Porsche 911 Carrera vs Mercedes Benz CLK350

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 Porsche 911 Carrera Mercedes Benz CLK350
Complaints on file 55 135
Model years covered 1997–2020 2006–2009
Worst model year — 2006
Best model year — 2008
Crashes reported 3 4
Fires reported 6 3
Injuries reported 3 4
Deaths reported 0 0
Most complained-about part Engine & Cooling Fuel & Propulsion
Share of complaints involving harm 21.8% 8.1%

Porsche 911 Carrera by year

97 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 13 14 17 20
Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 13 23.6%
Airbags 10 18.2%
Electrical System 6 10.9%
Seat Belts 5 9.1%
Fuel & Propulsion 4 7.3%
Suspension 3 5.5%
Transmission & Drivetrain 2 3.6%
Steering 2 3.6%

Mercedes Benz CLK350 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 17 12.6%
Airbags 17 12.6%
Electrical System 13 9.6%
Transmission & Drivetrain 11 8.1%
Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 8 5.9%
Seats 6 4.4%
Lights 5 3.7%