What breaks

Which Cars Have the Most Fuel System Problems

Every complaint filed about this part since 1995, by model, by model year, and by the mileage it failed at.

3 min read · 294 figures, all from the federal record · rebuilt 3 hours ago

Owners have filed 127,175 complaints with NHTSA about the fuel system — 5.9% of every complaint in the file. This is where those complaints land.

The heaviest single model year is the 2005 Dodge Durango, with 815 complaints about this part alone, 41% of everything reported about that car.

Where owners recorded an odometer reading, the typical fuel system failure on this list happened at about 60,000 miles.

Worst model years

Vehicle	Complaints	Share of that year	Median failure	Crashes	Fires
F 2005 Dodge Durango	815	41%	70,000 mi	3	2
A 2010 Ford Fusion	706	10%	59,000 mi	7	1
D 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer	628	33%	70,194 mi	1	4
F 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer	627	44%	58,730 mi	5	8
C 2018 Honda Cr-V	596	20%	8,000 mi	5	0
F 2006 Dodge Durango	575	55%	60,000 mi	0	0
C 2006 Dodge Charger	521	27%	81,000 mi	0	1
B 2010 Ford Escape	511	16%	57,000 mi	3	1
B 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt	487	16%	85,000 mi	5	5
F 2006 Jeep Wrangler	483	57%	39,000 mi	0	1
B 2018 Honda Accord	465	16%	85,477 mi	4	0
F 2005 Jeep Wrangler	454	60%	50,000 mi	0	1
B 2000 Ford Focus	445	9%	50,800 mi	14	9
C 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt	445	22%	85,500 mi	2	3
D 2005 Jeep Liberty	409	28%	71,000 mi	5	6
F 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier	406	47%	66,000 mi	3	0
D 2006 Nissan Xterra	377	36%	60,000 mi	1	0
F 2008 Chevrolet Corvette	377	60%	53,000 mi	0	0
B 2017 Honda Cr-V	376	14%	15,200 mi	2	2
C 2006 Jeep Liberty	370	20%	60,000 mi	2	1
B 2014 Ford Focus	351	10%	68,500 mi	10	1
D 2006 Chrysler 300C	344	35%	70,000 mi	1	0
A 2012 Ford Focus	340	7%	83,500 mi	2	1
C 2001 Ford Focus	337	14%	54,000 mi	7	3
D 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee	336	23%	122,000 mi	8	9

By brand

Across whole ranges rather than single years. On Ford vehicles this part accounts for 6% of everything owners reported about the brand.

Ford 22,091 21.3%

6% of all Ford complaints, across 129 models

Chevrolet 16,469 15.9%

7% of all Chevrolet complaints, across 169 models

Jeep 10,017 9.7%

8% of all Jeep complaints, across 35 models

Dodge 8,810 8.5%

6% of all Dodge complaints, across 81 models

Honda 6,805 6.6%

5% of all Honda complaints, across 95 models

Nissan 6,756 6.5%

7% of all Nissan complaints, across 46 models

Toyota 4,942 4.8%

4% of all Toyota complaints, across 71 models

Volkswagen 4,277 4.1%

9% of all Volkswagen complaints, across 40 models

Chrysler 4,034 3.9%

6% of all Chrysler complaints, across 40 models

Hyundai 3,947 3.8%

5% of all Hyundai complaints, across 46 models

Mercedes Benz 3,762 3.6%

11% of all Mercedes Benz complaints, across 217 models

GMC 3,443 3.3%

5% of all GMC complaints, across 94 models

BMW 3,139 3.0%

8% of all BMW complaints, across 218 models

KIA 3,051 2.9%

5% of all KIA complaints, across 38 models

RAM 2,015 1.9%

7% of all RAM complaints, across 9 models

Complaints about this part, by make.

Where this sits in the whole record

Engine & Cooling 288,020 13.4%

Electrical System 246,872 11.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 216,960 10.1%

Brakes 196,407 9.1%

Airbags 155,546 7.2%

Steering 143,306 6.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 127,175 5.9%

Other & Unspecified 115,162 5.4%

Body & Structure 103,108 4.8%

Suspension 88,852 4.1%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 84,656 3.9%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 76,576 3.6%

Every complaint in the file, by part.

Source — NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint file.

How this was made. Nobody wrote this article and left it to age. It is generated by a query against the complaint database, and rebuilt every time the data is — so the numbers in the sentences above are the numbers as they stand today, not as they stood when somebody last had time to update them. How the grading works.