Mercedes Benz 500 vs Volkswagen Cabrio

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 500	Volkswagen Cabrio
Complaints on file	122	302
Model years covered	1984–2003	1989–2002
Worst model year	2000	2001
Best model year	2003	1995
Crashes reported	5	34
Fires reported	2	22
Injuries reported	6	27
Deaths reported	3	0
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	13.1%	27.5%

Mercedes Benz 500 by year

1 1 1 20 23 8 14 9 9 2 9 14 11

84 85 90 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 03

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

What breaks

Electrical System 44 36.1%

Engine & Cooling 8 6.6%

Suspension 7 5.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 7 5.7%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 7 5.7%

Equipment & Accessories 7 5.7%

Brakes 6 4.9%

Other & Unspecified 6 4.9%

Volkswagen Cabrio by year

1 7 12 18 19 7 20 37 66 18 58 39

89 91 92 93 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 51 16.9%

Engine & Cooling 36 11.9%

Brakes 29 9.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 26 8.6%

Airbags 22 7.3%

Body & Structure 20 6.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 19 6.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 18 6.0%