Your calls, letters and electronic submissions help lead to recalls. Your submissions provide valuable information concerning real-world experience. The result? You, your fellow truckers and manufacturers are made aware of unsafe vehicles and equipment faster, which leads to recalls and repairs at no cost to the owner—and ultimately, lives are saved.

The information you share with NHTSA is catalogued according to vehicle make, model, model year, manufacturer, and the affected part, assembly, or system. Our staff continuously analyzes complaints for trends to determine if an unusual number of complaints have been received on any specific line of vehicles, tires, or equipment. If a trend is suspected and a problem has a potential for causing a risk to safety, NHTSA will open an investigation. Your personal information is protected per the Privacy Act of 1974.

Reporting a problem is the first step in helping us identify safety problems. During an investigation, investigators perform a detailed technical analysis of the issue using all available information (including, but not limited to, service bulletins, consumer complaints, warranty claims, crash and injury data, part sales, inspections, tests, surveys and other documents prepared by the manufacturers). If NHTSA’s analysis of the data indicates a safety-related defect exists, the manufacturer is directed to conduct a recall. If the manufacturer does not initiate a recall, the government can order the manufacturer to do so. If a safety-related defect exists in a motor vehicle or a piece of motor vehicle equipment, the manufacturer must fix it for FREE.

There is no set number. It depends on the vehicle population and severity of the consequences. Sometimes one complaint is all it takes to open an investigation.

There are four ways:

• Web: Electronically report a problem by visiting www.nhtsa.gov.
• Phone: Call our Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 from anywhere in the United States, including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. A NHTSA representative will record your problem information. Representatives are on duty from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Spanish-speaking representatives are also available. Individuals with hearing impairments can make a direct inquiry to NHTSA by calling our teleprinter (TDD) number, 800-424-9153.
• Mail: Send a letter describing your problem. We may still need to contact you directly for more detailed information, so please include a phone number where you can be reached. We can also send you a postage-paid complaint form so you can provide the necessary information about your complaint and return it to us. Call 888-327-4236 to obtain the form. Send all correspondence to:

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (NEF-100)

West Building

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20590

• Fax: Fax your letter or complaint form to: 202-366-1767.

Providing personally identifiable information to the manufacturer is optional and NHTSA will respect a driver’s request to remain anonymous throughout the process. However, in order for NHTSA to engage in meaningful dialogue with the manufacturer about the problem you are experiencing, it is very helpful if NHTSA can provide the VIN to the manufacturer. That way, the manufacturer can identify the options that were built into the truck and better understand the influence these options may have on the safety problem. Sometimes it may be necessary for the manufacturer to talk directly to the driver of the vehicle to fully understand the safety problem. Other times it is a matter of properly identifying all vehicles that possess the safety problem. Sharing this information with the manufacturer can increase our ability to get a manufacturer to recall a vehicle.