How our reliability scores work

Every verdict on this site is computed from public records of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): owner-filed complaints and manufacturer safety recalls for each make, model, and model year.

The formula

We compute a severity-weighted index for each vehicle: each complaint counts 1, crash reports add 3, fire reports add 5, each reported injury adds 8, each reported death adds 20, and each safety recall adds 10. The score is 100 − 18 × log₁₀(1 + index), clamped between 0 and 100. A logarithmic scale is used because complaint counts range from zero to several thousand.

Grades

A: 80–100 · B: 65–79 · C: 50–64 · D: 35–49 · F: below 35.

Limitations

Complaint counts are not normalized by sales volume, so high-selling vehicles naturally accumulate more reports. Complaints are self-reported by owners and not individually verified by NHTSA. Scores describe the model year as a whole, never an individual car — always get a pre-purchase inspection.

Independence

Some links on this site are affiliate links. Scores and rankings are computed purely from the formula above and are never influenced by advertisers or partners.