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Sports car — what actually breaks

2015–2025 · 61 models · 17 engines · 5,107 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 sports cars in the database, with the all-vehicle average below it for comparison.

This segment
All vehicles
Transmission & drivetrainEngineBrakesElectricalSteeringBody & structureFuel systemEverything else

Engine complaints run well below their all-vehicle share (0.6×).

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.

Fire1.8%
Crash5.6%
Injury3.0%

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.

Ford Mustang — 2.3L I4861 complaintsEngine 15% · Electrical 14%
Ford Mustang — Electric 266hp617 complaintsElectrical 27% · Transmission & drivetrain 9%
Ford Mustang — TIVCT · 5.0L V8554 complaintsElectrical 14% · Transmission & drivetrain 11%
Chevrolet Corvette — LT1 · 6.2L V8440 complaintsTransmission & drivetrain 8% · Fuel system 5%
Ford Mustang — 3.7L V6219 complaintsElectrical 11% · Body & structure 10%
Chevrolet Camaro — LT1 · 6.2L V8216 complaintsTransmission & drivetrain 22% · Steering 15%
Dodge Challenger — 3.6L V6212 complaintsElectrical 18% · Transmission & drivetrain 10%
Chevrolet Camaro — LGX · 3.6L V6178 complaintsTransmission & drivetrain 22% · Electrical 14%

Severity outliers in this segment

Engines whose Crash 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.

  • Porsche 911 — Wheels › Lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs (stop driving, 2021–2024) 24V809000
  • Ford Mustang — Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Pedals And Linkages (stop driving, 2024–2024) 23V800000
  • BMW Z4 — Electrical System › Starter Assembly › Relay (park outside, 2019–2022) 25V636000
  • Kia Stinger — Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip › Control Unit/Module (park outside, 2018–2021) 20V518000

All the sports cars we cover

Method and limits
  • Complaints: NHTSA public complaint database, model years 2015–2025, each decoded to its exact engine through the partial VIN it carries.
  • Do not compare complaint totals between engines or models — totals track sales. Only within-group shares (component mix, severity rates) are comparable, because volume cancels out.
  • Claims on this page only appear when they clear preset thresholds (deviation ≥1.25×, samples ≥500 mentions or ≥80 complaints). Absence of a claim means the data didn't support one, not that we didn't look.