FaultScore

1997 car problems

Owners have filed 49,942 complaints with NHTSA about cars from the 1997 model year, across 284 models with enough data to report on.

49,942

Complaints

13

Cars graded F

3,875

Crashes reported

2,110

Fires reported

The 1997 cars to avoid

Graded D or F against the other years of their own model.

What broke on 1997 cars

Engine & Cooling 6,764 13.5%
Brakes 5,644 11.3%
Electrical System 4,075 8.2%
Steering 3,547 7.1%
Suspension 3,186 6.4%
Fuel & Propulsion 3,153 6.3%
Airbags 3,076 6.2%
Tires 2,590 5.2%
Body & Structure 1,953 3.9%

1997 complaints by make

Ford 11,671 23.4%
Chevrolet 7,962 15.9%
Dodge 5,660 11.3%
Jeep 2,558 5.1%
Pontiac 2,527 5.1%
GMC 1,817 3.6%
Toyota 1,719 3.4%
Mercury 1,702 3.4%
Buick 1,334 2.7%
Honda 1,333 2.7%
Chrysler 1,326 2.7%
Plymouth 1,277 2.6%
Oldsmobile 965 1.9%
Nissan 912 1.8%
Cadillac 790 1.6%
KIA 685 1.4%
Mazda 678 1.4%
Mitsubishi 638 1.3%
Lincoln 607 1.2%
Saturn 502 1.0%

The cleanest 1997 cars on record

Graded A against the other years of their own model.

Nearby model years