BMW 545I vs Hyundai Santa Cruz

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 545I Hyundai Santa Cruz
Complaints on file 199 479
Model years covered 2004–2005 2022–2026
Worst model year — 2022
Best model year — 2025
Crashes reported 4 16
Fires reported 4 5
Injuries reported 6 9
Deaths reported 0 0
Most complained-about part Airbags Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm 7% 6.3%

BMW 545I by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 56 28.1%
Transmission & Drivetrain 23 11.6%
Engine & Cooling 17 8.5%
Brakes 15 7.5%
Seat Belts 14 7.0%
Steering 9 4.5%
Seats 7 3.5%

Hyundai Santa Cruz by year

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

What breaks