BMW 330CI vs Lexus IS

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 330CI	Lexus IS
Complaints on file	326	808
Model years covered	2000–2006	1999–2025
Worst model year	2004	2006
Best model year	2003	2015
Crashes reported	20	68
Fires reported	16	9
Injuries reported	23	38
Deaths reported	0	1
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Body & Structure
Share of complaints involving harm	18.1%	14.4%

BMW 330CI by year

1 97 55 18 82 38 35

00 01 02 03 04 05 06

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

What breaks

Airbags 132 40.5%

Lights 33 10.1%

Engine & Cooling 27 8.3%

Electrical System 26 8.0%

Transmission & Drivetrain 24 7.4%

Fuel & Propulsion 24 7.4%

Body & Structure 16 4.9%

Tires 9 2.8%

Lexus IS by year

1 1 17 18 12 13 185 171 143 55 52 22 29 13 16 14 2 15 3 3 7 2 6 6 1 1

99 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

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

What breaks

Body & Structure 148 18.3%

Airbags 114 14.1%

Other & Unspecified 114 14.1%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 95 11.8%

Engine & Cooling 78 9.7%

Electrical System 45 5.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 37 4.6%

Steering 34 4.2%