NHTSA lets any owner file a complaint about a possible safety problem, and publishes the results. Complaint data is useful, but it has to be read carefully. This guide explains what it means and what it does not.
01Complaints are unverified allegations
A complaint is a report submitted by an owner. NHTSA does not confirm each one before publishing it, so a complaint is an allegation, not a proven defect. A pattern of similar complaints can be an early warning that leads to an investigation or a recall, but a single complaint on its own is just one person's report.
02Volume versus severity
Two things matter when reading complaint data, and they are different:
- Volume is the raw number of complaints. High-selling, popular cars naturally collect more complaints simply because there are more of them on the road. NHTSA does not publish sales figures, so raw volume cannot be corrected for how common a car is. For that reason, MotorCaliber never subtracts points for complaint volume alone.
- Severity is what the complaints describe. Reports involving a crash, a fire, an injury, or a death are far more meaningful than reports about a minor annoyance. MotorCaliber weights complaint severity, not volume, in the safety score.
03The harm flags
Each MotorCaliber scorecard shows how many complaints for that vehicle reported a crash, a fire, injuries, or deaths. These are the counts NHTSA records from the complaint text. They are still allegations, but they point to where the reported concerns are most serious.
04How to use it
Read complaint data as a signal to investigate, not as a verdict. If a model year shows many severe complaints clustered around one system, that is worth researching before you buy. Always cross-check against the confirmed recall record, which is verified. Every scorecard shows both side by side; start from the car directory.