BMW 540I vs Acura TSX

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 540I	Acura TSX
Complaints on file	347	855
Model years covered	1994–2025	2004–2014
Worst model year	2018	2004
Best model year	1994	2007
Crashes reported	26	61
Fires reported	7	6
Injuries reported	14	30
Deaths reported	0	2
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	13.5%	11.6%

BMW 540I by year

12 15 31 28 29 36 18 17 9 33 61 14 3 13 10 7 10 1

94 95 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 70 20.2%

Airbags 49 14.1%

Electrical System 42 12.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 26 7.5%

Brakes 21 6.1%

Seats 19 5.5%

Seat Belts 18 5.2%

Steering 17 4.9%

Acura TSX by year

195 64 68 29 42 113 86 52 158 40 8

04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14

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

What breaks

Steering 223 26.1%

Airbags 122 14.3%

Brakes 87 10.2%

Electrical System 84 9.8%

Engine & Cooling 80 9.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 39 4.6%

Seats 30 3.5%

Body & Structure 26 3.0%