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BMW 7-Series Maintenance and Repair

831 messages,  Last post on Feb 17, 2013 at 11:00 AM

You are in the BMW 7-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 7 Series, Electrical, Engine, Sedan

Messages Page 59 of 84

#575 of 831 Re: 2001 740IL? [copyrightatty] by fordblueblood1

Sep 04, 2007 (8:40 am)

Replying to: copyrightatty (Jul 22, 2007 7:34 pm)
I have a 2001 740iL. It is fully loaded,handling package, SEDC, massaging seats etc. It currently has 72K on it and was purchased w/ 58K on it. The car drives great, has great looks and is fairly fast but in my opinion is a P.O.S. as far as electronics and gadget reliability goes and would not recommend buying one of these with any amount of miles on it. The list of broken gadgets on my particular car is very long. It is not a COPO car, nor was it in any accidents, In fact it was very clean when I bought it. I'd rate it an 8.5 if 10 is perfect. What has gone wrong starting at less than 60K miles:
pixles in instrument cluster, radiator, leaky sun roof, 5 pieces of plastic trim with broken fastener features, leaky power steering lines, broken gas door solenoid, broken driver door window regulator, broken SEDC module, intermittent LCD display failure in center console, broken wire controlling 12VDC to driver side view mirror, power driver seat, memory seat and telescoping steering wheel and that is about all I can think of now, There may be a few I forgot. Anyway, steer clear unless you like dealing with broken stuff every other month. I'd get a Lexus. They are getting better looking and they are leaps and bounds more reliable than a BMW ever will be. Just my 2 cents from a current E38 owner.

#576 of 831 Re: 2001 740IL? [fordblueblood1] by eric312

Sep 04, 2007 (12:45 pm)

Replying to: fordblueblood1 (Sep 04, 2007 8:40 am)
I agree. 740s are great cars but reliability is very bad.
 
I got my 2001 740i when it had 25,000 miles on it and it was certified by a BMW dealership.
 
It has 62,000 on it now and my NAV broke twice. I had to replace radiator, instrument cluster, window regulator, power steering hoses twice and a few other things.

#577 of 831 Re: 2001 740IL? [eric312] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Sep 05, 2007 (7:32 am)

Replying to: eric312 (Sep 04, 2007 12:45 pm)
Did the interior panels that cover the pillar between the front and rear doors fall off? NAV problems seem chronic. Did you ever have a problem with the "brake light" warning on the dash going off and bulbs burning out a lot back there?

#578 of 831 There is a pattern by rcharcom740

Sep 05, 2007 (9:49 am)

If you look at the patterns here there seems to be many similarities
Most of the cars are 2000,2001 E38 are relatively low milage cars. I suspect that there is chemical issue in the radiator and power steering area (I have had mine replaced as well). The Nav is also a problem and replaced mine I believe that Nav unit is suseptable to Heat because the area that the Nav unit is enclosed in get realitvely warm and there is no venting. The Nav device controls all audio function. The LCD in the dash are have elastomeric connections and is common for the time.
So there are some very common problems that can be seen and they seem to repeat.

#579 of 831 Re: 2001 740IL? [eric312] by vicrios

Sep 05, 2007 (6:45 pm)

Replying to: eric312 (Sep 04, 2007 12:45 pm)
What kind of NAV problems are you having?

#580 of 831 Re: 2001 740IL? [Mr_Shiftright] by eric312

Sep 05, 2007 (9:20 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 05, 2007 7:32 am)
No panels falling off but brake light bulb burned out once.
 
I had a problem with service engine soon light, dealer replaced oxygen sensor under warranty.
 
I forgot to mention one time i got stuck in the middle of the bridge. Could not restart the engine. Dealer said it was a fuse. The car had about 40k miles at the time.
 
With nav, the screen goes blank or has some gray lines all over. I had to replace "black box" from the trunk. Got it used since dealer wanted $1300 for rebuilt one. Should have sold the car at that time when everything was working. That nav broke 3 months later and now i am on ebay looking for another one.

#581 of 831 Re: 2001 740IL? [vicrios] by rcharcom740

Sep 05, 2007 (10:07 pm)

Replying to: vicrios (Sep 05, 2007 6:45 pm)
At +100 degree outside sometimes the nav freezes and then stereo goes out. Once I reboot its fine
this is the second unit

#582 of 831 Knowing the problems, would you buy again? by atb84

Sep 08, 2007 (3:06 pm)

Ok, now that everyone is scaring me, I have to ask: how many of you would buy again? Do the benefits outweigh the risks? I ask because I'm looking at the 2007 750iL and a VERY attractive incentive. I'm also considering the LS460. Yeah, I know they're two very different cars: performance vs. luxury. But having owned an SC400 for 14 years w/o a single problem is very compelling! The other side of the coin has me owning a 2002 vette with the average number of chronic problems traditional of vettes, but what a hoot to drive when its healthy. I'm leaning towards the 750iL b/c I figure it would give me the best combo of luxury and performance (selling the vette). But if the problems are even worse than what I've had with my $50k vette, I don't want any part of it, especially not for $86k. I think the BMW beats the Lex in performance, styling, and discount percentage off list; but Lex wins in reliability and features (ie. touch-screen vs iDrive). WWJD or what would you do? Thanks

#583 of 831 Re: 2001 740IL? [rcharcom740] by springgoose

Sep 08, 2007 (3:22 pm)

Replying to: rcharcom740 (Sep 05, 2007 10:07 pm)
where do i start with my grief- 2000 740il less than 90k
it was 100 degrees for 5 days , equals new navigation system,
new radiator,, water pump, replacement of jam between passenger and rear seat window- belts, both steering arms last week- one helluva ride when its out of the shop- buy japanese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#584 of 831 Re: Knowing the problems, would you buy again? [atb84] by rcharcom740

Sep 08, 2007 (8:17 pm)

Replying to: atb84 (Sep 08, 2007 3:06 pm)
Differnet Cars the E38 was a very nice vechicle but in the life of upper level cars and thinsgs it was loaded and had some faults that showed up later. The new platform of the new cars is much different. I was able to have my daughter drive me with me in the back- sweet ride , I have fun driving it too and would buy a new one if I needed it. The Lexus 460 is a nice ride as well butdoesnt seem to be a drivers car. I hope this answers your question - with the issues there is no better car to fly down the I5 to LA

Messages Page 59 of 84

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