Ford Transit Connect vs BMW 325I

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	Ford Transit Connect	BMW 325I
Complaints on file	742	1,808
Model years covered	2010–2023	1987–2012
Worst model year	2014	2006
Best model year	2021	1993
Crashes reported	27	71
Fires reported	9	103
Injuries reported	16	76
Deaths reported	0	2
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	7%	13.9%

Ford Transit Connect by year

56 30 35 38 159 79 146 33 32 72 40 14 7 1

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 99 13.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 76 10.2%

Other & Unspecified 75 10.1%

Brakes 73 9.8%

Electrical System 71 9.6%

Body & Structure 67 9.0%

Engine & Cooling 62 8.4%

Steering 32 4.3%

BMW 325I by year

5 7 10 5 4 55 25 23 42 1 196 198 261 182 81 709 1 1 1 1

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 11 12

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

What breaks

Airbags 529 29.3%

Electrical System 217 12.0%

Lights 205 11.3%

Engine & Cooling 176 9.7%

Doors, Latches & Locks 78 4.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 71 3.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 65 3.6%

Steering 60 3.3%