Mercedes Benz 230 vs BMW 335

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	Mercedes Benz 230	BMW 335
Complaints on file	39	96
Model years covered	1974–2004	2007–2013
Worst model year	—	2011
Best model year	—	2010
Crashes reported	12	3
Fires reported	2	10
Injuries reported	11	2
Deaths reported	1	0
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	66.7%	15.6%

Mercedes Benz 230 by year

1 2 8 6 9 6 7

74 88 99 01 02 03 04

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

What breaks

Electrical System 7 17.9%

Airbags 5 12.8%

Engine & Cooling 3 7.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 3 7.7%

Brakes 3 7.7%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 3 7.7%

Suspension 2 5.1%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 2 5.1%

BMW 335 by year

14 10 19 10 37 4 2

07 08 09 10 11 12 13

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

What breaks

Airbags 24 25.0%

Engine & Cooling 23 24.0%

Electrical System 14 14.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 12 12.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 5 5.2%

Other & Unspecified 4 4.2%

Body & Structure 3 3.1%

Wheels 3 3.1%