Subaru Ascent vs Saturn VUE

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	Subaru Ascent	Saturn VUE
Complaints on file	1,348	3,280
Model years covered	2019–2026	2002–2010
Worst model year	2019	2003
Best model year	2025	2002
Crashes reported	65	193
Fires reported	25	84
Injuries reported	32	118
Deaths reported	0	1
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	9.1%	12.1%

Subaru Ascent by year

562 407 144 79 66 69 19 2

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

Electrical System 292 21.7%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 206 15.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 185 13.7%

Other & Unspecified 154 11.4%

Engine & Cooling 106 7.9%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 104 7.7%

Brakes 87 6.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 38 2.8%

Saturn VUE by year

220 879 360 216 433 417 575 171 9

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

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

What breaks

Electrical System 705 21.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 661 20.2%

Airbags 310 9.5%

Engine & Cooling 298 9.1%

Steering 293 8.9%

Other & Unspecified 135 4.1%

Suspension 133 4.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 101 3.1%