BMW 535XI vs Cadillac ATS

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 535XI	Cadillac ATS
Complaints on file	223	556
Model years covered	2007–2013	2013–2019
Worst model year	2008	2013
Best model year	2012	2017
Crashes reported	1	36
Fires reported	12	2
Injuries reported	6	32
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	8.5%	12.6%

BMW 535XI by year

1 123 26 44 23 6

07 08 10 11 12 13

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 31 13.9%

Electrical System 30 13.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 30 13.5%

Airbags 21 9.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 18 8.1%

Tires 18 8.1%

Lights 14 6.3%

Wheels 13 5.8%

Cadillac ATS by year

255 142 42 45 42 26 4

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 101 18.2%

Electrical System 76 13.7%

Engine & Cooling 74 13.3%

Steering 61 11.0%

Other & Unspecified 54 9.7%

Airbags 29 5.2%

Brakes 27 4.9%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 16 2.9%