BMW Z3 vs Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

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	Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
Complaints on file	299	737
Model years covered	1996–2003	2011–2026
Worst model year	1997	2017
Best model year	2001	2023
Crashes reported	17	49
Fires reported	10	1
Injuries reported	31	33
Deaths reported	3	1
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	20.4%	11.4%

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%

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport by year

47 18 59 61 281 42 47 37 42 34 28 21 15 2 1 2

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 178 24.2%

Engine & Cooling 93 12.6%

Electrical System 85 11.5%

Other & Unspecified 66 9.0%

Airbags 53 7.2%

Brakes 49 6.6%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 42 5.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 24 3.3%