2001 BMW 740IL problems
NHTSA has received 33 complaints about the 2001 BMW 740IL, and 18% of them involve air bags. Next are electrical system (15%) and fuel system (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 33 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 87,000 miles 25 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 25 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 87,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 3 injuries reported.
It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Front crash at 35 MPH, neither airbag deployed. Driver suffered minor head injuries, damage to vehicle unknown at this time.
In march 2007 low coolant warning caused me open hood and add coolant three times before I took car to BMW dealer ,who diagnosed cracked plastic reservoir in radiator and separate coolant tank. Each time engine had overheated due to a lot of pressure under radiator coolant cap. Needed much time waiting before opening to add coolant. This was defective materials and not normal wear and tear breakdown. Every preventive maintenance has been done by book on this BMW.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 BMW 740 il. The contact was driving 2 MPH into a parking space. When the brakes were engaged the vehicle surged forward approximately 24 to 36 inches. The vehicle was able to proceed to a complete stop with extreme force applied to the brakes. The failure mileage was 110,000. The current mileage was 110,390.
I would like to report that the airbag control modules in the BMW 7 series from model year 1995 to 2001 have airbag control modules that are failing at a very high rate, leaving owners without airbags and the airbag warning light on. The new module from BMW is $1400. This is happening more frequently to cars in cold climates.