These figures count complaints that vehicle owners and other members of the public have submitted to NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. NHTSA uses complaints, together with other data, to spot safety issues that may warrant an investigation and to check whether existing recalls go far enough.
- They are reports, not findings. Each complaint is the submitter's own account. Its presence in the database does not mean NHTSA has confirmed a defect.
- Counts are not defect rates. The data doesn't say how many vehicles were sold, so a raw count can't tell you what share of vehicles had a problem.
- Popular models collect more complaints. A model sold in large numbers will usually gather more complaints than a rare one, simply because more people own it.
- One complaint can name several components. Totals by component can therefore add up to more than the number of complaints.
- Coverage starts in 1995. NHTSA's complaint file contains complaints received since January 1, 1995.
Use complaint patterns as a prompt for questions: whether a recall covers the issue, whether the vehicle you are considering has had the fix, and what a mechanic finds on inspection. For confirmed safety defects, see the recall list for this model.