Ford Fiesta vs KIA Optima

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 Fiesta	KIA Optima
Complaints on file	4,342	10,355
Model years covered	1988–2019	2001–2020
Worst model year	2011	2013
Best model year	2018	2005
Crashes reported	206	499
Fires reported	43	641
Injuries reported	131	312
Deaths reported	13	22
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	9.1%	14.2%

Ford Fiesta by year

1 1 3 1 1 1,040 833 917 653 368 253 105 46 120

88 89 91 01 02 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 1,509 34.8%

Engine & Cooling 550 12.7%

Body & Structure 411 9.5%

Other & Unspecified 394 9.1%

Electrical System 339 7.8%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 198 4.6%

Doors, Latches & Locks 184 4.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 161 3.7%

KIA Optima by year

231 168 190 306 180 214 217 188 166 99 778 1,263 1,885 786 1,400 1,076 354 333 318 203

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 3,390 32.7%

Electrical System 938 9.1%

Other & Unspecified 842 8.1%

Steering 756 7.3%

Airbags 571 5.5%

Body & Structure 565 5.5%

Brakes 534 5.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 503 4.9%