GMC Sonoma vs Toyota Avalon

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	GMC Sonoma	Toyota Avalon
Complaints on file	1,739	4,245
Model years covered	1984–2005	1995–2022
Worst model year	1995	2006
Best model year	2002	2021
Crashes reported	179	672
Fires reported	19	34
Injuries reported	69	350
Deaths reported	2	26
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Acceleration & Cruise Control
Share of complaints involving harm	15.5%	25.5%

GMC Sonoma by year

1 1 35 33 72 297 254 190 160 202 78 180 108 74 53 1

84 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 05

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

What breaks

Brakes 530 30.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 240 13.8%

Engine & Cooling 134 7.7%

Body & Structure 125 7.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 109 6.3%

Seats 79 4.5%

Electrical System 74 4.3%

Airbags 68 3.9%

Toyota Avalon by year

92 121 155 205 113 220 168 148 353 252 303 449 313 417 110 53 130 35 187 123 64 33 17 31 98 13 29 13

95 96 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

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

What breaks

Acceleration & Cruise Control 604 14.2%

Airbags 594 14.0%

Steering 369 8.7%

Lights 302 7.1%

Electrical System 297 7.0%

Engine & Cooling 296 7.0%

Brakes 292 6.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 215 5.1%