U.S. public vehicle records

2002 Bmw 745LI: complaints, problems and recalls

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

36 owner complaints analyzed

2 distinct recall campaigns

97,000 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2002 model year. Data snapshot: 2026-09-12 (September 12, 2026). 26 complaints include usable failure mileage.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Electrical System is the most frequently named component, appearing in 10 of 36 complaints (27.8%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Transmission and shifting	9	25.0%
Engine operation	5	13.9%
Braking behavior	5	13.9%
Fuel system concerns	5	13.9%
Electrical and battery issues	3	8.3%
Steering behavior	1	2.8%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Electrical System

Air Bags

Power Train:Automatic Transmission

Fuel System, Gasoline

Engine And Engine Cooling

Fuel/Propulsion System

Seat Belts

Engine

Electrical System: 10; Air Bags: 9; Power Train:Automatic Transmission: 6; Fuel System, Gasoline: 5; Engine And Engine Cooling: 3; Fuel/Propulsion System: 3; Seat Belts: 3; Engine: 2

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 7; 25,000 to 49,999: 0; 50,000 to 74,999: 1; 75,000 to 99,999: 6; 100,000 to 149,999: 11; 150,000 and above: 1

100,000 to 149,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (11). 10 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2002

2003

2009

2010

2011

2012

2014

2015

2016

2018

2019

2020

2002: 1; 2003: 8; 2009: 5; 2010: 3; 2011: 6; 2012: 2; 2014: 2; 2015: 2; 2016: 2; 2018: 2; 2019: 2; 2020: 1

Pattern summary

Electrical System leads the component reports. Transmission and shifting appears in 9 complaint narratives. Engine operation appears in 5 complaint narratives. Braking behavior appears in 5 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Examples from the source records

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 10000614 · 2002-12-27 (December 27, 2002)

2002 BMW 745LI HIGH PITCH WHINE FROM TRANSMISSION, SIMILAR TO AIRCRAFT TURBINE ENGINE NOISE, WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. BMW, IT'S DEALER AND HEADQUARTERS HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND ARE UNABLE TO RESOLVE OR FIX IT. ADDITIONAL PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE IS A SHIMMY FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10000614 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10007890 · 2003-02-20 (February 20, 2003)

I HAVE HAD MY 2002 BMW 745LI TO THE DEALER TWICE FOR THE SAME COMPLAINT & IT'S DOING IT AGAIN. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE CAR WILL FREQUENTLY NOT RESPOND WHEN ACCELLERATING. THIS CAN BE DANGEROUS IF YOU'RE TURNING A CORNER WITH SOMEONE BEHIND YOU OR ACCELLERATING TO PULL AROUND SOMEONE ON THE FREEWAY.

Owner-reported narrative. 50 miles reported. Look up ODI 10007890 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10015661 · 2003-04-10 (April 10, 2003)

NAR 04/10/2003 THE CONSUMERS HAS EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THERE VEHICLE. THE TRANSMISSION HAS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO SKID TO A STOP WHEN ACCELERATING ON THE BRAKE, THE PASSENGER AIR BAGS LIGHT COMES ON FOR NO REASON, AND THE COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND ALLOWS IT TO FUNCTION HAS BEEN REPAIRED AND REPROGRAMMED 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE CONSUMER IS REQUESTING IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE IN RESOLVING THIS SITUATION. *CB

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10015661 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10018353 · 2003-05-07 (May 7, 2003)

SYSTEMS FAILURE IN RAIN STORM WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 95 IN BROWARD COUNTY, FL. FAILURE INVOLVED WINDSHIELD WIPERS, LIGHTS, DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS ETC. WHICH CREATED AN UNSAFE CONDITION AS WELL AS QUITE A SURPRISE FOR ME (THE DRIVER). THIS CAR HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN NUMEROUS TRIPS TO THE DEALER TO FIX COMPUTER RELATED PROBLEMS AND THIS TYPE OF COMPLAINT SEEMS TO BE BUT ONE OF MANY SIMILAR ISSUES EXPERIENCED BY OWNERS OF THIS MODEL. BMW WILL FIX THE CAR AND RETURN IT TO ME IN A PERIOD OF APPROXIMATELY 1 WEEK AFTER EACH INCIDENT. *JB

Owner-reported narrative. 5,485 miles reported. Look up ODI 10018353 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10019430 · 2003-05-08 (May 8, 2003)

THE VEHICLES MAIN COMPUTER FAILED WHILE DRIVING. THIS RESULTED IN THE VEHICLE SHUTTING OFF AND ALMOST CAUSED A REAR END COLLISION. *NLM

Owner-reported narrative. 1,800 miles reported. Look up ODI 10019430 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10021142 · 2003-06-06 (June 6, 2003)

THE TELEMATICS AND OTHER ELECTRONICS SYSTEMS OF THE VEHICLE HAVE FAILED OR REPORTED APPARENTLY ERRONEOUS INFORMATION ON MANY OCCASIONS. IN MOST CASES, THESE FAILURES OCCUR WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN THE MIDST OF TRAVEL, WHICH THEREBY CAUSES THE DRIVER TO BECOME DISTRACTED FROM DRIVING WHILE FOCUSING ON THE SYSTEM FAILURE. THIS POSES A POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE AS IT PREVENTS THE DRIVER FROM DEVOTING THE NEEDED ATTENTION TO OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE. PROBLEMS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:*AK AIRBAG AND SRS WARNING MESSAGES; SERVICE ENGINE MES…

Owner-reported narrative. 2,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10021142 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10021536 · 2003-06-03 (June 3, 2003)

ON TWO OCCASIONS THE VEHICLES ENGINE SPUTTERED AND SHUT DOWN WHEN STARTED. ON ANOTHER OCCASION THE ENGINE STALLED WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH. THE DEALER INDICATED THAT THE ON BOARD COMPUTER WAS THE PROBLEM. *MR *SCC *NLM

Owner-reported narrative. 3,200 miles reported. Look up ODI 10021536 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10021687 · 2003-07-10 (July 10, 2003)

WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND LOST COMPLETE POWER. *TT *SCC *JB

Owner-reported narrative. 6,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10021687 at NHTSA ↗

Recall history

2 distinct campaigns affect this selection. Announcement dates below are different from vehicle model years. A campaign may cover multiple years.

02V150000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery

Reported: 2002-06-03 (June 3, 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.

NHTSA campaign record ↗

03V240000 · Engine And Engine Cooling

Reported: 2003-07-01 (July 1, 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.

NHTSA campaign record ↗