BMW 318
Owners filed 113 complaints across 10 model years of the BMW 318. The 1991 drew the most (21).
Which BMW 318 years should you avoid?
Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 BMW 318 model years have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to judge, so any ranking would be noise. The table below has every year as filed.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every BMW 318 model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 6 | 0 | 1 | — | Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Fan | Routine | |
| 1998 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine | |
| 1997 | 5 | 0 | — | 1 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System › Emission Control › Catalytic Convertor | Routine | |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | — | 1 | Equipment › Appliance › Air Conditioner | Routine | |
| 1995 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 1994 | 20 | 1 | — | 2 | Electrical System › Ignition | Routine | |
| 1993 | 17 | 2 | — | 2 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine | Routine | |
| 1992 | 16 | 4 | — | 1 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine | Routine | |
| 1991 | 21 | 3 | — | 4 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine | Routine | |
| 1990 | 1 | 1 | — | — | Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.