Driver-Assistance Complaints to NHTSA: Which Automakers Draw the Most
Original analysis of 307,767 records from NHTSA, 2021–2025. Published October 10, 2026.
We counted every complaint filed with NHTSA from 2021 to 2025 that names a driver-assistance component, such as emergency braking or lane keeping, and ranked automakers by raw count and by share of their own complaints.
What the NHTSA Complaint Data Show
Tesla and American Honda (Honda and Acura vehicles) account for 40.8% of the 21,028 complaints filed with NHTSA from 2021 to 2025 that name a driver-assistance component. Driver-assistance components appear in 43.2% of all complaints about Tesla vehicles, compared with 6.8% of complaints across all manufacturers. These are raw counts that do not account for how many vehicles each company has on the road, and 3,063 of Tesla's 4,250 driver-assistance complaints date from 2022 and 2023.
- 21KDriver-assistance complaints, 2021–2025
- 41%Share about Tesla or Honda/Acura vehicles
- 43%Share of Tesla complaints naming driver assistance
Two automakers lead
American Honda (Honda and Acura vehicles) drew 4,328 driver-assistance complaints and Tesla vehicles 4,250, together 40.8% of the total. Chrysler (FCA US, LLC), whose complaints cover Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles, ranks third with 1,858.
Tesla's share stands out
Among the 20 manufacturers with at least 50 driver-assistance complaints, Tesla has the highest share: 43.2% of its complaints name such a component, against 14.5% for American Honda and 6.8% across all manufacturers.
Emergency braking dominates
Automatic emergency braking is named in 10,357 complaints, 49.3% of all driver-assistance complaints; adaptive cruise control follows with 6,417.
Crashes are reported more often
8.9% of driver-assistance complaints report a crash, as stated by the person filing, compared with 3.7% of all complaints filed in the same years.
Volume rose since 2021
Driver-assistance complaints rose from 1,927 in 2021 to 5,215 in 2025, 2.7 times the 2021 count. Most of the rise came in 2022; their share of all complaints went from 3.9% to 7.0%, after peaking at 9.1% in 2022.
Tesla's count peaked in 2022
Tesla vehicles drew 1,980 driver-assistance complaints in 2022 and 403 in 2025. Complaints about all other vehicles combined rose every year, from 1,693 in 2021 to 4,812 in 2025.
Which Automakers Have the Most Driver-Assistance Complaints
American Honda and Tesla each drew more than twice as many driver-assistance complaints as any other manufacturer from 2021 to 2025.
American Honda (4,328) and Tesla (4,250) lead; Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) follows with 1,858.
The ranking counts complaints filed with NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation in which the consumer selected at least one driver-assistance component. It lists the 20 manufacturers with at least 50 such complaints. These are raw counts: companies that sell more vehicles in the United States will tend to receive more complaints of every kind, so the next section compares each company with its own complaint total.
Manufacturers are grouped as NHTSA records them. American Honda includes Acura (265); Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) covers Jeep (839), Ram (709), Dodge (147) and Chrysler (140) vehicles; General Motors mainly covers Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick. NHTSA lists some brands under more than one manufacturer name, for example Mercedes-Benz vans under Daimler Vans USA; these entries are not merged. By brand rather than manufacturer, Tesla ranks first with 4,250, Honda second with 4,063 and Ford third with 1,353.
Tesla's total is concentrated in 2022 and 2023 (3,063 of 4,250). In 2025, American Honda drew 1,243 driver-assistance complaints and Tesla 403.
Driver-assistance complaints by manufacturer, 2021–2025
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)4,32820.6% of all ADAS complaints · 176 with a crash
- Tesla, Inc.4,25020.2% of all ADAS complaints · 376 with a crash
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)1,8588.8% of all ADAS complaints · 124 with a crash
- General Motors, LLC1,6017.6% of all ADAS complaints · 135 with a crash
- Ford Motor Company1,4717.0% of all ADAS complaints · 142 with a crash
- Nissan North America, Inc.1,2546.0% of all ADAS complaints · 113 with a crash
- Hyundai Motor America1,2075.7% of all ADAS complaints · 132 with a crash
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.1,0745.1% of all ADAS complaints · 101 with a crash
- Toyota Motor Corporation9194.4% of all ADAS complaints · 200 with a crash
- Kia America, Inc.6162.9% of all ADAS complaints · 84 with a crash
All 20 manufacturers
- Subaru of America, Inc.5952.8% of all ADAS complaints · 77 with a crash
- Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC3311.6% of all ADAS complaints · 40 with a crash
- Mazda Motor Corp.2921.4% of all ADAS complaints · 32 with a crash
- BMW of North America, LLC2751.3% of all ADAS complaints · 71 with a crash
- Fisker Group Inc2741.3% of all ADAS complaints · 6 with a crash
- Volvo Car USA, LLC1400.7% of all ADAS complaints · 17 with a crash
- Daimler Vans USA, LLC690.3% of all ADAS complaints · 2 with a crash
- Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.680.3% of all ADAS complaints · 10 with a crash
- Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC600.3% of all ADAS complaints · 4 with a crash
- Daimler Trucks North America, LLC500.2% of all ADAS complaints · 4 with a crash
Which Automakers Have the Highest Share of Driver-Assistance Complaints
Measured against each company's own complaint volume, Tesla stands apart among the 20 ranked manufacturers: 43.2% of its complaints name a driver-assistance component.
Among the 20 manufacturers with at least 50 driver-assistance complaints, Tesla has the highest share at 43.2%, against 6.8% across all manufacturers.
Dividing driver-assistance complaints by all complaints about the same manufacturer partly removes the effect of fleet size, because both counts grow with the number of vehicles on the road. The share still depends on how many driver-assistance features a company fits as standard and on how often its vehicles draw complaints about other components. Manufacturers with small totals, such as Fisker or Daimler Trucks, can show high shares based on few complaints.
Manufacturers below the threshold are not ranked, and some of them show even higher shares: VinFast, for example, has 28 driver-assistance complaints out of 56 in all (50.0%).
Driver-assistance share of each manufacturer's complaints, 2021–2025
| Manufacturer | ADAS | All | ADAS share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla, Inc. | 4,250 | 9,844 | 43.2% |
| Fisker Group Inc | 274 | 876 | 31.3% |
| Daimler Trucks North America, LLC | 50 | 191 | 26.2% |
| Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) | 4,328 | 29,928 | 14.5% |
| Daimler Vans USA, LLC | 69 | 475 | 14.5% |
| Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. | 1,074 | 10,543 | 10.2% |
| Volvo Car USA, LLC | 140 | 1,463 | 9.6% |
| Nissan North America, Inc. | 1,254 | 13,460 | 9.3% |
| Mazda Motor Corp. | 292 | 3,378 | 8.6% |
| Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. | 68 | 922 | 7.4% |
All 20 manufacturers
| Manufacturer | ADAS | All | ADAS share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subaru of America, Inc. | 595 | 9,248 | 6.4% |
| Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC | 331 | 5,810 | 5.7% |
| Hyundai Motor America | 1,207 | 21,593 | 5.6% |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 919 | 18,062 | 5.1% |
| Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC | 60 | 1,318 | 4.6% |
| Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) | 1,858 | 42,053 | 4.4% |
| General Motors, LLC | 1,601 | 41,490 | 3.9% |
| BMW of North America, LLC | 275 | 7,137 | 3.9% |
| Kia America, Inc. | 616 | 18,120 | 3.4% |
| Ford Motor Company | 1,471 | 63,077 | 2.3% |
Which Driver-Assistance Systems Draw the Most Complaints
Automatic emergency braking is named in 49.3% of driver-assistance complaints, more than any other system.
Automatic emergency braking (10,357), then adaptive cruise control (6,417).
We grouped NHTSA's component codes into systems. A single complaint can name several components, so the system counts add up to more than the 21,028 total. The crash share is the portion of complaints in which the consumer reported that a crash occurred; it is a statement by the person filing, not a finding by NHTSA.
Driver-assistance complaints by system, 2021–2025
- Automatic emergency braking10,35749.3% of ADAS complaints · 10.5% report a crash
- Adaptive cruise control6,41730.5% of ADAS complaints · 4.0% report a crash
- Forward collision warning5,80427.6% of ADAS complaints · 13.0% report a crash
- Lane keeping assist2,32811.1% of ADAS complaints · 8.6% report a crash
- Blind spot detection2,0569.8% of ADAS complaints · 5.5% report a crash
- Lane departure warning1,6828.0% of ADAS complaints · 5.5% report a crash
- Forward collision avoidance, other or unspecified4642.2% of ADAS complaints · 13.6% report a crash
- Other ADAS (parking, hill assist, monitoring, general)1460.7% of ADAS complaints · 4.8% report a crash
- Automated or self-driving system1290.6% of ADAS complaints · 17.1% report a crash
- Lane departure, other or unspecified740.4% of ADAS complaints · 6.8% report a crash
How Driver-Assistance Complaints Have Changed Since 2021
Driver-assistance complaints rose from 1,927 in 2021 to 5,215 in 2025.
The 2025 count was 2.7 times the 2021 count; 4,607 more were filed from January through September 2026.
Complaints coded to driver-assistance components were rare before November 2020 (2 to 18 a month from January 2019 to October 2020) and jumped to 160 in November 2020, which suggests a change in how NHTSA's complaint form offers these components; the series therefore starts with 2021.
Monthly counts in 2022 include a large spike in February (1,124 complaints, 734 of them about Tesla vehicles), and every later month of 2022 stayed above the highest month of 2021. Tesla accounts for much of the 2022 jump: 1,980 of the 4,855 driver-assistance complaints that year concerned Tesla vehicles. Tesla's count then fell each year, to 403 in 2025, while complaints about all other vehicles combined rose every year, from 1,693 in 2021 to 4,812 in 2025. The 2026 row covers January through September only and is not comparable with full years.
Driver-assistance complaints per year
| Year | ADAS | All | ADAS share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,927 | 49,195 | 3.9% |
| 2022 | 4,855 | 53,447 | 9.1% |
| 2023 | 4,525 | 62,994 | 7.2% |
| 2024 | 4,506 | 67,762 | 6.6% |
| 2025 | 5,215 | 74,369 | 7.0% |
| 2026 | 4,607 | 59,831 | 7.7% |
2026 covers January through September only. NHTSA's complaint file is dynamic, so counts for any period can still change slightly.
Which Car Models Have the Most Driver-Assistance Complaints
The Tesla Model Y leads all models with 1,860 driver-assistance complaints from 2021 to 2025.
Tesla Model Y (1,860), followed by other Tesla and Honda models.
The table lists the 43 make and model lines with at least 100 driver-assistance complaints, all model years combined. Models are listed as NHTSA names them; hybrid, plug-in and other variants are counted as separate lines. Popular models are sold in larger numbers, so the share of each model's own complaints is shown alongside the count.
Driver-assistance complaints by model, 2021–2025
| Model | ADAS | ADAS share |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 1,860 | 54.8% |
| Tesla Model 3 | 1,793 | 49.2% |
| Honda CR-V | 1,252 | 23.3% |
| Honda Accord | 857 | 19.5% |
| Honda Odyssey | 548 | 21.4% |
| Honda Pilot | 386 | 9.7% |
| Nissan Rogue | 377 | 12.7% |
| Tesla Model S | 372 | 22.4% |
| Honda Civic | 310 | 7.9% |
| Ram 1500 | 298 | 4.3% |
| Ram 2500 | 295 | 8.5% |
| Fisker Ocean | 274 | 31.3% |
All 43 models
| Model | ADAS | ADAS share |
|---|---|---|
| Subaru Outback | 253 | 6.5% |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | 240 | 5.6% |
| Volkswagen Atlas | 229 | 16.7% |
| Ford F-150 | 222 | 2.3% |
| Tesla Model X | 204 | 20.1% |
| Ford Explorer | 195 | 2.5% |
| Subaru Forester | 181 | 7.5% |
| Hyundai Tucson | 178 | 5.1% |
| Nissan Sentra | 174 | 12.5% |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 151 | 17.9% |
| Jeep Cherokee | 150 | 3.9% |
| Hyundai Palisade | 147 | 8.9% |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | 141 | 5.2% |
| Ford Mustang Mach E | 138 | 24.1% |
| Nissan Altima | 137 | 5.7% |
| Ford Escape | 134 | 1.4% |
| Jeep Compass | 132 | 8.5% |
| Honda Passport | 129 | 27.7% |
| Hyundai Elantra | 126 | 4.5% |
| Toyota Camry | 124 | 6.4% |
| Acura MDX | 121 | 11.2% |
| Honda Accord Hybrid | 118 | 22.1% |
| GMC Acadia | 112 | 5.9% |
| Nissan Kicks | 112 | 33.4% |
| Chevrolet Traverse | 111 | 4.9% |
| Honda Prologue | 110 | 17.5% |
| Toyota RAV4 | 109 | 4.2% |
| Volkswagen Tiguan | 107 | 11.3% |
| Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 103 | 1.9% |
| Kia Sorento | 101 | 2.3% |
| GMC Sierra 1500 | 100 | 3.0% |
Download the Data and Cite This Study
Every table on this page as a CSV file, free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
- Driver-assistance complaints to NHTSA by brand, 2021–2025The same counts by vehicle brand (make) instead of manufacturer, for brands above the same minimum count; raw counts, not adjusted for fleet size. · 30 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- Driver-assistance complaints to NHTSA by manufacturer, 2021–2025Complaints naming a driver-assistance component per manufacturer (as NHTSA records it) above the minimum count stated in the method, with each manufacturer's total complaints, the driver-assistance share and complaints reporting a crash; raw counts, not adjusted for fleet size. · 20 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- Driver-assistance complaints to NHTSA by vehicle model, 2021–2025Make and model lines above the minimum driver-assistance complaint count stated in the method, all model years combined and model names as NHTSA records them, with the driver-assistance share of each model's complaints. · 43 rows · CSV, 2 KB
- Driver-assistance complaints to NHTSA by system, 2021–2025Complaints per driver-assistance system (grouped NHTSA component codes) with the number and share that report a crash; one complaint can name several systems. · 10 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- Driver-assistance complaints to NHTSA by year, 2021 to September 2026Yearly driver-assistance complaints, all complaints, the driver-assistance share, crash reports and the split between Tesla and all other vehicles; 2026 covers January through September only. · 6 rows · CSV, 1 KB
How to cite
Goldberg, L. (2026). Driver-Assistance Complaints to NHTSA — by manufacturer, brand, system and model (2021–2025) and by year (2021 to September 2026) [Data set]. Settlement Insight. https://settlementinsight.com/research/driver-assist-complaints
BibTeX
@dataset{goldberg_2026_driver_assist_complaints,
author = {Goldberg, Leonard},
title = {Driver-Assistance Complaints to NHTSA --- by manufacturer, brand, system and model (2021--2025) and by year (2021 to September 2026)},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Settlement Insight},
url = {https://settlementinsight.com/research/driver-assist-complaints}
}How We Measured
Checked against published figures
- Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (complaints) received by NHTSA ODI in fiscal year 2025 Q1 (October–December 2024): published 16,055, our count 16,017 (0.24% apart).Office of Defects Investigation Quarterly Metrics (NHTSA), Internet Archive copy of March 28, 2026
- Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (complaints) received by NHTSA ODI in fiscal year 2025 Q2 (January–March 2025): published 18,427, our count 18,387 (0.22% apart).Office of Defects Investigation Quarterly Metrics (NHTSA), Internet Archive copy of March 28, 2026
- Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (complaints) received by NHTSA ODI in fiscal year 2025 Q3 (April–June 2025): published 18,421, our count 18,390 (0.17% apart).Office of Defects Investigation Quarterly Metrics (NHTSA), Internet Archive copy of March 28, 2026
- Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (complaints) received by NHTSA ODI in fiscal year 2025 Q4 (July–September 2025): published 20,196, our count 20,182 (0.07% apart).Office of Defects Investigation Quarterly Metrics (NHTSA), Internet Archive copy of March 28, 2026
Full method and limits of the data
A complaint counts as a driver-assistance complaint if the consumer selected at least one NHTSA component code beginning with "Forward Collision Avoidance", "Lane Departure" or "Electrical System: ADAS", or the code "Steering: Automated/Adaptive Steering". Conventional cruise control, rear-view cameras and back-over prevention are not included. 13,513 of these complaints (64.3%) also name at least one other component, so not every complaint is mainly about driver assistance. Each complaint is counted once per manufacturer, brand and system. Rows labeled "ODI Demo Co" or "Unknown Manufacturer" are left out of the manufacturer, brand and model rankings; the 18 driver-assistance complaints with an unknown manufacturer still count in the totals.
The share of own complaints divides a manufacturer's driver-assistance complaints by all of its complaints in the same years; the brand file does the same by vehicle make. To check the data, we counted all complaints received in NHTSA's fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025): 72,976, against 73,099 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires in the four quarters of NHTSA's published metrics, 0.17% fewer. The quarterly figures are taken from the Internet Archive copy of NHTSA's Quarterly Metrics page of March 28, 2026.
What this data cannot tell you
- Complaint counts are raw counts. They are not adjusted for the number of vehicles each manufacturer has on the road, for miles driven or for how many vehicles have each driver-assistance feature. A higher count does not mean a system is less safe.
- Complaints are reports written by consumers. The component, the description and any reported crash or injury reflect what the person filing selected and stated; this analysis does not verify them.
- Before November 2020, few complaints were coded to driver-assistance components (2 to 18 a month from January 2019 to October 2020), so earlier periods cannot be compared.
- NHTSA's complaint file is dynamic; counts for any period can change slightly as records are added, merged or removed.
- These complaints are separate from the reports that identified manufacturers and operators must file with NHTSA under its Standing General Order on certain crashes involving vehicles with SAE Level 2 driver-assistance systems or automated driving systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which car brand has the most driver-assistance complaints?
By brand, Tesla has the most: 4,250 driver-assistance complaints to NHTSA from 2021 to 2025, against 4,063 for Honda-brand vehicles. By manufacturer, American Honda (Honda and Acura vehicles) leads with 4,328. Together, Tesla and American Honda account for 40.8% of the 21,028 total; these raw counts do not reflect how many vehicles each company sells.
How many Tesla complaints are about Autopilot or driver assistance?
Driver-assistance components appear in 43.2% of complaints about Tesla vehicles filed from 2021 to 2025, compared with 6.8% across all manufacturers. Most of Tesla's driver-assistance complaints were filed in 2022 and 2023 (3,063 of 4,250). The NHTSA codes cover systems such as emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane keeping rather than a brand name like Autopilot.
What is the most common driver-assistance complaint?
Automatic emergency braking is named in 10,357 complaints, 49.3% of all driver-assistance complaints from 2021 to 2025.
Are driver-assistance complaints increasing?
Between 2021 and 2025, yes: they rose from 1,927 in 2021 to 5,215 in 2025. Most of that rise came in 2022, when complaints about Tesla vehicles peaked at 1,980; complaints about all other vehicles combined rose every year, from 1,693 to 4,812. The data do not show why; the number of vehicles equipped with these systems is not part of the complaint file.
Does a high complaint count mean a car is unsafe?
No. Complaints are consumer reports and are not adjusted for how many vehicles a company sells. NHTSA uses complaint information together with other data sources to identify safety issues that may warrant investigation.
How often do driver-assistance complaints involve a crash?
8.9% of driver-assistance complaints filed from 2021 to 2025 report a crash, or 1,880 complaints. Across all NHTSA complaints in the same years, the share is 3.7%.
Sources
- NHTSA Datasets and APIs: Complaints — National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Office of Defects Investigation Quarterly Metrics (Internet Archive copy of March 28, 2026) — National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Standing General Order on Crash Reporting — National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Independent analysis. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and not affiliated with any agency named here. Analysis by Leonard Goldberg, Editor. How we work: methodology, our data.
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