PlainCars

State profile

North Dakota vehicle complaints

1,593 NHTSA complaints filed by North Dakota drivers across 50 vehicle models, the models your neighbors flag most.

Complaints
1,593
Crashes
61
Models
50

Volume is not severity

According to NHTSA ODI filings attributed to North Dakota drivers, the Ford F-150 leads both complaint volume and crash-linked reports at 140 complaints and 8 crash reports (#1 each), but the Chevrolet Silverado leads reported fatalities at 2 (#1).

140
Ford F-150 complaints #1
8
Ford F-150 crashes #1
2
Chevrolet Silverado 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 THIN Crash-flag QUIET (3.8%)

Crash-flagged vs other filings

North Dakota filings in this extract are quieter on crash flags (3.8% · QUIET) versus other ODI rows; volume still sits in the thin tercile.

North Dakota vs all jurisdictions by NHTSA complaint volume

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

2,845 50th of 51 higher than 1 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

North Dakota has more filings than 1 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 North Dakota drivers. See our methodology.

North Dakota ODI volume reading

The standout signal in North Dakota is filing volume: 2,845 owner-attributed NHTSA ODI complaints (#50 of 51, thin-book tercile). Crash-flag share sits at 3.8% (QUIET).

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 F-150 leads North Dakota with 140 filings (8 crash-flagged).

Severe outcomes reported in North Dakota

61
Crash reports
64
Fire incidents
5
Reported fatalities
Most complained make in North Dakota
Ford (535 complaints)

Most-complained vehicles in North Dakota

Ranked by NHTSA complaints filed by in-state owners

complaints

What this shows The Ford F-150 draws the most NHTSA complaints from North Dakota 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 North Dakota

# Vehicle Complaints
1 Ford F-150 140
2 Ford Explorer 65
3 Jeep Grand Cherokee 57
4 RAM 1500 54
5 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 53
6 Ford Escape 50
7 Ford Taurus 48
8 Ford Focus 46
9 Dodge Durango 45
10 Dodge Grand Caravan 44
11 Ford Edge 43
12 Jeep Wrangler 41
13 Chrysler Town AND Country 41
14 Ford Fusion 39
15 Chevrolet Impala 39
16 Chevrolet Malibu 38
17 Jeep Cherokee 37
18 Chevrolet Equinox 36
19 Honda CR-V 33
20 Ford Windstar 33
21 Ford F-350 28
22 Chevrolet Suburban 28
23 RAM 2500 26
24 Dodge Journey 26
25 Pontiac Grand Prix 25
26 Chevrolet Trailblazer 25
27 Dodge RAM 1500 24
28 Honda Pilot 23
29 GMC Acadia 23
30 Ford Expedition 22
31 Chevrolet Tahoe 22
32 Ford F-250 21
33 Dodge RAM 2500 21
34 Chevrolet Traverse 21
35 Chevrolet Silverado 21
36 Subaru Outback 20
37 Honda Accord 20
38 GMC Sierra 1500 20
39 KIA Sorento 19
40 Chevrolet Blazer 18
41 Hyundai Sonata 17
42 Dodge Dakota 17
43 Dodge Avenger 17
44 Chevrolet S10 17
45 Mercury Sable 16
46 Chevrolet Cobalt 16
47 Tesla Model Y 15
48 Pontiac Grand AM 15
49 KIA Sportage 14
50 GMC Jimmy 14

Nearest ODI volume peers

Closest owner-attributed complaint totals to North Dakota's 2,845 filings (THIN band) - NHTSA ODI volume stamps, not an alphabetical state strip.

Wyoming

2,638 · THIN · Δ207

South Dakota

3,445 · THIN · Δ600

Alaska

4,406 · THIN · Δ1,561

Montana

5,088 · LIGHT · Δ2,243
Compare Ford F-150 vs Ford Explorer →

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. North Dakota totals: 1,593 filings across 50 models (THIN/QUIET; vintage August 2026).

How North Dakota compares to the national picture

North Dakota sits #50 of 51 jurisdictions (THIN; 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 F-150 leads North Dakota 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. North Dakota's quieter crash-flag standing (3.8%) does not prove safer roads - it can reflect filing habits as much as outcomes. NHTSA does not deduplicate by VIN across years. Treat North Dakota's THIN ranking as directional.

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