Mercedes Benz C230 vs Pontiac Vibe

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	Pontiac Vibe
Complaints on file	883	2,133
Model years covered	1997–2007	2000–2014
Worst model year	2007	2009
Best model year	1998	2008
Crashes reported	53	138
Fires reported	29	8
Injuries reported	41	114
Deaths reported	0	1
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	13.9%	12.2%

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%

Pontiac Vibe by year

1 1 2 340 315 337 199 202 68 600 67 1

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 14

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

What breaks

Airbags 1,011 47.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 206 9.7%

Engine & Cooling 168 7.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 137 6.4%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 118 5.5%

Electrical System 96 4.5%

Body & Structure 63 3.0%

Steering 58 2.7%