Every complaint in NHTSA's database carries the date it was filed. Aggregating 93,153 filings for the tracked model-years by calendar year shows how reporting builds and fades: filings peak in 2025 at 10,578, reflecting the tracked range's mix of model years 2013–2023 — owners file most in a vehicle's middle age, when it is old enough to develop faults but still widely owned, and filings about a model surge further when a recall or investigation makes the news.
| Filing year | Complaints filed |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 1,118 |
| 2014 | 1,791 |
| 2015 | 2,728 |
| 2016 | 3,172 |
| 2017 | 4,554 |
| 2018 | 6,119 |
| 2019 | 10,025 |
| 2020 | 8,446 |
| 2021 | 7,627 |
| 2022 | 8,991 |
| 2023 | 9,946 |
| 2024 | 10,196 |
| 2025 | 10,578 |
| 2026 | 7,721 |
Filings by Vehicle Age
| Vehicle age when filed | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0 years | 7,108 |
| 1 years | 9,052 |
| 2 years | 8,952 |
| 3 years | 9,461 |
| 4 years | 10,762 |
| 5 years | 11,159 |
| 6 years | 10,134 |
| 7 years | 8,388 |
| 8 years | 6,268 |
| 9 years | 4,288 |
| 10 years | 3,041 |
The age view explains the calendar view: owners file most about vehicles between four and eight years old, when warranties lapse and wear faults appear, and filings fall away after the tenth year as the fleet thins. The recent-year tail in the calendar table is structural, not a quality verdict: the tracked range stops at model-year 2023, vehicles file fewer complaints in their first years, and the current year is incomplete. Read the table as the reporting lifecycle of the tracked fleet — and as a reminder that today's low filing counts for young model-years will grow as those vehicles age.
Used together, the two tables are a forecasting tool. A 2021 model-year that already shows heavy filings at age three is on a different trajectory from one whose age-three count is quiet, even if their lifetime totals look similar today — the age curve says the busy years are still ahead of both. When you compare two candidate vehicles on their model-year pages, compare their filing counts against this curve for their age, not against the all-time leaders: a six-year-old vehicle with filings near the age-six band of the table is ordinary, whatever its rank in the raw totals.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do owners file the most complaints?
For the tracked range, filings peaked in 2025 with 10,578 complaints — the middle-age years of the fleet.
Why do recent years show fewer filings?
The tracked model-years end at 2023, young vehicles file less, and the current calendar year is still accumulating filings.
Does a filing spike mean a new defect?
Sometimes — spikes often follow recalls or news coverage. NHTSA analysts watch for exactly these patterns when opening investigations.