I HAVE A 1997 740IL BMW THIRD OWNER 228,000. I START TO NOTICE IN APRIL OF 2011 THAT WHEN I FUEL THE CAR UP THAT WHEN REMOVING THE GAS CAP THERE WAS A HISSING SOUND. A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER IT STARTED LEAKING FUEL WHEN I LOOK UNDER THE CAR I SEEN THAT THE FUEL TANK ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE WAS CRUSH IN AND HAD A HOLE IN IT. I HAVE PARK THE CAR TILL I HAVE THE MONEY TO REPAIR IT. I HAVE NOT RUN OVER ANYTHING NOR HAS THE EVER BEEN IN A CRASH AND HAS BEEN KEEP VERY WELL. *TR
1997 BMW 7 Series
Routine
Owners filed 2 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the unknown or other. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown or Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsFuel System, Other
Filed May 2, 2011228,800 milesVA
Unknown or Other
Filed Feb 1, 1999CA
CUP HOLDER MALFUNCTIONING. *YC
2 of 2 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2006| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2011 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2009 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2008 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2007 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2006 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2005 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2004 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2003 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2002 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1997 — this page | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.