Reliability
Vehicle reliability ratings
Transparent derived index (0–100 + letter grade) for 500 models from NHTSA complaint, recall, and severity rates, not an official NHTSA rating. Minimum floor: 3 model-years of data.
136 models
163 models
119 models
42 models
40 models
#1: BMW 635 scores 90 (grade A+) against a cohort median of 70 (+20 pts). Small changes in a three-year window can move a model several places, treat the #1 slot as a filing-activity signal, not a settled defect ranking.
How We Calculate Reliability Scores
Our reliability score (0-100) combines three NHTSA data signals:
- Complaint Rate (50%) - Complaints per year of production. Fewer complaints = higher score.
- Recall Rate (25%) - Recalls per year. Fewer recalls = higher score.
- Severity Score (25%) - Weighted incidents: deaths × 100, injuries × 10, fires × 5, crashes × 2 per year.
Models with fewer than 3 years of data are excluded (minimum-denominator floor). Each score is anchored against the cohort median (70 in the current build).
Limitation: rates are normalized per year of production, not per vehicle sold or registered, NHTSA doesn't publish per-model sales/registration counts we can join against. A high-volume seller can accumulate more complaints per year than a low-volume model even at an identical or better per-vehicle defect rate. Treat scores as a signal from complaint and recall filing activity, not a precise per-car defect probability.
Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database and Recall Campaigns. Transparent derived index from those public extracts, not an official NHTSA reliability or safety rating.
Top 25 Most Reliable Vehicles
| # | Vehicle | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BMW 635 | A+ | 90 |
| 2 | Ferrari Ferrari | A+ | 90 |
| 3 | Ford F250 LD | A+ | 90 |
| 4 | GMC C2500 Pickup | A+ | 90 |
| 5 | Lincoln Mark VI | A+ | 90 |
| 6 | Suzuki Gs1100 | A+ | 90 |
| 7 | Suzuki Gsf1200 | A+ | 90 |
| 8 | Workhorse P3500 | A+ | 90 |
| 9 | Chevrolet K1 | A+ | 90 |
| 10 | Suzuki DR-Z400s | A+ | 90 |
| 11 | Suzuki Gs650 | A+ | 90 |
| 12 | Chevrolet T7500 | A | 89 |
| 13 | Ford L Series | A | 89 |
| 14 | Ford B Series | A | 89 |
| 15 | Dodge D50 | A | 89 |
| 16 | Honda Cb250 | A | 89 |
| 17 | Chevrolet K30 | A | 89 |
| 18 | BMW 325isa | A | 88 |
| 19 | BMW 850ci | A | 88 |
| 20 | Lotus Esprit | A | 88 |
| 21 | Volvo GL | A | 88 |
| 22 | Suzuki Katana | A | 88 |
| 23 | BMW R100 | A | 88 |
| 24 | Chevrolet EL Camino | A | 88 |
| 25 | Mercury XR7 | A | 88 |
25 Least Reliable Vehicles
| # | Vehicle | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BMW 440i | F | 8 |
| 2 | Bentley Bentayga | F | 14 |
| 3 | Volvo VNL (4) | F | 17 |
| 4 | Chevrolet City Express | F | 18 |
| 5 | Ford GT | F | 19 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz Glc350e | F | 19 |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz S 450 | F | 23 |
| 8 | Mercedes-Benz GLE 400 | F | 24 |
| 9 | Jaguar XKR | F | 24 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz GLC 350 | F | 25 |
| 11 | BMW XM | F | 25 |
| 12 | Mercedes-Benz GLE 550 E | F | 27 |
| 13 | Audi SQ7 | F | 27 |
| 14 | Mercedes-Benz S320 | F | 28 |
| 15 | Mercedes-Benz GLS 550 | F | 28 |
| 16 | Western Star 4700 | F | 30 |
| 17 | Aston Martin DB9 | F | 31 |
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4matic | F | 31 |
| 19 | Mercedes-Benz AMG S63 | F | 31 |
| 20 | Mazda Mazda Truck | F | 32 |
| 21 | Mercedes-Benz AMG Cla35 | F | 33 |
| 22 | Audi RS E-Tron GT | F | 33 |
| 23 | Audi E-Tron Sportback | F | 33 |
| 24 | Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback | F | 33 |
| 25 | Chevrolet C4500 | F | 33 |
Data from NHTSA. Reliability scores are statistical calculations from public data, not editorial opinions.