Volkswagen NEW Beetle 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	Volkswagen NEW Beetle	Mercedes Benz ML350
Complaints on file	262	651
Model years covered	1998–2006	2001–2009
Worst model year	2001	2006
Best model year	2004	2005
Crashes reported	16	43
Fires reported	6	80
Injuries reported	16	35
Deaths reported	3	0
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	15.6%	24.3%

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%

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%