BMW M3 vs Lincoln LS

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 M3	Lincoln LS
Complaints on file	552	1,366
Model years covered	1988–2025	2000–2006
Worst model year	2008	2000
Best model year	2018	2003
Crashes reported	35	111
Fires reported	6	6
Injuries reported	22	64
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Suspension
Share of complaints involving harm	11.4%	13.5%

BMW M3 by year

2 16 1 28 18 13 20 48 69 38 12 14 102 54 20 41 6 17 4 7 3 10 5 1 1 2

88 95 96 97 98 99 01 02 03 04 05 06 08 09 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 21 22 23 25

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 120 21.7%

Airbags 101 18.3%

Engine & Cooling 94 17.0%

Electrical System 37 6.7%

Body & Structure 27 4.9%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 24 4.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 23 4.2%

Suspension 21 3.8%

Lincoln LS by year

458 319 179 113 140 132 25

00 01 02 03 04 05 06

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

What breaks

Suspension 289 21.2%

Engine & Cooling 181 13.3%

Airbags 140 10.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 127 9.3%

Electrical System 104 7.6%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 80 5.9%

Brakes 79 5.8%

Steering 52 3.8%