VehDB Insights · NHTSA owner complaints
The Most Complained-About Vehicles of the 2014 Model Year
Every complaint owners filed with NHTSA against 2014 model-year vehicles, whenever it was filed, ranked by vehicle. Complaints are unverified owner reports, but they are the earliest public reliability signal and they precede recalls.
55,677
Owner complaints
filed with NHTSA, 2014 model year
805
Vehicles complained about
distinct make and model
2,762
Complaints citing a crash
1,092 citing a fire
2,411
People injured
58 deaths reported
| # | Vehicle | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeep Cherokee |
2,642
|
56 | 16 |
| 2 | Ford Focus |
2,597
|
68 | 9 |
| 3 | Jeep Grand Cherokee |
2,374
|
149 | 40 |
| 4 | Ford Escape |
2,078
|
47 | 103 |
| 5 | RAM 1500 |
1,757
|
98 | 24 |
| 6 | Ford Explorer |
1,674
|
32 | 6 |
| 7 | Ford F-150 |
1,522
|
38 | 16 |
| 8 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 |
1,434
|
61 | 18 |
| 9 | Ford Fusion |
1,328
|
51 | 9 |
| 10 | Nissan Altima |
1,113
|
52 | 8 |
| 11 | KIA Sorento |
983
|
23 | 45 |
| 12 | Honda Accord |
977
|
52 | 9 |
| 13 | KIA Soul |
896
|
33 | 69 |
| 14 | Dodge Durango |
782
|
23 | 9 |
| 15 | Hyundai Sonata |
743
|
29 | 39 |
| 16 | GMC Sierra 1500 |
738
|
24 | 7 |
| 17 | Chevrolet Cruze |
702
|
70 | 17 |
| 18 | Jeep Wrangler |
652
|
21 | 24 |
| 19 | Chrysler Town And Country |
636
|
20 | 16 |
| 20 | Chevrolet Impala |
633
|
19 | 8 |
| 21 | Volkswagen Passat |
594
|
19 | 3 |
| 22 | Honda Cr-V |
586
|
36 | 7 |
| 23 | KIA Optima |
583
|
20 | 42 |
| 24 | Nissan Pathfinder |
574
|
19 | 3 |
| 25 | Jeep Patriot |
548
|
31 | 7 |
Top 25 vehicles by complaint count. Source: NHTSA ODI complaint file, aggregated Sep 8, 2026.
What 2014 owners complained about
The ten components named most often across every 2014 model-year vehicle. A complaint naming several components counts once for each.
| Component | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 11,285 | 218 | 529 |
| Power Train | 9,777 | 353 | 63 |
| Electrical System | 8,761 | 232 | 430 |
| Unknown Or Other | 6,693 | 257 | 191 |
| Steering | 5,529 | 276 | 21 |
| Air Bags | 5,474 | 1,114 | 34 |
| Service Brakes | 4,045 | 522 | 42 |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 3,295 | 93 | 101 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2,522 | 377 | 9 |
| Exterior Lighting | 2,434 | 52 | 32 |
Methodology
- Source: the official NHTSA ODI complaint file (US DOT, public domain), aggregated into VehDB weekly. Last refresh: Sep 8, 2026. Narratives and complainant details are never stored.
- A complaint is one report by one owner. It counts once in the vehicle totals, and once per component it names in the component table, so component figures over-count if summed.
- Only vehicle complaints with a known model year are included; tire, equipment and child-seat complaints are excluded.
- Counts are absolute, not normalised by sales: a best-selling model accumulates more complaints than a niche one at the same defect rate. A high count is not by itself a verdict on quality.
- Crash, fire, injury and death figures are what the owner reported on the complaint form, not verified outcomes.
Need complaint data per vehicle?
GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/complaints returns these statistics for any car in the catalogue, and the complaints_for_vehicle MCP tool gives them to AI agents.