The Lemon IndexYou can copy, share, chart, remix and even use it commercially. Just credit The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com)
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How to credit us
In an article or post
Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com), based on NHTSA owner complaints.As a link (HTML)
<a href="https://lemonindex.com/">The Lemon Index</a>In a video
Data: lemonindex.comDownload
Updated 2026-11-06. Line 1 of each file is the credit line, starting with #. In a spreadsheet just delete that row; in code, skip comment lines (pandas: comment='#').
What's in the files
Lemon Index by model year
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
family_id | Our id for the model (same as the page URL) |
model | Make and model |
model_year | Model year |
lemon_index | Owner complaints per car sold, scaled so 100 = the average car. Lower is better. |
nhtsa_complaints | Owner complaints filed with NHTSA that the score counts |
top_problem_1..3 | The three parts owners complained about most, with how many complaints each |
early_read | "yes" for 2023-2025: complaints filed so far, against other cars of the same model year. Can still change. |
Transmission complaints by model year
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
transmission_complaints | Complaints that describe a transmission problem (matched on the complaint text) |
all_complaints | All complaints for that model year |
transmission_complaints_per_100k_sold | Transmission complaints per 100,000 cars sold |
Where the numbers come from
Owner complaints come from NHTSA, the U.S. government's vehicle safety agency, which publishes them for free. The score and the transmission matching are ours. See exactly how the index works.
Not included: car prices, sales figures and complaint text (other sources own those). Please don't present the data as an official rating, and don't suggest we endorse you. Using it somewhere big, or want a custom cut? Tell us. We'd love to see it.