Volvo VNL vs Chevrolet C/K Pickups

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 VNL	Chevrolet C/K Pickups
Complaints on file	176	432
Model years covered	1998–2023	1990–2002
Worst model year	2007	1998
Best model year	2006	1993
Crashes reported	17	20
Fires reported	17	6
Injuries reported	10	12
Deaths reported	0	3
Most complained-about part	Suspension	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
Share of complaints involving harm	25%	9.5%

Volvo VNL by year

8 16 12 1 1 3 5 7 11 25 3 11 4 7 7 11 6 15 12 6 4 1

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 22 23

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

What breaks

Suspension 38 21.6%

Steering 27 15.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 16 9.1%

Engine & Cooling 15 8.5%

Electrical System 12 6.8%

Brakes 12 6.8%

Body & Structure 10 5.7%

Lights 9 5.1%

Chevrolet C/K Pickups by year

1 7 7 12 60 23 24 85 88 43 40 28 14

90 91 92 93 94 95 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

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 129 29.9%

Brakes 104 24.1%

Steering 36 8.3%

Body & Structure 26 6.0%

Engine & Cooling 22 5.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 21 4.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 13 3.0%

Electrical System 11 2.5%