Model-year matrix

Plymouth Colt
which year?

Compare every Plymouth Colt model year the EPA recorded, 1984 to 1994. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Plymouth Colt year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Plymouth Colt?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Plymouth Colt years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect1993

71 indexed complaint reports; seat belts is the most-reported component label.

Open the 1993 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect1988

14 indexed complaint reports; seat belts is the most-reported component label.

Open the 1988 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect1992

13 indexed complaint reports; seat belts is the most-reported component label.

Open the 1992 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Plymouth Colt model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

1993 Plymouth Colt

NHTSA complaint allegations: 71
Combined EPA economy: 19–31 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 12
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,000–3,250
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsseat belts 64power train 5electrical system 3

Open the 1993 evidence dossier →

Second model year

1994 Plymouth Colt

NHTSA complaint allegations: 0
Combined EPA economy: 18–31 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 10
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,000–3,400
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed

Open the 1994 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

1994 has 71 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 1993.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Plymouth Colt by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Plymouth Colt model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
1994	0	—	18–31	10	$2,000–3,400	Dossier →
1993	71	seat belts 64power train 5electrical system 3	19–31	12	$2,000–3,250	Dossier →
1992	13	seat belts 11electrical system 1exterior lighting 1	19–29	11	$2,100–3,250	Dossier →
1991	7	seat belts 6power train 1tires 1	19–29	6	$2,100–3,250	Dossier →
1990	9	seat belts 8electrical system 2	19–29	11	$2,100–3,250	Dossier →
1989	11	seat belts 7engine and engine cooling 4exterior lighting 1	19–30	10	$2,050–3,300	Dossier →
1988	14	seat belts 12electrical system 1equipment 1	21–31	10	$2,000–2,950	Dossier →
1987	6	seat belts 5service brakes, hydraulic 1	19–31	11	$2,000–3,450	Dossier →
1986	7	seat belts 7fuel system, gasoline 1power train 1	19–33	8	$1,850–3,450	Dossier →
1985	0	—	19–33	12	$1,850–3,450	Dossier →
1984	0	—	22–34	14	$1,800–2,800	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.