Chevrolet C15 vs Saab 9-5

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 C15	Saab 9-5
Complaints on file	270	662
Model years covered	1984–1996	1998–2011
Worst model year	1995	2001
Best model year	1996	2011
Crashes reported	50	13
Fires reported	12	23
Injuries reported	36	10
Deaths reported	1	0
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	36.7%	6.9%

Chevrolet C15 by year

1 2 5 2 9 13 9 13 17 42 52 69 36

84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96

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

What breaks

Brakes 60 22.2%

Seats 37 13.7%

Airbags 28 10.4%

Seat Belts 28 10.4%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 15 5.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 15 5.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 14 5.2%

Electrical System 14 5.2%

Saab 9-5 by year

1 157 121 113 74 69 30 15 29 17 21 2 2 11

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

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

What breaks

Electrical System 306 46.2%

Engine & Cooling 76 11.5%

Airbags 61 9.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 52 7.9%

Brakes 36 5.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 16 2.4%

Lights 13 2.0%

Tires 13 2.0%