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BMW 7 SeriesYears to avoid, problems & recalls

NHTSA has 124 owner complaints and 8 safety recalls on record for the BMW 7 Series.

BMW 7 Series
Years to avoidNoneBased on weighted complaintsBest years—Fewest complaints for their ageOwner complaints124Top: Power trainSafety recalls81995–2012 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years. Photo: Navigator84, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Best & worst years

BMW 7 Series years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the 7 Series median. Tap a year for its full report.

'95'96'97'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'11'12
  • Avoid
  • Caution
  • Solid
  • Best
  • Not rated
2012Not rated–/1002 complaints · 1 recall2011Not rated–/1003 complaints · 1 recall2010Not rated–/1002 complaints · 2 recalls2009Not rated–/1009 complaints · 2 recalls2008Not rated–/10011 complaints · 1 recall2007Not rated–/10013 complaints · 1 recall2006Not rated–/10029 complaints · 2 recalls2005Not rated–/1004 complaints · 1 recall2004Not rated–/10028 complaints · 4 recalls2003Not rated–/1008 complaints · 2 recalls2002Not rated–/1004 complaints · 1 recall2001Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls2000Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls1999Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls1997Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls1996Not rated–/1001 complaint · 0 recalls1995Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls
Complaints by system

Most common BMW 7 Series problems

All model years combined: 124 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.
Complaints by system
SystemComplaintsCrash, fire or injury
Power train200
Air bags202
Service brakes, hydraulic142
Engine111
Electrical system110
Seats102
Structure92
Engine and engine cooling80
Fuel/propulsion system71
14 other systems492
8 recalls

BMW 7 Series recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

–Other fuel types: turbo/supercharger12V-161 · 2012 · Apr 10, 2012 · 2,846 vehicles–Other fuel types: turbo/supercharger11V-521 · 2009–2011 · Oct 20, 2011 · 32,084 vehicles–Power assist: vacuum10V-446 · 2002–2008 · Oct 1, 2010 · 198,352 vehicles–Other: labels10V-047 · 2009–2010 · Feb 18, 2010 · 1,040 vehicles–Rear: shock absorber06V-277 · 2006 · Jul 26, 2006 · 11,640 vehicles–Front assembly: seat heater/cooler04V-575 · 2003–2004 · Dec 6, 2004 · 17,905 vehicles–Seats04V-379 · 2004 · Aug 9, 2004 · 3,940 vehicles–Automatic transmission: control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)04V-344 · 2004 · Jul 14, 2004 · 4,102 vehicles
5 investigations

NHTSA investigations of the 7 Series

  1. Vehicle RollawayEA12002 · 2002–2008 · closed Jan 24, 2013
    Led to recall 12V-502
  2. Vehicle RollawayPE11025 · 2002–2008 · closed Apr 23, 2012
    No recall
  3. BMW AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATIONEA08001 · 2004–2006 · closed Dec 31, 2008
    Led to recall 08V-384
  4. BMW AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATIONPE07045 · 2006 · closed Jan 4, 2008
    No recall
  5. WINDSHIELD WIPER INOPERATIONSQ98010 · 1997–1998 · closed Sep 11, 1998
    No recall