Chevrolet C1500 vs Buick Century

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 C1500	Buick Century
Complaints on file	969	2,393
Model years covered	1988–1996	1981–2005
Worst model year	1996	1999
Best model year	1994	2005
Crashes reported	41	184
Fires reported	25	48
Injuries reported	26	128
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	9.5%	15.2%

Chevrolet C1500 by year

37 39 25 43 48 84 177 238 278

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

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 293 30.2%

Brakes 185 19.1%

Seats 94 9.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 69 7.1%

Engine & Cooling 53 5.5%

Seat Belts 36 3.7%

Electrical System 34 3.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 30 3.1%

Buick Century by year

1 4 10 11 9 43 32 26 46 49 50 64 71 144 127 110 132 278 287 249 190 204 170 51 35

81 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

Engine & Cooling 304 12.7%

Brakes 289 12.1%

Electrical System 231 9.7%

Lights 193 8.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 172 7.2%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 170 7.1%

Steering 168 7.0%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 120 5.0%