Infiniti I30 vs Lexus RX300

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	Infiniti I30	Lexus RX300
Complaints on file	345	849
Model years covered	1996–2004	1998–2003
Worst model year	2001	1999
Best model year	1997	2003
Crashes reported	38	89
Fires reported	19	16
Injuries reported	19	51
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	22%	18.4%

Infiniti I30 by year

31 28 61 36 75 108 2 3 1

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

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

What breaks

Airbags 53 15.4%

Electrical System 44 12.8%

Engine & Cooling 34 9.9%

Suspension 33 9.6%

Brakes 31 9.0%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 26 7.5%

Body & Structure 24 7.0%

Transmission & Drivetrain 17 4.9%

Lexus RX300 by year

6 268 247 189 106 33

98 99 00 01 02 03

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 441 51.9%

Engine & Cooling 92 10.8%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 66 7.8%

Airbags 37 4.4%

Brakes 36 4.2%

Electrical System 28 3.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 17 2.0%

Seat Belts 16 1.9%