Dodge Nitro vs Mazda 626

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 Nitro	Mazda 626
Complaints on file	1,635	3,877
Model years covered	2005–2012	1983–2003
Worst model year	2007	1995
Best model year	2009	2002
Crashes reported	57	244
Fires reported	37	65
Injuries reported	59	201
Deaths reported	0	5
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	9.4%	13.3%

Dodge Nitro by year

1 676 611 36 111 197 3

05 07 08 09 10 11 12

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

What breaks

Electrical System 426 26.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 290 17.7%

Engine & Cooling 122 7.5%

Airbags 105 6.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 103 6.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 89 5.4%

Other & Unspecified 80 4.9%

Brakes 78 4.8%

Mazda 626 by year

2 4 7 20 40 58 48 62 99 24 202 353 587 426 451 499 372 280 235 99 9

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 2,056 53.0%

Engine & Cooling 392 10.1%

Airbags 235 6.1%

Electrical System 197 5.1%

Brakes 167 4.3%

Seat Belts 154 4.0%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 81 2.1%

Other & Unspecified 76 2.0%