PlainCars

State profile

Delaware vehicle complaints

3,626 NHTSA complaints filed by Delaware drivers across 50 vehicle models, the models your neighbors flag most.

Complaints
3,626
Crashes
198
Models
50

Volume is not severity

According to NHTSA ODI filings attributed to Delaware drivers, the Ford Explorer leads complaint volume at 199 (#1 of 50) but the Toyota Camry leads crash-linked reports at 16 (#1). Reported fatalities peak on the Toyota Camry at 2 (#1).

199
Ford Explorer complaints #1
16
Toyota Camry crashes #1
2
Toyota Camry deaths #1

Counts sum NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaints self-reported by owners in this state. Crash and fatality flags come from those filings, not a separate crash registry.

ODI volume LIGHT Crash-flag FLAG (5.5%)

Crash-flagged vs other filings

Delaware filings in this extract split 5.5% crash-flagged (FLAG) versus other ODI rows, orthogonal to the make/model top-N bars below.

Delaware vs all jurisdictions by NHTSA complaint volume

Where this state's owner-attributed ODI complaint count sits among every state and DC on PlainCars

7,850 41st of 51 higher than 10 of 51 jurisdictions

States and DC, banded by owner-attributed NHTSA ODI complaint count

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more jurisdictions. 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 ODI owner-reported state field · 2026-08-08

Delaware has more filings than 10 of 51 jurisdictions in this extract. Absolute volume tracks population and reporting culture; it is not a per-vehicle defect rate.

Data updated August 2026. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation, more than 2,000,000 owner filings sit in the national ODI file; this page counts the subset attributed to Delaware drivers. See our methodology.

Delaware ODI volume reading

The standout signal in Delaware is filing volume: 7,850 owner-attributed NHTSA ODI complaints (#41 of 51, thin-book tercile). Crash-flag share sits at 5.5% (FLAG).

As a thinner-book state, a handful of models can swing the ranking; open the table rows rather than reading the headline alone.

Inside this extract the Ford Explorer leads Delaware with 199 filings (3 crash-flagged).

Severe outcomes reported in Delaware

198
Crash reports
89
Fire incidents
3
Reported fatalities
Most complained make in Delaware
Ford (1,030 complaints)

Most-complained vehicles in Delaware

Ranked by NHTSA complaints filed by in-state owners

complaints

What this shows The Ford Explorer draws the most NHTSA complaints from Delaware drivers. State-level volume reflects how common a model is locally as much as its defect rate.

Source NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation As of 2026

Full ranking: top 50 most-complained vehicles in Delaware

# Vehicle Complaints
1 Ford Explorer 199
2 Jeep Grand Cherokee 197
3 Ford Escape 154
4 Ford F-150 145
5 Chevrolet Malibu 119
6 Honda Accord 112
7 Hyundai Sonata 111
8 Ford Focus 110
9 Jeep Cherokee 104
10 Ford Fusion 99
11 Jeep Wrangler 90
12 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 89
13 Ford Windstar 85
14 Dodge Grand Caravan 80
15 Chrysler Town AND Country 79
16 Dodge Durango 77
17 Nissan Altima 71
18 Honda CR-V 70
19 Honda Civic 70
20 Ford Taurus 70
21 Chevrolet Equinox 68
22 Ford Edge 64
23 Ford Expedition 63
24 Chevrolet Impala 62
25 Toyota Camry 61
26 KIA Sorento 61
27 Hyundai Santa FE 56
28 KIA Optima 54
29 Toyota Prius 53
30 Chevrolet Tahoe 53
31 RAM 1500 52
32 Honda Pilot 52
33 Dodge RAM 1500 52
34 Chrysler Pacifica 52
35 Toyota Rav4 48
36 Jeep Liberty 47
37 Volkswagen Jetta 46
38 Hyundai Elantra 46
39 Chevrolet Silverado 46
40 Dodge Caravan 45
41 Chrysler 300 43
42 Chrysler 200 43
43 Chevrolet Cobalt 43
44 Toyota Corolla 42
45 Subaru Outback 42
46 Nissan Rogue 42
47 Ford Mustang 41
48 Chevrolet Blazer 40
49 Plymouth Voyager 39
50 Nissan Pathfinder 39

Nearest ODI volume peers

Closest owner-attributed complaint totals to Delaware's 7,850 filings (LIGHT band) - NHTSA ODI volume stamps, not an alphabetical state strip.

Idaho

7,511 · LIGHT · Δ339

Nebraska

8,698 · LIGHT · Δ848

Rhode Island

6,911 · LIGHT · Δ939

District of Columbia

6,811 · LIGHT · Δ1,039
Compare Ford Explorer vs Jeep Grand Cherokee →

Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, with fatality-linked filings cross-checked against NHTSA FARS and crash-test ratings drawn from NHTSA NCAP. State is self-reported by the vehicle owner. Delaware totals: 3,626 filings across 50 models (LIGHT/FLAG; vintage August 2026).

How Delaware compares to the national picture

Delaware sits #41 of 51 jurisdictions (LIGHT; thinner third of the book). Absolute counts are small enough that one popular nameplate moves the ranking - open the model pages linked above rather than reading the state headline alone. Inside this extract the Ford Explorer leads Delaware volume; check whether that nameplate's local share exceeds its national share before calling a regional pattern.

A note on self-reported state data

The state field on each NHTSA complaint is supplied by the consumer at filing; there is no mandatory check that the owner filed from their registration state, nor that the incident occurred in Delaware. A a Delaware resident reporting a purchase made elsewhere still tags here. NHTSA does not deduplicate by VIN across years. Treat Delaware's LIGHT ranking as directional and open the model pages linked above.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.