1997 Bmw 740Il: Reliability Data

27
Total Complaints
73,500mi
Median Mileage
Suspension
Top Issue
1
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

68,868 25th Percentile
73,500 Median Mileage
133,282 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Suspension
4
Steering
4
Coil Springs
2
Radiator Assembly
2
Cooling System
2
Air Bags
1
Door
1
Gas Recirculation Valve (Egr Valve)
1
Vehicle Speed Control
1
Sensor/Control Module
1

Severity Assessment

1
Crashes
2
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 40-50 MPH HIT A CONCRETE POST DIRECT CENTER OF VEHICLE. THEERE WAS DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVER'S OR PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAGS. ALSO THIS VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH SIDE AIRBAGS WHICH DID NOT DEPLOY. CAUSE UNKNOWN."
"PASSENGER UNABLE TO UNLOCK POWER LOCKS MANUALLY, LEAVING PASSENGER TRAPPED IN VEHICLE W/WINDOWS UP IN 95 DEGREE HEAT. QCAW"
"AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT FAILED TWICE. *YC"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Suspension 4 complaints
Median: 39,000 mi
Steering 4 complaints
Median: 39,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

OR: 5 PR: 4 CA: 3 AZ: 3 TX: 2 TN: 2 VA: 2 FL: 1 IL: 1 NH: 1

Who Files Complaints?

7.4%
Original Owners
92.6%
Second+ Owners

Bmw 740Il — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1998490
2000230
2001331

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28