BMW X5 SAV vs Cadillac DTS

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 X5 SAV	Cadillac DTS
Complaints on file	293	729
Model years covered	2003–2013	2004–2011
Worst model year	2007	2006
Best model year	2013	2009
Crashes reported	14	56
Fires reported	5	30
Injuries reported	13	51
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	10.9%	18.8%

BMW X5 SAV by year

1 36 82 34 30 27 38 29 16

03 06 07 08 09 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

Airbags 57 19.5%

Engine & Cooling 48 16.4%

Brakes 32 10.9%

Fuel & Propulsion 31 10.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 9.6%

Electrical System 28 9.6%

Seats 13 4.4%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 10 3.4%

Cadillac DTS by year

8 10 356 137 121 46 32 19

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

Electrical System 180 24.7%

Lights 110 15.1%

Engine & Cooling 97 13.3%

Steering 59 8.1%

Brakes 34 4.7%

Airbags 33 4.5%

Seats 28 3.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 25 3.4%