Free Tool · Official NHTSA Data
Car Problems Checker
Before you buy a used car, see what real owners reported to the US government — failed transmissions, engine fires, brake problems — and which model years to avoid entirely.
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Problems Checker — FAQ
How do I check problems for a used car before buying?
Select the year, make and model above. You'll see every safety complaint owners filed with NHTSA — the most complained-about components, crash and fire reports, and a year-by-year strip that flags the bad years of that model.
What does "years to avoid" mean?
When one model year attracts far more complaints than the model's own average (we flag 2× or more), it almost always marks a real manufacturing or design defect — a bad transmission, engine or electrical run — rather than random noise.
Is this the same data as CarComplaints or other sites?
The underlying source is the same public-domain NHTSA complaint database those sites build on. We query it live and cache for up to 7 days, so new complaints show up here quickly.
Does this cover cars outside the US?
Complaints are filed by US owners, but most models are engineered globally — a pattern of US complaints for your model year is a strong signal anywhere in the world.
Data: NHTSA (US Department of Transportation — public domain), fetched live. See also the Car Recall Checker, VIN Lookup and Crash Test Ratings.