Software Complaints to NHTSA at Record High

Last year formal consumer complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about balky automotive software jumped 22% to a record 615, according to J.D. Power’s SafetyIQ service. This year appears likely to at least equal that number.

SafetyIQ compares complaints to eventual recalls. Power says the analysis can help carmakers and regulators anticipate future callback campaigns and gauge their scope. Most software complaints are about powertrain, electrical system, engine cooling and vehicle control systems, according to the firm.

The number of software-related recalls over the past four years has soared from about 13 in 2013 to more than 70 last year, according to Power. It says carmakers have issued 189 software recalls over the past five years, including 141 for flaws that could cause a crash and 44 that involved an injury risk.

Power adds that software-related technical service bulletins—a method carmakers also use to fix problems when owners bring in cars for unrelated issues—have zoomed from an annual average of 58 between 2006 and 2010 to 160 since then. The firm adds that many consumers aren’t aware of software upgrades, and as many as half have reported that an upgrade didn’t fix the original problem.

Power cautions that growing complaints about software problems could erode consumer confidence in new technologies.