BMW 850

Owners filed 13 complaints across 5 model years of the BMW 850. The 1997 drew the most (7).

Model years5
Complaints13
Recalls0
Fires1
Deaths0

Which BMW 850 years should you avoid?

Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 BMW 850 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 850 model year compared

Complaints per year
YearComplaintsRelative volumeRecallsFiresCrashesMost reportedStatus
19977
011Air Bags › FrontalRoutine
19961
0——Visibility › Windshield Wiper/WasherRoutine
19953
0——Tires › Tread/BeltRoutine
19931
0——Service Brakes, HydraulicRoutine
19911
0——Exterior Lighting › HeadlightsRoutine

Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.