FaultScore

Mercedes Benz C350 vs GEO Prizm

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 C350 GEO Prizm
Complaints on file 323 795
Model years covered 2006–2009 1990–2002
Worst model year 2008 1994
Best model year 2006 1998
Crashes reported 4 197
Fires reported 4 25
Injuries reported 4 138
Deaths reported 0 2
Most complained-about part Airbags Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm 3.7% 45.5%

Mercedes Benz C350 by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 79 24.5%
Steering 52 16.1%
Lights 44 13.6%
Fuel & Propulsion 21 6.5%
Engine & Cooling 19 5.9%
Other & Unspecified 6 1.9%
Transmission & Drivetrain 5 1.5%

GEO Prizm by year

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

What breaks