Chevrolet Avalanche vs Tesla Model S

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	Chevrolet Avalanche	Tesla Model S
Complaints on file	2,473	5,283
Model years covered	2000–2013	2012–2026
Worst model year	2002	2016
Best model year	2006	2024
Crashes reported	110	659
Fires reported	21	94
Injuries reported	79	207
Deaths reported	4	35
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	8.7%	18.8%

Chevrolet Avalanche by year

2 2 562 238 202 85 14 493 323 96 147 161 43 105

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13

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

What breaks

Airbags 593 24.0%

Brakes 373 15.1%

Other & Unspecified 312 12.6%

Body & Structure 275 11.1%

Electrical System 209 8.5%

Engine & Cooling 136 5.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 108 4.4%

Fuel & Propulsion 65 2.6%

Tesla Model S by year

89 677 546 1,057 1,027 673 288 73 123 279 198 162 78 7 6

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

Electrical System 1,001 18.9%

Other & Unspecified 863 16.3%

Suspension 730 13.8%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 672 12.7%

Steering 344 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 273 5.2%

Brakes 208 3.9%

Lights 195 3.7%