PlainCars

State profile

California vehicle complaints

100,256 NHTSA complaints filed by California drivers across 50 vehicle models, the models your neighbors flag most.

Complaints
100,256
Crashes
7,872
Models
50

Volume is not severity

According to NHTSA ODI filings attributed to California drivers, the Honda Accord leads complaint volume at 5,388 (#1 of 50 tracked models) but the Toyota Camry leads crash-linked reports at 591 (#1); the Tesla Model S leads reported fatalities at 44 (#1).

5,388
Honda Accord complaints #1
591
Toyota Camry crashes #1
44
Tesla Model S deaths #1

Counts sum NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaints self-reported by owners in this state. Crash and fatality flags come from those filings, not a separate crash registry.

ODI volume DENSE Crash-flag CRASH-HEAVY (7.9%)

Crash-flagged vs other filings

California filings in this extract skew crash-flagged at 7.9% (CRASH-HEAVY · crash-led) versus other ODI rows - orthogonal to the make/model top-N bars below.

California vs all jurisdictions by NHTSA complaint volume

Where this state's owner-attributed ODI complaint count sits among every state and DC on PlainCars

233,377 1st of 51 the highest of 51 jurisdictions

States and DC, banded by owner-attributed NHTSA ODI complaint count

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more jurisdictions. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NHTSA ODI owner-reported state field · 2026-08-08

California has more filings than 50 of 51 jurisdictions in this extract. Absolute volume tracks population and reporting culture; it is not a per-vehicle defect rate.

Data updated August 2026. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation, more than 2,000,000 owner filings sit in the national ODI file; this page counts the subset attributed to California drivers. See our methodology.

California ODI volume reading

The standout signal in California is filing volume: 233,377 owner-attributed NHTSA ODI complaints (#1 of 51, heavy-book tercile). Crash-flag share sits at 7.9% (CRASH-HEAVY).

As a heavy-book state, population and reporting culture inflate absolute counts - pair California's local leaderboard with national model pages before treating volume as a defect rate.

Inside this extract the Honda Accord leads California with 5,388 filings (451 crash-flagged).

Severe outcomes reported in California

7,872
Crash reports
2,203
Fire incidents
235
Reported fatalities
Most complained make in California
Ford (25,736 complaints)

Most-complained vehicles in California

Ranked by NHTSA complaints filed by in-state owners

complaints

What this shows The Honda Accord draws the most NHTSA complaints from California drivers. State-level volume reflects how common a model is locally as much as its defect rate.

Source NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation As of 2026

Full ranking: top 50 most-complained vehicles in California

# Vehicle Complaints
1 Honda Accord 5,388
2 Ford Explorer 4,396
3 Honda Civic 3,980
4 Toyota Camry 3,923
5 Toyota Prius 3,787
6 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3,522
7 Ford F-150 3,197
8 Ford Focus 3,140
9 Toyota Corolla 2,767
10 Honda CR-V 2,375
11 Ford Fusion 2,342
12 Tesla Model 3 2,332
13 Tesla Model S 2,201
14 Honda Odyssey 2,192
15 Volkswagen Jetta 2,168
16 Ford Escape 2,164
17 Hyundai Sonata 2,037
18 Nissan Altima 2,002
19 Jeep Wrangler 1,944
20 Chevrolet Malibu 1,911
21 Ford Mustang 1,796
22 Jeep Cherokee 1,764
23 Tesla Model Y 1,743
24 Ford Taurus 1,727
25 Toyota Sienna 1,615
26 Ford Edge 1,588
27 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 1,586
28 Toyota Rav4 1,550
29 Subaru Outback 1,529
30 Honda Pilot 1,519
31 Ford Windstar 1,515
32 Toyota Tacoma 1,504
33 Dodge Caravan 1,500
34 Dodge Durango 1,478
35 Chevrolet Tahoe 1,453
36 Dodge Grand Caravan 1,446
37 Chevrolet Suburban 1,437
38 Volkswagen Passat 1,363
39 Ford Expedition 1,363
40 Ford Ranger 1,362
41 KIA Optima 1,300
42 RAM 1500 1,252
43 Nissan Sentra 1,252
44 Dodge RAM 1500 1,216
45 Chrysler Town AND Country 1,200
46 Hyundai Elantra 1,198
47 Ford F-250 1,146
48 KIA Sorento 1,105
49 Toyota Tundra 993
50 Dodge Charger 988

Nearest ODI volume peers

Closest owner-attributed complaint totals to California's 233,377 filings (DENSE band) - NHTSA ODI volume stamps, not an alphabetical state strip.

Texas

147,187 · DENSE · Δ86,190

Florida

145,685 · DENSE · Δ87,692

New York

115,995 · DENSE · Δ117,382

Pennsylvania

91,305 · DENSE · Δ142,072
Compare Honda Accord vs Ford Explorer →

Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, with fatality-linked filings cross-checked against NHTSA FARS and crash-test ratings drawn from NHTSA NCAP. State is self-reported by the vehicle owner. California totals: 100,256 filings across 50 models (DENSE/CRASH-HEAVY; vintage August 2026).

How California compares to the national picture

California sits #1 of 51 jurisdictions on owner-attributed ODI volume (DENSE; 50 file fewer) - a heavy-book footprint that tracks population more than per-vehicle defect rates. Pair the CRASH-HEAVY crash-flag share (7.9%) with national model rankings before treating a local leaderboard as a reliability verdict. Inside this extract the Honda Accord leads California volume; check whether that nameplate's local share exceeds its national share before calling a regional pattern.

A note on self-reported state data

The state field on each NHTSA complaint is supplied by the consumer at filing - there is no mandatory check that the owner filed from their registration state, nor that the incident occurred in California. California's crash-led crash-flag standing (7.9%) is especially sensitive to that self-report noise; treat the DENSE ranking as directional and open the model pages.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.