Chevrolet C15 vs BMW 525I

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	Chevrolet C15	BMW 525I
Complaints on file	270	663
Model years covered	1984–1996	1989–2009
Worst model year	1995	2004
Best model year	1996	1994
Crashes reported	50	15
Fires reported	12	63
Injuries reported	36	24
Deaths reported	1	0
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	36.7%	15.4%

Chevrolet C15 by year

1 2 5 2 9 13 9 13 17 42 52 69 36

84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96

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

What breaks

Brakes 60 22.2%

Seats 37 13.7%

Airbags 28 10.4%

Seat Belts 28 10.4%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 15 5.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 15 5.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 14 5.2%

Electrical System 14 5.2%

BMW 525I by year

4 51 21 30 9 10 37 2 1 31 41 40 123 52 111 98 1 1

89 90 91 92 93 94 95 98 99 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

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

What breaks

Airbags 168 25.3%

Electrical System 86 13.0%

Engine & Cooling 79 11.9%

Seats 45 6.8%

Seat Belts 43 6.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 32 4.8%

Brakes 32 4.8%

Lights 25 3.8%