Dodge Neon vs Subaru Outback

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	Dodge Neon	Subaru Outback
Complaints on file	4,954	12,381
Model years covered	1993–2005	1995–2026
Worst model year	1995	2017
Best model year	1994	1997
Crashes reported	657	686
Fires reported	158	149
Injuries reported	422	307
Deaths reported	29	8
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	25.6%	9.3%

Dodge Neon by year

4 10 1,415 887 553 451 152 489 199 230 290 141 133

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 1,410 28.5%

Brakes 577 11.6%

Electrical System 488 9.9%

Airbags 430 8.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 349 7.0%

Steering 249 5.0%

Lights 200 4.0%

Body & Structure 199 4.0%

Subaru Outback by year

3 57 94 165 150 247 207 172 116 108 354 404 182 281 143 469 857 369 408 276 650 775 1,106 991 1,288 1,135 415 556 126 138 120 19

95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 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 2,289 18.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 2,092 16.9%

Other & Unspecified 1,322 10.7%

Engine & Cooling 1,023 8.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 990 8.0%

Airbags 701 5.7%

Brakes 613 5.0%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 538 4.3%