Volkswagen NEW Beetle vs Chevrolet Chevrolet Truck

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 NEW Beetle	Chevrolet Chevrolet Truck
Complaints on file	262	642
Model years covered	1998–2006	1962–2003
Worst model year	2001	1995
Best model year	2004	2000
Crashes reported	16	34
Fires reported	6	11
Injuries reported	16	20
Deaths reported	3	5
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	15.6%	10.9%

Volkswagen NEW Beetle by year

37 40 45 56 35 30 18 1

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 06

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

What breaks

Electrical System 46 17.6%

Engine & Cooling 31 11.8%

Lights 29 11.1%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 27 10.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 23 8.8%

Airbags 19 7.3%

Brakes 17 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 12 4.6%

Chevrolet Chevrolet Truck by year

4 2 2 2 5 3 2 1 4 1 1 3 5 4 4 27 19 18 14 15 15 53 80 81 53 37 39 23 32 45 48

62 72 74 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 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 120 18.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 63 9.8%

Tires 56 8.7%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 53 8.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 48 7.5%

Electrical System 43 6.7%

Steering 42 6.5%

Engine & Cooling 41 6.4%