BMW Z3 vs Acura CL

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 Z3	Acura CL
Complaints on file	299	731
Model years covered	1996–2003	1997–2004
Worst model year	1997	2001
Best model year	2001	1998
Crashes reported	17	49
Fires reported	10	4
Injuries reported	31	35
Deaths reported	3	7
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	20.4%	13%

BMW Z3 by year

34 66 45 56 54 31 9 4

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

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

What breaks

Airbags 59 19.7%

Seat Belts 35 11.7%

Seats 34 11.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 27 9.0%

Body & Structure 25 8.4%

Electrical System 18 6.0%

Suspension 18 6.0%

Engine & Cooling 17 5.7%

Acura CL by year

106 69 66 11 317 71 89 2

97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 333 45.6%

Airbags 77 10.5%

Electrical System 63 8.6%

Engine & Cooling 42 5.7%

Brakes 30 4.1%

Suspension 27 3.7%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 26 3.6%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 25 3.4%