California's Most Complained-About Cars of 2026

Which cars do California drivers complain about most? We analyzed 19,632 NHTSA safety complaints from California owners of 2019 and newer vehicles and compared electric vehicles with everything else using California DMV registration data.

Data report by America's Lemon Lawyer · Published October 19, 2026 · Data through early October 2026

The 25 Most Complained-About Models in California

Raw count of NHTSA complaints from California drivers about 2019 and newer models. More popular models usually draw more complaints simply because more of them are on the road, so this is a ranking of volume, not a reliability score.

Electric Vehicles vs Everything Else

To compare fairly, we divided complaints by the number of 2019 and newer light-duty vehicles registered in California as of January 1, 2026 (California DMV). Electric vehicles drew more than twice as many complaints per vehicle. Many EV complaints involve software, driver-assist, battery and charging systems, which can be harder for dealers and service centers to diagnose and fix.

Most Complained-About EVs

What California Drivers Complain About Most

One complaint can name more than one problem area.

Which Model Leads Each Problem

Most Complained-About Models by Region

Complaints from drivers in and around the cities we cover in each area.

What This Means If Your Car Keeps Breaking

A complaint to NHTSA does not by itself create a lemon law claim, and a model's place on these lists does not mean every one is defective. Under California's lemon law, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, what matters is your own vehicle: a warranty defect that substantially impairs its use, value or safety and that the manufacturer or its dealers could not fix after a reasonable number of attempts (Civil Code 1793.2(d)(2)). If that happened, the manufacturer must replace or buy back the vehicle, and it pays your attorney fees when you win (Civil Code 1794(d)).

If your car has been in the shop two or more times for the same problem, file your own complaint at NHTSA.gov, check for open recalls at NHTSA's recall lookup, keep every repair order, and get a free case review.

Methodology

• Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint files (complaints received January 1, 2021 through early October 2026), filtered to complaints where the owner listed California, for model years 2019 to 2027. Each complaint is counted once per vehicle model, even if it names several components. Complaints are owner reports and are not verified by NHTSA.
• Registrations: California DMV "Vehicle Fuel Type Count by Zip Code," snapshot dated January 1, 2026, light-duty vehicles, model years 2019 to 2026. We use it only for fuel-type comparisons, because the DMV file groups many makes under "other," which makes brand-level rates unreliable.
• EV and hybrid groups are identified by make and model name (for example, Tesla, Rivian, Ioniq 5, Mustang Mach-E; hybrid and plug-in hybrid trims). Small classification differences can shift totals slightly.
• Not adjusted for sales or miles except where a per-10,000 rate is shown. Complaint counts are not a measure of reliability by themselves.
• Reuse: Journalists and researchers may cite these figures with credit to America's Lemon Lawyer (Wynn Law Group, APC) and a link to this page. Download the data as CSV below. Media questions: call 877-536-6620.

Download the data (CSV)

Attorney advertising. Wynn Law Group, APC, 10850 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1010, Los Angeles, CA 90024. General information, not legal advice.