What breaks most · 2002 to 2005 model years
BMW 745Li problems by year
Owners have filed 144 safety complaints with NHTSA about the BMW 745Li across model years 2002 to 2005. Three years stand out: 2003 for air bags complaints, 2002 for air bags complaints and 2004 for powertrain and transmission complaints.
- Years to check closely: 2003, 2002, 2004
- Complaints on file
- 1442002 to 2005, all trims
- Worst year
- 200350 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 101 fires · 9 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 96kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 7Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 3 | 2 | Air bags (10) | |
| 50 | 1 | 2 | Air bags (11) | |
| 33 | 1 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (11) | |
| 25 | 5 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (5) |
What fails on the 2003 BMW 745Li
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 22% |
11 | 1 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 16% |
8 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 14% |
7 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2003 BMW 745Li |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 12% |
6 | 0 | Shop brakes parts for the 2003 BMW 745Li |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 10% |
5 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2003 BMW 745Li |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 10% |
5 | 1 | Shop all speed control and throttle parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 8% |
4 | 0 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2003 BMW 745Li |
| Tires | 8% |
4 | 0 | — |
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 car is having severe transmission problems that were recalled on other cars of the same year, make and model. Also the park lights won't work most of the time. The traction control as well as the antilock brakes go in and out. The stability control on the feont passenger side goes out. It happens while driving.
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I contacted bmw of north america just recently regarding the airbag sensor problem since we keep spending money on this car since the first day we got it nothing but problems. I would like them to purchased this car back from me since all i had is money losses and aggravation with this vehicle.
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Sensor malfunction causes transmission to shift into alternate gears while car is in motion. While in drive car would shift into reverse or neutral by itself with no operator control.
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 745Li years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2003, 2002, 2004 carry the most filings on the BMW 745Li. The 2003 alone has 50 complaints, led by air bags.
What is the most common BMW 745Li problem?
On the 2003 model year, the most-reported component is air bags with 11 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do BMW 745Li problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all BMW 745Li complaints that include mileage is about 96,000 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.