Honda Element vs Audi A4

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	Honda Element	Audi A4
Complaints on file	1,533	3,677
Model years covered	2003–2011	1995–2024
Worst model year	2003	2002
Best model year	2010	2022
Crashes reported	123	146
Fires reported	15	76
Injuries reported	101	84
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	15.6%	8.3%

Honda Element by year

482 329 203 154 142 129 40 39 15

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

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

What breaks

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 378 24.7%

Airbags 322 21.0%

Suspension 115 7.5%

Electrical System 112 7.3%

Body & Structure 92 6.0%

Brakes 91 5.9%

Seats 57 3.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 49 3.2%

Audi A4 by year

1 133 119 321 242 115 153 218 282 225 267 343 226 204 150 77 17 23 28 38 24 18 75 80 16 230 19 10 19 4

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 23 24

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

What breaks

Airbags 520 14.1%

Engine & Cooling 489 13.3%

Electrical System 483 13.1%

Brakes 402 10.9%

Lights 375 10.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 217 5.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 205 5.6%

Other & Unspecified 162 4.4%