804 complaints across 160 vehicles. "Equipment" is NHTSA's miscellaneous bin — items that don't fit cleanly in another category. Tow hitches, trailer brake controllers, radiator brackets, hood latches, miscellaneous trim that affects function. The volume here is small relative to other categories because most things eventually get classified somewhere else. The complaints that do land here are usually about safety-relevant equipment that failed in service — a hood latch that doesn't latch and the hood comes up at speed, a trailer hitch that broke under load, a radiator support bracket that allowed the radiator to fall out. The vehicles below are where these miscellaneous equipment failures cluster. Volume is low so the rankings can be misleading — a vehicle with 8 equipment complaints can rank higher than expected if other categories are quieter for that vehicle.
Equipment problems
804 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 329 active recall campaigns.
Worst-affected vehicles Top 25 by complaint volume
Most-recalled vehicles For equipment components
Recent owner reports 12 most recent in this category
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING A TIRE BLEW-OUT. WHEN CHANGING THE TIRE, THE JACK FAILED. A TECHNICIAN FROM THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY ARE GOING TO SELL HIM ANOTHER JACK. HE WAS THEN ADVISED THAT THIS WAS A COMMON FAILURE FOR HIS MODEL TYPE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 83137.
I OWN A 2006 HONDA CIVIC AND LAST FALL MY AC STOPPED WORKING. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER FROM WHICH I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AND WAS TOLD A PEBBLE HAD GONE THROUGH THE OPEN GRILL AND DAMAGED THE CONDENSER. THEY SHOWED ME THE DAMAGE WHICH IS ALMOST NOT NOTICEABLE. VERY LIGHT AND CERTAINLY SHOULDN'T BE ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE AC TO STOP WORKING. THIS IS…
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE AIR CONDITIONER BLEW HOT AIR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 32,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CHEVROLET HHR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH, THE AIR CONDITIONER FAILED TO FUNCTION AND THE AIR VENTS BEGAN TO BLOW HOT AIR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE AIR COMPRESSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE…
I JUST HAD THE FLOOR MAT ACCELERATION HAPPEN TO ME IN MY 2007 COROLLA. I WAS SLOWING DOWN FOR A RED LIGHT, SO MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE... THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED SO I THREW THE SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL THE MAT OUT FROM UNDER THE ACCELERATOR AND MY CAR CONTINUED TO SLIDE LIKE IT WAS ON ICE AND THEN CAME TO A STOP. *TR
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with the radio playing, the contact stated that only the rear speaker was playing. The contact increased the volume to hear the sound in the front speakers; however, while merging onto the highway, the speakers in the front of the vehicle started working and the volume…
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while attempting to park on an incline, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration which resulted in a crash. The contact crashed into a handicap ramp. The vehicle then unintended accelerated in reverse where the vehicle crashed into a cement pole and a bush. No warning lights were…
CAR BROUGHT IN 4 TIMES TO SERVICE FOR RADIO FREEZING NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND OTHER PARTS ON DASH INCIDENTS HAPPENED FROM DATE OF PURCHASE BUT THOUGHT IT WAS BREAKING IN. FIRST TIME BROUGHT IT IN TO BE CHECKED . WAS TOLD THERE IS NO PROBLEM, THEN TOLD HAD TO UPDATE SOFTWARE, THEN TOLD HAD TO HAVE RADIO (HEAD UNIT) REPLACED WHICH I HAD TO WAIT FOR…
Equipment failures are usually one-off safety issues rather than a pattern. Read the specific complaint summaries on each vehicle to understand what actually went wrong.