Acura RDX vs Chevrolet Cavalier

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Acura RDX	Chevrolet Cavalier
Complaints on file	2,655	6,452
Model years covered	2007–2026	1982–2005
Worst model year	2020	1997
Best model year	2012	2005
Crashes reported	94	554
Fires reported	23	167
Injuries reported	46	369
Deaths reported	2	21
Most complained-about part	Lights	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	6.2%	17.2%

Acura RDX by year

70 39 16 26 21 19 180 261 441 56 108 105 568 433 161 42 26 15 67 1

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Lights 602 22.7%

Other & Unspecified 341 12.8%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 299 11.3%

Airbags 232 8.7%

Engine & Cooling 222 8.4%

Electrical System 156 5.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 141 5.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 137 5.2%

Chevrolet Cavalier by year

1 17 10 4 21 27 14 71 70 77 178 237 310 392 748 751 473 337 447 356 254 867 428 362

82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 1,252 19.4%

Engine & Cooling 839 13.0%

Brakes 717 11.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 652 10.1%

Steering 415 6.4%

Airbags 346 5.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 332 5.1%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 322 5.0%