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How many miles will a 2004 BMW 745I last?

Half of the 19 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2004 BMW 745I that list mileage came after 84,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 24 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.

By VIN Lookup Research DeskPublished 2026-11-11NHTSA files 2026-11-11United States
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Mileage when owners reported a problem, 2004 BMW 745I

Of the 19 complaints on the 2004 BMW 745I that list mileage, half came after 84,000 miles; 7 came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. With fewer than 20 mileages, the median is the only percentile given.

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How many miles will a 2004 BMW 745I last?

The 19 mileages owners gave run from 2 to 150,000 miles, and half are at or under 84,230. With fewer than 20 mileages this page gives the median only: the other percentiles are too few to say. 7 came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.

These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2004 BMW 745I wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.

2004 BMW 745I: mileage in the 19 NHTSA complaints that list one (complaints file, November 11, 2026)
MeasureValue
Lowest mileage listed2 miles
25th percentileToo few to say
Median (50th percentile)84,230 miles
75th percentileToo few to say
90th percentileToo few to say
Highest mileage listed150,000 miles
Complaints after 100,000 miles7 of 19
Complaints after 150,000 milesnone
Complaints after 200,000 milesnone

Common problems with the 2004 BMW 745I

NHTSA's file holds 24 owner complaints on the 2004 BMW 745I. Owners named the powertrain most often: 11 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 84,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.

2004 BMW 745I: most-reported NHTSA component categories, with the median mileage of the complaints that list one (complaints file, November 11, 2026)
Component (NHTSA category)ComplaintsListing mileageMedian mileage
Power Train11884,230
Electrical System9779,550
Engine6679,550
Service Brakes32Under 5 mileages
Air Bags22Under 5 mileages

Of the 24 complaints, 3 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.

Is the 2004 BMW 745I a good year?

Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2004 is a good or a bad BMW 745I: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2004 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.

With 24 complaints, the 2004 ranks 3rd of the 4 BMW 745I model years from 2002 to 2005 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2002 (54). The fewest: the 2005 (16).

Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.

BMW 745I: NHTSA owner complaints by model year, 2002–2005 (complaints file, November 11, 2026)
Model yearOwner complaintsListing mileageMedian mileage
2002 BMW 745I544291,000
2003 BMW 745I322672,000
2004 (this page)241984,230
2005 BMW 745I1612108,820

2004 BMW 745I recalls

NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2004 model year under the name 745I. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2004 BMW 745I: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.

What these figures can and cannot tell you

  • Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
  • The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
  • The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
  • They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2004 BMW 745I lasts.
  • A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2004 BMW 745I.
  • Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
  • 5 of the 24 complaints on the 2004 BMW 745I give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
  • NHTSA name counted: 745I. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
  • Recall-file name matched: 745I.
Evidence

Primary sources behind this page

Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.

  1. NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  2. Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  3. NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  4. NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  5. Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  6. NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  7. Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.

Quick answers

2004 BMW 745I questions

How many miles will a 2004 BMW 745I last?

Half of the 19 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2004 BMW 745I that list mileage came after 84,000 miles. Of the 19 complaints on the 2004 BMW 745I that list mileage, half came after 84,000 miles; 7 came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. With fewer than 20 mileages, the median is the only percentile given. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2004 BMW 745I that never had one.

What are the most common 2004 BMW 745I problems?

NHTSA's file holds 24 owner complaints on the 2004 BMW 745I. Owners named the powertrain most often: 11 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 84,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 24 complaints, 3 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.

Is the 2004 BMW 745I a good year?

Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2004 is a good or a bad BMW 745I: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2004 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 24 complaints, the 2004 ranks 3rd of the 4 BMW 745I model years from 2002 to 2005 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2002 (54). The fewest: the 2005 (16).

How many recalls does the 2004 BMW 745I have?

NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2004 model year under the name 745I. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2004 BMW 745I: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.

How do I check a used 2004 BMW 745I before buying?

Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2004 BMW 745I.