Mercedes Benz C280 vs Mercury Topaz

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 C280	Mercury Topaz
Complaints on file	235	581
Model years covered	1994–2007	1983–1998
Worst model year	2007	1994
Best model year	1994	1995
Crashes reported	14	27
Fires reported	18	59
Injuries reported	8	12
Deaths reported	0	2
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	17%	17.2%

Mercedes Benz C280 by year

14 25 8 8 21 45 4 41 69

94 95 96 97 98 99 00 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 49 20.9%

Electrical System 47 20.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 30 12.8%

Suspension 15 6.4%

Other & Unspecified 15 6.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 13 5.5%

Airbags 13 5.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 12 5.1%

Mercury Topaz by year

1 13 5 13 28 28 57 67 59 92 98 106 13 1

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 98

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

What breaks

Electrical System 113 19.4%

Engine & Cooling 99 17.0%

Seat Belts 77 13.3%

Brakes 59 10.2%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 34 5.9%

Fuel & Propulsion 32 5.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 4.8%

Steering 20 3.4%