Mazda MAZDASPEED3 vs Saturn SC

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	Mazda MAZDASPEED3	Saturn SC
Complaints on file	155	379
Model years covered	2007–2013	1991–2002
Worst model year	2008	1994
Best model year	2010	1998
Crashes reported	4	58
Fires reported	3	8
Injuries reported	6	31
Deaths reported	0	2
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Seats
Share of complaints involving harm	8.4%	26.1%

Mazda MAZDASPEED3 by year

48 41 5 44 8 6 3

07 08 09 10 11 12 13

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 46 29.7%

Engine & Cooling 24 15.5%

Seats 22 14.2%

Body & Structure 12 7.7%

Suspension 7 4.5%

Tires 7 4.5%

Other & Unspecified 7 4.5%

Lights 5 3.2%

Saturn SC by year

6 24 29 59 50 41 44 17 27 8 29 45

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02

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

What breaks

Seats 54 14.2%

Engine & Cooling 52 13.7%

Electrical System 47 12.4%

Seat Belts 39 10.3%

Airbags 30 7.9%

Brakes 29 7.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 20 5.3%

Body & Structure 15 4.0%