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yesterday

IIHS EV Crash Ratings Flag Rear-Seat Risks; Cybertruck Good, F‑150 Lightning Poor

The institute’s updated moderate-overlap test with a rear-seat dummy and stricter headlight checks kept several 2025 models from Top Safety Pick awards despite strong front-seat protection and solid pedestrian avoidance.

An electric vehicle is crashed in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety test lab for a report released Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. The Ford F-150 Lightning, seen here, earned a "poor" rating for the moderate overlap crash test. (IIHS)
Tesla Cybertruck Crash Test
An electric vehicle is crashed in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety test lab for a report released Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. The Volkswagen ID. Buzz, seen here, earned a "good" rating for the moderate overlap crash test. (IIHS)
An electric vehicle is crashed in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety test lab for a report released Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. The BMW i4, seen here, earned a "good" rating for the moderate overlap crash test. (IIHS)

Overview

  • In new results released Sept. 16, four EVs earned a good moderate-overlap rating (BMW i4, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Tesla Cybertruck built after April 2025, and Volkswagen ID. Buzz), Tesla Model 3 was acceptable, Nissan Ariya marginal, and Ford F‑150 Lightning poor.
  • The F‑150 Lightning’s lowest score stemmed from rear-seat injury risks and belt migration onto the abdomen, while the Model 3’s rear dummy showed elevated chest-injury risk from high belt forces.
  • The Cybertruck’s good crash rating applies only to units built after Tesla’s April underbody update; it excelled in pedestrian-avoidance tests by avoiding every collision at tested speeds in day and night conditions.
  • Headlights proved a weak spot: none of the seven earned a good rating, with the Cybertruck rated poor for excessive low-beam glare and uneven illumination and the i4 offering marginal or poor systems.
  • Top Safety Pick eligibility remains out of reach for this group: only the Ariya and Blazer have all required tests but neither qualifies, and the i4 and Cybertruck are blocked by headlight ratings while the Lightning’s poor moderate-overlap score rules it out.