BMW 5 Series vs Lincoln LS

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 5 Series	Lincoln LS
Complaints on file	556	1,366
Model years covered	1989–2012	2000–2006
Worst model year	2006	2000
Best model year	2003	2003
Crashes reported	26	111
Fires reported	25	6
Injuries reported	22	64
Deaths reported	1	4
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Suspension
Share of complaints involving harm	13.3%	13.5%

BMW 5 Series by year

1 6 1 2 3 4 10 13 89 26 125 22 131 6 9 96 12

89 95 97 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

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

What breaks

Airbags 96 17.3%

Engine & Cooling 67 12.1%

Electrical System 62 11.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 57 10.3%

Tires 43 7.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 41 7.4%

Steering 32 5.8%

Brakes 22 4.0%

Lincoln LS by year

458 319 179 113 140 132 25

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

Suspension 289 21.2%

Engine & Cooling 181 13.3%

Airbags 140 10.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 127 9.3%

Electrical System 104 7.6%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 80 5.9%

Brakes 79 5.8%

Steering 52 3.8%