BMW 128I vs Mercury Topaz

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	BMW 128I	Mercury Topaz
Complaints on file	237	581
Model years covered	2007–2013	1983–1998
Worst model year	2012	1994
Best model year	2008	1995
Crashes reported	7	27
Fires reported	14	59
Injuries reported	2	12
Deaths reported	0	2
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	9.7%	17.2%

BMW 128I by year

2 23 37 31 63 35 46

07 08 09 10 11 12 13

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Airbags 90 38.0%

Engine & Cooling 62 26.2%

Electrical System 19 8.0%

Lights 11 4.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 9 3.8%

Other & Unspecified 8 3.4%

Body & Structure 7 3.0%

Brakes 6 2.5%

Mercury Topaz by year

1 13 5 13 28 28 57 67 59 92 98 106 13 1

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 98

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 113 19.4%

Engine & Cooling 99 17.0%

Seat Belts 77 13.3%

Brakes 59 10.2%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 34 5.9%

Fuel & Propulsion 32 5.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 4.8%

Steering 20 3.4%