VehDB Insights · NHTSA owner complaints
The Most Complained-About Vehicles of the 2022 Model Year
Every complaint owners filed with NHTSA against 2022 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.
25,111
Owner complaints
filed with NHTSA, 2022 model year
732
Vehicles complained about
distinct make and model
1,124
Complaints citing a crash
279 citing a fire
1,190
People injured
121 deaths reported
| # | Vehicle | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda Civic |
881
|
34 | 3 |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y |
854
|
87 | 8 |
| 3 | Tesla Model 3 |
763
|
53 | 4 |
| 4 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 |
610
|
10 | 6 |
| 5 | RAM 1500 |
604
|
23 | 6 |
| 6 | Ford F-150 |
584
|
20 | 7 |
| 7 | GMC Sierra 1500 |
570
|
9 | 5 |
| 8 | Subaru Outback |
462
|
10 | 4 |
| 9 | Ford Maverick Hybrid |
459
|
6 | 1 |
| 10 | Toyota Tundra |
425
|
5 | 0 |
| 11 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 |
402
|
7 | 1 |
| 12 | Jeep Wrangler |
383
|
13 | 11 |
| 13 | Hyundai Tucson |
380
|
25 | 4 |
| 14 | Ford Bronco |
370
|
6 | 2 |
| 15 | Ford Bronco Sport |
351
|
13 | 12 |
| 16 | KIA Telluride |
319
|
10 | 4 |
| 17 | Volkswagen Taos |
310
|
4 | 0 |
| 18 | Polestar Polestar 2 |
305
|
1 | 0 |
| 19 | Hyundai Palisade |
302
|
5 | 2 |
| 20 | KIA EV6 |
275
|
11 | 0 |
| 21 | Volkswagen Tiguan |
261
|
3 | 0 |
| 22 | Ford Explorer |
258
|
17 | 1 |
| 23 | Jeep Grand Cherokee |
258
|
6 | 1 |
| 24 | Honda Cr-V |
253
|
5 | 1 |
| 25 | Honda Accord |
238
|
5 | 0 |
Top 25 vehicles by complaint count. Source: NHTSA ODI complaint file, aggregated Sep 8, 2026.
What 2022 owners complained about
The ten components named most often across every 2022 model-year vehicle. A complaint naming several components counts once for each.
| Component | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 5,281 | 122 | 131 |
| Engine | 4,617 | 60 | 112 |
| Unknown Or Other | 3,781 | 161 | 78 |
| Power Train | 3,703 | 85 | 11 |
| Steering | 2,145 | 129 | 12 |
| Service Brakes | 2,129 | 241 | 12 |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 1,978 | 32 | 31 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | 1,605 | 178 | 6 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | 1,309 | 50 | 6 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 1,227 | 131 | 3 |
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.