10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
55,881 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #8

Jan 292012

745

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
2004 BMW 745I. Consumer states vehicle ran through the garage door the consumer stated the vehicle was sitting in the driveway running for about 10 minutes, when all of a sudden she heard a loud noise. The consumer discovered the vehicle went into reverse on its own and crashed into the garage. The vehicle was inspected, and no problems were found. The consumer referenced investigation number PE11025.

- Mays Landing, NJ, USA

problem #7

Jan 292012

745 8-cyl

  • 119,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 BMW 745I. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the driveway when the gear shifted out of park and into reverse. As a result, the vehicle crashed into the garage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics but the diagnostic failed to produce any failure codes. The dealer stated there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 119,000. The consumer stated the vehicle was running in the driveway for about 10 minutes, when suddenly there was a loud noise. She immediately went outside and discovered the vehicle had went into reverse on its own and hit the garage door. Updated 05/03/12

- Mays Landing , NJ, USA

problem #6

Apr 122011

745

  • 109,115 miles
I purchased a 2004 BMW 745 li from Lexus dealership in md, I drove to fayetteville, nc because im in the military. 1 week after being home at ft bragg I started the car in the morning and then the transfail safe light came on when I arrived at work. 4/12/2011 while driving to work in full heavy traffic the coolant light came on with a yellow indicator and told me to drive moderately. While trying to drive to a gas station the red indicator came on and told me to stop safely and this is while in traffic. This computer is always saying somethings wrong when its not and im afraid that when something is really wrong I wont know if it is legitimate. I checked the coolant level and it was full. Oil was a little low but no indicator came on for that. Started the car back up and it drove fine. There needs to be a recall on these computers in BMW cars. These computer problem can be a ploy to constantly purge monies from consumers pocket please help. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fayetteville, NC, USA

problem #5

Jan 012010

745 8-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
Vehicle type is a 2004 745li BMW V-8 6 speed transmission. When the car is in 5th gear the car hiccups like it wants to up shift but then does not. It cause the car it jerk every 3 to 5 seconds when in 5th gear. When the car is in any other gear in does not do this. I have had a transmission fluid completely changed out. In which the fluid smelled burnt and looked brown in color. BMW says that it is a life time fluid (it is not). When the car is accelerating through 5th gear it does not do the problem either. There is something clearly wrong which the transmission. I have taking the car to two independent transmission shops and they have no idea. I have learned that the car will stay in 6th gear at 45 mph and normally cruise in the city in 4th gear at lower speeds and avoid 5th gear with the use of the manual shifts on the steering wheel. Also, the dynamic drive system fails about once a month in which you can turn the car off and on again and the car dynamic drive system works fine for a month or so. This causes the car chassis to roll when cornering. During this time of failure the stereo makes odd noises in which I think it is because the stereo volume is set to get louder as the car speed increases. These issues all tend to happen at the same time.

- Ypsilanti, MI, USA

problem #4

Mar 082011

745 8-cyl

  • 72,000 miles
Numerous warning lights including "possible transmission failure" and "loss of stability control" lit up on my 2004 BMW 745li. The vehicle lost its ability to accelerate, which extremely dangerous in the high traffic situation I was experiencing on the highway. This failure is in addition to numerous warning indicator lights that appear intermittently in the vehicle and then reset themselves once the vehicle is turned off and restarted. The diagnosis by BMW was that the mechatronic unit on the transmission had failed (after only 70,000 miles, this is barely the break in period for these vehicles). The total repair cost was quoted at $5,000. The machatronics unit was replaced and seems to be working for now. Upon reading up on issues related to the BMW 745li it is amazing that no major recall has been initiated on its electricals, transmission, and computerized control systems. All of these seem like huge safety concerns as the vehicle tends to fail while in traffic.

- Redding, CT, USA

problem #3

Mar 122011

745

  • 51,550 miles
The contact owns a 2004 BMW 760li. While driving above 50 mph, the contact stated that the vehicle would shake excessively and then stall without warning similar to NHTSA campaign id number: 04V344000 (power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm, PCM). Both the dealer and manufacturer advised the contact that his vehicle was not included in the previous recall and offered no additional assistance. No repairs were performed. The current mileages was 51,600 and the failure mileages was 51,550.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #2

May 212009

745

  • 28,000 miles
Transmission has been failing on my 2004 754li the first year I purchased it. I have sent to the vist BMW in cypress creek Florida over 20 times it stayed in the their hands for weeks on end and always told me there is nothing wrong with it. For years it was a constant chore to drive 30 miles to their facility and for them to inspect my complaint to simply to tell me that there is nothing wrong with it. Low and behold my warranty expired and when I went there again, they said " well it seems like your transmission is slipping and would need extensive repairs". immediately, I complained and began to request supervisors. They once again contacted the BMW North America supervisor who said they will not warranty this complaint regardless of the documented history. I have wasted over 100 days of my car being in the shop and at this point I cannot drive my car because the transmission is constantly failing and the car is not drivable. I paid close to 90K for this vehicle and plenty of additional monies for rentals and additional repairs due to the inability of the cars transmission to function properly. I don't know what to do...please help in this economy the car's value has depleted and without a proper transmission it is almost worthless.

- Davie, FL, USA

problem #1

Aug 182004

745 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,386 miles
After two weeks of purchase, the vehicle went into neutral mode with the gear shift still in drive without warning. The consumer coasted the vehicle to the side of the road. On a separate occasion, the power steering failed and became difficult to operate for directional control twice. On both items the dealership was unable to duplicate the problem. The consumer was told there was a 9/1/04 recall notice to reprogram this model vehicle. The consumer was told that his vehicle was not during this recall period.

- Sumter, SC, USA