Volvo 850 vs Lincoln Navigator

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	Volvo 850	Lincoln Navigator
Complaints on file	732	1,794
Model years covered	1993–2000	1998–2025
Worst model year	1996	2003
Best model year	1997	2012
Crashes reported	45	136
Fires reported	51	116
Injuries reported	38	116
Deaths reported	3	4
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	18.7%	20.7%

Volvo 850 by year

96 108 148 235 142 2 1

93 94 95 96 97 99 00

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

What breaks

Brakes 117 16.0%

Transmission & Drivetrain 73 10.0%

Electrical System 73 10.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 67 9.2%

Engine & Cooling 55 7.5%

Tires 45 6.1%

Airbags 42 5.7%

Seats 37 5.1%

Lincoln Navigator by year

240 155 137 116 48 179 119 71 90 56 40 10 22 10 15 20 25 31 33 45 69 97 35 40 33 9 28 21

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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

What breaks

Electrical System 200 11.1%

Engine & Cooling 188 10.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 174 9.7%

Tires 170 9.5%

Suspension 163 9.1%

Brakes 111 6.2%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 96 5.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 95 5.3%