KIA Niro vs BMW 528I

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 Niro	BMW 528I
Complaints on file	503	1,239
Model years covered	2017–2026	1979–2016
Worst model year	2017	2008
Best model year	2025	2009
Crashes reported	48	28
Fires reported	14	72
Injuries reported	35	45
Deaths reported	2	0
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	19.7%	11.7%

KIA Niro by year

116 81 84 53 12 42 71 15 25 4

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

Engine & Cooling 87 17.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 80 15.9%

Electrical System 80 15.9%

Other & Unspecified 67 13.3%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 33 6.6%

Brakes 32 6.4%

Fuel & Propulsion 29 5.8%

Airbags 19 3.8%

BMW 528I by year

1 2 49 39 59 53 3 1 181 33 87 164 145 119 92 106 105

79 80 97 98 99 00 01 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

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

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 384 31.0%

Electrical System 183 14.8%

Transmission & Drivetrain 106 8.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 104 8.4%

Airbags 98 7.9%

Other & Unspecified 66 5.3%

Lights 63 5.1%

Brakes 36 2.9%