Dodge RAM 5500 vs Mercedes Benz GL450

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 5500	Mercedes Benz GL450
Complaints on file	114	281
Model years covered	2008–2012	2010–2017
Worst model year	2012	2011
Best model year	2008	2014
Crashes reported	4	14
Fires reported	13	10
Injuries reported	2	9
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Steering	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	16.7%	11.7%

Dodge RAM 5500 by year

21 8 34 51

08 09 11 12

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

What breaks

Steering 54 47.4%

Engine & Cooling 12 10.5%

Electrical System 12 10.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 10 8.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 9 7.9%

Suspension 5 4.4%

Airbags 4 3.5%

Other & Unspecified 4 3.5%

Mercedes Benz GL450 by year

48 64 51 51 27 24 15 1

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

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

What breaks

Airbags 78 27.8%

Brakes 31 11.0%

Suspension 31 11.0%

Engine & Cooling 27 9.6%

Electrical System 24 8.5%

Other & Unspecified 20 7.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 15 5.3%

Seats 13 4.6%