BMW 750LI vs Saab 9-3

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 750LI	Saab 9-3
Complaints on file	696	1,689
Model years covered	2006–2021	1994–2011
Worst model year	2006	2003
Best model year	2009	2010
Crashes reported	18	84
Fires reported	20	30
Injuries reported	7	76
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	6.5%	11.5%

BMW 750LI by year

300 121 103 15 49 39 40 11 9 3 1 5

06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 21

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 140 20.1%

Engine & Cooling 94 13.5%

Airbags 76 10.9%

Electrical System 72 10.3%

Doors, Latches & Locks 66 9.5%

Body & Structure 60 8.6%

Brakes 38 5.5%

Other & Unspecified 26 3.7%

Saab 9-3 by year

1 80 72 74 52 323 236 114 227 182 218 46 31 33

94 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

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

What breaks

Airbags 370 21.9%

Engine & Cooling 221 13.1%

Electrical System 207 12.3%

Suspension 187 11.1%

Seat Belts 164 9.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 109 6.5%

Brakes 96 5.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 71 4.2%