BMW 760LI · model year

2003 BMW 760LI

7 NHTSA complaints, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2003BMW760LI carries 7 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 2003 760LI is fuel/propulsion system with 5 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling (1) and electrical system (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. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 2003 760LI. 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.

7
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

7 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM5
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1

Recalls (1)

03V32400026/08/2003

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE ENGINE OIL FILTER DRAIN PLUG MAY BE INSUFFICIENTLY TIGHTENED. THIS COULD LEAD TO LOOSENING OF THE PLUG CAUSING AN INITIAL OIL SPRAY AND A SUBSEQUENT OIL LEAK.

Recent Complaints

20180603FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMPS FAIL WHICH CAUSE THE CAR TO STALL AND CUT OFF WHILE DRIVING. IF YOU TURN THE CAR OFF AND ION IT MAY START BACK UP AND RUN AGAIN, BUT IT WILL CONTINUE TO STALL AND CUT OFF. BMW KNOWS THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND SAYS BOT HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMPS NEED TO BE REPLACED AT $2700 A PIECE. MY VEHICLE HAS 90,000 MILES ON IT.

Mileage: 90,000

20141114FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

DRIVING AT 75MPH MY CAR STALLED AND THE STEERING BECAME STIFF. I BARLEY MADE IT OUT OF THE FAST LANE DURING HEAVY TRAFFIC AND OTHER CARS FLYING PAST ME AT 75/80 MPH. CAR STARTED BACK UP AND I PULLED OFF 1/4 MILE LATER IT STALLED AGAIN. I WAS IN THE SLOW LANE (STILL GOING 75MPH ) AND THE CAR STALLS AGAIN. I CALLED A TOW TRUCK AND HAD IT TOWED TO MY MECHANIC. MY MECHANIC CALLS ME AND SAYS ITS YOUR HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. I JUST HAD ONE OF MY HPFP FAIL LAST YEAR NOW THE OTHER SIDE FAILED. THIS IS A KNOW ISSUES WITH BMW V12 ENGINE. JUST GOOGLE BMW 760LI HPFP. THERE IS A YOUTUBE VIDEO WITH WHAT FAILED IN THE PUMP. THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS ONLINE COMMUNITY'S THAT HAVE PICTURES OF THERE FAILED PUMPS. BMW BUMPS THE PRICES OF THESE PUMPS TO 2,500 DOLLARS A PIECE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE JUST LIKE ON THE 3 AND 5 SERIES THERE JUST AREN'T ENOUGH V12S PRODUCED FOR THIS TO BE A MAJOR RECALL LIKE ON THE 5 SERIES. BMW SHOULD GIVE THESE PUMPS A LONGER WARRANTY. *TR

Mileage: 56,000

20140922FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

WAS DETERMINED BY VOB BMW THAT ONE OR BOTH FUEL PUMPS IS DEFECTIVE IN THE CARS ENGINE. THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 50K MILES. BMW IS PROVIDING NO ASSISTANCE WITH THIS ISSUE, I FIND THIS UNBELIEVABLE DUE TO THE SELLING PRICE OF THIS VEHICLE. REPAIR COST IS ESTIMATED AT SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS. BMW STATES THAT THE CURRENT DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMPS WILL BE REPLACED WITH THE SAME EXACT PARTS THAT EXIST IN THE CAR, WITH A 90 DAY WARRANTY. I AM TERRIFIED TO PUT THE CASH INTO THE VEHICLE FOR THE NEW PUMPS TO FAIL AFTER 40K MILES AS WELL. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED, THIS CAR IS IN IMMACULATE CONDITION & SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE AT ALL... *TR

Mileage: 43,000

20130116FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

MY BMW HAS BEEN HAVING ISSUES SINCE AROUND 40,000 MILES AND I FINALLY JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMPS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IT SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING TO ALL OF THE 760 BMW'S AT AROUND 40-50K MILES. BMW IS TAKING NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TYPE IN 2003, 2004 OR 2005 760LI BMW AND THE FIRST THING THAT POPS UP IS THE HPFP. THAT SHOULD GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW MANY OF THESE CARS ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE. THERE AREN'T MANY OF THESE MADE AND IT SEEMS LIKE MOST OF THEM ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE. BMW ENDED UP HAVING TO DO A RECALL FOR THERE NEXT MODELS FOR THE FUEL PUMPS AND IT LOOKS LIKE OUR MODELS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED TOO. THE REPLACEMENT COST ON THESE PARTS ARE $4K PER HPFP AND THERE ARE 2 IN THE 760'S. *TR

Mileage: 40,000

20120823FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

USED CAR PURCHASE. WITHIN 30 DAYS OF PURCHASE 760LI BEGAN TO HAVE PROBLEMS STARTING. ONCE STARTED, IDLE WAS ROUGH. JUMPED BETWEEN 0 AND 1K RPMS WHILE IN PARK. WHILE DRIVING CAR AT APPROX 20-25 MPH CAR ENGINE STALLED (*UNKNOWN TO DRIVER AS IT IS A QUIET RUNNING ENGINE/OCCUPANT CAB). POWER STEERING WAS LOST AND THE DRIVER NEEDED TO HARD CRANK THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER TO PULL OUT OF TRAFFIC AND ONTO ROADSIDE SAFETY. THIS BEGAN TO OCCUR REPEATEDLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY ON EVERY OCCASION THE CAR WAS DRIVEN. THIS CAR IS A DEATHTRAP!! BMW TOUTS IT AS THEIR FLAGSHIP VEHICLE. SINCE PURCHASING THE CAR I AM NOT ABLE TO DRIVE IT AND NO LONGER FEEL SAFE PLACING MY FAMILY IN THE CAR. THIS CAR SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE ROAD AND BMW SHOULD BE FINED FOR NOT PLACING A RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE/PART. THE ONLY REASON INJURY OR CRASH DID NOT OCCUR IS DUE TO THE QUICK REACTION OF MYSELF WHILE DRIVING. *TR

Mileage: 60,000

20111205ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 760LI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER THE STEERING WHEEL DURING THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC. THE LOCAL MECHANIC PERFORMED A TUNE-UP AND CHECKED TO SEE IF WATER WAS IN THE FUEL SYSTEM. THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE COMPUTER WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE, NOT THE FUEL SYSTEM. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,000.

Mileage: 57,000

20100510ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 760LI. WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS OF 25 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLANT SERVICE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR UNKNOWN REPAIRS BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER YET THE CHECK ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLANT SERVICE LIGHTS REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 53,170 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 54,000.

Mileage: 53,170

Compare 2003BMW760LI to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2003 BMW 760LI have?
The 2003 BMW 760LI has 7 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2003 BMW 760LI?
Yes, the 2003 BMW 760LI has 1 recall(s). The most common affected component is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2003 BMW 760LI?
The most-complained component for the 2003 BMW 760LI is FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM with 5 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Is the 2003 BMW 760LI safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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.