FaultScore

Yamaha Road Star vs BMW 530I

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 Yamaha Road Star BMW 530I
Complaints on file 326 808
Model years covered 1999–2009 1994–2025
Worst model year 2003 2004
Best model year 1999 1994
Crashes reported 7 56
Fires reported 1 55
Injuries reported 4 43
Deaths reported 1 0
Most complained-about part Transmission & Drivetrain Airbags
Share of complaints involving harm 4% 19.1%

Yamaha Road Star by year

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

What breaks

Fuel & Propulsion 17 5.2%
Body & Structure 10 3.1%
Suspension 8 2.5%
Wheels 3 0.9%
Electrical System 2 0.6%
Brakes 2 0.6%

BMW 530I by year

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

What breaks

Airbags 205 25.4%
Electrical System 106 13.1%
Engine & Cooling 89 11.0%
Seats 67 8.3%
Seat Belts 43 5.3%
Brakes 41 5.1%
Lights 38 4.7%