What Breaks — Vehicle Weakness Checker

About

What Breaks shows you what's wrong with a car before you buy it.

Browse any listing on autotrader.com and instantly see:

🔧 ENGINE WEAKNESSES
  Known problems for the exact engine in the car you're looking at — with repair costs, typical mileage when issues appear, and replacement part search links.

⚠️ VEHICLE WEAKNESSES
  Model-specific issues like recalls, transmission problems, rust, electrical gremlins — sourced from NHTSA complaints, class action lawsuits, and owner forums.

⭐ ENGINE RATING
  Each engine rated as "Good Choice", "Caution", or "Avoid" based on documented reliability data across thousands of owner reports.

🎯 FUN FACTOR
  Honest enthusiast-level assessment of every engine variant — written like a mechanic who's known the car for years, not a press release.

📊 NHTSA COMPLAINT DATA 
Real complaint statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, broken down by category.

🔄 ALTERNATIVES
 See better engine options for the same model, similar cars from the same brand, and competitors in the same segment.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Browse a vehicle listing on autotrader.com
2. What Breaks automatically identifies the car (make, model, year, engine)
3. Reliability data appears directly on the listing page
4. No extra tabs, no searching — the data comes to you

COVERAGE
1,160+ vehicle models across 41 brands — from everyday commuters to exotic sports cars. 20,000+ documented weaknesses with verified sources.

FREE TO USE
The overlay with engine ratings, weaknesses, and alternatives is completely free. Optional paid Vehicle Check reports available for deeper analysis.

DATA SOURCES
All weakness data is researched from real sources: NHTSA complaint databases, manufacturer recalls and TSBs, class action lawsuit documentation, and verified owner forum threads from model-specific communities.

No fake reviews. No dealer partnerships. No sponsored ratings. Just the facts about what breaks.

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