Do driveshaft replacement problems track days at or below 32°F across states?

Across U.S. states, NHTSA owner complaints about driveshaft replacement run higher where freezing days are higher, after adjusting for the makes sold in each state. This is an association across states, not proof that freezing days causes this repair.

How to read it: Each dot is a state. Further right means more days at or below 32°f; 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 at or below 32°f.

What it shows: States with more days at or below 32°f tend to sit higher on the chart across 24 states: a pattern in the data, not proof of cause.

• The 8 states with the most freezing days (Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Kansas): reports of this repair run 34% above what the makes sold there would predict, and 6 of 8 are above expected. The 8 with the least (Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Arizona, North Carolina, Oklahoma): 4% below, and 4 of 8 are above expected.
• Exceptions: Minnesota and Michigan are among the highest in freezing days but report below expected; Oklahoma (35% above expected) is among the lowest but above expected.
• Split the states into thirds: the third with the least freezing days runs 4% below what the makes sold there would predict, the middle third 12% above, and the third with the most 34% above. It steps up steadily.
• For freezing days, after allowing for the 1562 comparisons we ran, luck alone would produce a pattern this strong about 1 time in 6. Take out any single state and the freezing days pattern still holds.
• Weak spot: compare only states with similar days per year that cross freezing, median station and the pattern keeps about 0% of its strength, so part of it may come from days per year that cross freezing, median station instead of freezing days.
• For freezing days, of the 3 exception states, 1 read the same way for the other parts of the system (so that is the system there, not this repair) and 2 are specific to this repair.

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.

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, joined to NHTSA owner complaints · file downloaded 2026-10-06