Saturn L300 vs Lexus LS400

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	Saturn L300	Lexus LS400
Complaints on file	170	424
Model years covered	2003–2005	1990–2001
Worst model year	2003	1993
Best model year	2005	2000
Crashes reported	11	58
Fires reported	8	8
Injuries reported	6	33
Deaths reported	1	0
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	15.3%	23.3%

Saturn L300 by year

62 78 30

03 04 05

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

What breaks

Electrical System 32 18.8%

Engine & Cooling 27 15.9%

Lights 26 15.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 14 8.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 10 5.9%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 9 5.3%

Steering 7 4.1%

Brakes 7 4.1%

Lexus LS400 by year

36 27 10 83 76 48 24 23 52 27 16 2

90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01

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

What breaks

Electrical System 131 30.9%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 48 11.3%

Brakes 26 6.1%

Lights 26 6.1%

Seat Belts 25 5.9%

Airbags 20 4.7%

Tires 20 4.7%

Engine & Cooling 18 4.2%