Lexus RX300 vs Plymouth Neon

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 RX300	Plymouth Neon
Complaints on file	849	2,016
Model years covered	1998–2003	1994–2001
Worst model year	1999	1995
Best model year	2003	1999
Crashes reported	89	230
Fires reported	16	66
Injuries reported	51	161
Deaths reported	0	11
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	18.4%	23.2%

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%

Plymouth Neon by year

3 711 476 234 237 82 199 74

94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 625 31.0%

Brakes 233 11.6%

Electrical System 170 8.4%

Airbags 169 8.4%

Steering 119 5.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 114 5.7%

Other & Unspecified 81 4.0%

Body & Structure 75 3.7%