Yamaha YZFR1 vs Mercedes Benz 320

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	Yamaha YZFR1	Mercedes Benz 320
Complaints on file	133	332
Model years covered	1998–2015	1994–2002
Worst model year	—	1994
Best model year	—	2001
Crashes reported	6	17
Fires reported	1	13
Injuries reported	7	22
Deaths reported	1	6
Most complained-about part	Acceleration & Cruise Control	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	11.3%	17.5%

Yamaha YZFR1 by year

3 2 3 8 4 102 3 2 1 5

98 99 03 05 06 07 08 09 13 15

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

What breaks

Acceleration & Cruise Control 53 39.8%

Engine & Cooling 24 18.0%

Electrical System 18 13.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 13 9.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 9 6.8%

Body & Structure 7 5.3%

Other & Unspecified 5 3.8%

Suspension 2 1.5%

Mercedes Benz 320 by year

64 39 15 27 54 45 25 41 22

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

Electrical System 95 28.6%

Engine & Cooling 30 9.0%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 27 8.1%

Airbags 25 7.5%

Steering 19 5.7%

Brakes 19 5.7%

Lights 19 5.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 17 5.1%