NHTSA Revives Consumer Car Safety Complaint Information Collection
Published Date: 10/7/2026
Notice
Summary
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants to bring back a way to collect consumer complaints about vehicle safety. This affects anyone who might report car problems or safety issues. They’re asking for public feedback by December 7, 2026, before getting official approval, with no new costs expected.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Consumer reports can trigger free recalls
You can send NHTSA a complaint about a vehicle or vehicle equipment problem, and NHTSA uses those complaints to identify safety defects. If a safety defect is found, manufacturers are required to remedy the defect at no charge to the owner by repairing the vehicle or equipment, replacing it with an identical or similar product, or refunding the purchase price less depreciation.
Filing a complaint requires time cost
Submitting a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire (VOQ) to NHTSA takes about 10 minutes per submission. NHTSA reports an average of 67,366 complaints per year (estimated 63,998 unique respondents), total annual burden of 11,227 hours, and an estimated annual opportunity cost of $405,519 based on $36.12 per hour (about $6.02 per submission).
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