Avoid: 2022 (lowest Year Scores on complaints per year on the road, crash reports and recalls)
Best: 2020
3 model years of NHTSA owner complaints and recalls · How we grade
Across 6 model years, the BMW 8 Series has 48 owner-filed NHTSA complaints and 2 recalls on record. The most-reported areas are electrical system and engine. 2022 drew the most complaints (14), 1996 the fewest of the years on the road 3+ years (4).
Source: NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for BMW 8 Series vehicles (US, public record).
Complaint volume by model year. Raw NHTSA totals, not adjusted for sales volume or time on the road, so older and higher-selling years accumulate more. Every year links to its full breakdown.
Highest: 2022 (14 complaints). Lowest: 1996 (4).
Insufficient owner data available to determine overall sentiment. The provided community feedback contains only a few isolated, indirect references to the 8 Series. One mention notes it outsells the BMW Z4, indicating it is not the brand's lowest-volume model.
A single, second-hand report from a dealership employee suggests the transfer case system (shared with BMW SUVs) could be an issue, with failures most frequently observed between 50,000 and 80,000 miles (80,467 - 128,748 km) on SUVs, potentially due to towing. The frequency for the 8 Series is described as low ("haven't seen many instances").
Owner insights cover all generations of the 8 Series. Individual model years are broken down above.
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