Mercury Topaz vs Chrysler LHS

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	Mercury Topaz	Chrysler LHS
Complaints on file	581	1,430
Model years covered	1983–1998	1993–2004
Worst model year	1994	1994
Best model year	1995	2001
Crashes reported	27	108
Fires reported	59	35
Injuries reported	12	85
Deaths reported	2	0
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	17.2%	15.9%

Mercury Topaz by year

1 13 5 13 28 28 57 67 59 92 98 106 13 1

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 98

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

What breaks

Electrical System 113 19.4%

Engine & Cooling 99 17.0%

Seat Belts 77 13.3%

Brakes 59 10.2%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 34 5.9%

Fuel & Propulsion 32 5.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 4.8%

Steering 20 3.4%

Chrysler LHS by year

2 509 252 185 105 5 218 115 31 3 2 3

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

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

What breaks

Steering 200 14.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 172 12.0%

Transmission & Drivetrain 152 10.6%

Engine & Cooling 141 9.9%

Brakes 99 6.9%

Electrical System 98 6.9%

Body & Structure 87 6.1%

Suspension 76 5.3%