Compact car — what actually breaks

2015–2025 · 113 models · 86 engines · 32,018 federal complaints

Every figure below is computed from federal complaint records decoded to the exact engine, aggregated across the whole segment. Where this segment differs from the all-vehicle average, it says so — where it doesn't, no claim is made.

What complaints in this segment are about

Share of component mentions across all compact cars in the database, with the all-vehicle average below it for comparison.

How often those complaints involve a fire, crash or injury

Share of this segment's complaints. The vertical mark is the all-vehicle average — these shares can be compared because sales volume cancels out of a within-group ratio.

all vehicles — Fire 1.1% · Crash 4.4% · Injury 2.6%

The engines with the biggest complaint records

Largest complaint samples in the segment — not a worst-list: complaint totals track sales volume, not failure rate. Each links to the full engine-level breakdown.

Engines that break differently from their class

Across this segment, complaints lead with Engine. These engines don't follow that pattern — their complaint mix points somewhere else, which is worth knowing before buying one.

Severity outliers in this segment

Engines whose Crash / Fire / Injury share sits at least twice the all-vehicle average, by the conservative bound of a 95% confidence interval. A share of complaints, not of cars on the road.

The recalls that matter in this segment

Recalls where NHTSA told owners to stop driving or park outside. Model-level, manufacturer-confirmed. Recall repairs are always free, whatever the car's age.

All the compact cars we cover