The Cars That Make Americans the Angriest

Some people spend very little time in their car, only getting behind the wheel for the most necessary of travel.

Other people basically live in their cars driving for hours on end. From work to cross-country travel, cars can be an important part of life, and it’s frustrating when they’re not reliable or safe.

At the Lemon Law Experts, we work closely with consumers who are angered by cars that require them to repeatedly visit an authorized manufacturer dealership for repairs.

While we specialize in advocating for those who own or lease a lemon, a car with manufacturing issues affecting its safety, use or value, we know that there can be many reasons for drivers to get angry at their vehicle.

That’s why we set out to learn more about the cars that make Americans the angriest. So we analyzed more than 24,000 reviews of 87 popular cars and trucks, collected over 25 years by the website Consumer Affairs.

Using this information, we ranked the makes and models that irritate drivers across the country the most, the brands that invoke the most anger, and which states are most commonly impacted by hatred for their cars. Read on to learn more about what we discovered.

Key Takeaways

• The Kia Sedona, Mazda3, and Nissan Armada are the cars that make Americans the angriest.
• Mazda, Volkswagen, and Cadillac car brands make Americans the angriest.
• Virginia, Alabama, and Kansas residents are the most irritated by their cars in the U.S.

The Cars and Brands Americans Are Most Angered by in 2024

Topping the list for the cars that anger Americans the most with an anger rating of 99.30 out of 100 is a minivan that stopped being made in 2022, the Kia Sedona.

Replaced by the Kia Carnival, the Sedona was discontinued by Kia after U.S. sales fell by 70% from 2016 to 2020.

Next up with an anger rating of 87.89 out of 100 is the Mazda3. Overall, we found the most common keyword associated with angry reviews for the car was “air bags.”

In July 2021, Mazda recalled more than 260,000 Mazda3s made between 2004 to 2007 due to concerns regarding the emblem on the steering wheel shattering, sending harmful fragments toward the driver if the airbag was deployed.

In third place, we have another car that consumers have raised concerns about in their reviews, specifically regarding the airbags.

The Nissan Armada earned an anger rating of 87.70 out of 100. In 2020, the Armada was among five vehicles recalled due to airbag concerns.

Additionally, the 2019 Nissan Armada is known for service brake, structure, battery, and electrical system issues, which can make the car unreliable and unsafe to drive.

Though new car prices are down since 2022, the average new car sells for $47,936, which can be out of the question for some car owners. So before giving up on your troubled car, be sure to check the Lemon Laws in your state to determine if you can get your money back to go toward a new vehicle.

After diving into specific cars and trucks causing Americans frustration, we turned our attention to car brands as a whole. Mazda topped the list for car brands with an anger rating of 87.89 out of 100. Over the years, there have been many customer complaints and lawsuits filed against Mazda due to their vehicles exhibiting repeat problems and defects.

Next up in second place is Volkswagen with a rating of 77.70 out of 100. With many cars being repurchased by Volkswagen and recalls on hundreds of thousands of cars, it’s not hard to understand why so many people have expressed their irritation in reviews for the cars.

Coming in third with an anger rating of 77.17 out of 100 is Cadillac. Similar to the other brands, Cadillac has issued many recalls for various aspects of their cars, including the Takata airbag inflators, which is the largest recall ever including about 37 million vehicles.

While Lemon Laws vary from one state to another, it is important to understand what a lemon is. The term is typically used when a car has a defect or malfunction that substantially impairs its safety, use or value.

Be mindful that this definition can vary from state to state. Some examples of these types of malfunctions can include non-working or faulty brakes, engines, transmission, or lights, according to Progressive.

So if you find yourself visiting the dealership often for repeat repairs, it may be time to determine if your car is considered a lemon. At the Lemon Law Experts, we want to help you find solutions to ensure you are happy with your car.

Get started today by checking out our lemon quiz to determine if you could be eligible for compensation.

Where U.S. Residents Are Most Irritated by Their Cars

While these cars are driven all across the country, some regions experience more anger than others. We found that Virginia is the home to Americans who are most angered by their vehicles.

Earning a rating of 93.11 out of 100, residents of the southern state have expressed the most frustration regarding their vehicles.

In second place with an anger rating of 88.15 out of 100 is Alabama, followed by Kansas in third. Like state lemon laws, experiences with cars can vary.

Sometimes problems are the result of manufacturing issues, other times, they could be the result of outside factors, like weather. Everything from snow and cold to rain and heat can impact your car.

Perhaps this is a factor in Americans living in Southern states claiming the top spots in our anger rating. Afterall, hot summers like those experienced in the South can cause more wear and tear on your A/C system as you try to stay cool.

They can also result in faded paint and oxidation or even impacts to your tire pressure as extreme heat can cause overinflation and, as a result, uneven tire wear.

Similar to the levels of anger experienced by Americans, lemon laws vary from state-to-state. So be sure to do your research to learn more about the laws in your state.

If you find that your car qualifies as a lemon, the team at the Lemon Law Experts are on standby to ensure you get the justice and compensation you deserve.

If You Have a Lemon, We Can Help

Sometimes hatred for a car simply stems from the appearance or features, or lack thereof. Maybe a newer model or upgraded features would change a car owner’s opinion, but other times manufacturing issues are the root of the hatred.

At the Lemon Law Experts, we specialize in advocating for consumers who find themselves returning to an authorized manufacturer dealership for repairs to regularly fix their cars.

Driving a car that is a “lemon” can be frustrating, but it can also be dangerous. So rather than continuing to pour money into a lost cause, let our team of lemon law experts help you find an economic and expeditious solution.

Methodology

In June 2024, we analyzed more than 24,000 reviews of 87 popular cars and trucks, collected over 25 years by the website Consumer Affairs. Consumer Affairs is a well-known organization where consumers voice their frustration about products they purchase.

Our analysis sought to determine which popular cars and trucks make Americans the angriest. Reviews on Consumer Affairs are grouped by make and model independent of year, so for example, consumers can post reviews about “Honda Accords.”

For each make and model, we collected all reviews and then used a pre-trained BERT-based machine learning tool from Hugging Face to measure the language sentiment of each review.

In particular, the tool can assess anger levels in language, so we assigned each review an anger rating and averaged the anger ratings across all reviews for that make and model.

Our reporting on states where Americans are the angriest with their cars accounts for average anger ratings of all reviews for all makes and models, submitted by residents of a designated state.

Where sample sizes were sufficient, we were also able to report on the specific makes of cars that made residents of different states most angry.