Toyota Echo vs Mercedes Benz ML350

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	Toyota Echo	Mercedes Benz ML350
Complaints on file	262	651
Model years covered	2000–2005	2001–2009
Worst model year	2000	2006
Best model year	2005	2005
Crashes reported	91	43
Fires reported	11	80
Injuries reported	65	35
Deaths reported	2	0
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	64.5%	24.3%

Toyota Echo by year

117 63 45 23 1 13

00 01 02 03 04 05

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

What breaks

Airbags 49 18.7%

Brakes 44 16.8%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 31 11.8%

Engine & Cooling 25 9.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 21 8.0%

Electrical System 17 6.5%

Equipment & Accessories 10 3.8%

Suspension 9 3.4%

Mercedes Benz ML350 by year

2 31 44 28 235 113 93 105

01 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 86 13.2%

Electrical System 86 13.2%

Steering 74 11.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 72 11.1%

Seats 62 9.5%

Airbags 61 9.4%

Brakes 47 7.2%

Lights 28 4.3%