BMW 323I vs Pontiac Sunfire

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	Pontiac Sunfire
Complaints on file	676	1,641
Model years covered	1985–2011	1985–2005
Worst model year	2000	1996
Best model year	1998	2005
Crashes reported	41	153
Fires reported	14	61
Injuries reported	43	102
Deaths reported	4	7
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	15.1%	19.7%

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%

Pontiac Sunfire by year

2 1 2 154 320 257 149 128 169 83 128 113 41 94

85 91 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

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

What breaks

Electrical System 339 20.7%

Engine & Cooling 259 15.8%

Brakes 172 10.5%

Airbags 125 7.6%

Steering 115 7.0%

Lights 109 6.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 76 4.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 71 4.3%