Volkswagen Beetle vs Dodge RAM 2500

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	Volkswagen Beetle	Dodge RAM 2500
Complaints on file	3,621	8,415
Model years covered	1965–2019	1991–2012
Worst model year	2000	2003
Best model year	2018	1993
Crashes reported	173	476
Fires reported	160	198
Injuries reported	101	235
Deaths reported	4	13
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	12.1%	11%

Volkswagen Beetle by year

5 1 1 1 4 289 280 373 291 231 405 469 330 161 79 109 39 42 88 125 71 108 63 19 21 16

65 69 70 73 74 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 616 17.0%

Airbags 546 15.1%

Electrical System 508 14.0%

Engine & Cooling 372 10.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 370 10.2%

Lights 205 5.7%

Body & Structure 166 4.6%

Brakes 134 3.7%

Dodge RAM 2500 by year

16 43 55 210 354 365 275 310 422 269 561 210 866 759 541 903 506 405 261 309 389 386

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

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

What breaks

Steering 1,991 23.7%

Suspension 902 10.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 686 8.2%

Body & Structure 647 7.7%

Brakes 644 7.7%

Airbags 595 7.1%

Electrical System 560 6.7%

Engine & Cooling 467 5.5%