Mercedes Benz E Class vs Lincoln Mark Viii

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 E Class	Lincoln Mark Viii
Complaints on file	412	984
Model years covered	1993–2008	1989–2000
Worst model year	2003	1993
Best model year	1996	1997
Crashes reported	14	49
Fires reported	12	21
Injuries reported	8	18
Deaths reported	0	6
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Lights
Share of complaints involving harm	8.3%	9.6%

Mercedes Benz E Class by year

9 46 29 18 43 31 20 61 33 8 69 19 10 11 5

93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 08

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

What breaks

Electrical System 99 24.0%

Suspension 57 13.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 39 9.5%

Engine & Cooling 38 9.2%

Brakes 34 8.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 20 4.9%

Body & Structure 18 4.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 17 4.1%

Lincoln Mark Viii by year

1 1 286 190 172 120 103 108 2 1

89 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00

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

What breaks

Lights 576 58.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 72 7.3%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 51 5.2%

Brakes 45 4.6%

Electrical System 43 4.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 36 3.7%

Suspension 28 2.8%

Steering 22 2.2%