FaultScore

Chevrolet Silverado 3500 vs Volkswagen Beetle

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 Silverado 3500 Volkswagen Beetle
Complaints on file 1,453 3,621
Model years covered 1994–2026 1965–2019
Worst model year 2000 2000
Best model year 2023 2018
Crashes reported 75 173
Fires reported 28 160
Injuries reported 32 101
Deaths reported 5 4
Most complained-about part Brakes Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm 9.6% 12.1%

Chevrolet Silverado 3500 by year

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

What breaks

Brakes 349 24.0%
Engine & Cooling 158 10.9%
Electrical System 145 10.0%
Steering 89 6.1%
Tires 72 5.0%

Volkswagen Beetle by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 546 15.1%
Electrical System 508 14.0%
Engine & Cooling 372 10.3%
Lights 205 5.7%
Body & Structure 166 4.6%
Brakes 134 3.7%