Mercedes Benz SL500 vs GMC Envoy XL

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 SL500	GMC Envoy XL
Complaints on file	308	769
Model years covered	1992–2009	2002–2006
Worst model year	2004	2003
Best model year	2006	2002
Crashes reported	12	35
Fires reported	30	23
Injuries reported	14	44
Deaths reported	2	2
Most complained-about part	Suspension	Fuel & Propulsion
Share of complaints involving harm	18.8%	13.5%

Mercedes Benz SL500 by year

2 7 10 39 9 13 8 2 2 3 108 64 22 15 4

92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 03 04 05 06 09

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

What breaks

Suspension 64 20.8%

Electrical System 60 19.5%

Brakes 43 14.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 36 11.7%

Engine & Cooling 16 5.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 14 4.5%

Airbags 14 4.5%

Steering 10 3.2%

GMC Envoy XL by year

111 296 227 135

02 03 04 06

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

What breaks

Fuel & Propulsion 180 23.4%

Electrical System 175 22.8%

Transmission & Drivetrain 56 7.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 53 6.9%

Engine & Cooling 51 6.6%

Lights 49 6.4%

Body & Structure 36 4.7%

Airbags 23 3.0%