NHTSA recalls & complaints · 2002–2008

BMW 745Li recalls, complaints and VIN decoding

NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns and 144 owner complaints for the BMW 745Li, covering model years 2002 to 2008. The 2003 model year drew the most complaints (50), and Air Bags is the component owners name most often.

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint flat files, updated September 25, 2026.

Decode your BMW 745Li VIN

See the model year, plant and build details of one vehicle, then the recalls for its exact year.

6 recall campaigns on file
144 owner complaints (unverified reports to NHTSA)
7 model years with data (2002–2008)

most complaints: 2003 (50 for that model year)
top component: Air Bags (35 complaints)
latest recall 17V328000 (reported May 18, 2017)

10 complaints reporting a crash (6.9%)
1 complaint reporting a fire (0.7%)
7 complaints reporting an injury (4.9%)
0 complaints reporting a death (0.0%)

BMW 745Li complaints by model year

4 model years · NHTSA complaints

The 2003 model year has the most complaints: 50 of 144, or 34.7%. Next come 2002 (36) and 2004 (33). The fewest are for 2005, with 25 complaints.

Owner complaints per model yearHighest yearOther years

BMW 745Li complaints by model year, with complaints reporting a crash, fire, injury or death

BMW 745Li complaints by model year, with complaints reporting a crash, fire, injury or death
Model year	Complaints	Reporting a crash	Reporting a fire	Reporting an injury
2002	36	3	0	0
2003	50	1	0	1
2004	33	1	1	0
2005	25	5	0	6
All model years	144	10	1	7

Crash, fire, injury and death columns count complaints that report at least one of them, not people.

Most-reported BMW 745Li components

top 15 · NHTSA categories

Air Bags is the component named most often, in 35 complaints (24.3% of all 144), followed by Power Train (32) and Electrical System (22).

Components named most often in BMW 745Li complaints (top 15)

Components named most often in BMW 745Li complaints (top 15)
Component	Complaints	Share of complaints
Air Bags	35	24.3%
Power Train	32	22.2%
Electrical System	22	15.3%
Engine and Engine Cooling	14	9.7%
Engine	13	9.0%
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	13	9.0%
Seat Belts	12	8.3%
Fuel System, Gasoline	9	6.3%
Structure	9	6.3%
Vehicle Speed Control	9	6.3%
Service Brakes	7	4.9%
Tires	6	4.2%
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)	5	3.5%
Equipment	5	3.5%
Latches/Locks/Linkages	5	3.5%

One complaint can name several components, so the shares add up to more than 100%. Component names are NHTSA’s top-level categories.

What NHTSA owner complaints mean

These figures count complaints that vehicle owners and other members of the public have submitted to NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. NHTSA uses complaints, together with other data, to spot safety issues that may warrant an investigation and to check whether existing recalls go far enough.

They are reports, not findings. Each complaint is the submitter's own account. Its presence in the database does not mean NHTSA has confirmed a defect.
Counts are not defect rates. The data doesn't say how many vehicles were sold, so a raw count can't tell you what share of vehicles had a problem.
Popular models collect more complaints. A model sold in large numbers will usually gather more complaints than a rare one, simply because more people own it.
One complaint can name several components. Totals by component can therefore add up to more than the number of complaints.
Coverage starts in 1995. NHTSA's complaint file contains complaints received since January 1, 1995.

Use complaint patterns as a prompt for questions: whether a recall covers the issue, whether the vehicle you are considering has had the fix, and what a mechanic finds on inspection. For confirmed safety defects, see the recall list for this model.

BMW 745Li recalls

6 campaigns · newest first

Every vehicle recall campaign NHTSA lists under the model name 745Li, newest first. The 6 campaigns cover model years 2002 to 2008. The 2005 model year appears in the most campaigns (3).

6 recall campaigns

BMW 745Li recall campaigns covering each model year
Decade	Years ending in 0	Years ending in 1	Years ending in 2	Years ending in 3	Years ending in 4	Years ending in 5	Years ending in 6	Years ending in 7	Years ending in 8	Years ending in 9
2000s			2002: 2 campaigns	2003: 2 campaigns	2004: no campaigns	2005: 3 campaigns	2006: 1 campaign	2007: 1 campaign	2008: 1 campaign

Highlighted: the model year with the most campaigns.

NHTSA campaign 17V328000
Reported May 18, 2017
Latches/Locks/Linkages › Doors › Latch
Model years 2005–2008
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2005-2008 745i, 745Li, 750i, 750Li, 760i, 760Li, and B7 Alpina vehicles equipped with both the Comfort Access and Soft Close Automatic options. In these vehicles, the doors may appear to be closed and latched, but, in fact, may inadvertently open.
Consequence:
The door may unexpectedly open due to road or driving conditions or occupant contact with the door. The sudden opening may result in occupant ejection or increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy:
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will update the door latch system, free of charge. The recall began February 8, 2018. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC
NHTSA campaign 12V504000
Reported Oct 17, 2012
Latches/Locks/Linkages › Doors › Latch
Model year 2005
BMW is recalling certain model year 2005-2007 7-Series vehicles, equipped with both Comfort Access and Soft Close Automatic options, and manufactured August 23, 2004, through September 3, 2007. Due to a software problem, the doors may appear to be closed and latched, but, in fact, may inadvertently open.
Consequence:
The door may unexpectedly open due to road or driving conditions or occupant contact with the door. The sudden opening may result in occupant ejection or increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy:
BMW will notify owners and dealers will update software. The recall began on December 12, 2012. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC
NHTSA campaign 12V502000
Reported Oct 17, 2012
Electrical System › Ignition › Switch; Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Control Module (TCM/PCM/TECM); Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Model year 2005
BMW is recalling certain model year 2005-2008 7-Series vehicles, equipped with the Comfort Access option, and manufactured August 23, 2004, through July 24, 2008. The affected vehicles have an electronic key and an electronic connection between the gear shifter and the transmission (shift-by-wire) that automatically shifts the transmission to Park when the driver presses the Start/Stop button to shutdown the engine. If the driver presses the engine Start/Stop button 2 or 3 times within a short time interval, the system may shift the transmission to Neutral rather than Park. If using the electronic key (Comfort Access mode), there would be no protection from the ignition interlock that prevents key removal if the vehicle is not in Park.
Consequence:
If the driver exits the vehicle with the transmission in Neutral and the parking brake is not applied, the vehicle may rollaway. Unattended rollaway incidents often result in a crash or cause injury to pedestrians attempting to stop or enter the vehicle or to other bystanders in the path of the vehicle.
Remedy:
BMW will notify owners beginning in November 2012. The remedy became available in March 2013. Owners may call BMW at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC
NHTSA campaign 03V324000
Reported Aug 26, 2003
Engine and Engine Cooling
Model year 2003
On certain passenger vehicles, the engine oil filter drain plug may be insufficiently tightened. This could lead to loosening of the plug causing an initial oil spray and a subsequent oil leak.
Consequence:
If a large amount of oil loss occurs, engine damage may result. Depending on the extent of the damage, a crash could occur.
Remedy:
Dealers will inspect the torque of the oil filter drain plug and, if necessary, retighten the drain plug with the correctly specified torque. Owner notification began on September 12, 2003. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC
NHTSA campaign 03V240000
Reported Jul 1, 2003
Engine and Engine Cooling
Model years 2002–2003
On certain passenger vehicles, due to a software error, a desynchronization of the valvetronic motors for engine banks I and ii may occur. If this occurs, the engine could stall.
Consequence:
In those cases, the driver may not be able to restart the engine. Depending on the level of engine roughness, or stalling, as well as traffic conditions and the driver's reactions, this could lead to a crash.
Remedy:
Dealers will reprogram the digital engine management control unit. Owner notification began July 8, 2003. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC
NHTSA campaign 02V150000
Reported Jun 3, 2002
Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery
Model year 2002
On certain passenger vehicles, the electric fuel pump runs at a rotational speed that could result in reduced lubrication of its internal components. Over an extended period of time, wear-induced internal damage to the fuel pump could result in insufficient fuel supply to the engine when the fuel tank contains one-third or less of its maximum fuel capacity.
Consequence:
If this were to occur, the engine could stall and not be restarted until more fuel was added to the fuel tank. This could occur even though the fuel gauge indicated that fuel still remained in the tank.
Remedy:
Dealers will reprogram the fuel pump control system. Owner notification began June 28, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact BMW at 1-800-332-4269.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC

Recall text is shown as NHTSA publishes it; older campaigns, which NHTSA stores in capital letters, are shown in sentence case. NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline, 1-888-327-4236, also answers recall questions.

How to read this recall list

This list shows every safety recall campaign NHTSA has on file for this make, model and model year. It is not specific to one vehicle: a recall often covers only vehicles built in a certain date range or with a certain part, and many of the vehicles it covers will already have been repaired.

What each recall field means

What each recall field means
Field	What it tells you
Campaign number	NHTSA's unique ID for the recall, such as 20V771000. Quote it to a dealer or when searching NHTSA's site.
Component	The system or part involved, for example air bags, brakes or electrical software.
Summary	What the defect or non-compliance is and which vehicles are covered.
Consequence	The safety risk if the problem isn't fixed.
Remedy	What the manufacturer will do, such as a repair, replacement or software update, and whether it is free.

Some recalls carry an NHTSA consumer advisory, “Do Not Drive” or “Park Outside”. Follow it until the repair is done.
A single campaign often covers several models or model years, so the same campaign number can appear in more than one list.
Recalls are shown as NHTSA publishes them. Very recent campaigns may take time to appear.

Does your vehicle have an open recall? Only a VIN check can tell you. Enter the VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup (opens in a new tab) or on the manufacturer's website. Our VIN recall check guide explains what each option covers.

BMW 745Li questions

5 questions

How many recalls does the BMW 745Li have?

NHTSA lists 6 vehicle recall campaigns for the BMW 745Li, covering model years 2002 to 2008. The most recent, 17V328000, was reported on May 18, 2017 and is filed under “Latches/locks/linkages”. The 2005 model year is covered by the most campaigns (3).

Which BMW 745Li model year has the most complaints?

The 2003 model year, with 50 of the 144 complaints in NHTSA’s file (34.7%). The next are 2002 (36) and 2004 (33). Complaint counts also reflect how many vehicles of each year were sold and how long they have been on the road, so they are not a reliability ranking.

What is the most common BMW 745Li complaint?

Air Bags is the component named most often: 35 complaints, or 24.3% of all 144. Power Train (32) and Electrical System (22) follow. Complaints are unverified reports from owners, not confirmed defects, and one complaint can name several components.

Does every recall on this page apply to my BMW 745Li?

Not necessarily. Each campaign lists specific model years, and many cover only vehicles built in a certain period or fitted with a certain part; repairs already carried out aren’t shown. To see whether a recall is open on your vehicle, enter its VIN at NHTSA’s recall lookup (opens in a new tab) or ask a BMW dealer.

How many BMW 745Li complaints report a crash, fire, injury or death?

Of the 144 complaints, 10 report a crash, 1 a fire, 7 at least one injury and 0 at least one death. These figures count complaints, not people, and each complaint is the submitter’s own unverified account.

8 models · most complaints first

The BMW models with the most NHTSA complaints, and the BMW VIN decoder with every BMW model page, WMI code and VIN note.

BMW X5 1999–2026 · 103 recalls · 3,138 complaints
BMW 328i 1996–2016 · 27 recalls · 2,576 complaints
BMW X3 2004–2026 · 60 recalls · 1,989 complaints
BMW 325i 1995–2012 · 20 recalls · 1,281 complaints
BMW Z4 2002–2023 · 28 recalls · 1,280 complaints
BMW 3 Series 1995–2023 · 8 recalls · 841 complaints
BMW 528i 1997–2016 · 14 recalls · 831 complaints
BMW 330i 1999–2026 · 38 recalls · 813 complaints

All BMW models and WMI codes Look up recalls by year

Data: NHTSA recalls and complaints flat files, updated September 25, 2026. Recall campaigns are vehicle (V) campaigns listed for this model name; complaints are counted once per NHTSA ODI number and model year.