The Lemon Index
Car data, not opinions
Which cars break? 1.6 million owner complaints, ranked.
We read every safety complaint American drivers filed with the government since 1995, then divided by how many of each car were sold. The result is one number per car.
The most reliable cars
Lowest Lemon Index, model years 2010-2022. Lower is better.
The biggest lemons
Highest Lemon Index. * Tesla uses published sales estimates.
Every brand, best to worst
* Porsche is a small sample. Tesla uses estimated U.S. sales.
Questions
What is the Lemon Index?
A car's safety complaints filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) per 100,000 cars sold, compared with the average car from the same model years. 100 is average, 50 means half as many complaints, 300 means three times as many.
What is the most reliable car by owner complaints?
The Toyota 4Runner, with a Lemon Index of 27: about a quarter of the complaints of the average car, across 1.27 million sold (model years 2010-2022).
Which car brand has the fewest complaints?
Lexus, at 30, followed by Porsche (34, small sample), Toyota (50), BMW (52) and Mercedes-Benz (54).
Why does Tesla score so badly?
Most Model 3 and Model Y complaints are about forward collision avoidance (phantom braking). Tesla doesn't publish U.S. sales by model, so its index uses published estimates.
Is this the same as a repair-cost ranking?
No. It counts safety complaints filed with the government within 3 years of each model year. It is not a record of repair bills or out-of-warranty costs.