BMW 430I vs Mercedes Benz E Class

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 430I	Mercedes Benz E Class
Complaints on file	166	412
Model years covered	2017–2026	1993–2008
Worst model year	2018	2003
Best model year	2021	1996
Crashes reported	19	14
Fires reported	2	12
Injuries reported	11	8
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	19.3%	8.3%

BMW 430I by year

36 50 32 5 15 7 3 1 14 3

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

Engine & Cooling 53 31.9%

Electrical System 25 15.1%

Other & Unspecified 18 10.8%

Transmission & Drivetrain 13 7.8%

Airbags 13 7.8%

Seat Belts 12 7.2%

Tires 6 3.6%

Brakes 5 3.0%

Mercedes Benz E Class by year

9 46 29 18 43 31 20 61 33 8 69 19 10 11 5

93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 08

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

What breaks

Electrical System 99 24.0%

Suspension 57 13.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 39 9.5%

Engine & Cooling 38 9.2%

Brakes 34 8.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 20 4.9%

Body & Structure 18 4.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 17 4.1%