Oldsmobile Achieva vs Mercedes Benz E320

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	Oldsmobile Achieva	Mercedes Benz E320
Complaints on file	625	1,516
Model years covered	1992–2000	1994–2009
Worst model year	1995	2005
Best model year	1998	2008
Crashes reported	48	75
Fires reported	34	48
Injuries reported	31	77
Deaths reported	3	1
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Fuel & Propulsion
Share of complaints involving harm	18.6%	13.3%

Oldsmobile Achieva by year

90 66 85 102 116 108 52 6

92 93 94 95 96 97 98 00

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

What breaks

Electrical System 127 20.3%

Engine & Cooling 105 16.8%

Brakes 89 14.2%

Airbags 47 7.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 39 6.2%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 31 5.0%

Steering 24 3.8%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 22 3.5%

Mercedes Benz E320 by year

19 129 62 80 51 109 81 54 27 281 243 287 49 20 13 11

94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

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

What breaks

Fuel & Propulsion 383 25.3%

Brakes 223 14.7%

Electrical System 207 13.7%

Engine & Cooling 116 7.7%

Airbags 111 7.3%

Suspension 111 7.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 67 4.4%

Body & Structure 39 2.6%