FaultScore

Mercedes Benz C300 vs Ford Fiesta

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 C300 Ford Fiesta
Complaints on file 1,788 4,342
Model years covered 2008–2009 1988–2019
Worst model year 2011
Best model year 2018
Crashes reported 47 206
Fires reported 53 43
Injuries reported 41 131
Deaths reported 0 13
Most complained-about part Airbags Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm 7.9% 9.1%

Mercedes Benz C300 by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 459 25.7%
Electrical System 428 23.9%
Steering 273 15.3%
Lights 228 12.8%
Suspension 49 2.7%
Brakes 38 2.1%

Ford Fiesta by year

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

What breaks