BMW 535XI vs Volkswagen EOS

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	Volkswagen EOS
Complaints on file	223	550
Model years covered	2007–2013	2007–2016
Worst model year	2008	2009
Best model year	2012	2010
Crashes reported	1	24
Fires reported	12	6
Injuries reported	6	12
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	8.5%	7.6%

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%

Volkswagen EOS by year

54 62 123 84 21 114 32 47 7 6

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

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

What breaks

Airbags 168 30.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 102 18.5%

Engine & Cooling 56 10.2%

Electrical System 51 9.3%

Brakes 34 6.2%

Other & Unspecified 28 5.1%

Body & Structure 19 3.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 17 3.1%