Total Complaints
3 filings
BMW 735 · model year
3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1998BMW735 carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1998 735 is engine and engine cooling:engine with 1 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:cooling system:radiator assembly (1) and visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system:heater core (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 1998 735. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
3 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | 1 |
| VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:HEATER CORE | 1 |
VEHICLE OVERHEATS DUE TO A CRACK WITHIN THE ENGINE HEAD GASKET. ALSO, HEATER CORE LEAKED, AND CONSUMER HAD TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR TWICE DUE TO A LEAKAGE DEALER CAN'T DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *AK
VEHICLE OVERHEATS DUE TO A CRACK WITHIN THE ENGINE HEAD GASKET. ALSO, HEATER CORE LEAKED, AND CONSUMER HAD TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR TWICE DUE TO A LEAKAGE DEALER CAN'T DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *AK
VEHICLE OVERHEATS DUE TO A CRACK WITHIN THE ENGINE HEAD GASKET. ALSO, HEATER CORE LEAKED, AND CONSUMER HAD TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR TWICE DUE TO A LEAKAGE DEALER CAN'T DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *AK
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.