Mercedes Benz C230 vs Mercury Villager

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 C230	Mercury Villager
Complaints on file	883	2,205
Model years covered	1997–2007	1992–2002
Worst model year	2007	1993
Best model year	1998	2002
Crashes reported	53	130
Fires reported	29	64
Injuries reported	41	91
Deaths reported	0	5
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	13.9%	13.2%

Mercedes Benz C230 by year

7 54 35 44 4 73 76 44 120 154 272

97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 164 18.6%

Airbags 144 16.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 119 13.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 101 11.4%

Electrical System 83 9.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 37 4.2%

Brakes 31 3.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 31 3.5%

Mercury Villager by year

1 516 323 477 253 152 100 252 90 21 20

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

Engine & Cooling 429 19.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 247 11.2%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 192 8.7%

Brakes 185 8.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 153 6.9%

Body & Structure 133 6.0%

Seat Belts 120 5.4%

Lights 108 4.9%