BMW 323I vs Ford Tempo

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 323I	Ford Tempo
Complaints on file	676	1,649
Model years covered	1985–2011	1981–2000
Worst model year	2000	—
Best model year	1998	—
Crashes reported	41	110
Fires reported	14	191
Injuries reported	43	86
Deaths reported	4	5
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	15.1%	23.8%

BMW 323I by year

1 27 175 459 3 3 4 3 1

85 98 99 00 01 07 08 10 11

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 271 40.1%

Airbags 142 21.0%

Body & Structure 43 6.4%

Electrical System 30 4.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 25 3.7%

Suspension 19 2.8%

Doors, Latches & Locks 19 2.8%

Tires 18 2.7%

Ford Tempo by year

2 19 40 42 79 176 168 174 143 264 316 212 6 2 3 1 1 1

81 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00

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

What breaks

Electrical System 369 22.4%

Engine & Cooling 326 19.8%

Seat Belts 232 14.1%

Brakes 153 9.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 87 5.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 72 4.4%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 71 4.3%

Steering 66 4.0%