KIA Spectra vs Oldsmobile Alero

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	KIA Spectra	Oldsmobile Alero
Complaints on file	1,211	2,939
Model years covered	2000–2009	1998–2004
Worst model year	2007	2000
Best model year	2000	2002
Crashes reported	259	126
Fires reported	23	43
Injuries reported	160	90
Deaths reported	7	7
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	37.1%	9.1%

KIA Spectra by year

30 56 121 132 92 130 129 206 163 152

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

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

What breaks

Airbags 366 30.2%

Electrical System 91 7.5%

Brakes 88 7.3%

Engine & Cooling 86 7.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 84 6.9%

Fuel & Propulsion 75 6.2%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 72 5.9%

Seat Belts 54 4.5%

Oldsmobile Alero by year

2 702 810 549 407 294 175

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

Electrical System 630 21.4%

Lights 427 14.5%

Brakes 412 14.0%

Engine & Cooling 335 11.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 181 6.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 148 5.0%

Suspension 112 3.8%

Airbags 103 3.5%