FaultScore

BMW 530XI vs Mercedes Benz ML350

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 530XI Mercedes Benz ML350
Complaints on file 243 603
Model years covered 2006–2007 2010–2015
Worst model year 2015
Best model year 2010
Crashes reported 7 60
Fires reported 24 13
Injuries reported 3 34
Deaths reported 0 0
Most complained-about part Airbags Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm 14% 17.7%

BMW 530XI by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 65 26.7%
Engine & Cooling 29 11.9%
Body & Structure 16 6.6%
Lights 15 6.2%
Steering 13 5.3%
Seat Belts 13 5.3%
Transmission & Drivetrain 9 3.7%

Mercedes Benz ML350 by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 139 23.1%
Engine & Cooling 76 12.6%
Brakes 40 6.6%
Steering 23 3.8%