Mercedes Benz 320 vs Lexus IS

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	Mercedes Benz 320	Lexus IS
Complaints on file	332	808
Model years covered	1994–2002	1999–2025
Worst model year	1994	2006
Best model year	2001	2015
Crashes reported	17	68
Fires reported	13	9
Injuries reported	22	38
Deaths reported	6	1
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Body & Structure
Share of complaints involving harm	17.5%	14.4%

Mercedes Benz 320 by year

64 39 15 27 54 45 25 41 22

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

Electrical System 95 28.6%

Engine & Cooling 30 9.0%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 27 8.1%

Airbags 25 7.5%

Steering 19 5.7%

Brakes 19 5.7%

Lights 19 5.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 17 5.1%

Lexus IS by year

1 1 17 18 12 13 185 171 143 55 52 22 29 13 16 14 2 15 3 3 7 2 6 6 1 1

99 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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

What breaks

Body & Structure 148 18.3%

Airbags 114 14.1%

Other & Unspecified 114 14.1%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 95 11.8%

Engine & Cooling 78 9.7%

Electrical System 45 5.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 37 4.6%

Steering 34 4.2%