend exists. Some of these investigations result in safety recalls.
- While you may or may not be contacted by a NHTSA-ODI investigator to clarify the information submitted, all reports are reviewed and analyzed for potential defects trends.
The Privacy Act of 1974 - Public Law 93-579, As Amended: This information is requested pursuant to the authority vested in the National Highway Traffic Safety Act and subsequent amendments. You are under no obligation to respond to this questionnaire. Your response maybe used to assist the NHTSA in determining whether a manufacturer should take appropriate action to correct a safety defect. If the NHTSA proceeds with administration enforcement or litigation against a manufacturer, your response, or statistical summary thereof, may be used in support of the agency's action.