Do drivetrain problems track FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents across states?
Across U.S. states, NHTSA owner complaints about drivetrain problems run higher where FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents is higher, after adjusting for the makes sold in each state. This is an association across states, not proof that FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents causes this repair. Too few complaints name this repair alone, so the FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents pattern is measured across all 30,824 complaints about the drivetrain, which this repair belongs to.
State reports of drivetrain problems against FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents, 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 FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents (2024)
How to read it: Each dot is a state. Further right means more ftc auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents (2024); 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 ftc auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents (2024).
What it shows: States with more ftc auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents (2024) tend to sit higher on the chart across 50 states: a pattern in the data, not proof of cause.
Data: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024, joined to NHTSA owner complaints, downloaded 2026-10-06 · 50 states. Chart: CalcScrape · calcscrape.com
The 10 states with the most FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents (Nevada, Florida, Georgia, Delaware, Maryland, Arizona, Missouri, Connecticut, South Carolina, Illinois): reports of drivetrain problems run 2% above what the makes sold there would predict, and 8 of 10 are above expected. The 10 with the least (North Dakota, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Hawaii, Montana, Minnesota, Idaho, Alaska, Maine): 3% below, and 4 of 10 are above expected.
Exceptions: Florida and Arizona are among the highest in FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents but report below expected.
Split the states into thirds: the third with the least FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents runs 3% below what the makes sold there would predict, the middle third 1% above, and the third with the most 2% above. Most of the FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents effect sits between the lowest and the middle third.
For FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents, after allowing for the 1562 comparisons we ran, luck alone would produce a pattern this strong about 1 time in 23. Take out any single state and the FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents pattern still holds.
For FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents, of the 5 exception states, 2 read the same way for the other parts of the drivetrain (so that is the system there, not this repair) and 3 are specific to this repair.
States where more residents report auto-repair, dealer and warranty problems to the FTC may be states where repair disputes and unexpected bills are more common.