10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
42,994 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2002 BMW 745 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2002 BMW 745 Owner Comments

problem #16

Jul 202018

745

  • 180,425 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car stalled and all the lights are flashing on the dash... will not start back up... almost had a serious wreck at 75mph car just went off...had no steering and barley made it to the side of the road... damaged the front end after hitting the curb trying to get off the highway to safety... had it towed home then to a BMW dealer who told me my cass went out and the computer was not responding and could be many things told me it would cost me over $4K to fix the car... I had the car towed home and it sits in my back yard now and has been sitting there for almost a year... and I am so tired of all the problems with the car... I have tried everything myself to fix it.. and really don't have $4K to give to a dealer to fix it... I wish BMW would do something about this like take the car back and pay me for all the money I have put in this car... its a beautiful car but has many problems.. many more than I can afford

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #15

May 012018

745

  • miles
I contacted BMW of North America just recently regarding the airbag sensor problem since we keep spending money on this car since the first day we got it nothing but problems. I would like them to purchased this car back from me since all I had is money losses and aggravation with this vehicle.

- Hesperia, CA, USA

problem #14

Mar 062018

745

  • miles
We have being having problems with the safety issues of this car, sometimes the car will be fine and all of the sudden it dies completly leaving you stranded, the car will crank over and wont start. We have taking to the shop and we have emails from BMW of North America addressing this issue and they advice the repair shop to replace battery, fuel pump, and some modulators and the problem still not fix. This car is being a money pit. The car was towed again to the BMW service dealership to get diagnosed again for the same problem. Also in this BMW brake lights come on and there is nothing wrong with the brakes, airbag light will come on as well. I used to own a Mercedes Benz E430 and I never had any problems with it. My husband likes BMW's, but there is nothing but problems one after another very frustrating. Maybe we got a lemon car all alone and we have being paying the price ever since.

- Hesperia, CA, USA

problem #13

Jan 042016

745

  • 148,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have replaced my antenator twice now, when I replaced it the first time my generator light kept coming on and off so I replaced alternator and it was still doing it, so I replaced it the 2nd time and now it does not light up the generator light but every other light comes on, looks like a xmas tree on my dash...also my hood is locked and my hood light pops on often.I had a new battery installed and registered and still acts up.every now and again in the mornings my car wont start have to jump start it..jus don't know what else to do BMW a lot of people having this same problem, system not charging correctly...please help

- York, PA, USA

problem #12

Jun 012010

745 8-cyl

  • 66,000 miles
My BMW 745I 2002 with "drive by wire" six gear automatic transmission developed a rough shift, "clunk" in the lower gear ranges. In the lower gears, the vehicle sometimes down shifts unexpectedly resulting in a sudden drop in speed. This could cause an accident if someone was following to close behind.

- Redding, CT, USA

problem #11

Sep 032011

745 8-cyl

  • 0 miles
Transmission goes into neutral when I push button to stop car, also logic 7 sound is a problem.

- Richmond, CA, USA

problem #10

Mar 152011

745 8-cyl

  • 118,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After picking up my 2002 BMW 745li from orange county BMW on 3/11/11 with a bill of $1,500 dollars for new battery cables and a B-pillar sensor. Transmission failsafe mode light came on. Date 3/15/11; turn signal, horn as well as the wiper blades stop working. Please help.

- Newburgh, NY, USA

problem #9

Jun 082010

745

  • 85,000 miles
Subject: Transmission failsafe issue on BMW 745 I've been having electronic transmission failsafe errors on my vehicle for the past 2 years. BMW of manhattan couldn't replicate the problem twice within a 2 year period. No one wants to do anything about it but my vehicle stalls, loses gears and doesn't start. These faults occur every week right now. This is a very common issue on these cars and BMW doesn't want to do anything about it! when I had the warranty on the vehicle they didn't do anything and now that the warranty has expired they don't want to do anything either. This is dangerous and hazardous for driving and needs to be looked at before someone will get seriously hurt. Please contact me for more details if needed at [xxx]. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Middle Village, NY, USA

problem #8

Aug 062008

745 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 67,000 miles
The contact owns a 2002 BMW 745I. When the contact started the ignition, the frontal air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The warning indicator remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they stated that the failure was related to the air bag sensor. The contact was concerned that the air bags may not deploy in the event of a crash. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 67,000 and the current mileage is 69,800. Updated 10/16/08 the air bag light illuminated and the ac was not workking on high. Updated 10/21/08.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #7

May 162006

745

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Vehicle keeps shutting down; I was driving on the beltway going 60 mph and vehicle shut down almost causing accident, this vehicle has been serviced 4 times for this problem BMW service can not detect the problem. Please help me this vehicle is not safe to drive you don't know when or where it will shut off.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #6

Jun 102003

745

  • 11,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The safety restraint device continuously malfunctioned, which resulted in the entire restraint system, including the air bags becoming inoperative. Dealership indicated the this malfunction was caused by a failure in the I/drive computer system. Dealership reprogramed the computer drive which only provided a temporary solution to the problem.

- Shawano, WI, USA

problem #5

May 012003

745 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Vehicle has had multiple failure of the transmission, fuel delivery related malfunctions including failed and rupture fuel lines, multiple problems with various controls in dash, it has been at dealer over ten times during the first year and it still malfunctions.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #4

Jun 042003

745 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,000 miles
The telematics and other electronics systems of the vehicle have failed or reported apparently erroneous information on many occasions. In most cases, these failures occur while the vehicle is in the midst of travel, which thereby causes the driver to become distracted from driving while focusing on the system failure. This poses a potential safety issue as it prevents the driver from devoting the needed attention to operation of the vehicle. Problems include, but are not limited to: Airbag and SRS warning messages; service engine messages indicating potential emissions problems; failure of dynamic drive system; inoperability of tire pressure monitoring; erroneous flat tire messages from tire pressure monitor; gas tank gauge reading empty although fule is in vehicle's tank; telephone system failures; failures and freezes of navigation system; failure of audio system which results in having to hold telephone or view navigation screen as audio commands are muted; inoperative voice commands.

- Oakton, VA, USA

problem #3

Apr 282003

745 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 3,200 miles
On two occasions the vehicles engine sputtered and shut down when started. On another occasion the engine stalled while driving 50 mph. The dealer indicated that the on board computer was the problem.

- Mclean, VA, USA

problem #2

May 082003

(reported on)

745

  • 1,800 miles
The vehicles main computer failed while driving. This resulted in the vehicle shutting off and almost caused a rear end collision.

- Mclean, VA, USA

problem #1

Apr 302003

745 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5,485 miles
Systems failure in rain storm while driving on interstate 95 in broward county, fl. Failure involved windshield wipers, lights, directional signals etc. Which created an unsafe condition as well as quite a surprise for me (the driver). This car has been involved in numerous trips to the dealer to fix computer related problems and this type of complaint seems to be but one of many similar issues experienced by owners of this model. BMW will fix the car and return it to me in a period of approximately 1 week after each incident.

- Aventura, FL, USA

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