Model Year Report

Look up any car by make, model, and year to see NHTSA complaint trends, recalls, and a plain verdict before you buy.

Built on NHTSA's public complaint and recall data, refreshed daily. Complaints are unverified owner reports — see Methodology.

HOW IT WORKS

  1. Search a car by make, model, and year.
  2. Read the computed verdict and known problem areas.
  3. Print the buy-smart checklist before you go look at it.

YEARS TO AVOID — RECENT FLAGS

RECENT RECALLS

BROWSE BY MAKE

FAQ

How is the verdict on Model Year Report computed?

Each model year's distinct NHTSA complaint count is compared to the median of that same model's other eligible years -- never to a different model, and never to sales figures, which aren't public. See Methodology for the full formula.

Where does the data come from?

NHTSA's public complaint, recall, and investigation flat files and APIs, refreshed daily. We don't scrape CarComplaints, Consumer Reports, or J.D. Power.

Are the complaints independently verified?

No -- complaints are unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA, not confirmed defects.

What does "Not enough data" mean?

Model years with fewer than 30 complaints on file don't get a ranked verdict -- we still show every complaint, recall, and investigation on file, just without a ranking a tiny sample can't support.

Is this site affiliated with NHTSA or any automaker?

No. Model Year Report is an independent site built on NHTSA's public open data. See About for who publishes this site and how it's funded.