BMW 7-Series (E38)

Engines

Click the links below to see common problems specific to the engines available on this vehicle.

• BMW M60B40 (740i MY95)
• BMW M62B44 (740i MY96-97)
• BMW M62TUB44 (740i MY98+)
• BMW M73B54 (750i MY95-97)
• BMW M73TUB54 (750i MY98+)

Problems

All Vehicles

• The “shimmy” – the car will encounter wheel wobble and tramlining at highway speeds; this is usually caused by general wear in the steering and suspension
• Cooling system:
  • Plastic radiators
  • Expansion bottles – can split without warning
  • Viscous fan – clutch-driven fan will wear out the viscous coupling and can cause temperatures to rise at idle; replacement of the viscous coupling is simple
  • Hose that runs from the cooling system accumulator to the heater system bursts for no reason
• Minor A/C leaks are normal
• PCV valve – symptoms include smoke at start-up or under hard acceleration, and a noisy idle
• ABS/DSC faults – caused by failure of the Bosch ABS control unit; there are cheap aftermarket replacements
• Park Distance Control
• Transmission may make a whirring noise if a non-OEM transmission fluid filter is used
• Transmission may fail if the wrong transmission fluid is used
• Catalytic converters fail around ~100k miles

Certain Vehicles

• Early models: door actuators
• Early models: power steering hoses leak