Ford Explorer vs Chevrolet Silverado 1500

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 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Complaints on file 43,316 23,671
Model years covered 1977–2026 1994–2026
Worst model year 1998 2019
Best model year 2008 2012
Crashes reported 2,358 1,091
Fires reported 987 355
Injuries reported 1,950 547
Deaths reported 182 52
Most complained-about part Transmission & Drivetrain Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm 12.6% 8.6%

Ford Explorer by year

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

What breaks

Body & Structure 5,325 12.3%
Engine & Cooling 4,200 9.7%
Tires 4,187 9.7%
Steering 4,178 9.6%
Other & Unspecified 3,122 7.2%
Electrical System 2,309 5.3%
Brakes 2,223 5.1%

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 by year

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

What breaks

Brakes 4,779 20.2%
Engine & Cooling 3,057 12.9%
Electrical System 2,683 11.3%
Airbags 2,407 10.2%
Other & Unspecified 1,560 6.6%
Steering 1,530 6.5%
Body & Structure 934 3.9%