CONSUMER COMPLAINTS The COMPLAINTS file contains all safety-related defect complaints received by NHTSA since January 1, 1995. File characteristics: - All the records are TAB delimited - All dates are in YYYYMMDD format - Maximum record length: 2824 Change log: 1. Fields 21 - 46 were added on Sept. 14, 2007 2. Changed flat file extension from .lst to .txt on Sept. 14, 2007 3. Field 47 was added on Oct. 15, 2007 4. Field 34 was changed from CHAR(20) to CHAR(30) on Aug. 08, 2008 5. Field 18 was changed from NUMBER(6) to NUMBER(7) on Jun. 18, 2010 6. Complaint Type 'MIVQ' was added to Field 21 list on Mar. 21, 2013 7. Complaint Type 'MAVQ' was added to Field 21 list on Jan. 17, 2014 8. Field 48 was added on Apr. 24, 2014 9. Field 49 was added on Sept. 29, 2015 10. Flat file content changes May 17 - June 17, 2021 11. Information message updated on June 28, 2021 ======= May 17 - June 17, 2021 - Flat file content changes. * Previously blank Y/N fields (such as crash or fire) will now show as N. * Previously blank values for numeric fields will now show as zero. * Manufacturer name, make, model and component name of the product(s) in a complaint may have changed over time and the new flat file will now reflect them. * If a complaint had multiple dealer contacts, only a single dealer's contact information will now show. * Additional minor differences due to data cleanup in a relatively small number of records in the flat file. ======= June 28, 2021 - Flat file content changes. The NHTSA system that generates the complaints file underwent an update during the weekend of May 16-17, 2021. The update has caused discrepancies between the contents of the complaints file between the version posted on Friday, May 15, 2021 (before the system update) and the versions posted daily since Monday, May 17, 2021 (after the system update) and continuing to date. Lookup of complaints on the NHTSA public website are unaffected. We are working to resolve the issue. In the meantime, we will continue to publish data daily as it will contain newly received complaints by NHTSA. The complaint data is included in the single FLAT_CMPL.zip and the COMPLAINTS_RECEIVED_YYYY-YYYY.zip files, which contain the same data broken down into 5-year chunks by received date. Note that the format of the complaint files has not and will not change. Once resolved, you may still see minor data differences between the latest version and that from prior to the system update. We will continue to update this message as needed until the issue is resolved. ======= Last updated: June 28, 2021 FIELDS: ======= Field# Name Type/Size Description ------ --------- --------- -------------------------------------- 1 CMPLID CHAR(9) NHTSA'S INTERNAL UNIQUE SEQUENCE NUMBER. IS AN UPDATEABLE FIELD,THUS DATA FOR A GIVEN RECORD POTENTIALLY COULD CHANGE FROM ONE DATA OUTPUT FILE TO THE NEXT. 2 ODINO CHAR(9) NHTSA'S INTERNAL REFERENCE NUMBER. THIS NUMBER MAY BE REPEATED FOR MULTIPLE COMPONENTS. ALSO, IF LDATE IS PRIOR TO DEC 15, 2002, THIS NUMBER MAY BE REPEATED FOR MULTIPLE PRODUCTS OWNED BY THE SAME COMPLAINANT. 3 MFR_NAME CHAR(40) MANUFACTURER'S NAME 4 MAKETXT CHAR(25) VEHICLE/EQUIPMENT MAKE 5 MODELTXT CHAR(256) VEHICLE/EQUIPMENT MODEL 6 YEARTXT CHAR(4) MODEL YEAR, 9999 IF UNKNOWN or N/A 7 CRASH CHAR(1) WAS VEHICLE INVOLVED IN A CRASH, 'Y' OR 'N' 8 FAILDATE CHAR(8) DATE OF INCIDENT (YYYYMMDD) 9 FIRE CHAR(1) WAS VEHICLE INVOLVED IN A FIRE 'Y' OR 'N' 10 INJURED NUMBER(2) NUMBER OF PERSONS INJURED 11 DEATHS NUMBER(2) NUMBER OF FATALITIES 12 COMPDESC CHAR(128) SPECIFIC COMPONENT'S DESCRIPTION 13 CITY CHAR(30) CONSUMER'S CITY 14 STATE CHAR(2) CONSUMER'S STATE CODE 15 VIN CHAR(11) VEHICLE'S VIN# 16 DATEA CHAR(8) DATE ADDED TO FILE (YYYYMMDD) 17 LDATE CHAR(8) DATE COMPLAINT RECEIVED BY NHTSA (YYYYMMDD) 18 MILES NUMBER(7) VEHICLE MILEAGE AT FAILURE 19 OCCURENCES NUMBER(4) NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES 20 CDESCR CHAR(2048) DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPLAINT 21 CMPL_TYPE CHAR(4) SOURCE OF COMPLAINT CODE: CAG =CONSUMER ACTION GROUP CON =FORWARDED FROM A CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE DP =DEFECT PETITION,RESULT OF A DEFECT PETITION EVOQ =HOTLINE VOQ EWR =EARLY WARNING REPORTING INS =INSURANCE COMPANY IVOQ =NHTSA WEB SITE LETR =CONSUMER LETTER MAVQ =NHTSA MOBILE APP MIVQ =NHTSA MOBILE APP MVOQ =OPTICAL MARKED VOQ RC =RECALL COMPLAINT,RESULT OF A RECALL INVESTIGATION RP =RECALL PETITION,RESULT OF A RECALL PETITION SVOQ =PORTABLE SAFETY COMPLAINT FORM (PDF) VOQ =NHTSA VEHICLE OWNERS QUESTIONNAIRE 22 POLICE_RPT_YN CHAR(1) WAS INCIDENT REPORTED TO POLICE 'Y' OR 'N' 23 PURCH_DT CHAR(8) DATE PURCHASED (YYYYMMDD) 24 ORIG_OWNER_YN CHAR(1) WAS ORIGINAL OWNER 'Y' OR 'N' 25 ANTI_BRAKES_YN CHAR(1) ANTI-LOCK BRAKES 'Y' OR 'N' 26 CRUISE_CONT_YN CHAR(1) CRUISE CONTROL 'Y' OR 'N' 27 NUM_CYLS NUMBER(2) NUMBER OF CYLINDERS 28 DRIVE_TRAIN CHAR(4) DRIVE TRAIN TYPE [AWD,4WD,FWD,RWD] 29 FUEL_SYS CHAR(4) FUEL SYSTEM CODE: FI =FUEL INJECTION TB =TURBO 30 FUEL_TYPE CHAR(4) FUEL TYPE CODE: BF =BIFUEL CN =CNG/LPG DS =DIESEL GS =GAS HE =HYBRID ELECTRIC 31 TRANS_TYPE CHAR(4) VEHICLE TRANSMISSION TYPE [AUTO, MAN] 32 VEH_SPEED NUMBER(3) VEHICLE SPEED 33 DOT CHAR(20) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TIRE IDENTIFIER 34 TIRE_SIZE CHAR(30) TIRE SIZE 35 LOC_OF_TIRE CHAR(4) LOCATION OF TIRE CODE: FSW =DRIVER SIDE FRONT DSR =DRIVER SIDE REAR FTR =PASSENGER SIDE FRONT PSR =PASSENGER SIDE REAR SPR =SPARE 36 TIRE_FAIL_TYPE CHAR(4) TYPE OF TIRE FAILURE CODE: BST =BLISTER BLW =BLOWOUT TTL =CRACK OFR =OUT OF ROUND TSW =PUNCTURE TTR =ROAD HAZARD TSP =TREAD SEPARATION 37 ORIG_EQUIP_YN CHAR(1) WAS PART ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT 'Y' OR 'N' 38 MANUF_DT CHAR(8) DATE OF MANUFACTURE (YYYYMMDD) 39 SEAT_TYPE CHAR(4) TYPE OF CHILD SEAT CODE: B =BOOSTER C =CONVERTIBLE I =INFANT IN =INTEGRATED TD =TODDLER 40 RESTRAINT_TYPE CHAR(4) INSTALLATION SYSTEM CODE; A =VEHICLE SAFETY BELT B =LATCH SYSTEM 41 DEALER_NAME CHAR(40) DEALER'S NAME 42 DEALER_TEL CHAR(20) DEALER'S TELEPHONE NUMBER 43 DEALER_CITY CHAR(30) DEALER'S CITY 44 DEALER_STATE CHAR(2) DEALER'S STATE CODE 45 DEALER_ZIP CHAR(10) DEALER'S ZIPCODE 46 PROD_TYPE CHAR(4) PRODUCT TYPE CODE: V =VEHICLE T =TIRES E =EQUIPMENT C =CHILD RESTRAINT 47 REPAIRED_YN CHAR(1) WAS DEFECTIVE TIRE REPAIRED 'Y' OR 'N' 48 MEDICAL_ATTN CHAR(1) WAS MEDICAL ATTENTION REQUIRED 'Y' OR 'N' 49 VEHICLES_TOWED_YN CHAR(1) WAS VEHICLE TOWED 'Y' OR 'N'