BMW 328I vs Subaru Forester

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 328I	Subaru Forester
Complaints on file	3,777	8,703
Model years covered	1996–2016	1998–2026
Worst model year	2013	2016
Best model year	1998	2026
Crashes reported	210	891
Fires reported	193	157
Injuries reported	159	376
Deaths reported	1	9
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
Share of complaints involving harm	14.9%	16.5%

BMW 328I by year

36 29 34 125 146 5 574 375 297 231 799 198 392 237 203 96

96 97 98 99 00 01 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 1,093 28.9%

Electrical System 684 18.1%

Airbags 604 16.0%

Other & Unspecified 179 4.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 174 4.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 149 3.9%

Brakes 114 3.0%

Body & Structure 112 3.0%

Subaru Forester by year

138 156 95 169 109 238 270 105 121 89 67 228 307 195 140 94 576 897 617 796 678 1,084 807 285 140 111 41 126 24

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

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

What breaks

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 1,265 14.5%

Engine & Cooling 1,014 11.7%

Airbags 908 10.4%

Other & Unspecified 814 9.4%

Electrical System 793 9.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 564 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 531 6.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 511 5.9%