Buick Roadmaster vs Fiat 500

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	Buick Roadmaster	Fiat 500
Complaints on file	452	1,118
Model years covered	1989–1999	2011–2018
Worst model year	1994	2012
Best model year	1996	2017
Crashes reported	61	78
Fires reported	12	20
Injuries reported	43	50
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	25.7%	13.2%

Buick Roadmaster by year

2 9 105 65 132 76 62 1

89 91 92 93 94 95 96 99

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

What breaks

Brakes 63 13.9%

Electrical System 44 9.7%

Engine & Cooling 40 8.8%

Suspension 38 8.4%

Airbags 33 7.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 29 6.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 27 6.0%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 27 6.0%

Fiat 500 by year

2 537 215 172 141 27 19 5

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 393 35.2%

Electrical System 137 12.3%

Engine & Cooling 111 9.9%

Other & Unspecified 89 8.0%

Airbags 52 4.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 44 3.9%

Steering 38 3.4%

Brakes 35 3.1%