Dodge RAM 1500 vs Ford Focus

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 RAM 1500	Ford Focus
Complaints on file	16,094	29,823
Model years covered	1991–2014	1999–2018
Worst model year	2005	2000
Best model year	1995	1999
Crashes reported	1,173	1,631
Fires reported	356	424
Injuries reported	806	979
Deaths reported	30	54
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	14.7%	10.4%

Dodge RAM 1500 by year

8 7 148 273 407 468 645 769 641 1,370 1,004 1,363 1,370 1,632 1,080 701 721 884 631 989 982 1

91 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 14

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 2,448 15.2%

Airbags 2,226 13.8%

Body & Structure 2,038 12.7%

Electrical System 1,426 8.9%

Engine & Cooling 1,388 8.6%

Suspension 916 5.7%

Steering 873 5.4%

Brakes 833 5.2%

Ford Focus by year

15 5,152 2,361 1,198 1,224 499 600 270 524 336 323 409 157 4,986 2,924 3,633 1,331 1,571 1,187 1,123

99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 6,871 23.0%

Electrical System 4,477 15.0%

Engine & Cooling 3,630 12.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 2,729 9.2%

Steering 2,111 7.1%

Other & Unspecified 1,539 5.2%

Brakes 1,204 4.0%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 1,082 3.6%