Rolls-Royce owners have filed 13 complaints with NHTSA across 6 models. On average the car was 8.00 years old when the problem happened, and 12.5% of reports fall inside the first three years — while the factory warranty was still running.
What breaks on Rolls-Royce
The systems Rolls-Royce owners report most, and how often each failure ended in a crash.
| System | Complaints | Share of Rolls-Royce | Ended in a crash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | 23.1% | 0% | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 23.1% | 0% | |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 7.7% | 0% | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 7.7% | 0% | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 7.7% | 0% | |
| Visibility | 7.7% | 0% | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 7.7% | 0% | |
| Tires | 7.7% | 0% |
When Rolls-Royce problems show up
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Average age at failure | 8.00 years | How old the car was when the problem happened |
| Reported inside 3 years | 12.5% | Share of complaints filed while the factory warranty was likely still running |
| Complaints describing a crash | 0 | Of 13 total |
| Complaints describing a fire | 0 | Of 13 total |
A low average age does not automatically mean a fragile car: a brand with a young fleet on the road will always skew early. Read it next to the share reported inside three years.
Which Rolls-Royce models draw the most complaints
Volume follows sales, so a bestseller will always top this list. The columns worth reading are age at failure and how many reports ended in a crash.
| Model | Complaints | Share of Rolls-Royce | Avg age at failure | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SILVER SPUR | 46.2% | 13.0 yrs | — | |
| PHANTOM | 15.4% | 7.0 yrs | — | |
| WRAITH | 15.4% | 4.0 yrs | — | |
| GHOST | 7.7% | 7.0 yrs | — | |
| SILVER SERAPH | 7.7% | 3.0 yrs | — | |
| SILVER SPIRIT | 7.7% | — yrs | — |
Rolls-Royce complaints by model year
A bad generation shows up here as a block of years, not as a single spike. Recent years look quiet simply because those cars are young and still under warranty.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | — | — | |
| 2014 | — | — | |
| 2011 | — | — | |
| 2009 | — | — | |
| 1999 | — | — | |
| 1998 | — | — |
What Rolls-Royce owners report
Grouped by the system owners named. Open any row for the full reports, in their own words — one per model so the same fault does not repeat.
Unknown Or Other 3 Read
2014 I purchased the vehicle from paul miller rolls royce in new jersey. 2016 the right passenger window fractured on its own. Not caused by impact. Paul miller replaced window under warranty. 2017 the right passenger window fractured again on its own. Not caused by impact. Paul miller replaced the window under warranty. 2019 I moved to miami beach, fl with the vehicle. 2021 the right passenger window fractured again on its own. Not caused by impact. I brought the car to braman miami rolls royce. They declined to replace the window under warranty. Ricky wildner from braman stated that the local rolls royce representative offered a discounted price of $5500 to replace the window. He further stated that the fracture may have been caused by storage in florida heat. Matthew boyer from braman stated that he formerly worked for roll royce motor car and this problem has never occured in this model. Replacing the window without addressing the cause of the problem is futile. Considering that the same window has broken in the identical manner 3 times with no impact, even if I pay to replace the window, it will likely fracture in the same manner again. I believe that it is likely that the defect that caused the window to fracture in same manner 3 times is a significant safety hazard. It is likely that my continuing to drive the vehicle daily with the fractured window is a significant safety hazard
The backup camera system does not come on when the car is shifted into reverse or when the car is moving in reverse creating a safety hazard and breaching compliance rule fmvss 111 (specifically section 5.5.6 of fmvss, which pertains to rear visibility). There is a massive recall already in place for model years 2018 through 2020 but in light of this issue existing in rolls royce wraith 2016 models, it is clear that earlier model years should be included in the massive recall
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 3 Read
The contact owns a 1987 Rolls Royce Silver Spur. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, he depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle would not slow. The contact stated that the brake pedal had to be pumped several times to the floorboard to stop the vehicle. The contact used the gear shift lever to down shift to slow the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle back to his residence. The contact stated that the mineral oil level and brake system #1 and #2 warning lights were illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The contact added mineral oil to the brake reservoirs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 144,000
Consumer states that the vehicle experienced a hard, stiff ride, the dealer that the vehicle was originally taken to could not remedy the problem, however another dealership could, they replaced the rear struts and flex hoses
Engine And Engine Cooling 1 Read
The contact owns a 2011 rolls-royce ghost. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 18V248000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer (paul miller rolls-royce, 250 us-46 u.s. 46, parsippany, nj 07054, (973) 575-7751) was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. *tt the consumer stated the problem has been resolved
Fuel System, Gasoline 1 Read
The contact owns a 2009 rolls royce phantom coupe. The contact stated that when he added fuel the nozzle became stuck in the tank. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they reduced the size of the filler hole so that the nozzle would not get stuck. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice for the failure. Rolls royce was contacted and stated that they had no knowledge about the failure. The failure mileage was 9,970 and the current mileage was 10,627
Fuel/propulsion System 1 Read
Because of a rubber hose that feeds on the bottom of the fuel tank behind back seat, (very poor design) hose began leaking 24 gallons of gas while parked inside of garage which is inside of my house and nearly burned my house down. Fire department came to try and make sure it didn't ignite-investigated and they could not believe the design of it
Visibility 1
Detailed owner reports aren't available for this category.
Vehicle Speed Control 1
Detailed owner reports aren't available for this category.
Tires 1
Detailed owner reports aren't available for this category.
Unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA. Percentages are shares of all 13 Rolls-Royce complaints.
Rolls-Royce against the rest
| Measure | Where Rolls-Royce sits | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| By complaint volume | #0 | 29 brands with 3,000+ complaints |
| By age at failure (later is better) | #0 | 29 brands |
| Complaints ending in a crash | 0% | across all 13 reports |
Ranking by volume says more about how many cars a brand sells than about how they hold up. Age at failure is the fairer of the two.
Compare Rolls-Royce with the rest
Rolls-Royce problems by model
6 Rolls-Royce models have owner complaints on file. Pick one for its worst years, failing systems and what owners actually wrote.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
How reliable is Rolls-Royce?
Owners have filed 13 complaints across 6 Rolls-Royce models. On its own that number reflects how many Rolls-Royce cars are on the road — compare the average age at failure (8.00 years) instead.
What breaks most often on a Rolls-Royce?
The most reported system is Unknown Or Other with 3 complaints.
Do Rolls-Royce problems show up under warranty?
12.5% of Rolls-Royce complaints describe something that happened in the first three years, while the factory warranty was likely still running.
Which Rolls-Royce model has the most complaints?
See the model list above — each card shows its complaint count, and the model page breaks it down by year and by system.