Mercedes Benz GL450 vs BMW 328XI

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 GL450	BMW 328XI
Complaints on file	273	672
Model years covered	2007–2009	2006–2016
Worst model year	2007	2008
Best model year	2009	2009
Crashes reported	19	32
Fires reported	47	61
Injuries reported	31	28
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Seats	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	35.5%	18%

Mercedes Benz GL450 by year

162 89 22

07 08 09

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

What breaks

Seats 42 15.4%

Electrical System 32 11.7%

Steering 31 11.4%

Suspension 29 10.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 21 7.7%

Engine & Cooling 20 7.3%

Brakes 20 7.3%

Airbags 17 6.2%

BMW 328XI by year

6 287 152 18 29 99 1 33 21 22 4

06 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

Electrical System 146 21.7%

Engine & Cooling 144 21.4%

Airbags 96 14.3%

Other & Unspecified 41 6.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 37 5.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 34 5.1%

Doors, Latches & Locks 29 4.3%

Steering 28 4.2%