READ THE SIGNALS. KNOW THE LIMITS.

How we determine this

A clearer view of the reports—not a promise about your next car.

Official records, one dated snapshot

Our source is the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This site uses the validated bulk complaints, recall campaigns and investigation records retrieved September 18, 2026. It does not update in real time. View NHTSA’s datasets and APIs ↗

Vehicle pages use exact model-year relationships. A complaint is counted once per vehicle entry using its ODI number; a recall once per campaign; an investigation once per action number. A report covering several vehicles can appear on each relevant vehicle page. Unspecified years are not assigned to a guessed year. Case and spacing are normalized; verified aliases are merged and unresolved source labels remain separate.

Transparent warning labels

Labels are a conservative editorial rule for this snapshot, not a statistical reliability rating or failure probability. Comparisons stay within the same normalized make and model. The baseline is the median complaint count of all its observed model years—including zero-complaint entries with other records. This does not adjust for sales, mileage exposure, model generations, or years in service.

We display Limited comparison data unless the model has at least five observed years and 100 complaints across its year entries, its median is at least 20 complaints, and the selected year has at least 20 complaints. Years 2024 and newer and unresolved source labels also receive this label because their comparison is too uncertain.

• More warning signs than most model years: at least 100 complaints and at least twice the same-model median.
• Fewer warning signs than most model years: at most half the same-model complaint median, no mapped investigations, and recalls no higher than the model’s median recall count.
• Similar to other model years: enough comparison data, but neither of the above conditions applies. This is a broad comparison band, not a claim of equal reliability.

The rules run in that order. Flags can overlap in one complaint, so their sum is not a count of distinct incidents. A zero or missing comparison denominator produces no ratio. A label never establishes that a car is unreliable, safe, or legally a “lemon.” A low count is not evidence of an absence of problems.

What complaint counts mean

Owner complaints are reports submitted to NHTSA, which uses them together with other information to identify possible safety issues and defect trends. They are not verified failure rates or reliability scores. Complaint volume can be affected by vehicle population, age, exposure and reporting behavior. Narratives appear in the source’s wording; reports may be incomplete, disputed, duplicated in substance, or contain errors. Categories come from NHTSA component records, not our interpretation of the narrative.

Each category counts distinct reports for that vehicle. A report may name several components, so category counts can exceed the vehicle’s complaint total. Transmission pages require an explicitly transmission-related component; generic POWER TRAIN records do not qualify. Electrical pages use ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and its detailed subcategories. Problem pages require at least 20 distinct complaints across at least two model years and a matching topic in the supplied keyword research.

Mileage charts

The source field refers to mileage at the reported incident, not necessarily mileage on the filing date. Missing, zero, negative and out-of-dictionary values are treated as unknown. Valid high values are retained as reported; mileage is not independently verified.

A chart requires at least 20 reports with usable mileage and coverage of at least 25%. Buckets are below 25,000; 25,000–49,999; 50,000–74,999; 75,000–99,999; 100,000–149,999; and 150,000 or more miles. Bar height shows the number of reports. It does not estimate when your vehicle will fail.

Crash, fire and injury flags

These counts represent complaints with affirmative flags, not verified incidents or numbers of people. One report can carry several flags. Historical defaults of “no” or zero may also conceal missing reporting; the absence of an affirmative flag does not establish that no event occurred.

Recalls and investigations

Recall cards preserve applicability-specific source details. Campaign pages show the representative campaign record and link to vehicle entries with further variants. This model-level history cannot tell whether a specific VIN is affected or has been repaired. Use NHTSA’s current VIN recall lookup for that check.

Investigation status is inferred from supplied opening and closing dates. Only documented exact-year relationships appear on vehicle pages; a broader scope is not forced onto individual years. An investigation is not a finding of a defect, and closure does not prove a vehicle is problem-free.

Search and coverage

This is an observed-issues inventory, not a complete catalog of every vehicle sold. NHTSA records include cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses, trailers and recreational vehicles. If your vehicle is not listed, that does not establish that it has no problems. Search-demand research helps organize useful pages; it does not supply automotive facts or warning labels.