1988 BMW 7 SERIES Recalls, Complaints & Safety

No recalls found for this vehicle.

No complaints found for this vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy — 1988 BMW 7 SERIES

Trim / Engine	City MPG	Highway MPG	Combined MPG	Fuel Type	Annual Fuel Cost
3.4L 6-cyl, Automatic 4-spd (Rear-Wheel Drive)	13.0	17.0	15.0	Regular	$4,000
3.4L 6-cyl, Manual 5-spd (Rear-Wheel Drive)	14.0	20.0	16.0	Regular	$3,750

CO2 Emissions: 592.5 g/mile (Midsize Cars)

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Actual fuel economy may vary based on driving conditions.

Technical Service Bulletins — 1988 BMW 7 SERIES

6 manufacturer communications from 3 unique bulletins. TSBs describe known problems and recommended fixes from the manufacturer.

Most Affected Components

Component	Bulletins
032200 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:BRAKE FLUID LOW WARNING: LAMP	1
180000 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	1
260000 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE	1
270000 LANE DEPARTURE	1
110000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	1
133000 VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS	1

110000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.

133000 VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.

180000 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Various functions of the camera-based driver assistance systems (ADCAM system) can lead to customer complaints.

260000 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Various functions of the camera-based driver assistance systems (ADCAM system) can lead to customer complaints.

270000 LANE DEPARTURE

Various functions of the camera-based driver assistance systems (ADCAM system) can lead to customer complaints.

032200 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:BRAKE FLUID LOW WARNING: LAMP

SUBJECT REGARDING THE ABS/ASC WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED DURING DYNAMOMETER TEST. *YC *JN

NHTSA Safety Investigations — BMW 7 SERIES

Investigations opened by NHTSA into potential safety defects. These are separate from recalls and may or may not result in a recall.

PE — Closed — Model Year: 2003

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 sh... ift to park. ODI's analysis of the data provided by BMW identified 14 crashes and 5 alleged injuries. ODI has also identified 3 additional reports in its database alleging vehicle rollaway incidents of which 2 resulted in crashes.The subject vehicles are all equipped with push-buttons (Start/Stop button) to control starting/stopping the engine and Shift-by-Wire gearshift systems controlled by a column mounted selector lever behind the steering wheel. The Start/Stop button also controls switching the ignition and the radio ready state On and Off. Shift-by-wire systems replace the traditional mechanical connection (e.g., cable or linkage) between the gearshift and automatic transmission with an electronic connection controlled by a computer module. When parking the vehicle, the driver has the capability to manually shift the vehicle to park by pressing the Park button on the end of the electronic gearshift lever. However, the instructions for engine shutoff provided in the owner's manual state that pressing the Start/Stop button serves the dual function of switching off the engine and automatically shifting the transmission to Park.In response to ODI's information request for PE11-025, BMW described several circumstances where the subject vehicles may shift to neutral when the driver may expect it to automatically shift to park. First, for Comfort Access System (CAS) vehicles, if the transmission is in neutral when the key fob is in the ignition slot and the Start/Stop button is pressed to shut-off the engine, the transmission will remain in neutral. This is referred to as the Carwash mode and is a normal operating feature of the vehicles that is described in the owner's manual. BMW also described two circumstances that are not normal operating features and are not described in the owners' manual: (1) with the transmission in drive or reverse and the engine running, if the Start/Stop button is pushed 2 or 3 times within a 0.3 second to 0.5 second interval, the engine will stop and the transmission will shift to Neutral; and 2) if the Park button on the gearshift lever is pressed at the same time that the gearshift lever is actuated (i.e., toggled up or down) to select drive, reverse or neutral; the transmission will shift to neutral or remain in neutral.Beginning in model year (MY) 2005, BMW introduced CAS as an optional feature package for the subject vehicles.The key for CAS equipped vehicles is an electronic code that is sent to the engine control module by a remote transmitter (key fob). An optional docking port (key slot) is provided for driver convenience or to put the vehicle into Car Wash mode, which allows for engine shutoff in neutral. BMW sold approximately 45,000 subject vehicles with CAS and approximately 94 percent of the CAS equipped vehicles were produced from MY 2006 through 2008. Non-CAS subject vehicles were produced from MY 2002 through 2008 and require the remote control to be in the ignition slot located next to the Start/Stop button to start the engine.The 50 incidents identified by ODI's analysis of complaints and field reports include 18 involving CAS vehicles (39.6 incidents per 100,000 vehicles) and 32 involving non-CAS vehicles (42.0 incidents per 100,000 vehicles). Because the incidents are considered random events, the failure rates were also adjusted for vehicle exposure, resulting in ratRead more

SQ — Closed — Model Year: 1998

WINDSHIELD WIPER INOPERATION

BMW BELIEVES THAT THERE IS NO INDICATION OF A SYSTEMATIC OR SAFETY DEFECT CONCERNING THE SUBJECT WIPER RELAY.THE MAIN REASON THAT PRECIPITATED THE ISSUANCE OF THE SERVICE BULLETIN WAS TO INFORM DEALERS OF A NEW RELAY PART NUMBER FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES SINCE THIS PART NUMBER WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE... Read more

BMW 7 SERIES — All Years Overview

Complete safety history for the BMW 7 SERIES across all model years (2002–2008).

14 Total Recalls

148 Total Complaints

2 Investigations

4 Reported Crashes

2 Reported Fires

0 Reported Deaths

BMW 7 SERIES — Year by Year

Compare recalls and complaints across model years. Click any year to see full details.

Year	Recalls	Complaints
2008	1	16	View
2007	2	18	View
2006	3	42	View
2005	1	7	View
2004	4	35	View
2003	2	11	View
2002	1	5	View
2001	0	2	View
2000	0	2	View
1999	0	4	View
1997	0	2	View
1996	0	1	View
1995	0	3	View

Other BMW Models

Model	Recalls	Complaints
X5	223	4,349	View
X3	155	2,661	View
330I	122	1,050	View
X6	110	293	View
328I	108	3,743	View
M3	95	550	View
325I	83	1,809	View
Z4	83	1,439	View