Volvo S40 vs Oldsmobile Intrigue

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	Oldsmobile Intrigue
Complaints on file	677	1,598
Model years covered	2000–2011	1996–2002
Worst model year	2001	1998
Best model year	2010	2002
Crashes reported	65	76
Fires reported	18	65
Injuries reported	34	43
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	17.3%	11.8%

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%

Oldsmobile Intrigue by year

1 1 665 371 296 173 91

96 97 98 99 00 01 02

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

What breaks

Steering 295 18.5%

Electrical System 267 16.7%

Engine & Cooling 233 14.6%

Lights 162 10.1%

Brakes 138 8.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 77 4.8%

Seat Belts 68 4.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 66 4.1%