FaultScore

Ford Freestyle vs Hyundai Elantra

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 Freestyle Hyundai Elantra
Complaints on file 5,155 12,072
Model years covered 2002–2007 1992–2026
Worst model year 2005 2013
Best model year 2004 1993
Crashes reported 153 1,282
Fires reported 21 304
Injuries reported 39 748
Deaths reported 0 14
Most complained-about part Acceleration & Cruise Control Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm 4.1% 19.4%

Ford Freestyle by year

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

What breaks

Hyundai Elantra by year

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 1,958 16.2%
Airbags 1,362 11.3%
Steering 1,145 9.5%
Electrical System 1,090 9.0%
Brakes 1,079 8.9%
Suspension 618 5.1%