Suzuki Sidekick vs Acura CL

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	Suzuki Sidekick	Acura CL
Complaints on file	298	731
Model years covered	1988–2000	1997–2004
Worst model year	1996	2001
Best model year	1993	1998
Crashes reported	26	49
Fires reported	11	4
Injuries reported	24	35
Deaths reported	1	7
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	20.8%	13%

Suzuki Sidekick by year

1 15 5 16 11 14 32 29 81 52 41 1

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 00

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 43 14.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 40 13.4%

Suspension 34 11.4%

Brakes 29 9.7%

Electrical System 24 8.1%

Seat Belts 24 8.1%

Airbags 17 5.7%

Body & Structure 14 4.7%

Acura CL by year

106 69 66 11 317 71 89 2

97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 333 45.6%

Airbags 77 10.5%

Electrical System 63 8.6%

Engine & Cooling 42 5.7%

Brakes 30 4.1%

Suspension 27 3.7%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 26 3.6%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 25 3.4%