Ford Explorer Sport vs GMC Sierra 2500

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	Ford Explorer Sport	GMC Sierra 2500
Complaints on file	939	2,284
Model years covered	1993–2005	1994–2026
Worst model year	2001	2001
Best model year	1997	1998
Crashes reported	66	111
Fires reported	63	64
Injuries reported	72	59
Deaths reported	7	4
Most complained-about part	Body & Structure	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	22.2%	10.4%

Ford Explorer Sport by year

5 44 145 127 102 243 160 85 23 5

93 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

Body & Structure 116 12.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 102 10.9%

Engine & Cooling 77 8.2%

Electrical System 68 7.2%

Suspension 68 7.2%

Seats 68 7.2%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 67 7.1%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 59 6.3%

GMC Sierra 2500 by year

2 14 19 42 63 171 164 193 175 159 78 98 78 37 11 81 40 57 39 100 77 51 46 40 107 65 53 40 135 35 14

94 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

Brakes 522 22.9%

Electrical System 289 12.7%

Engine & Cooling 208 9.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 199 8.7%

Airbags 167 7.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 145 6.3%

Other & Unspecified 138 6.0%

Steering 132 5.8%