BMW 740 Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
44 NHTSA complaints (1991–2001).Complaint rate: 733.3 per 1,000 vehicles.
Should I buy a BMW 740?
Quick answer from 44 NHTSA complaints · 1991–2001
BMW 740 shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 9.1% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.
Which Years to Buy & Avoid
Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.
Rankings based on raw NHTSA complaint counts. Sales volume data not yet available for this model.
Bottom line: The BMW 740 has consistently lower complaint volume in 2001 compared to other years.
Avoid These Years
No years with significant complaint spikes.
Average
Better Years
A model's reputation is just the start.
Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $4.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).
Complaints by Model Year
NHTSA complaint count per model year
Common BMW 740 Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline | 5 | 0.0% |
| Air Bags:Frontal | 3 | 100.0% |
| Airbags | 3 | 33.3% |
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Cooling System:Radiator Assembly | 2 | 0.0% |
| Electrical System:Wiring:Front Underhood | 2 | 0.0% |
| Gasoline Fuel System | 2 | 0.0% |
| Engine & Cooling | 2 | 0.0% |
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (44 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.
Sales data: Not yet available for this model. Complaint counts are shown as raw numbers.
Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.
Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint count. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).
See also: BMW 740accident & safety statistics from our vehicle history database.
Buying a BMW 740?
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