Freightliner Columbia vs Saturn SW

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	Freightliner Columbia	Saturn SW
Complaints on file	110	274
Model years covered	2000–2010	1992–2001
Worst model year	2005	1994
Best model year	2007	2000
Crashes reported	8	41
Fires reported	8	12
Injuries reported	22	30
Deaths reported	2	2
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	36.4%	31%

Freightliner Columbia by year

1 4 2 12 14 44 16 12 1 3 1

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 32 29.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 27 24.5%

Body & Structure 7 6.4%

Brakes 6 5.5%

Electrical System 5 4.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 5 4.5%

Tires 5 4.5%

Wheels 4 3.6%

Saturn SW by year

2 35 41 52 31 35 31 23 18 6

92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01

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

What breaks

Brakes 47 17.2%

Engine & Cooling 36 13.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 27 9.9%

Electrical System 24 8.8%

Seats 21 7.7%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 17 6.2%

Seat Belts 17 6.2%

Airbags 15 5.5%