Most common 2004 BMW 7 Series problems
Share of the 28 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
BMW 7 Series complaints by model year
Best 7 Series years: 2010, 2003. Years to avoid: 2004, 2006. Compare all years →
2004 BMW 7 Series recalls (4)
Service brakes, hydraulic › Power assist › Vacuum
BMW is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 5-series, 6-series, and model year 2002-2008 7-series vehicles. A check valve of the brake vacuum pump May leak a small amount of lubricating oil. Over time this could result in contamination of the brake booster.
Remedy: BMW will notify owners and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. The safety recall began on November 24, 2010. Owners May contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.
Seats › Front assembly › Seat heater/cooler
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with front seat heating systems, upon entering and exiting the vehicle, excessive contact with the side bolster that is contained in the seat's backrest May damage the heating mat located in this area.
Remedy: Dealers will modify the seat heating circuit. The recall is expected to begin during December 2004. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Seats
On certain passenger vehicles, the software programming of the driver's seat occupant detection system (ods) May not be able to reliably determine if the driver's seat is occupied.
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the software for the driver's seat occupant detection system. The recall began October 13, 2004. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Power train › Automatic transmission › Control module (TCM/PCM/tecm)
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with 8 and 12 cylinder engines, the digital engine management control (emc) units were not produced according to specifications.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new digital engine management control unit. The recall began on July 16, 2004. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2004 BMW 7 Series:
Vehicle Rollaway
In response to the Office of Defects Investigation's (ODI) Information Request (IR) for PE11-025, BMW provided ODI with 1 complaint and 46 field reports relating to either incidents of unattended vehicle rollaway or vehicle movement after the driver expected the vehicle gearshift to automatically shift to park. ODI's analysis of the data provided by BMW identified 14 crashes and 5 alleged injuries.
Vehicle Rollaway
In a letter dated October 16, 2012, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR), NHTSA Recall No. 12V-502 to NHTSA identifying a safety defect involving the possibility of unattended vehicle rollaway in MY 2005 through 2008 BMW 7-Series (approximately 45,000) vehicles equipped with the Comfort Access Option.The Comfort Access option allows the driver to start and stop the engine (by…
BMW airbag light illumination
BMW is conducting a safety recall campaign on approximately 200,000 my04 through my06 subject vehicles built through 11/30/05 to correct the front passenger seat air bag occupant detection mat. The specific vehicles included in the recall aremy04- 06/ 5-series with standard and sport seats, my04-06/ x3-series and my06/ 3-series with sport seats.
What 2004 BMW 7 Series owners say
Brakes
I applied the brakes and they got hard and went to the floor. Brakes would be soft initially and as pressure was continued would get hard and required sustained intense effort to stop the vehicle. This is a known problem by BMW involving the booster and they claim to have inspected vehicle for this problem in 2011 and it did not require being fixed. This was before I bought the vehicle from the dealer. They now refuse to fix the vehicle. This is a safety issue that obviously has not been appropriately addressed by BMW. Sadly BMW prides itself in good brakes but refuses to adequately address a problem they identified. It was listed by BMW as a recall on my vehicle on their website. 10v44660000 they say it has already been fixed. It has not and needs to be addressed because of the serious safety implications.
Tl contact owns a 2004 BMW 745i. The contact stated the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for routine repair and the technician detected oil leaking from the brake vacuum pump into the engine. The vehicle was repaired under the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 10V446000 (service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum). In conjunction to the recall repair the brake vacuum pump was replaced at the owner's expense. The contact stated that the recall remedy was not sufficient and failed to correct the problem. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.
Transmission & drivetrain
I purchased a 2004 BMW 745li on July 1, 2004. A week later, I was called and told of this recall. I'm now told that it will take a month to even get a part for this car. I feel that BMW knew of this defect prior top delivering me this car and therefore, sold me a defective product. I would like to know, eif your records reflect when BMW knew of this defect.I also do not feel that a month is not a sufficinet time to replace this one part. When I called BMW, they told me that the cars registered in Germany will be repaired first. This is wrong, we should get better treatment from BMW as we represent their largest market segment. Is there any provision under our laws that would make them have to either give us preferential treatment or at least equal treatment in effectuating these repairs? …
After two weeks of purchase, the vehicle went into neutral mode with the gear shift still in drive without warning. The consumer coasted the vehicle to the side of the road. On a separate occasion, the power steering failed and became difficult to operate for directional control twice. On both items the dealership was unable to duplicate the problem. Please provide details. The consumer was told there was a 9/1/04 recall notice to reprogram this model vehicle. The consumer was told that his vehicle was not during this recall period.
Engine & cooling
Tl contact owns a 2004 BMW 745i. The contact stated that the engine would overheat and the vehicle would shut down and lose power. The safety mechanism in the vehicle would shut down if it sensed a failure with the vehicle. The failure occurred a total of three times while driving 40 MPH. On one occasion, she was able to drive to the dealer around the corner and the other two times, she had to have the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer could not diagnose the cause of the failure because the code was lost. The contact showed the mechanic pictures of the message on the instrument panel that read, "do not drive, engine overheating, turn engine off". The contact was informed that a new battery was needed and she would have to pay $600. She did not believe that the issue centered around the battery. The manufacturer stated that because no code displayed, they could not assist. …
While driving at 45 MPH consumer heard a loud bang outside of the vehicle. Consumer pulled over and inspected the vehicle, but could not find a problem. A day later, the check engine light came on and remained on. Dealer found that the fender cover came off, and could be the cause of the check engine light being on.
2004 BMW 7 Series engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.4L 8-cyl | 6-speed automatic | RWD | 16 / 24 / 19 |
| 6.0L 12-cyl | 6-speed automatic | RWD | 13 / 21 / 16 |
EPA ratings. Class: Large car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2004 BMW 7 Series a good car?
Based on 28 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2004 7 Series rates avoid: 2.5× as many complaints as a typical year of the 7 Series at the same age. It is one of the 7 Series years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2004 BMW 7 Series?
The brakes — 5 complaints, 18% of all complaints for this model year, most often about power assist › vacuum. Next are the transmission & drivetrain (4) and engine & cooling (3).
How many recalls does the 2004 BMW 7 Series have?
There are 4 recalls for the 2004 BMW 7 Series, the most recent from October 1, 2010 (vacuum). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the BMW 7 Series?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2010 and 2003. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2004 and 2006. See the full BMW 7 Series years comparison.
At what mileage do 2004 BMW 7 Series problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 55,000 miles; 35% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.