Mercedes Benz GL450 vs BMW 525I

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 525I
Complaints on file	273	663
Model years covered	2007–2009	1989–2009
Worst model year	2007	2004
Best model year	2009	1994
Crashes reported	19	15
Fires reported	47	63
Injuries reported	31	24
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Seats	Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm	35.5%	15.4%

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 525I by year

4 51 21 30 9 10 37 2 1 31 41 40 123 52 111 98 1 1

89 90 91 92 93 94 95 98 99 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

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

What breaks

Airbags 168 25.3%

Electrical System 86 13.0%

Engine & Cooling 79 11.9%

Seats 45 6.8%

Seat Belts 43 6.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 32 4.8%

Brakes 32 4.8%

Lights 25 3.8%