Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen vs Chevrolet Pickup

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 Jetta Sportwagen	Chevrolet Pickup
Complaints on file	234	585
Model years covered	2008–2014	1972–2003
Worst model year	2014	1997
Best model year	2009	2003
Crashes reported	8	42
Fires reported	5	7
Injuries reported	5	24
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	7.7%	12.5%

Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen by year

2 27 33 41 38 47 46

08 09 10 11 12 13 14

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

What breaks

Electrical System 38 16.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 34 14.5%

Suspension 24 10.3%

Brakes 23 9.8%

Engine & Cooling 21 9.0%

Other & Unspecified 21 9.0%

Airbags 20 8.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 13 5.6%

Chevrolet Pickup by year

4 2 2 1 13 17 8 60 90 75 113 60 51 37 19 21 12

72 73 75 78 90 91 92 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

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

What breaks

Brakes 126 21.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 106 18.1%

Tires 62 10.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 40 6.8%

Transmission & Drivetrain 34 5.8%

Steering 34 5.8%

Engine & Cooling 26 4.4%

Electrical System 25 4.3%