What breaks most · 2001 to 2007 model years
BMW 745i problems by year
Owners have filed 128 safety complaints with NHTSA about the BMW 745i across model years 2001 to 2007. Three years stand out: 2002 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2003 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 2004 for powertrain and transmission complaints. The quietest years are 2001.
- Years to check closely: 2002, 2003, 2004
- Fewest complaints: 2001
- Complaints on file
- 1282001 to 2007, all trims
- Worst year
- 200254 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 155 fires · 5 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 90kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 8Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Electrical system (1) | |
| 54 | 3 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (17) | |
| 32 | 8 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (9) | |
| 24 | 3 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (11) | |
| 16 | 1 | 3 | Electrical system (4) | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | Electrical system (1) |
What fails on the 2002 BMW 745i
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 31% |
17 | 2 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Air bags | 20% |
11 | 0 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 19% |
10 | 1 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2002 BMW 745i |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 15% |
8 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2002 BMW 745i |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 9% |
5 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2002 BMW 745i |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 6% |
3 | 0 | Shop engine parts for the 2002 BMW 745i |
| Seat belts | 6% |
3 | 0 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Parking Brake | 6% |
3 | 1 | — |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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My bmw 745i 2002 with "drive by wire" six gear automatic transmission developed a rough shift, "clunk" in the lower gear ranges. In the lower gears, the vehicle sometimes down shifts unexpectedly resulting in a sudden drop in speed. This could cause an accident if someone was following to close behind.*jb
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Transmission overheats and stalls. While coming to a stop, the car jerks before the stop feels like a someone ran into my bumper with there car. Transmission overheats per dash warning.
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I have driven 2004 bmw 745i for the past 10 years. It has 44000 miles on the odometer. Recently, it stops while driving. Each time it stops, the gear is shifted to neutral. When i tried to start engine, it won't start. After using cell phone to request for help, the engine starts. It happened more than five times.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which BMW 745i years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2002, 2003, 2004 carry the most filings on the BMW 745i. The 2002 alone has 54 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common BMW 745i problem?
On the 2002 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 17 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do BMW 745i problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all BMW 745i complaints that include mileage is about 90,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.