Lexus RX330 vs Pontiac Sunfire

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 RX330	Pontiac Sunfire
Complaints on file	659	1,641
Model years covered	2004–2011	1985–2005
Worst model year	2004	1996
Best model year	2006	2005
Crashes reported	81	153
Fires reported	4	61
Injuries reported	36	102
Deaths reported	5	7
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	19.1%	19.7%

Lexus RX330 by year

353 210 87 6 1 2

04 05 06 07 09 11

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 94 14.3%

Brakes 89 13.5%

Body & Structure 83 12.6%

Lights 63 9.6%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 60 9.1%

Steering 46 7.0%

Engine & Cooling 43 6.5%

Other & Unspecified 43 6.5%

Pontiac Sunfire by year

2 1 2 154 320 257 149 128 169 83 128 113 41 94

85 91 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

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

What breaks

Electrical System 339 20.7%

Engine & Cooling 259 15.8%

Brakes 172 10.5%

Airbags 125 7.6%

Steering 115 7.0%

Lights 109 6.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 76 4.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 71 4.3%