Do car door repair problems track days with snowfall across states?
Across U.S. states, NHTSA owner complaints about car door repair run higher where days with snowfall are higher, after adjusting for the makes sold in each state. This is an association across states, not proof that days with snowfall causes this repair.
State reports of this repair against days with snowfall, one dot per stateEach dot is a state: how much more (or less) than expected this repair is reported there, adjusted for the makes sold in the state, against its days with snowfall
How to read it: Each dot is a state. Further right means more days with snowfall; higher up means more complaints for this repair than expected (1.0 is average). If the dots climb to the right, reports of this repair rise with days with snowfall.
What it shows: States with more days with snowfall tend to sit higher on the chart across 40 states: a pattern in the data, not proof of cause.
Data: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, joined to NHTSA owner complaints, downloaded 2026-10-06 · 40 states. Chart: CalcScrape · calcscrape.com
The 10 states with the most days with snowfall (New York, Michigan, Maine, Alaska, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado, Minnesota, Idaho): reports of this repair run 27% above what the makes sold there would predict, and 9 of 10 are above expected. The 10 with the least (California, Louisiana, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas): 15% below, and 2 of 10 are above expected.
Exceptions: Colorado is among the highest in days with snowfall but reports below expected.
Split the states into thirds: the third with the least days with snowfall runs 12% below what the makes sold there would predict, the middle third 19% above, and the third with the most 26% above. Most of the days with snowfall effect sits between the lowest and the middle third.
For days with snowfall, after allowing for the 1562 comparisons we ran, luck alone would produce a pattern this strong about 1 time in 10,000 or more. Take out any single state and the days with snowfall pattern still holds.
Weak spot: compare only states with similar very hot days and the pattern keeps about 10% of its strength, so part of it may come from very hot days instead of days with snowfall.
Road salt and slush corrode exposed metal and seize moving parts, and freezing weather stiffens rubber, so repairs to exposed parts can follow harsh winters.