Chevrolet C2500 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 C2500	BMW 525I
Complaints on file	269	663
Model years covered	1988–1996	1989–2009
Worst model year	1996	2004
Best model year	1993	1994
Crashes reported	8	15
Fires reported	3	63
Injuries reported	7	24
Deaths reported	1	0
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	7.1%	15.4%

Chevrolet C2500 by year

1 15 11 1 14 28 62 76 61

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 57 21.2%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 56 20.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 34 12.6%

Engine & Cooling 21 7.8%

Tires 19 7.1%

Seats 18 6.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 17 6.3%

Electrical System 13 4.8%

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%