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      04-16-2022, 02:49 PM   #1
Redline Fanatix
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G11 2016 740i reliability?

Hey everyone,

I sold my 2020 F82 and I'm in the market for a 740i 2016ish model. I've never personally never had one before but I remember keep hearing horror stories about 7 series in general having severe reliability issues.

This will be my daily driver that I will use for work and will be driven 10-12k per year minimum. The reason I want the 740i vs 750i is I want the B58 as in my opinion is one of the best modern engines BMW has.

The car I will end up purchasing will be something with 40k miles (give or take 10k) and 2016ish.

What do you guys think about the car and the reliability of it? Is this a car I can comfortably drive until 100k-120k without major failure?

Thanks for the help!
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      04-16-2022, 02:57 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redline Fanatix View Post
Hey everyone,

I sold my 2020 F82 and I'm in the market for a 740i 2016ish model. I've never personally never had one before but I remember keep hearing horror stories about 7 series in general having severe reliability issues.

This will be my daily driver that I will use for work and will be driven 10-12k per year minimum. The reason I want the 740i vs 750i is I want the B58 as in my opinion is one of the best modern engines BMW has.

The car I will end up purchasing will be something with 40k miles (give or take 10k) and 2016ish.

What do you guys think about the car and the reliability of it? Is this a car I can comfortably drive until 100k-120k without major failure?

Thanks for the help!
The 6 cylinder 740 is much more reliable than the 8 cylinder 750, which will likely have a coolant or oil leak at some point . However the shocks, grill shutters, comfort access, u joint are all common issues on these model 7 series
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      04-16-2022, 05:51 PM   #3
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Hi there -

I have a 2018 740iX which I love, bought in in March 2020 with 21K miles, as of April 2022 I have 40K miles. So I put on about 9-10K a year.

The original warranty expired in August 2021. Between March 2020 and August 2021, I had new coolant tank, radiator blinds, and passenger seat electronics replaced (seat belt would always chime with no one in the seat) and all those were under warranty.

The AC went out last month...this was a big one... $3,400. Ouch. Condenser and water pump needed replaced. No warranty since expired so that one stung a bit.

The brakes need replace every 30,000-40,000 miles. Had to replace rear brakes at 35,000 miles and that was $1,050. The front brakes need replaced probably this fall and will be the same price. Also the RF tires usually need replaced every 40,000 miles so check to see if they were replaced. When I bought my car at 21K miles it just had new tires installed, which is interesting with low miles but I do not know the history of the car / driving habits.

Just make sure you have a great independent BMW service shop. I know if I had the AC condenser / water pump repaired at dealer that would have been >$5,000.

Enjoy your car, send photos when you get it!
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      04-16-2022, 05:59 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dc5525 View Post
Hi there -

I have a 2018 740iX which I love, bought in in March 2020 with 21K miles, as of April 2022 I have 40K miles. So I put on about 9-10K a year.

The original warranty expired in August 2021. Between March 2020 and August 2021, I had new coolant tank, radiator blinds, and passenger seat electronics replaced (seat belt would always chime with no one in the seat) and all those were under warranty.

The AC went out last month...this was a big one... $3,400. Ouch. Condenser and water pump needed replaced. No warranty since expired so that one stung a bit.

The brakes need replace every 30,000-40,000 miles. Had to replace rear brakes at 35,000 miles and that was $1,050. The front brakes need replaced probably this fall and will be the same price. Also the RF tires usually need replaced every 40,000 miles so check to see if they were replaced. When I bought my car at 21K miles it just had new tires installed, which is interesting with low miles but I do not know the history of the car / driving habits.

Just make sure you have a great independent BMW service shop. I know if I had the AC condenser / water pump repaired at dealer that would have been >$5,000.

Enjoy your car, send photos when you get it!
First off, thank you for sharing your experience and repair history. I appreciate it as it was truly educating to find out the car required so much repair in your 20k mile ownership. And that was a car which was very low miles to begin with.

I'm thinking if I get one with 40-50k already on it, god knows what I'll be facing in repairs lol. I guess warranty is a must on this car.
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      04-16-2022, 07:38 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dc5525 View Post
Hi there -

I have a 2018 740iX which I love, bought in in March 2020 with 21K miles, as of April 2022 I have 40K miles. So I put on about 9-10K a year.

The original warranty expired in August 2021. Between March 2020 and August 2021, I had new coolant tank, radiator blinds, and passenger seat electronics replaced (seat belt would always chime with no one in the seat) and all those were under warranty.

The AC went out last month...this was a big one... $3,400. Ouch. Condenser and water pump needed replaced. No warranty since expired so that one stung a bit.

The brakes need replace every 30,000-40,000 miles. Had to replace rear brakes at 35,000 miles and that was $1,050. The front brakes need replaced probably this fall and will be the same price. Also the RF tires usually need replaced every 40,000 miles so check to see if they were replaced. When I bought my car at 21K miles it just had new tires installed, which is interesting with low miles but I do not know the history of the car / driving habits.

Just make sure you have a great independent BMW service shop. I know if I had the AC condenser / water pump repaired at dealer that would have been >$5,000.

Enjoy your car, send photos when you get it!
The 7 series fanboys will say u bought a lemon but in reality, U bought a 7 with typical problems.
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      04-18-2022, 06:28 AM   #6
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BMW has extended the warranty on earlier G12 cars in the USA on the shutters, which should cover the 2016 & 2017 models. They are a common failure point, but shouldn't be an issue for the OP. As he noted, the B58 is dead-reliable compared to the V8, so he should have little to no issues with that in the next 100K miles. It's everything else that may be problematic, and the issue is not just 7 series cars, but because the 7 series have so many features that there's just more stuff to go wrong.

Warranties give you good piece of mind, but they are not all equal and most have exclusions, deductibles and limitations. So when shopping, read the fine print and see if it really covers everything, or just the primary drivetrain items. Things like power seats, iDrive, comfort access, are probably not covered.

Remember too, when buying the car from a dealer, they make a huge amount of profit on these extended warranties. Everything is negotiable.

Best of luck!
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      04-18-2022, 08:20 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 750LiBeemer View Post
The 7 series fanboys will say u bought a lemon but in reality, U bought a 7 with typical problems.
Opps forgot one more - had to replace outer axle boot (passenger side). I don't think this is would have been an extended warranty item as considered wear and tear. I also think it is a casualty of the AWD / xDrive models only but may be wrong. The part was only $90 but entire axle needs to be taken off to install, so was about $900 all-in.

The upside is the depreciation from whoever bought the car new will rationalize the expensive costs to run, at least in my opinion. My car was $94K MSRP, loaded with everything and I have the original sticker. I paid $42K in March 2020. The car only came with one key (second key fob cost $600 btw) so obviously it was probably a repo which explains how the previous owner did not take good care of it. All good, it has a good home now!
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      04-18-2022, 12:30 PM   #8
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I currently have a 17 740xi with 56k miles. I bought it with 40 or 45, I cant remember. The only problem I have had with my car is the grill blinds. It gives a CEL but as stated above should be covered by bmw. The CEL currently went away and I am just waiting for it to come back for awhile to take it in. Other than that I have had no problems.

I have noticed some of the problems dc5525 mentioned but I honestly haven't seen a need to have them addressed. It might be that I can put up with the car having some minor problems more so than others. For example I have noticed that the passenger seat sensors have been a little sensitive. The seat would ding saying I have a passenger when I really don't have much weight on the seat. I would buckle the seat belt and it went away. This problem has not been consistent. My e55 would do the same thing sometimes so I never really payed it too much attention.

I have noticed that sometimes the AC doesn't blow that hard unless I hit max AC. So I might be having something going on there. It hasn't been anything that has been a major cause for concern though.

I haven't noticed anything with the brakes other than they suck. My car has a downpipe, tu hpfp and e40 tune so its much faster than stock and stock brakes are definitely not enough. I bought front m760 calipers pads and rotors for under 1k but haven't had them put on yet.

But for me I think its been fairly reliable. I love the car. Big, comfortable, looks good, pretty quick with mods. For me as long as it plays music, goes from point A to B and has working AC, I am ok if some stuff starts messing up, because there is a lot of stuff in this car that can go wrong.

Also now that I think about it one of the bolsters doesn't inflate when I put it in sport mode...........Oh well.
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      04-19-2022, 01:38 PM   #9
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I have a '17 740ix for over a year and the only things I've covered on original new car warranty are the grill shutters and a dead pixel in climate control. But that is since I am very finicky. 99% of people would never notice one dead pixel.

I got a comprehensive extended warranty after the new car one ran out and in the pre inspection the dealership replaced both front and rear brakes they said that the brakes were pulsating, but I never felt a thing myself. Maybe they CYAed future warranty repairs. Also, brake rotors and pads are very individual to your driving style and are pretty much the same (reliability) for any German sedan.

I did get extended warranties for the ton of tech on the car. I am not worried about the drivetrain since the engine is approved by Toyota to use as its own the the chassis and transmission are designed to handle much more power. I still would pick over an S450/400 or and A8 3.0L in a heartbeat. Frankly, even over the 8 cylinder counterparts.

Find a low mileage well maintained example, and get an extended warranty if you don't want to pay for repairs a grand here and there. I just like having extended warranty since I don't wan to haggle over prices, I just hand over the car and get everything back working. (No claims yet) 28.6k miles now BTW
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      05-08-2022, 08:01 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyE92 View Post
BMW has extended the warranty on earlier G12 cars in the USA on the shutters, which should cover the 2016 & 2017 models. They are a common failure point, but shouldn't be an issue for the OP. As he noted, the B58 is dead-reliable compared to the V8, so he should have little to no issues with that in the next 100K miles. It's everything else that may be problematic, and the issue is not just 7 series cars, but because the 7 series have so many features that there's just more stuff to go wrong.

Warranties give you good piece of mind, but they are not all equal and most have exclusions, deductibles and limitations. So when shopping, read the fine print and see if it really covers everything, or just the primary drivetrain items. Things like power seats, iDrive, comfort access, are probably not covered.

Remember too, when buying the car from a dealer, they make a huge amount of profit on these extended warranties. Everything is negotiable.

Best of luck!
Yes agree, to have extended my factory warranty three more years/36,000 miles (EXACT same coverage as original) would have been $8,600. Actually if purchased in August 2021 I would have only about 2 years and 3 months left.

I will roll the dice and bet anyone the amount of non wear & tear repairs over the next three years would be less than $8,600.

Last edited by dc5525; 05-08-2022 at 08:03 PM.. Reason: typo
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      05-13-2022, 04:40 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golobulus5 View Post
I currently have a 17 740xi with 56k miles. I bought it with 40 or 45, I cant remember. The only problem I have had with my car is the grill blinds. It gives a CEL but as stated above should be covered by bmw. The CEL currently went away and I am just waiting for it to come back for awhile to take it in. Other than that I have had no problems.

I have noticed some of the problems dc5525 mentioned but I honestly haven't seen a need to have them addressed. It might be that I can put up with the car having some minor problems more so than others. For example I have noticed that the passenger seat sensors have been a little sensitive. The seat would ding saying I have a passenger when I really don't have much weight on the seat. I would buckle the seat belt and it went away. This problem has not been consistent. My e55 would do the same thing sometimes so I never really payed it too much attention.

I have noticed that sometimes the AC doesn't blow that hard unless I hit max AC. So I might be having something going on there. It hasn't been anything that has been a major cause for concern though.

I haven't noticed anything with the brakes other than they suck. My car has a downpipe, tu hpfp and e40 tune so its much faster than stock and stock brakes are definitely not enough. I bought front m760 calipers pads and rotors for under 1k but haven't had them put on yet.

But for me I think its been fairly reliable. I love the car. Big, comfortable, looks good, pretty quick with mods. For me as long as it plays music, goes from point A to B and has working AC, I am ok if some stuff starts messing up, because there is a lot of stuff in this car that can go wrong.

Also now that I think about it one of the bolsters doesn't inflate when I put it in sport mode...........Oh well.

I also had the seatbelt alarm go off on the passenger seat when not much weight. I found a TBS where they instruct you to zip ties the wires under the seat apart. It took about 15 mins and the issue has been gone for the past 2 years.
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      05-19-2022, 01:43 PM   #12
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While I can't comment on the pre-LCI, my 730d M-sport was delivered April 2020 and I've done 30,000km on the car and it has been a horror story in terms of reliability. I'm about to meet with the dealership's management later this month in regards to the car.

Over the 2 years of ownership, I've had the following replaced under warranty,

- front left air suspension replaced around 1 month after delivery as it developed leaks
- front brake pad and disk as it was squealing so loudly that you can hear it over music and people talking with all windows closed
-rear right outer tail light, it just randomly developed some intermittent internal fault and it would repeatly flash warnings on the dash, really annoying and had to wait 3 months for the tail light

Also, currently, I'm waiting on new headlight control unit and headlight control panel (minimum 12 weeks wait again). The headlight (low beam) and tail light would turn on and off as if it was flashing during daytime while driving AND it would do the same while parked after unlocking or when sitting in the car on the side of the road waiting for someone.

This is by far the worst BMW I've owned in terms of reliability (I've owned E85 25i, F15 35i and currently also own G05 40i). In fact,it's worse than any cars that I've owned...be it Mercedes (w205 C300 facelift) or Porsche (2nd Gen Cayenne GTS and 3rd Gen Cayenne Coupe). The 7 series gave me more troubles than the Mazda RX-7, lol.
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      05-24-2022, 08:31 PM   #13
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740i here and I have seen the grill shutters CEL once and from time to time passenger seat belt alarm goes off, which I would either punch the seat once or just buckle it up. No other issues to speak of other than these two.
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      05-26-2022, 08:33 PM   #14
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The 750 will always have more stuff to go wrong..740 is safer bet if looking for reliability. Some things remain constant issues among both though
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