BMW 525I vs Oldsmobile Intrigue

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 525I	Oldsmobile Intrigue
Complaints on file	663	1,598
Model years covered	1989–2009	1996–2002
Worst model year	2004	1998
Best model year	1994	2002
Crashes reported	15	76
Fires reported	63	65
Injuries reported	24	43
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	15.4%	11.8%

BMW 525I by year

4 51 21 30 9 10 37 2 1 31 41 40 123 52 111 98 1 1

89 90 91 92 93 94 95 98 99 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

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

What breaks

Airbags 168 25.3%

Electrical System 86 13.0%

Engine & Cooling 79 11.9%

Seats 45 6.8%

Seat Belts 43 6.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 32 4.8%

Brakes 32 4.8%

Lights 25 3.8%

Oldsmobile Intrigue by year

1 1 665 371 296 173 91

96 97 98 99 00 01 02

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

What breaks

Steering 295 18.5%

Electrical System 267 16.7%

Engine & Cooling 233 14.6%

Lights 162 10.1%

Brakes 138 8.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 77 4.8%

Seat Belts 68 4.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 66 4.1%