Bookmarking Auto on Info pagesSupporting Auto on InfoHome or Site Layout or Site Map or Site Index or Quick Jumps or Search Engine Directory or The MartAuto InformationReliability InformationReliability PercentranksCharts of BMW Reliability Percentrank Averages for Model Years 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 and Extrapolation of BMW Reliability Percentrank Averages to Model Years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, Charts of BMW 3 Series Reliability Percentranks for Model Years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 and Extrapolation of BMW 3 Series Reliability Percentranks to Model Years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, Charts of BMW 5 Series Reliability Percentranks for Model Years 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 and Extrapolation of BMW 5 Series Reliability Percentranks to Model Years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, Chart of BMW 7 Series Reliability Percentranks for Model Years 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002, Chart of BMW Z4/Z5 Reliability Percentranks for Model Years 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001

Reliability-Percentrank and Reliability-Grade Tables and Charts
To view tables of Reliability Percentranks and Reliability Grades by vehicle type, click the applicable type.
Small Cars Sports Cars, Sporty Cars and Coupes Family Cars and Large Cars Upscale and Luxury Cars SUVs Minivans Pickups Manufacturer Averages All Autos
To view tables of Reliability Percentranks and Reliability Grades by vehicle line, click the applicable line.
Acura Audi BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Eagle
Ford GMC Honda Hyundai Infiniti Isuzu Jaguar Jeep Kia
Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercury Mini Cooper Mitsubishi Nissan
Oldsmobile Plymouth Pontiac Porsche Saab Saturn Scion Subaru Suzuki
Toyota Volkswagen Volvo            
Beginning with the 2007 updates, the Reliability Grades and Reliability Percentranks of motor vehicle lines and types will appear on the same page. This should quicken comparisons.
To view charts of Reliability Percentrank averages and Percentranks and extrapolations, click the applicable line.
Acura Audi BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Eagle
Ford GMC Honda Hyundai Infiniti Isuzu Jaguar Jeep Kia1
Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercury Mini Cooper1 Mitsubishi1 Nissan
Oldsmobile Plymouth Pontiac Porsche1 Saab Saturn Scion1 Subaru Suzuki1
Toyota Volkswagen Volvo            

1Current data are insufficient to warrant charts.
To view tables of the Best and Worst motor vehicle models, click the applicable year.
Best and Worst of 1988 Best and Worst of 1989 Best and Worst of 1990 Best and Worst of 1991 Best and Worst of 1992 Best and Worst of 1993 Best and Worst of 1994 Best and Worst of 1995 Best and Worst of 1996
Best and Worst of 1997 Best and Worst of 1998 Best and Worst of 1999 Best and Worst of 2000 Best and Worst of 2001 Best and Worst of 2002 Best and Worst of 2003 Best and Worst of 2004 Summary
Chart Summary of 2006 Updates Chart and Table Summary of 2007 Updates Chart and Table Summary of 2008 Updates            
Charts of Gaps
Charts of the Great Gaps Extrapolations of the Great Gaps              
Automobile Durability Tables and Charts
Page 1 - Original Durability Page Page 2 - Results of 2001 Survey Page 3 - CCC's 15 Most Frequently Stolen Page 4 - 2001 Summary of Rosters Page 5 - Top 20 High Mileage Page 6 - The 2006 Study of Model Year 1998 Page 7 - The 2006 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998 Page 8 - The 2006 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998 Page 9 - The 2007 Dilapidation Rates for Model Years 1998 - 2002
Page 10 - The 2007 Study of Model Year 1999 Page 11 - The 2007 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999 Page 12 - The 2007 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999 Page 13 - 2007 Pickup Durability Updates for Model Years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 Roster of 300,000-Mile Vehicles with Statistical Summary Mini-Survey No. 52: A Toyota Owner Satisfaction Poll with Enquiries into Toyota Durability      
Auto Quality News Menu Pages
Main Menu: Car News and Commentary  Sub-Menus: Graphical Menus: The 2008 Reliability and Durability Updates - The 2007 Reliability and Durability Updates Standard Menus:  Top 10 News Articles - Top 10 Auto Reviews - Toyota - Honda - Subaru - Nissan - Ford - Chrysler - General Motors - Volkswagen - Reviews - Recalls - Safety Investigations - Safety Test Results - Automotive Excellence - Green and Clean - Automotive Dishonor, Discredit, or Demerit - Lawsuits - Automotive Finances - Car and Truck Sales and Market Shares - Auto on Info - Minnesota Public Radio - Google

This page has been updated to include the data that became available in 2005.

A model's Reliability Percentrank is a ranking of that model's Reliability Score relative to all other Reliability Scores for the given model year and age range. The percentrank was computed using the Percentrank function of Microsoft's Excel 2002 and, as the first part of the compound word percentrank suggests, is a value between 0.00 and 1.00. If a model's Reliability Percentrank is near 0.00, it has a very low Reliability Score, and if a Percentrank is near 1.00, it has a high Reliability Score. For a more detailed explanation of Reliability Percentranks and Reliability Scores, click here to be taken to the Methodology page.

The Reliability Percentranks and Percentrank Averages for 1988 to 1997 are based on the performance of approximately 6 to 8 year old vehicles; those for 1998, on the performance of approximately 5 to 7 year old vehicles;  those for 1999, on the performance of approximately 4 to 6 year old vehicles;  those for 2000, on the performance of approximately 3 to 5 year old vehicles;  those for 2001, on the performance of approximately 2 to 4 year old vehicles;  those for 2002, on the performance of approximately 2 to 3 year old vehicles. 

Benchmarks: Site manager's conjecture is that if a person cares little about what he or she drives, he or she still likely would not want to drive anything worse, or easily noticeably worse, than a typical Big Three vehicle. This is why Big Three Reliability Percentrank Averages are used to benchmark the bottom. At the other end, site manager's conjecture is that if a person has an eye for quality, he or she likely would not want to own a vehicle that is much, if any, less than a typical Reliable Two (Toyota-Honda) vehicle. This is why Reliable Two Reliability Percentrank Averages are used to benchmark the top.

Extrapolations: The extrapolations of BMW Reliability Percentrank averages, BMW Series 3 Reliability Percentranks, and BMW Series 5 Percentranks are provided to give the visitor an idea as to the relative reliability of the BMW line, the BMW Series 3, and the BMW Series 5 for model years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. The extrapolations are linear regressions of degree one and are based on vehicular ages that range from 2-3 years to 6-8 years, as noted above. If the visitor plans to purchase a new BMW vehicle and own it for less than 3 years, the projections may have less applicability.

Advisories:

1.   This site gives a Reliability Percentrank of .6 or below a Reliability Grade of F, per the high standards, and a Reliability Percentrank of .76 or below a Reliability Grade of F, per the exacting standards. To view the table giving the Reliability Grades - High Standards for the BMW line, click here.

2.   Nothing on this web page should be viewed as suggesting that site manager considers a model-year with a Reliability Percentrank below .9, or a model with a 5-year or 10-year Reliability Percentrank average below .9, to be acceptable for purchase or lease.

3.   Some models appearing in the Reliability Percentranks table for the BMW Line may not have a separate chart above. To view the table giving the Reliability Percentranks for the BMW line, click here.

Charts of 2008 Reliability Predictions
(Each chart is linked to a news article providing additional information.)

Links to Articles on Consumer Reports' 2008 Reliability Ratings for Model Years 1998 through 2007
(Each chart is linked to a news article providing additional information.)
Article on CR's Good-Bets List
January 2008: Toyota Increases Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List a Tad, Honda Drops a Bit, Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap Again
Article on the Best 2008 Automobiles by CR's 5-Year and 10-Year Reliability-Verdict Histories
November 2007: The Best and Worst 2008 Automobiles by CR's Reliability-Verdict History: Toyota Models Dominate Best and Account for All Perfect Reliability-Verdict Histories of 6 or More Years; GM Models Dominate Worst
Article on the Automobiles with the Best Engine Reliability by Consumer Reports' Engine-Reliability-Verdict History for Vehicles 6-to-10 Years Old
April 2008: The 2008 Reliability-Durability Updates: The Best and Worst Automobiles by Engine Reliability: Toyota Dominates Best Engines and GM Dominates Worst Engines
Article on the Automobiles with the Best Transmission Reliability by Consumer Reports' Transmission-Reliability-Verdict History for Vehicles 6-to-10 Years Old
April 2008: The 2008 Reliability-Durability Updates: The Best and Worst Automobiles by Transmission Reliability: Toyota Dominates Best Transmissions, GM and Chrysler Dominate Worst Transmissions
Article on CR's Worst-of-the-Worst List
March 2008: Into the Depths: General Motors Obtains Record Share of Consumer Reports' 'Worst of the Worst'
Articles on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List
March 2008: GM Expands Lead on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List, Sets Record Share for Recent Years
March 2008: Chevrolet Upholds and Expands a Tradition in Infamy: GM's Chevrolet Line Worst by CR's 2008 Used Cars to Avoid
Article on the Automobiles with the Worst Engine Reliability by Consumer Reports' Engine-Reliability-Verdict History for Vehicles 6-to-10 Years Old
April 2008: The 2008 Reliability-Durability Updates: The Best and Worst Automobiles by Engine Reliability: Toyota Dominates Best Engines and GM Dominates Worst Engines
Article on the Automobiles with the Worst Transmission Reliability by Consumer Reports' Transmission-Reliability-Verdict History for Vehicles 6-to-10 Years Old
April 2008: The 2008 Reliability-Durability Updates: The Best and Worst Automobiles by Transmission Reliability: Toyota Dominates Best Transmissions, GM and Chrysler Dominate Worst Transmissions
Some Charts and Tables Pertaining to Reliability and Durability
(Each chart is linked to a news article providing additional information.)

Additional Charts and Tables appear below the list of news articles.

Some BMW-related news articles:

November 2007: The Best and Worst 2008 Automobiles by CR's Reliability-Verdict History: Toyota Models Dominate Best and Account for All Perfect Reliability-Verdict Histories of 6 or More Years; GM Models Dominate Worst
July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 7-to-9 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 11 of 12 Best, GM - 22 of 41 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 30 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age?
May 2007: Does GM Mean Junk and Ford Too? Toyota and Honda Shine Again.
May 2007: In 2007, Toyota and Honda Dominate Most Reliable List with 10 of 11 Best, GM Dominates Least Reliable List with 7 of 10 Worst
April 2007: The Best Models by CR's 2007 History of Reliability Verdicts: The Reliable Two Shine; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: The Reliable Two Dominate Greenest Dozen; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: Toyota and Honda Dominate CR's 2007 Top Picks and Alternates; Nissan's Infiniti Division Accounts for CR's Upscale and Luxury Top Picks; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: In the U.S. in March 2007, Consumer March to Quality Continues: Toyota Sets New Monthly Record, Honda Sets New March Record, and Big 3 Sales Tumble, but Multiple Chapter 11 Bankruptcies by Any of the Big 3 Seem Unlikely
March 2007: Toyota and Honda Increase Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List: Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap
March 2007: Chevrolet Upholds a Tradition: GM's Chevrolet Line Worst by CR's 2007 Vehicles-to-Avoid List
March 2007: GM Expands Lead on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List, a Tad
September 2006: Reliability Updates: Best and Worst Cars and Trucks Tables: A Chart Summary
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Model Year 2002, Toyota Accounts for 11 of 16 Best, GM - 16 of 53 Worst
January 2006: Toyota Overwhelmingly Dominates Another Measure of Durability
January 2006: By WSJ's Lot-Stay Time, Made-in-Japan TMC Models Are Top 5 of Hottest 10
January 2006: In 2005, U.S. Consumer Shift to Quality Continues at Quickened Pace, But GM and Ford Avoid Disastrous Market Share Plunges with Big Discounts and Huge Financial Losses: Is a Big Three Product Worth a Dime?
July 2005: Toyota and BMW Among World's 20 Most Innovative Companies; Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Honda Brand Names Among World's 20 Most Valuable
April 2005: In the U.S. in March 2005, Toyota and Nissan Sales Advance, Ford and GM Sales Drop
March 2005: In the U.S. in February 2005, Toyota and Nissan Sales Advance, Ford Sales Drop, GM Sales Plummet
February 2005: Bosch Faulty Fuel Pumps Cause Delays and Stoppages at Mercedes and BMW Plants
February 2005: Ignition Flaw Prompts Honda Recall; Hot Seats and Faulty Pumps Prompt BMW Recalls; Reuters Reports Hot Seat and Alleged Third Degree Burns Give Chrysler Legal Problems
Automotive News Menu Pages
Auto Manufacturers: Toyota - Honda - Subaru - Nissan - Ford - Chrysler - General Motors - Volkswagen
Topics: Reviews - Recalls - Safety Investigations - Safety Test Results - Automotive Excellence - Green and Clean - Automotive Dishonor, Discredit, or Demerit - Lawsuits - Automotive Finances - Car and Truck Sales and Market Shares - Auto on Info

The visitor may find the following tables and charts useful as well.

Cumulative Number of Auto on Info Auto Manufacturer Awards for Motor Vehicle Quality   Cumulative Number of First Place Positions in Auto on Info's Auto Manufacturer Awards for Motor Vehicle Quality
Auto Manufacturer Awards Auto Manufacturer First Place Positions
Toyota 42 Toyota 39
Honda 34 Honda 5
Mercedes-Benz 2 Mercedes-Benz 0
Nissan 1 Nissan 0
BMW 1 BMW 0
Volvo 1 Volvo 0
General Motors 0 General Motors 0
Ford 0 Ford 0
Chrysler 0 Chrysler 0
This table is current as of 14 August 2007. This table is current as of 14 August 2007.
Shares of Consumer Reports' 2005 Quick Picks, by Auto Manufacturer and Motor Vehicle Line
Manufacturer Share of 2005 Reliability Quick Picks Share of 2005 Owner Satisfaction Quick Picks Share of 2005 Fuel Economy Quick Picks Share of 2005 Overall Quick Picks
  Vehicle Line
Toyota .63 .47 .46 .33
  Lexus .11 .16 0.00 .14
  Toyota .53 .32 .46 .19
Honda .21 .26 .38 .33
  Acura .11 .11 .08 .05
  Honda .11 .16 .31 .29
Subaru .05 .11 0.00 .14
Nissan 0.00 .05 0.00 .14
  Infiniti 0.00 0.00 0.00 .05
  Nissan 0.00 .05 0.00 .10
Mazda .05 .05 .15 .051
BMW 0.00 .05 0.00 0.00
Mitsubishi .05 0.00 0.00 0.00
Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, and all others 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 Mazda's one entry, the Mazda3 i, may have been pulled from Consumer Reports' Overall Quick Pick List due to a "Poor" side-impact crash test rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Insurance Institute's rating did cause Consumer Reports to pull the Mazda3 from its recommended list.
All shares are rounded to two significant digits.
CR 2005 Quick Picks are quick pick models of model year 2005.
Note: A rebadge of a product engineered by Toyota, but sold by another auto manufacturer, is omitted from the latter's share.
Source for Consumer Reports' Good Bets: "Quick Picks," Consumer Reports, April 2005, P. 31
Shares of Consumer Reports' 2007 Good Bets for Model Years 1997-2006 with Selected 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Averages, by Auto Manufacturer and Motor Vehicle Line
Manufacturer Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .80 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .85 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .90 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .95
  Vehicle Line
Toyota .54 .55 .72 .83
  Lexus .16 .19 .28 .50
  Toyota .38 .35 .44 .33
Honda .27 .32 .22 .17
  Acura .11 .13 .06 0.00
  Honda .16 .19 .17 .17
Subaru .03 0.00 0.00 0.00
Nissan .14 .10 .06 0.00
  Infiniti .08 .10 .06 0.00
  Nissan .05 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mazda .03 .03 0.00 0.00
Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, and all others 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 If the vehicle model is too new for a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank average to exist, the early 2003 Reliability Percentrank is used when such exists.
All shares are rounded to two significant digits.
CR Good Bets are models that have several model years between 1997 and 2006 of better-than-average reliability and have performed well on Consumer Reports' road tests. An auto Reliability Percentrank is a measure of relative overall reliability used by Auto on Info.
Note: Two rebadges of products engineered by Toyota, but sold by another auto manufacturer, are omitted from the latter's share.
Source for Consumer Reports' Good Bets: "CR Good Bet: The Best of Both World's," Consumer Reports Cars: Used Car Buying Guide 2006, p. 25
Source for Reliability Percentrank averages: Table I-MVRP

Median Value of a New Big Three Vehicle as Assessed by Mini-Survey Respondents Reporting Ownership of a Quality Four Product on or before July 8, 2005, by Manufacturer
Manufacturer Big 3 Vehicle Valued at More Than What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 95% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 80% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 50% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Plus Respondent Would Require $20,000+ per Year to Drive It Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Plus Respondent Would Require $200,000+ per Year to Drive It Respondent Unwilling to Own a Big Three Vehicle under Any Circumstance
Toyota Motor Corporation               √  
Honda Motor Company           √      
Subaru Division of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd.1             √    
Nissan Motor Company1       √          
1 Very few respondents reported owning a product by Nissan or Subaru.
The Big Three manufacturers are General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG. See Glossary.
To view more results or to express your assessment of the value of a new Big Three Vehicle, go to Mini-Survey No. 31, "The True Value of a Big Three."