BMW 740

Owners filed 38 complaints across 8 model years of the BMW 740. The 1998 drew the most (9).

Model years8
Complaints38
Recalls1
Fires4
Deaths0

Which BMW 740 years should you avoid?

Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 BMW 740 model years have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to judge, so any ranking would be noise. The table below has every year as filed.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Every BMW 740 model year compared

Complaints per year
YearComplaintsRelative volumeRecallsFiresCrashesMost reportedStatus
20012
01—Electrical System › Wiring › Front UnderhoodRoutine
19989
0—1Unknown or OtherRoutine
19978
0—1Air BagsRoutine
19961
0——Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank AssemblyRoutine
19957
011Structure › Body › DoorRoutine
19943
01—Vehicle Speed ControlRoutine
19937
11—Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › GasolineRoutine
19911
0—1Air Bags › FrontalRoutine

Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.