Workhorse · vehicle model
Workhorse W20
38 NHTSA complaints and 13 safety recalls across model years 2000–2006.
- Complaints
- 38
- Recalls
- 13
- Model years
- 7
The verdict
The Workhorse W20 pairs above-average complaint volume with 13 recalls (heavily recalled).
- 44th pctile
- complaint volume, US models
- 13
- recall campaigns
Workhorse W20 vs. all tracked models
Total NHTSA ODI complaints across models with substantive safety data
38 Around the middle lower than 44% of 3,088 models
tracked vehicle models, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more models. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · August 2026
The WorkhorseW20 appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 38 consumer safety complaints and 13 recall campaigns across 7 model years (2000–2006). That averages roughly 5 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 2 investigation files tied to this model. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare WorkhorseW20 to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the Workhorse W20?▼
What years of Workhorse W20 are available?▼
Does the Workhorse W20 have safety ratings?▼
What are the most common Workhorse W20 complaints?▼
How do I check if my Workhorse W20 has been recalled?▼
Data sources
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. Workhorse W20 totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.