1997 BMW 740

Routine

Owners filed 8 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Air Bags2
000
Visibility › Windshield1
000
Power Train › Axle Assembly › Banjo Housing1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Radiator Assembly1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling1
000
Air Bags › Frontal1
100

What owners reported

Newest filings
Air Bags
Filed Jun 7, 2018131,000 milesFL

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 BMW 740. AFTER TURNING THE IGNITION KEY TO START THE ENGINE, THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR PANEL AIR BAG ERRONEOUSLY DEPLOYED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND THE CONTACT WAS INSTRUCTED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO FERMAN BMW (31400 US HWY 19 NORTH, PALM HARBOR, FL), BUT THE CAUSE OF THE SPONTANEOUS AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED AND NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 131,000. *TT UPDATED 9/24/18*JB

Air Bags
Filed Mar 17, 2014OK

I CONTACTED BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS AFTER RECEIVING NOTICE OF "RECALL CAMPAIGN NO. 13V-564: FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR MAT" WHICH APPLIES TO ANOTHER BMW VEHICLE I OWN(2006 X5). I EXPLAINED THAT I OWN A 1997 740I: XXXXXX WHICH HAS THE IDENTICAL ISSUE WITH THE PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR MAT AS IDENTIFIED IN RECALL CAMPAIGN NO. 13V-564: THIS ISSUE WAS DIAGNOSED BY COOPER BMW, EDMOND OK ON APRIL 6, 2009, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY ON NOVEMBER 26, 2010: ?CRACKS IN PASS FRONT SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR MAT ISTA SHORT TEST DONE AND VERIFIED SRS LAMP FOR PASS FRONT SEAT SENSOR-EST GIVEN FOR REPAIR? I HAVE CONTACTED BMW ON TWO OCCASIONS AND PROVIDED DOCUMENTATION OF THIS IDENTICAL ISSUE AND HAVE BEEN REFUSED ANY CONSIDERATION FOR THIS CLAIM. MY MOST RECENT CORRESPONDENCE WAS FEBRUARY 19, 2014 VIA EMAIL WHICH CONTAINED A SCANNED IMAGE OF THE DIAGNOSIS OF SAID ISSUE FROM BMW DEALER, FROM WHICH I'VE RECEIVED NO ANSWER TO DATE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 2, 2009PA

OUR CAR IS BROKEN AND WE HAVE NO MONEY TO FIX IT. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Radiator Assembly
Filed Feb 25, 2000MD

WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED OF 75 MPH RADIATOR UPPER NECK TO WHICH WATER HOSE CONNECTS BROKE FROM THE WELD. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK *ML

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Sep 25, 1999MA

HI, I AM NOT SURE IF THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT OR NOT. I HAD A SOUND LIKE AN EXPANDING AND CONTRACTING OF METAL IN THE BACK UNDERNEATH OF CAR. IT SOUNDED LIKE A COOKIE SHEET WHEN IT IS FIRST HEATING UP IN THE OVEN AND IT EXPANDS AND CONTRACTS. THE DEALER COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WHEN I BROUGHT IT IN BUT SAID THAT THEY WERE GOING TO CALL BMW TECHNICAL SUPPORT BECAUSE THEY HAD A THEORY THAT A SPIDER WAS CLOGGING UP THE FUEL LINE AND THAT THIS HAD HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE TO THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND RESULTED IN THE GAS TANK COLLAPSING. I BROUGHT CAR IN AGAIN AND THEY SAID THEY REMOVED A SPIDER AND PUT IN A NEW PIPE/LINE. THE SOUND I HAD HEARD BEFORE WAS GONE. SOME PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME, HOWEVER, THAT THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A CLOSED SYSTEM AND THAT THIS COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. IS IT POSSIBLE? IS PROBLEM FIXED?

Air Bags › FrontalCrash
Filed Apr 21, 1997FL

WHILE DRIVING 3:00 POSITION , DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY UPON IMPACT AT 40-45 MPH, THE OTHER AIRBAGS DID DEPLOYED. *AK

Visibility › Windshield
Filed Apr 9, 1997IN

WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED THE WINDSHIELD STARTED CRACKING ON THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDES, AND THE WINDSHIELDS ARE STILL CRACKING. *AK

Power Train › Axle Assembly › Banjo Housing
Filed Jan 6, 1997OH

WHEN VEHICLE GOES OVER BUMP OR DIP, WOULD BOTTOM OUT, CRACKED DIFFERENTIAL WHEEL HOUSING AREA; VEHICLE BEEN IN SHOP FOR 3 MONTHS FOR PROBLEM; DEALER CAN NOT FIX OR GET PARTS TO FIX PROBLEM. *AK

8 of 8 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1998
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20012010Routine
19989000Routine
1997 — this page8000Routine
19961000Routine
19957010Routine
19943010Routine
19937110Routine
19911000Routine

Compare every 740 year →

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.