Vehicle report
1988 DODGE DIPLOMAT
This model year
What the record shows
The 1988 Dodge Diplomat is a midsize car, and the 11th model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 1978 to 1989.
The EPA rated three configurations: a single 5.2-litre eight-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive only, a single transmission, Automatic 3-spd and running on premium gasoline.
Combined fuel economy ranges from 12 to 18 mpg depending on which one you have.
The federal record holds 1 owner complaint 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.