Porsche Cayenne S vs Mercedes Benz 320

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 Cayenne S	Mercedes Benz 320
Complaints on file	135	332
Model years covered	2003–2020	1994–2002
Worst model year	2004	1994
Best model year	2011	2001
Crashes reported	8	17
Fires reported	1	13
Injuries reported	5	22
Deaths reported	0	6
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	10.4%	17.5%

Porsche Cayenne S by year

4 74 10 13 1 6 20 6 1

03 04 05 06 07 08 11 12 20

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 42 31.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 20.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 15 11.1%

Electrical System 8 5.9%

Tires 8 5.9%

Brakes 5 3.7%

Lights 5 3.7%

Doors, Latches & Locks 5 3.7%

Mercedes Benz 320 by year

64 39 15 27 54 45 25 41 22

94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02

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

What breaks

Electrical System 95 28.6%

Engine & Cooling 30 9.0%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 27 8.1%

Airbags 25 7.5%

Steering 19 5.7%

Brakes 19 5.7%

Lights 19 5.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 17 5.1%