VehDB Insights · NHTSA owner complaints
The Most Complained-About Vehicles of the 2021 Model Year
Every complaint owners filed with NHTSA against 2021 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.
27,187
Owner complaints
filed with NHTSA, 2021 model year
721
Vehicles complained about
distinct make and model
1,176
Complaints citing a crash
344 citing a fire
899
People injured
27 deaths reported
| # | Vehicle | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla Model Y |
1,066
|
86 | 6 |
| 2 | Ford F-150 |
997
|
13 | 4 |
| 3 | Jeep Wrangler |
909
|
20 | 27 |
| 4 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 |
807
|
20 | 11 |
| 5 | Ford Bronco Sport |
679
|
18 | 16 |
| 6 | RAM 1500 |
673
|
26 | 4 |
| 7 | Tesla Model 3 |
657
|
45 | 5 |
| 8 | GMC Sierra 1500 |
551
|
5 | 6 |
| 9 | Toyota Highlander |
503
|
16 | 4 |
| 10 | Volkswagen Atlas |
465
|
8 | 1 |
| 11 | Chevrolet Tahoe |
443
|
9 | 3 |
| 12 | Hyundai Palisade |
429
|
8 | 1 |
| 13 | Honda Pilot |
424
|
12 | 1 |
| 14 | Ford Explorer |
413
|
14 | 5 |
| 15 | Jeep Grand Cherokee |
401
|
20 | 8 |
| 16 | Toyota Rav4 |
382
|
46 | 7 |
| 17 | Chrysler Pacifica |
364
|
11 | 1 |
| 18 | KIA Seltos |
363
|
13 | 6 |
| 19 | KIA Telluride |
354
|
7 | 4 |
| 20 | Ford Mustang Mach E |
343
|
14 | 1 |
| 21 | Ford Escape |
338
|
9 | 9 |
| 22 | Volkswagen Id.4 |
330
|
27 | 1 |
| 23 | Honda Cr-V |
325
|
14 | 1 |
| 24 | GMC Yukon |
320
|
9 | 0 |
| 25 | Subaru Outback |
296
|
9 | 1 |
Top 25 vehicles by complaint count. Source: NHTSA ODI complaint file, aggregated Sep 8, 2026.
What 2021 owners complained about
The ten components named most often across every 2021 model-year vehicle. A complaint naming several components counts once for each.
| Component | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 5,550 | 86 | 123 |
| Electrical System | 5,064 | 144 | 145 |
| Unknown Or Other | 4,107 | 165 | 76 |
| Power Train | 4,064 | 88 | 21 |
| Service Brakes | 2,198 | 265 | 16 |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 1,843 | 38 | 37 |
| Steering | 1,635 | 106 | 11 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | 1,615 | 173 | 10 |
| Air Bags | 1,268 | 355 | 11 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | 1,189 | 43 | 1 |
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.