Peterbilt 388 vs Volkswagen Volkswagen

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 Peterbilt 388 Volkswagen Volkswagen
Complaints on file 36 89
Model years covered 2012–2015 1965–2003
Worst model year — 2001
Best model year — 1997
Crashes reported 10 5
Fires reported 0 1
Injuries reported 0 2
Deaths reported 0 0
Most complained-about part Tires Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm 27.8% 9%

Peterbilt 388 by year

12 14 15
Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Tires 14 38.9%
Wheels 11 30.6%
Body & Structure 5 13.9%
Engine & Cooling 2 5.6%
Electrical System 2 5.6%
Fuel & Propulsion 1 2.8%
Other & Unspecified 1 2.8%

Volkswagen Volkswagen by year

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 18 20.2%
Electrical System 16 18.0%
Brakes 10 11.2%
Transmission & Drivetrain 9 10.1%
Tires 6 6.7%
Equipment & Accessories 5 5.6%
Airbags 3 3.4%
Suspension 3 3.4%