Mercedes Benz GL450 vs Volvo S40

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 GL450	Volvo S40
Complaints on file	273	677
Model years covered	2007–2009	2000–2011
Worst model year	2007	2001
Best model year	2009	2010
Crashes reported	19	65
Fires reported	47	18
Injuries reported	31	34
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Seats	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	35.5%	17.3%

Mercedes Benz GL450 by year

162 89 22

07 08 09

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

What breaks

Seats 42 15.4%

Electrical System 32 11.7%

Steering 31 11.4%

Suspension 29 10.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 21 7.7%

Engine & Cooling 20 7.3%

Brakes 20 7.3%

Airbags 17 6.2%

Volvo S40 by year

166 112 34 23 75 91 81 36 27 14 11 7

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

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

What breaks

Brakes 119 17.6%

Electrical System 103 15.2%

Engine & Cooling 79 11.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 51 7.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 42 6.2%

Airbags 39 5.8%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 37 5.5%

Lights 27 4.0%