FaultScore

Chevrolet Cavalier vs Toyota Corolla

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 Cavalier Toyota Corolla
Complaints on file 6,452 14,546
Model years covered 1982–2005 1973–2026
Worst model year 1997 2009
Best model year 2005 2023
Crashes reported 554 2,564
Fires reported 167 195
Injuries reported 369 1,489
Deaths reported 21 25
Most complained-about part Electrical System Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm 17.2% 29.4%

Chevrolet Cavalier by year

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%

Toyota Corolla by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 4,709 32.4%
Engine & Cooling 1,351 9.3%
Steering 1,193 8.2%
Brakes 858 5.9%