About the data
Sources
Everything on this site comes from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public datasets: the consumer complaints file (every safety-related defect complaint filed by vehicle owners since 1995), the recalls file (safety recall campaigns and their defect, risk and remedy summaries), and the manufacturer communications files (technical service bulletins and related dealer communications received by NHTSA since 1995). We refresh our copy from NHTSA's published files.
How to read the numbers
Complaint counts are raw tallies, not rates. A best-seller accumulates more complaints than a rare model with the same defect rate — compare a vehicle against other model years of the same vehicle, not across models. Complaint narratives are owner statements as filed; NHTSA does not verify each one, and neither do we.
Recall listings cover campaigns announced since 2010 for the model years shown. Always confirm open recalls for your specific car with your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — recall applicability depends on where your exact vehicle was built.
The reliability score
Some model years show a score out of 100. It compares a model year only against other years of the same model — never across models, because complaint counts are raw tallies and no free, reliable sales data exists to turn them into rates. Within one nameplate, year-to-year volumes are roughly comparable.
A model year starts at 100 and loses points for:
- Complaint volume vs the model's own median year — from −8 (1.5× the median) up to −45 (8× or more).
- Recalls — −3 per recall, capped at −15.
- A "Do Not Drive" or "Park Outside" recall — −10.
- Any death reported in complaints — −8.
- An elevated fire rate (over 2% of complaints, min. 3 fires) — −7.
Model years with fewer than 3 scored siblings, or whose model has too few complaints for a meaningful median, show no score. The score summarizes federal records; it is not a prediction about any individual vehicle.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins (TSBs) are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, TSB repairs are not automatically free. We show the most recent bulletins per model year with short summaries; the full documents are free on NHTSA's site. Counts include all manufacturer communication types NHTSA publishes (service bulletins, warranty extensions, service campaigns and similar).
Affiliate disclosure
Some links are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliates never influence what data is shown — pages render the NHTSA records, nothing more.
Not a government site
AutoDefect IQ is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to NHTSA, the U.S. DOT, or any government agency.