BMW 330XI vs Ford F-550 SD

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 330XI	Ford F-550 SD
Complaints on file	248	613
Model years covered	2001–2006	1997–2026
Worst model year	2006	1999
Best model year	2004	2005
Crashes reported	5	16
Fires reported	12	45
Injuries reported	7	21
Deaths reported	1	1
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Fuel & Propulsion
Share of complaints involving harm	10.1%	13.5%

BMW 330XI by year

14 20 42 14 13 145

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 111 44.8%

Electrical System 31 12.5%

Engine & Cooling 19 7.7%

Seat Belts 16 6.5%

Lights 12 4.8%

Seats 10 4.0%

Steering 9 3.6%

Tires 9 3.6%

Ford F-550 SD by year

2 92 85 35 31 40 67 41 55 25 31 1 2 4 8 3 10 18 4 5 4 7 16 15 1 5 3 3

97 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 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

Fuel & Propulsion 185 30.2%

Engine & Cooling 107 17.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 64 10.4%

Tires 63 10.3%

Electrical System 36 5.9%

Brakes 31 5.1%

Wheels 26 4.2%

Suspension 20 3.3%