Lexus GS300 vs Mercedes Benz ML320

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	Lexus GS300	Mercedes Benz ML320
Complaints on file	446	1,087
Model years covered	1993–2014	1998–2009
Worst model year	2006	2000
Best model year	2001	2009
Crashes reported	51	93
Fires reported	8	39
Injuries reported	21	83
Deaths reported	1	0
Most complained-about part	Acceleration & Cruise Control	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	18.2%	19.8%

Lexus GS300 by year

7 7 12 2 91 56 45 21 15 16 6 2 164 1 1

93 94 95 96 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 13 14

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

What breaks

Acceleration & Cruise Control 85 19.1%

Brakes 44 9.9%

Lights 41 9.2%

Engine & Cooling 40 9.0%

Suspension 40 9.0%

Electrical System 34 7.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 26 5.8%

Steering 20 4.5%

Mercedes Benz ML320 by year

200 164 258 196 139 31 6 1 20 30 42

98 99 00 01 02 03 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

Brakes 151 13.9%

Steering 150 13.8%

Engine & Cooling 133 12.2%

Electrical System 93 8.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 85 7.8%

Stability & Traction Control 67 6.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 59 5.4%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 56 5.2%