Electrical problems are the most-reported issue category in our entire database. 114,125 complaints across 3,205 vehicles. That's not because every car has bad electrics — it's because "electrical" is a catch-all category that covers everything from a stuck power window to a complete vehicle no-start. NHTSA classifies a lot of stuff under this umbrella that the average shop would call by other names. So when you see "electrical issues" on a vehicle's complaint sheet, you wanna look at what's actually being reported. Sometimes it's a $40 switch replacement. Sometimes it's a $2,500 module replacement. Sometimes it's a known wiring harness recall that costs you nothing if you take it to a dealer. The rankings below show vehicles where electrical complaints are the dominant pattern. Newer cars trend higher on this list because modern vehicles have 50+ control modules talking to each other on data buses, and any one of them going flaky generates an electrical complaint. Doesn't mean newer cars are worse, just that the surface area for failure has grown.
Electrical problems
114,125 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 524 active recall campaigns.
Electrical problems by manufacturer 39 makes with aggregated detail
Drill into a single manufacturer's electrical record across all model years. Each page below carries data on the worst-affected year-models, active recalls, and editorial commentary from one of our contributors.
Worst-affected vehicles Top 25 by complaint volume
Specific failure modes 1 documented electrical patterns
Curated deep-dives on the specific failure patterns within electrical — the mechanism, the affected platforms, typical failure mileage, and what to check before you buy.
Most-recalled vehicles For electrical components
Recent owner reports 12 most recent in this category
Main instrument cluster failed. There was no warning. Occasionally, the main screen would boot up slow. Currently at dealership where they diagnosed the screen to not be communicating. With the screen not working, it disabled the turn signals and the blind spot monitoring, would turn the "1 pedal drive" on and off randomly, no speedometer.
Driving my car in 12/27/2025 an emergency stop car warning and loud beeping came on. The car dropped to a speed of abputm10 lies an hour
I am submitting a safety complaint regarding a recurring infotainment system failure involving the 2025/2026 BMW X3. While driving, the center display screen suddenly blacks out, which creates a serious safety hazard. This issue first occurred with my personal BMW X3. More concerning, the exact same failure occurred again while I was driving a…
Window will not go back up. Also when the windows are Locked ( Light indicator on) THEY STILL GO DOWN. My driver window was half way down and would not go back up. The Fuse was checked and Did not need to be replaced. Approximately 6 hours later window went back up.. WEIRD
Battery system still malfunctions after both 73C and 68C were performed by dealer. After these "updates to software" my battery discharges to unusable levels. This occurs after a full charge and the vehicle sets for three to four days locked and parked. I have not had the use of my hybrid system now for over three months. I'm having to drive…
Blank Instrument Panel Screen. abnormal CAN message which can cause certain instrument clusters with a 4.2” screen to reboot while driving. During this rebooting, the cluster will not show information such as the speedometer or telltales for approximately five (5) seconds. As a result, the subject vehicles do not comply with the visibility and…
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Crown. The contact stated that the instrument panel screen had turned blank. The contact received the recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V595000(Electrical System). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who confirmed that the recall remedy parts were not available. The contact was advised to trade…
Was driving and out of no where all my engine lights turned on and got an engine light that turned on and says engine malfunction power reduced service.
Bottom line on electrical issues: read the specific complaints on a vehicle before you assume the worst. The category is broad and the fixes range from cheap to expensive depending on what's actually wrong.