Volvo S40 vs Saab 9-3

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	Saab 9-3
Complaints on file	677	1,689
Model years covered	2000–2011	1994–2011
Worst model year	2001	2003
Best model year	2010	2010
Crashes reported	65	84
Fires reported	18	30
Injuries reported	34	76
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	17.3%	11.5%

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%

Saab 9-3 by year

1 80 72 74 52 323 236 114 227 182 218 46 31 33

94 99 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

Airbags 370 21.9%

Engine & Cooling 221 13.1%

Electrical System 207 12.3%

Suspension 187 11.1%

Seat Belts 164 9.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 109 6.5%

Brakes 96 5.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 71 4.2%