The 1988 BMW 740ila has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 340,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 1 complaint 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.
Complaints by component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY
1
Total complaints1
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Faulty radiators that have a design flaw that allows for the radiator neck to break off without notice and spray hot coolant everywhere. This problem is well known just visit roadfly.org e38 message board and search for "radiator neck." this typically occurs between 50,000-70,000 miles. My…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1988 BMW 740ila as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.