BMW 325i
Owners filed 1,368 complaints across 20 model years of the BMW 325i. The 2006 drew the most (515).
Model years20
Complaints1,368
Recalls69
Fires75
Deaths2
Which BMW 325i years should you avoid?
Going by 1,368 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the BMW 325i years to avoid are 2006 and 2002.
- 2006515 complaints, 3.5× a typical 325i year, most often about the airbags.
- 20022.2× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (19 fires, 7 crashes, 1 death).
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 325i model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Seats | Routine | |
| 2011 | 1 | 3 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2010 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2009 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2008 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Engine | Routine | |
| 2007 | 1 | 3 | — | — | Tires | Routine | |
| 2006Avoid | 515 | 7 | 21 | 12 | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 2005 | 71 | 5 | 2 | 3 | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 2004 | 147 | 5 | 11 | 5 | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 2003 | 199 | 8 | 11 | 7 | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 2002Avoid | 162 | 7 | 19 | 7 | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 2001 | 151 | 7 | 8 | 7 | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 2000 | 1 | 2 | — | — | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 1999 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 1995 | 31 | 2 | — | 4 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine | |
| 1994 | 17 | 3 | 1 | — | Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System | Routine | |
| 1993 | 21 | 3 | — | — | Electrical System › Ignition › Module | Routine | |
| 1992 | 40 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System | Routine | |
| 1991 | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc › Rotor | Routine | |
| 1990 | 5 | 0 | — | 1 | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.