I PURCHASE A NEW 745I AND AFTER 10MONTHS OF CONSTANT AGGRAVATION AND FUSTRATION BY THE NUMEROUS FAILURES OF THIS CAR, I WOULD LIKE FOR BMW TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. MY CAR CONSTANTLY KEEP HAVING ENGINE FAILURE, RECENTLY BMW HAD TO REPLACE THE CYLINDER HEADS (FOR A NEW CAR THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE). I WOULD TO RETURN THIS CAR TO BMW FOR A FAIR EXCHANGE.
2002 BMW 745i complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2002 record →
BRAKES FAILED FOR 2ND TIME IN 2 WEEKS, RESULTING IN FENDER DAMAGE TO 3 VEHICLES; ACCIDENT OCCURED AT 5 MPH. THE SAME FAILURE HAD OCCURED 2 WEEKS EARLIER (WITHOUT ANY DAMAGES), AND THE LOCAL BMW DEALERSHIP "REPAIRED" THE BRAKE WHEEL SENSORS, STATING THIS WAS THE CAUSE OF THE BRAKE FAILURE. THERE WAS NO EMERGENCY BRAKE HANDLE THAT COULD BE USED IN SUCH AN EMERGENCY (ONLY A BUTTON ON THE DASH).
ON 8/9/02, MY CAR'S SEAT BELT AND AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE DEALER TOOK THE CAR ON 8/12/02, AND RETURNED IT 8/21/02. MR. MOODY OF LEITH REPORTED THAT THE PROBLEM HAD NOT BEEN RESOLVED BUT AWAITED DELIVERY OF REVISED SOFTWARE IN "A COUPLE OF WEEKS". WHILE THE WARNING MESSAGE WAS NO LONGER POSTED (THEY SAID THEY HAD MERELY EMPTIED THE MEMORY), THEY COULD NOT ASSURE ME THAT THE SAFETY MECHANISMS WERE OPERATING PROPERLY. I HAD THEM PICK UP THE CAR AGAIN, AND THEY STILL COULD NOT ASSURE ME THAT THE EQUIPMENT WAS WORKING PROPERLY. I SPOKE WITH AN FIELD ENGINEER AT BMW (DAN) WHO ASSURRED ME THAT THE PROBLEM (ERROR CODE 9388) WAS A FALSE READING AND THAT THE SAFETY DEVICES WERE OPERATING CORRECTLY. I ASKED THAT THIS BE PUT IN WRITING, GIVEN THAT I HAD ALREADY REC'D SEVERAL DIFFERING INTERPRETATIONS. I HAVE NOW REQUESTED WRITTEN ASURANCE 3 TIMES (ONCE IN WRITING) AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED SUCH CONFIRMATION. HENCE, I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS SAFETY EQUIPMENT IS OPERATING. THE DEALER INDICATED THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED IN OTHER 2002 7.45I'S.
WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH CONSUMER HEARD A LOUD CLUNKING NOISE, THEN ENGINE STALLED. VEHICLE IS STILL AT DEALERSHIP.*AK
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2002 BMW 745i → · Every 745i year → · How the figures are calculated →