Vehicle Defect and Auto Recall Statistics (2026)

Published November 10, 2026 by VictimAid.com, the research and consumer information site of the Law Offices of Jason Turchin. Reviewed by attorney Jason Turchin. Part of the VictimAid.com Injury Data Center.

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 analyzes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) public data on vehicle safety complaints, recall repair rates, defect investigations and crash test ratings. It focuses on defects linked to crashes, fires, injuries and deaths.

Key vehicle defect statistics

• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that consumers have filed 1,631,826 vehicle safety complaints with NHTSA since 1995, including 96,973 that reported a crash, 41,503 a fire, 63,724 an injury and 2,874 a death.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that by November 8, 2026, NHTSA had already received more complaints reporting crashes (2,817), injuries (1,834) and fires (1,057) than in all of 2025, and more crash and injury complaints than in any full year since 2019.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that air bags were named in 42% of complaints reporting a death and 48% of complaints reporting an injury from 2016 through 2025, more than any other vehicle component.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that 25,823,781 vehicles in 2,669 recalls at least two years old had still not been repaired, and 18% of those recalls had fixed fewer than half of the affected vehicles.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that the recalls with the most unrepaired vehicles include air bag inflators that may explode or rupture: a Ford driver air bag recall had 1,542,728 vehicles still unrepaired, and a Honda inflator recall had repaired only 5% of 1,439,841 vehicles.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that complaints about automatic emergency braking and forward collision avoidance systems rose from 66 in 2016 to 4,368 in 2025, and 622 of the 2026 complaints so far reported a crash.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that 21 of the 130 defect investigations NHTSA opened since January 2024 involve driver-assist or automated driving systems, compared with 9 in the eight years before.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that Florida consumers filed 50,509 vehicle safety complaints from 2016 through 2025, the third most of any state, including 2,106 reporting a crash and 53 reporting a death.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that engines and electrical systems were the components most often named in complaints reporting a vehicle fire, appearing in 5,200 and 4,782 of the 11,704 fire complaints filed from 2016 through 2025.
• The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that 55% of 2026 model-year vehicle versions listed in NHTSA’s ratings data had no overall crash test rating; of those rated, 86% earned five stars.

Vehicle safety complaints reporting crashes, fires, injuries and deaths

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that consumers have filed 1,631,826 vehicle safety complaints with NHTSA since 1995, including 96,973 that reported a crash, 41,503 a fire, 63,724 an injury and 2,874 a death. The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that by November 8, 2026, NHTSA had already received more complaints reporting crashes (2,817), injuries (1,834) and fires (1,057) than in all of 2025, and more crash and injury complaints than in any full year since 2019.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaints database, by date received. Each complaint is counted once even when it names several components. Complaints are reports from owners and others and are not verified by NHTSA.

Which vehicle defects cause injuries and deaths

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that air bags were named in 42% of complaints reporting a death and 48% of complaints reporting an injury from 2016 through 2025, more than any other vehicle component.

A complaint can name more than one component, so counts add up to more than the number of complaints.

Vehicle fires

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that engines and electrical systems were the components most often named in complaints reporting a vehicle fire, appearing in 5,200 and 4,782 of the 11,704 fire complaints filed from 2016 through 2025.

How many recalled vehicles never get fixed

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that 25,823,781 vehicles in 2,669 recalls at least two years old had still not been repaired, and 18% of those recalls had fixed fewer than half of the affected vehicles. Across those recalls, manufacturers reported repairing 75,147,441 of 107,532,716 affected vehicles (70%); the median recall had repaired 82%.

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that the recalls with the most unrepaired vehicles include air bag inflators that may explode or rupture: a Ford driver air bag recall had 1,542,728 vehicles still unrepaired, and a Honda inflator recall had repaired only 5% of 1,439,841 vehicles.

Source: NHTSA recall annual remedy reports, which manufacturers file once a recall has completed at least eight quarterly reports. Each recall uses its latest report (reporting periods through the third quarter of 2026). “Still unrepaired” excludes vehicles reported as scrapped, exported or unreachable.

Driver-assist and self-driving technology

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that complaints about automatic emergency braking and forward collision avoidance systems rose from 66 in 2016 to 4,368 in 2025, and 622 of the 2026 complaints so far reported a crash. Complaints about back-over prevention systems such as rear automatic braking more than doubled from 1,074 in 2024 to 2,234 in 2025, and lane departure system complaints reached 1,573.

Complaints naming each system, by year received. Emergency braking includes forward collision avoidance systems. *2026 through November 8.

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that 21 of the 130 defect investigations NHTSA opened since January 2024 involve driver-assist or automated driving systems, compared with 9 in the eight years before. Recent investigations cover Tesla Full Self-Driving, Ford BlueCruise, Waymo robotaxis and automatic emergency braking from Honda and Daimler Trucks.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, investigations opened by year. NHTSA had 225 investigations without a closing date as of November 6, 2026.

Vehicle safety complaints in Florida

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that Florida consumers filed 50,509 vehicle safety complaints from 2016 through 2025, the third most of any state, including 2,106 reporting a crash and 53 reporting a death.

Complaints by vehicle make, 2025

These makes drew the most 2025 complaints reporting a crash, fire, injury or death. Larger brands sell more vehicles, so these counts are not defect rates.

Crash test ratings for new vehicles

The VictimAid.com Vehicle Defect Report 2026 found that 55% of 2026 model-year vehicle versions listed in NHTSA’s ratings data had no overall crash test rating; of those rated, 86% earned five stars.

Methodology

VictimAid.com analyzed NHTSA’s downloadable flat files. Complaints were counted once per ODI complaint number, and a complaint counts as reporting a crash, fire, injury or death if it says so in any of its rows. Because some complaints list placeholder injury or death counts, this report counts complaints that report at least one injury or death rather than adding up the numbers reported. Component figures use the top-level component group NHTSA assigns. Recall repair figures come from each vehicle recall’s most recent annual remedy report. Driver-assist and automated driving investigations were identified from investigation subjects. Complaints are unverified reports and do not by themselves establish that a defect exists.

Sources

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Defects Investigation, complaints, recalls, investigations and recall remedy report data files, nhtsa.gov, downloaded November 2026.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, New Car Assessment Program vehicle data, model years through 2026.

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This page presents aggregated public data for research and informational purposes. It is not legal advice and does not describe any client matter or result. Figures reflect the source records as published by the agencies named above and may change as those agencies update their data.