Do car shaking repair problems track FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents across states?
Across U.S. states, NHTSA owner complaints about car shaking repair 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.
State reports of this repair 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 this repair run 2% above what the makes sold there would predict, and 5 of 10 are above expected. The 10 with the least (North Dakota, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Hawaii, Montana, Minnesota, Idaho, Alaska, Maine): 11% below, and 2 of 10 are above expected.
Exceptions: Delaware, Maryland and Missouri 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 10% below what the makes sold there would predict, the middle third 1% below, and the third with the most 5% above. It steps up steadily.
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 33. Take out any single state and the FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents pattern still holds.
Weak spot: compare only states with similar registered cars and trucks per resident and the pattern keeps about 61% of its strength, so part of it may come from registered cars and trucks per resident instead of FTC auto-related fraud and consumer reports per 100,000 residents.
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.