2004 BMW 745I: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2004 BMW 745I
On the 2004 BMW 745I, the failure owners report most often is other powertrain problem, with 6 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 85,000 miles. Overall it scores 69 out of 100, high risk for a 2004.
High risk for a 2004 — 116th riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. 41 owner reports; fleet size borrowed from other years of the same model.
What breaks on the 2004 BMW 745I
Owners have reported 17 named failure modes on the 2004 BMW 745I, and the three most-reported carry 39% of everything filed.
Other powertrain problem leads with 6 reports and about 3.4 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other electrical problem follows with 6 reports, median 100,000 miles.
No-start or intermittent start failure follows with 4 reports, median 45,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into electrical (10), engine (7) and transmission (6).
At what mileage it happens
33 of the reports on the 2004 BMW 745I came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 85,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 24% by 50,000 miles, 64% by 100,000 miles and 97% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 70,000 and 80,000 miles, which alone holds 15% of the dated reports.
12% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 17. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
Across the named modes, 7 mention a crash, 5 a fire and 5 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 5.66, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500, other electrical problem at $250–$2,000, no-start or intermittent start failure at $200–$1,800 and other brake problem at $300–$1,800. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
34% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 6 | 4 | — | 107k | — | 3.4 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 6 | 4 | — | 102k | — | 3.4 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| No-start or intermittent start failure | engine | 4 | 3 | — | 44k | — | 2.3 | $200–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 4 | 3 | — | 130k | — | 2.3 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Alternator or charging system failure | electrical | 3 | 3 | — | 117k | — | 1.7 | $450–$1,600 | High |
| Headlight failure or clouding | lighting | 3 | 3 | — | 2 | — | 1.7 | $150–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 3 | 3 | — | 84k | — | 1.7 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Radiator or coolant leak | cooling | 1 | 1 | — | 88k | — | 0.6 | $350–$1,900 | High |
| Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 84k | — | 0.6 | $700–$3,000 | High |
| Instrument cluster or gauge failure | infotainment | 1 | 1 | — | 52k | — | 0.6 | $350–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Master cylinder or brake booster failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 149k | — | 0.6 | $450–$2,200 | Critical |
| Airbag inflator rupture | airbag | 1 | 1 | — | 150k | — | 0.6 | $0–$0 | Critical |
| Catalytic converter failure | emissions | 1 | 1 | — | 136k | — | 0.6 | $900–$3,500 | Moderate |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 129k | — | 0.6 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.6 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.6 | $250–$1,800 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 1 | — | 44k | — | 0.6 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 2 | 2 | — | 68k | — | 1.1 | — | Moderate |
This year had no usable recall paperwork, so the fleet-size estimate is the median of other years of the same model. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2004 BMW 745I draws about 23 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 91st percentile of complaint rates among 2004 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. This year had no usable recall paperwork, so the fleet-size estimate is the median of other years of the same model.
The working figure is 1,749 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2004 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other powertrain problem
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the transmission warning light illuminated and decreased his drivability. In some cases, the vehicle would shift into different gears unexpectedly. The vehicle had not been inspected by a dealer, nor had it been repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the driveway when the gear shifted out of park and into reverse. As a result, the vehicle crashed into the garage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics but the diagnostic failed to produce any failure codes. The dealer stated there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 119,000. The consumer stated the vehicle was running in the driveway for about 10 minutes, when suddenly there was a loud noise. She immediately went outside and discovered the vehicle had went into reverse on its own and hit the garage door. Updated 05/03/12
Other electrical problem
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the driveway when the gear shifted out of park and into reverse. As a result, the vehicle crashed into the garage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics but the diagnostic failed to produce any failure codes. The dealer stated there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 119,000. The consumer stated the vehicle was running in the driveway for about 10 minutes, when suddenly there was a loud noise. She immediately went outside and discovered the vehicle had went into reverse on its own and hit the garage door. Updated 05/03/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. The contact stated that she was driving when the dynamic drive inactive symbol illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that when this light illuminated, the steering wheel seized and the instrument panel failed. The contact maneuvered to the shoulder and tried to restart the vehicle, but the gear would not shift into park. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis, but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was notified and stated that there was nothing that could be done to assist. The failure mileage was 129,000.
No-start or intermittent start failure
I have driven 2004 bmw 745i for the past 10 years. It has 44000 miles on the odometer. Recently, it stops while driving. Each time it stops, the gear is shifted to neutral. When I tried to start engine, it won't start. After using cell phone to request for help, the engine starts. It happened more than five times. *tr
I have driven 2004 bmw 745i for the past 10 years. It has 44000 miles on the odometer. Recently, it stops while driving. Each time it stops, the gear is shifted to neutral. When I tried to start engine, it won't start. After using cell phone to request for help, the engine starts. It happened more than five times. *tr
How it ranks in the 2004 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
How 2004 compares with the other years
High risk for a 2004 — 116th riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 4 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2005 comes out best at 63 and 2003 worst at 73, with 2004 itself at 69.
If the model year is negotiable, 2005 scores lower than 2004 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2001–2008 generation specifically, 2005 is the strongest year at 63 and 2003 the weakest at 73.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2001-2008 generation, 2005 BMW 745I scores best at 63 and 2003 BMW 745I worst at 73.
Where these figures stop being useful
41 owner reports; fleet size borrowed from other years of the same model. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 41 reports, 33 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 80% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2004 BMW 745I?
The most-reported failures are other powertrain problem (6 reports, median 105,000 miles), other electrical problem (6 reports, median 100,000 miles) and no-start or intermittent start failure (4 reports, median 45,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2004 BMW 745I reliable?
It scores 69 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 116th riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2004 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the BMW 745I is best?
Within the 2001–2008 generation, 2005 scores best at 63 out of 100 and 2003 worst at 73. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed