Vehicle report
1989 DODGE COLT
This model year
What the record shows
The 1989 Dodge Colt is a subcompact car, and the 13th model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 1977 to 1996.
The EPA rated four configurations: engines from 1.5-litre four-cylinder to 1.6-litre four-cylinder, front-wheel drive only, three transmissions and running on premium gasoline and regular gasoline.
Combined fuel economy ranges from 23 to 30 mpg depending on which one you have.
The federal record holds 33 owner complaints and 4 service bulletins for it.
Counts are reports, not rates. A complaint is something an owner chose to file; it is unverified and unadjusted for how many of these cars were sold, so the useful comparison is against other model years of the same car. Recalls and investigations carry more weight because a manufacturer or regulator acted on them.
Reading this report
Complaint counts are reports filed with NHTSA, not failure rates. A common model collects more of them than a rare one that breaks more often.