KIA K5 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	KIA K5	BMW 325I
Complaints on file	748	1,808
Model years covered	2021–2026	1987–2012
Worst model year	2022	2006
Best model year	2026	1993
Crashes reported	55	71
Fires reported	11	103
Injuries reported	52	76
Deaths reported	4	2
Most complained-about part	Fuel & Propulsion	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	16.3%	13.9%

KIA K5 by year

253 214 152 40 71 18

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

Fuel & Propulsion 152 20.3%

Electrical System 92 12.3%

Other & Unspecified 88 11.8%

Engine & Cooling 86 11.5%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 65 8.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 57 7.6%

Body & Structure 43 5.7%

Brakes 27 3.6%

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%