Which model years to avoid,
straight from the federal complaint file
LemonBench ranks every year of a car against its own siblings using 495,553 owner complaints, 1,771 recall campaigns, and the mileage where trouble starts. No opinions, no sponsored picks — the public record, organized.
Data updated 2026-08-12 from NHTSA public records
1 · Read the strip
Every model page opens with the trouble strip — one cell per year, brighter amber means more trouble. The whole answer in one glance.
2 · Open the bad years
Each year page shows what actually fails, the mileage where owners report it, and every recall and investigation on file.
3 · Check the exact car
Take the VIN of the car you're considering and run it through NHTSA's free recall lookup before you buy.