Lexus LS460 vs BMW M3

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	Lexus LS460	BMW M3
Complaints on file	226	552
Model years covered	2007–2017	1988–2025
Worst model year	2008	2008
Best model year	2009	2018
Crashes reported	20	35
Fires reported	5	6
Injuries reported	10	22
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	15.5%	11.4%

Lexus LS460 by year

53 100 13 19 2 4 16 10 5 2 2

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

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

What breaks

Brakes 79 35.0%

Body & Structure 18 8.0%

Other & Unspecified 18 8.0%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 16 7.1%

Engine & Cooling 15 6.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 15 6.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 13 5.8%

Electrical System 12 5.3%

BMW M3 by year

2 16 1 28 18 13 20 48 69 38 12 14 102 54 20 41 6 17 4 7 3 10 5 1 1 2

88 95 96 97 98 99 01 02 03 04 05 06 08 09 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 21 22 23 25

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 120 21.7%

Airbags 101 18.3%

Engine & Cooling 94 17.0%

Electrical System 37 6.7%

Body & Structure 27 4.9%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 24 4.3%

Fuel & Propulsion 23 4.2%

Suspension 21 3.8%