2003 BMW 7 Series Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 745I. AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE, THE "ENGINE FAIL SAFE TRANSMISSION" MESSAGE DISPLAYED AND THE SHIFTER WOULD NOT SWITCH OUT OF THE PARK POSITION. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE "FAILED TRANSMISSION DRIVE MODERATE" MESSAGE DISPLAYED AND THE SPEED WOULD SUDDENLY REDUCE. THE VEHICLE ALSO JERKED AND ERRONEOUSLY ACCELERATE ON OCCASION DURING GEAR CHANGES. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES WERE NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 745I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO PARK, THE VEHICLE WOULD INDEPENDENTLY SHIFT INTO DRIVE. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO ROLL AWAY AND CRASH INTO A PORCH. THE FRONT BUMPER WAS DAMAGED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED AND NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED TO THE CONTACT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 42,000. UPDATED 05/11/12*LJ
I JUST BOUGHT A 2003 BMW 745I WITH 63K ON THE DASH. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR FOR TWO MONTHS AND THE TRANSMISSION IS GONE. I HAVE JUST PURCHASED A EW. BUT WHAT CAN I DO BECAUSE THIS IS NOT RIGHT AND I BOUGHT IT FROM A BMW DEALER. THEY SAID THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED A GOOD TO GO. BAD BUSINESS AND THIS IS A RIP OF FOR ABOUT 7K FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION. *TR
TRANSMISSION OVERHEATS AND STALLS. WHILE COMING TO A STOP, THE CAR JERKS BEFORE THE STOP FEELS LIKE A SOMEONE RAN INTO MY BUMPER WITH THERE CAR. TRANSMISSION OVERHEATS PER DASH WARNING. *TR
AFTER STOPPING MY 2003 745LI BMW ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2010, (CAR WAS IN PARK), I PUT GEAR SELECTOR INTO DRIVE AND VEHICLE STARTED GOING INTO REVERSE CAUSING ME TO ALMOST HIT VEHICLE BEHIND ME IN THE SCHOOL ZONE. I TURNED OFF VEHICLE AND STARTED AGAIN THINKING IT WAS JUST A COMPUTER GLITCH, THE CAR AGAIN PROCEEDED TO GO BACKWARDS WHILE IN PARK AND DRIVE. AFTER RESTARTING VEHICLE THE THIRD TIME, THE DRIVE FUNCTION FINALLY WORKED. THE FOLLOWING DAY I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO A BMW SERVICE CENTER. AT THE CENTER THE VEHICLE AGAIN STARTED TO ACT UP AND MULTIPLE TRANSMISSION WARNINGS AND MESSAGES DISPLAYED. THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS APPROXIMATELY 63,000 MILES. I FEEL THAT OWNERS OF THE 2002 AND 2003 745LI SHOULD BE INFORMED OF THIS SAFETY ISSUE AS I HAVE LOCATED SEVERAL INCIDENCES ON THE INTERNET OF THIS SAME ISSUE. MY WIFE AND I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THE FAMILY IN OUR CAR THAT CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AND POSSIBLY EVEN KILL SOMEONE. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT THEY HAVE SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE AND THAT THERE IS AN INTERNAL SEAL IN THE TRANSMISSION WHICH IS PROBABLY LEAKING CAUSING THIS ISSUE. HOPEFULLY THIS REPAIR WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM. *TR
WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IT SLIPPED INTO NEUTRAL. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO MOVE AND HIT A WALL. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
I AM THE FIRST AND ONLY OWNER OF A 2003 BMW 745I. AT FOUR HUNDRED MILES THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED DUE PROBLEMS SHIFTING ETC. AT ROUGHLY 7500 MILES THE CAR WHILE SITTING AT A STOPLIGHT LAUNCHED ITSELF INTO THE REAR END OF A SUV CAUSING VEHICLE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END OF MY CAR. MY FOOT WAS FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE YET IT STILL MOVED. THREE WEKS AGO WHILE COASTING DOWN A STEEP FREEWAY DECLINE, THE ENGINE REVVED TO 5000 RPM- MY FOOT WAS NOT ON THE GAS PEDAL AND THE TRANSMISSION WAS IN GEAR. BMW HAS HAD THE CAR FOR THEE WEEKS AND CAN FIND NO PROBLEMS AND WISHES TO RETURN IT TO ME. I HAVE LOST ALL CONFIDENCE IN THE VEHICLE AS IT IS A DANGER TO ME, MY FAMILY AND THE PUBLIC AT LARGE. I AM NOT SURE OF THE EXACT DATES AS I DO NOT HAVE MY PAPER WORK WITH ME, BUT CAN PROVIDE.*AK
NEW BMW 745I WAS PURCHASED ON OCTOBER 29, 2003. SINCE JANUARY 2004, VEHICLE HAS ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS EXHIBITED TRANSMISSION FAILURE. ON EACH OCCASION, THE VEHICLE WOULD EXHIBIT VERY HARD SHIFTING, FOLLOWED BY VIOLENT JERKING, HALTING AND DOWNSHIFTING WHILE TRAVELING AT SPEED ON THE STREET OR HIGHWAY, THROWING THE PASSENGERS FORWARD VIOLENTLY. MULTIPLE TRANSMISSION WARNING SOUNDS AND MESSAGES ARE DISPLAYED. LOUD METALLIC GRINDING AND RATTLING NOISES COME FROM THE TRANSMISSION AREA. THE CAR THROWS ITSELF INTO PARK AS THE CAR SLOWS TO MAKE A STOP. MOST RECENTLY, THE CAR THREW ITSELF INTO PARK AT 15 MPH ALMOST CAUSING A REAR END COLLISION WITH THE VEHICLE FOLLOWING BEHIND. EVENTUALLY, THE CAR PUTS ITSELF INTO PARK AND CANNOT BE MOVED. EACH TIME THE CAR HAS HAD TO HAVE BEEN TOWED AWAY. TWICE THE CAR HAS STOPPED IN AN INTERSECTION AND COULD NOT BE MOVED. ON EACH OCCASION, THE DEALER HAS DENIED THERE WAS A PROBLEM, ONLY TO CLAIM UPON MY INSISTENCE THAT THEY LOOK AGAIN THAT THE PROBLEM IS A SOFTWARE OR COMPUTER PROBLEM. ON THE LAST OCCASION, THE DEALER ADMITTED THAT THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE TRAVELING 10-15 MPH THE TRANSMISSION INDICATOR STARTED FLASHING AND THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO CHANGE GEARS. *AK *TS *NLM
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2003 BMW 7 Series has 9 Power Train complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.