Volvo S40 vs Dodge Nitro

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 S40	Dodge Nitro
Complaints on file	677	1,635
Model years covered	2000–2011	2005–2012
Worst model year	2001	2007
Best model year	2010	2009
Crashes reported	65	57
Fires reported	18	37
Injuries reported	34	59
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	17.3%	9.4%

Volvo S40 by year

166 112 34 23 75 91 81 36 27 14 11 7

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

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

What breaks

Brakes 119 17.6%

Electrical System 103 15.2%

Engine & Cooling 79 11.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 51 7.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 42 6.2%

Airbags 39 5.8%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 37 5.5%

Lights 27 4.0%

Dodge Nitro by year

1 676 611 36 111 197 3

05 07 08 09 10 11 12

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

What breaks

Electrical System 426 26.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 290 17.7%

Engine & Cooling 122 7.5%

Airbags 105 6.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 103 6.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 89 5.4%

Other & Unspecified 80 4.9%

Brakes 78 4.8%