Saturn SL vs KIA Sportage

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 SL	KIA Sportage
Complaints on file	2,891	6,792
Model years covered	1991–2002	1995–2026
Worst model year	1995	2017
Best model year	2001	1995
Crashes reported	433	464
Fires reported	50	314
Injuries reported	304	303
Deaths reported	11	3
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	27.6%	16%

Saturn SL by year

31 173 228 376 481 369 286 222 232 202 137 154

91 92 93 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

Engine & Cooling 463 16.0%

Brakes 377 13.0%

Electrical System 322 11.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 317 11.0%

Seats 231 8.0%

Seat Belts 181 6.3%

Airbags 164 5.7%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 140 4.8%

KIA Sportage by year

88 98 299 558 493 462 354 321 4 93 169 113 138 120 28 264 454 449 154 195 183 560 226 102 205 62 67 310 97 86 40

95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 2,024 29.8%

Electrical System 653 9.6%

Brakes 632 9.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 485 7.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 483 7.1%

Other & Unspecified 478 7.0%

Airbags 297 4.4%

Body & Structure 285 4.2%