The Weekly Driver’s free reliability database gives 1,479 vehicle generations across 52 brands a Reliability score from 1.0 to 10.0. The scores come from 1,203,787 safety complaints owners filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the production counts carmakers report to it, and 7.0 is the average for a vehicle’s class. The tool is open to anyone shopping for a used car, with no subscription, account or manufacturer sponsorship.
I score each generation against similar vehicles, meaning the same class at the same age in the same years, and then score every engine inside it the same way.
The 2007 through 2011 Toyota Camry scores 4.3. Its owners filed 1,623 engine, transmission and drivetrain complaints against about 2,622 for a typical midsize sedan fleet of its size and age, a count that would score 8.1. The score is lower because 598 complaints describe oil consumption, fuel in the oil or overheating, against about 225 expected. By engine, the 2.4L four-cylinder scores 2.5 and the 2.5L scores 8.8.
Key Takeaways
- 1,479 vehicle generations across 52 brands, scored from 1,203,787 NHTSA complaint records and federal production counts, free and open to the public
- One Reliability score per generation, from 1.0 to 10.0 with 7.0 as the class average, based on engine, transmission and drivetrain complaints per vehicle built
- Engines are scored inside each generation: in the 2010-2017 Chevrolet Equinox, the 2.4L four-cylinder scores 4.5 and the two V6s score 8.8 and 9.3
- Toyota Camry 2007-2011 scores 4.3 on 598 oil consumption and overheating complaints against about 225 expected, while its 2.5L four-cylinder scores 8.8
- Fire and fatality reports are counted on every generation page, information otherwise spread across millions of individual NHTSA records
- Four of the five generations with the most complaints on file are Fords: the Fusion, Explorer, Focus and Escape
- Comparisons stay within a class, trucks against trucks and sedans against sedans, at the same age and in the same years, and electric vehicles are scored against other electric vehicles
- 111 battery packs for EVs, plug-in hybrids and hybrids are listed with chemistry, cell supplier, capacity and warranty, and any two can be compared side by side
Engine Choice Changes the Score Within One Model
The 2010 through 2017 Chevrolet Equinox drew 2,755 powertrain complaints against about 2,703 for a typical compact SUV fleet, nearly level with its class. It scores 4.8 because 936 complaints describe oil consumption, fuel in the oil or overheating, against about 421 expected. The 2.4L four-cylinder accounts for 2,472 of the powertrain complaints and scores 4.5. The 3.0L V6 scores 8.8 on 69 complaints and the 3.6L V6 scores 9.3 on 35.
By model year, the 2007 and 2008 Camrys score 2.8 and the 2009 cars 3.8. The 2010 and 2011 cars, sold after the 2.5L replaced the 2.4L, score 8.4 and 9.3. The V6 scores 7.9 and the hybrid 5.0, so two 2009 Camrys on the same lot can carry scores of 2.5 and 7.9. The generation has 116 fire reports.
Ford built four of the five generations with the most complaints on file: the 2006 through 2012 Fusion with 15,279, the 2011 through 2019 Explorer with 12,931, the 2012 through 2018 Focus with 12,567 and the 2013 through 2019 Escape with 12,169. On the least reliable list, that Focus scores 1.9, with 2,629 complaints of a failed or replaced engine or transmission against about 300 expected for a compact sedan. The 2000 through 2003 F-150 logged 736 fire reports and scores 7.8, because the score counts engine, transmission and drivetrain complaints and its 1,421 ran below the roughly 1,995 expected for a full-size truck.
The 2009 through 2018 Ram 1500 scores 5.7 as a generation, on 3,930 powertrain complaints against about 2,465 expected. Its 3.6L V6 scores 7.6 and its 5.7L Hemi 7.1. The 3.0L EcoDiesel scores 1.6, with 1,329 powertrain complaints from an estimated 105,000 trucks built for 2014 through 2018 against 1,159 from an estimated 1.25 million Hemi trucks built for 2013 through 2018, and it carries 112 of the generation’s 171 fire reports.
| Category | Vehicle | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Most complaints on file | Ford Fusion 2006-2012 | 15,279 complaints |
| Most fire reports | Ford F-150 2000-2003 | 736 fire reports |
| Low score | Ford Focus 2012-2018 | 1.9, on 8,689 powertrain complaints against about 1,524 expected |
| High score | Toyota 4Runner 2010-2024 | 9.8, on 134 powertrain complaints against about 1,701 expected |
| Engine split | Chevrolet Equinox 2010-2017 | 2.4L four-cylinder 4.5; 3.0L V6 8.8; 3.6L V6 9.3 |
| Engine split | Ram 1500 2009-2018 | 3.0L EcoDiesel 1.6; 5.7L Hemi 7.1; 3.6L V6 7.6 |
How to Use the Database
Start with a brand or a specific model.
Say you are looking at a Camry. Navigate to the Toyota brand page, which lists every Toyota model with its complaint history. Click into the Camry and you see every generation with its score. The 2018 through 2024 generation scores 8.5 and the 2007 through 2011 generation 4.3.
Each generation page shows the score, the two complaint counts behind it, the last three years, a score for each model year and engine, fire reports, fatality records and recall history.
For browsing instead of searching, the most reliable and least reliable lists rank generations by class.
Battery Packs for EVs and Hybrids
The database also holds a battery reference for 111 EV, plug-in hybrid and hybrid packs fitted to 187 vehicles from 29 brands. Each pack page gives the chemistry, cell supplier, total and usable capacity, voltage, cooling, fast-charging rate and warranty, with the battery recalls and NHTSA investigations on record.
The 2019 through 2023 Audi e-tron page lists a 95 kWh pack of LG Chem pouch cells in NCM 622 chemistry, with 86.5 kWh usable from the 2021 model year, a 150 kW fast-charging peak and an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty that guarantees 70% of capacity.
I took the figures from manufacturer documents, EPA certification filings and NHTSA records, and a pack page says “Not published” where a maker has released no figure. Packs carry no Reliability score. An electric vehicle is scored on its own generation page, against other electric vehicles.
Compare Two Battery Packs
The compare page sets any two packs side by side across 13 rows, from capacity and chemistry to the share of capacity the warranty guarantees, and marks the rows where the two differ. With the Audi e-tron beside the 2019 through 2024 Jaguar I-PACE, seven rows differ: the Audi has 86.5 kWh usable and a 150 kW fast-charging peak, the Jaguar 84.7 kWh and 100 kW, and both carry an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty with a 70% capacity floor.
Each comparison has its own address, so it can be saved or sent to someone. The chemistry guide explains NCM, NCA, LFP and NiMH cells and how each one ages.
Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist
The database includes a free inspection checklist to carry to the dealer lot or a seller’s driveway. Enter a VIN, type a year, make and model, or browse the dropdowns. The checklist follows the order of an inspection, and you mark each item OK or Concern as you go.
A VIN is decoded through NHTSA to identify the vehicle and its engine, and the checklist adds the checks that owner complaints point to for that generation and engine. Each added check is marked Safety, Costly repair or Minor, by what the fault can do. The page lists the recall campaigns for the model year, saves your results in the browser, and prints or copies them for a mechanic.
The compare mode sets two or three vehicles side by side. Load a Camry and an Accord to see each one’s owner complaints, recall campaigns, fire reports and the five systems owners complain about most.
How the Score Works
It starts with raw NHTSA complaint data: every consumer-submitted safety filing on record with the federal government. Most include a partial Vehicle Identification Number that encodes the specific engine and drivetrain configuration.
The system decodes those VINs to identify the exact engine behind each complaint, then groups them by vehicle generation and engine option. The result is a complaint total for each engine in each generation.
Complaints are then set against the number of vehicles built, which carmakers report to NHTSA, and compared with vehicles of the same class at the same age in the same years. A midsize sedan is compared against other midsize sedans, a best-seller is measured against its own production, and an electric vehicle is compared with other electric vehicles.
The count of vehicles built is reduced each year for vehicles scrapped, using the federal scrappage schedule, and complaints are counted on vehicles up to 20 years old. Owners file more complaints as a vehicle ages, and filing as a whole ran at nearly one and a half times the 2015 rate by 2025, so each generation is compared at the same age and in the same calendar years.
A generation that drew as many engine, transmission and drivetrain complaints as its class scores 7.0. Half as many scores 8.5 and twice as many scores 5.0. Where complaints of a failed engine or transmission, or of oil consumption or overheating, run clearly higher than the overall count, the higher figure sets the score and the page says which one did.
| Score | How it reads | Generations |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 to 10.0 | Very few owner complaints against similar vehicles | 218 |
| 7.6 to 8.9 | Fewer owner complaints than similar vehicles | 386 |
| 6.4 to 7.5 | About as many owner complaints as similar vehicles | 249 |
| 4.0 to 6.3 | More owner complaints than similar vehicles | 228 |
| 1.0 to 3.9 | Many more owner complaints than similar vehicles | 99 |
Engine scores rest on the sales by engine in NHTSA’s fuel-economy files, which cover eight model years between 2008 and 2024. A complaint counts toward an engine only when its VIN names the engine, and about one complaint in nine has no VIN.
I tested the scores by working them out on data through 2018, 2020 and 2022, then again three years later. A score of 9.0 or higher moved 0.1 points in the typical case. A score below 4.0 moved 0.3 points, and the three years that followed, scored on their own, looked 1.8 points better.
The score counts complaints owners filed, which is different from the share of vehicles that fail. Owners take oil consumption, misfires and transmission shudder to the dealer far more often than to NHTSA, so a high score can sit on a documented defect, and each page lists the serious recalls and escalated investigations for its generation under the score. Fire reports and fatality counts are shown separately. The methodology page gives the tests and the limits in full.
The Bottom Line
Reliability data exists. The federal government has been collecting it for decades. The problem has always been accessibility. The TWD engine reliability database organizes 1.2 million complaints into a format that answers the question used car buyers ask: has this vehicle, with this engine, drawn more complaints than others like it?
The database is free, requires no account, and covers 1,479 generations across 52 brands. Bookmark it before your next used car search.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the TWD engine reliability database?
The TWD reliability database is a free online tool that scores 1,479 vehicle generations across 52 automotive brands using 1,203,787 federal safety complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Each generation gets a Reliability score from 1.0 to 10.0 against similar vehicles of the same age, with a score for each engine where engine sales are known.
Does the database cover EV and hybrid batteries?
Yes. The battery reference covers 111 EV, plug-in hybrid and hybrid packs fitted to 187 vehicles from 29 brands. Each pack page gives the chemistry, cell supplier, capacity, voltage, cooling, fast-charging rate and warranty, with the battery recalls and NHTSA investigations on record. Packs are not scored.
Can I compare two battery packs?
Yes. The compare page sets any two packs side by side across 13 rows and marks the rows where they differ. Set the 2019 through 2023 Audi e-tron against the 2019 through 2024 Jaguar I-PACE and seven rows differ, including usable capacity at 86.5 kWh against 84.7 kWh.
Where does the reliability data come from?
The data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: its public complaint database, its recall and investigation files, and the production counts carmakers report to it. These are complaints filed by vehicle owners directly with the federal government. The TWD database decodes VINs from those complaints to identify the specific engine in each report, then aggregates the results by vehicle generation and powertrain.
Is the TWD reliability database free to use?
Yes. The database is completely free, requires no account or login, and is accessible to anyone at theweeklydriver.com/reliability/. There are no paywalls or premium tiers.
What does the Reliability score mean?
The score runs from 1.0 to 10.0, and 7.0 is the average for a vehicle’s class. It counts the engine, transmission and drivetrain complaints owners filed with NHTSA, per vehicle built, against vehicles of the same class at the same age. A higher score means fewer complaints. Fire reports and fatality counts are shown separately.
How does the 2007-2011 Toyota Camry compare?
The 2007 through 2011 Camry scores 4.3 out of 10. Owners filed 1,623 powertrain complaints against about 2,622 for similar midsize sedans, but 598 describe oil consumption, fuel in the oil or overheating against about 225 expected, and that line sets the score. The 2.4L four-cylinder scores 2.5 and the 2.5L scores 8.8.
Can two engines in the same vehicle have different records?
Yes. In the 2009 through 2018 Ram 1500, the 3.0L EcoDiesel scores 1.6 and the 5.7L Hemi 7.1. In the 2010 through 2017 Chevrolet Equinox, the 2.4L four-cylinder scores 4.5 and the V6s 8.8 and 9.3.
How many vehicles and brands does the database cover?
The database covers 1,479 vehicle generations and 6,197 engine variants from 52 automotive brands. Coverage and scoring both start with the 2000 model year and run through current production.
Does the database include fire and death reports?
Yes. The database flags fire reports and fatality counts for each engine option. This data is included in individual NHTSA complaints but is difficult to aggregate manually. The TWD database surfaces these figures prominently because they represent safety risks beyond typical mechanical complaints.
Can I use this database to compare specific engines before buying a used car?
That is exactly what the database is built for. Search for any model, view the available generations, and compare the scores and complaint counts across engine options. The most reliable and least reliable lists rank generations by class.
How does the inspection checklist generator work?
The inspection checklist tool builds a printable checklist for most vehicles in the database. Enter a VIN to decode the vehicle and its engine, or pick a vehicle by name. The checklist adds the checks that owner complaints point to, marks each one Safety, Costly repair or Minor, and lists the recall campaigns for the model year. You can compare two or three vehicles side by side and print the results to bring to an inspection.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is the writer, photographer, and publisher behind The Weekly Driver. He cares about how cars drive and what they're like to own. He covers automobile industry news, car shows and events, and new car reviews. The reviews come from behind the wheel: day trips that favor back routes, treating a good meal as half the reason to go. He directs and produces the visual media, matching each car to a setting and mood that fit it. When he's not reviewing new cars, Michael races paddleboards, camels, and ostriches, along with the occasional exotic car on the racetrack, and has driven in every state and country visited.
https://theweeklydriver.com