The 1992 BMW 735i has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 595,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 7 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING98V1780001998-08-04340,000 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. A MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF A COOLANT SYSTEM COMPONENT, SUCH AS A THERMOSTAT, WATER PUMP, OR FAN BELT, CAN RESULT IN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED COOLANT TEMPERATURE AND SYSTEM PRESSURE. IF THE INDICATIONS OF A CRITICAL OVERHEATING CONDITION IS NOT NOTICED BY THE DRIVER, IT IS…
Consequence
IF A CRACK WERE TO FORM OR A SEAM WERE TO SEPARATE IN THE HEATER CORE END PIECE, HOT COOLANT COULD SUDDENLY BE EXPELLED, INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY TO A VEHICLE OCCUPANT.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW DESIGN RADIATOR CAP TO CONTROL PRESSURE AND PROVIDE GREATER COOLANT OVERFLOW IN THE EVENT OF OVERHEATING.
THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH CAN FAIL ALLOWING THE SWITCH TO REMAIN IN THE "BRAKE LIGHTS OFF" POSITION OR IN THE "BRAKE LIGHTS ON" POSITION.
Consequence
IF THIS HAPPENS, THE BRAKE LIGHTS EITHER WILL NOT OPERATE OR WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY ON, REGARDLESS OF BRAKE PEDAL POSITION. FOLLOWING DRIVERS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE VEHICLE IS STOPPING, INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE EXISTING BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED SWITCH.
AIR BAGS96V1100001996-07-0175,000 affected
Defect
THE AIR BAG CONTACT RING LOCKING TAB LOCATED IN THE STEERING WHEEL ASSEMBLY CAN BREAK WITHOUT WARNING.
Consequence
IF THIS HAPPENS, THE CONTACT RING WIRING COULD EVENTUALLY BREAK. THE AIR BAG READINESS INDICATOR LAMP (SRS OR AIRBAG) IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WILL ILLUMINATE, AND THE AIR BAG WOULD NOT DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF A FRONTAL IMPACT VEHICLE COLLISION.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LOCKING TAB WITH ONE OF A DIFFERENT DESIGN.
Complaints by component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD
1
1fires
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
1
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER
1
Total complaints7
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Car overheated, causing the top radiator hose to fail and also the thermostat to fail as a direct result of the recall. The dealer refuses to fix this problem. I feel this is there responibity to fix the failures. The $466.30 is there estimate.*ak”
“Car overheated, causing the top radiator hose to fail and also the thermostat to fail as a direct result of the recall. The dealer refuses to fix this problem. I feel this is there responibity to fix the failures. The $466.30 is there estimate.*ak”
“The drivers side power seat recline cable slips out of its motor allowing the seat back to sudderly fall back untill it rests on the rear seat. This is dangerous while driving and can cause the driver to loose control of the car. I reported this failure to the dealer and the service manager told…”
“Recall #98v-178 replaces the radiator cap because the cooling system is not robust enough to hold the pressure of an overheated engine. Bmw states that the result can be a ruptured heater core and possible hot cooland expelled on the drivers legs and steamed windows obscuring vision. All of these…”
“While parked vehicle caught fire under the hood. This has happened twice, harness was replaced the first time. Dealer can't find a solution. *ak”
“I ended up to replace every component in the cooling sistem of a total cost aprox. $ 2500 and later on I found here on the net that the 735i's have a recall on their cooling sistem. After all the replacements in the engine cooling sistem , months after, I received a note from the bmw dealership…”
“While driving at state speed there was a noise coming from right hand side of vehicle and without warning front right door and rear right door opened.*ak”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1992 BMW 735i as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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