Volkswagen Beetle vs Pontiac G6

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	Pontiac G6
Complaints on file	3,625	8,455
Model years covered	1965–2019	2003–2014
Worst model year	2000	2006
Best model year	2018	2010
Crashes reported	174	381
Fires reported	160	111
Injuries reported	101	201
Deaths reported	4	10
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	12.1%	8.3%

Volkswagen Beetle by year

5 1 1 1 4 289 280 373 291 231 405 469 330 161 79 109 39 42 88 126 71 108 64 19 23 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 548 15.1%

Electrical System 509 14.0%

Engine & Cooling 372 10.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 370 10.2%

Lights 205 5.7%

Body & Structure 167 4.6%

Brakes 134 3.7%

Pontiac G6 by year

1 3 932 2,605 1,825 1,608 1,048 432 1

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 14

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

What breaks

Steering 3,132 37.0%

Electrical System 1,002 11.9%

Lights 987 11.7%

Brakes 738 8.7%

Airbags 411 4.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 385 4.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 362 4.3%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 277 3.3%