Nissan Altima Hybrid vs Mercedes Benz E Class

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	Nissan Altima Hybrid	Mercedes Benz E Class
Complaints on file	166	412
Model years covered	2007–2011	1993–2008
Worst model year	2009	2003
Best model year	2010	1996
Crashes reported	14	14
Fires reported	5	12
Injuries reported	0	8
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	11.4%	8.3%

Nissan Altima Hybrid by year

40 20 81 16 9

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

Electrical System 36 21.7%

Steering 28 16.9%

Engine & Cooling 22 13.3%

Airbags 14 8.4%

Brakes 13 7.8%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 9 5.4%

Suspension 8 4.8%

Other & Unspecified 7 4.2%

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%