the 2002 bmw 7 series

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30 GEARS June/July 2002

If youre the meaty hands on type

that yearns to bang through the

gear box, you may as well go onto

the next article, the new BMW 7 series

is not for you. Drivers need only ten-

derly touch a myriad of controls and off

they go. Really.

Lets start with the ignition key, orlack of one. The small rectangular

remote fob has not only the proverbial

lock, unlock, and pop the trunk func-

tions, but now also doubles as the key

and has its own parking slot on

instrumental panel. Once inserted, the

driver starts the engine by pushing an

adjacent button. Spiffy stuff, . . . if it

works.

While on a long-distance road trip,

our $75,695 test car developed a

burp and refused to start. Treating the

car like the stuffed electronic wonder it

was, I mused if it were just a little con-

fused just like computers get from

time to time. I simply turned off every

blessed bit and bob, pulled the fob,

grabbed a cup o Joe and patiently wait-

ed a few minutes. Fired right up on the

next attempt. A couple days later, it didthe same thing and so did I. BMW has

a little recon work to figure this out

because while I appreciate the car is

part of the media test fleet, the buyer

who plunks down 75 large will not be

so sympathetic.

Nevertheless, this small mishap

should not put a pale on an otherwise

magnificent piece of road machinery.

Turned out in Toledo blue, the new 745i

is a technostunner. Fitted with a 4.4-

liter V8 that employs a sophisticated

TECH SIDEby Lance Wiggins

ON THE ROADby Landspeed Louise Ann Noeth

The 2002 BMW 7 Series,the "touch and go" Touring Sedan

with

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GEARS June/July 2002 31

combination of variable valve timing

and lift that virtually eliminates the tra-

ditional throttle by using an adaptable

intake tube length, the engine is rated at

325 horsepower and 330 lb-ft. of

torque.

The new powerplant is mated to

the worlds first production six-speedautomatic. Like a jet fighter, there is no

mechanical linkage, the transmission

shift-by-wire technology, all electrical-

ly actuated. The gearshift is practically

gone as well. The shift controls are

located behind the steering wheel want-

ing only a mere tap of the finger to put

the car in gear. Its an odd feeling,

exerting no more pressure than it takes

to call an elevator to get underway. In a

couple of days I was one with the

wires. GEARS Tech Editor Lance

Wiggins was equally impressed and

youll want to read his comments in

Tech Side immediately following my

report.

Lighter and more compact than the

5-speed it replaces its new type of con-

trol system, called Mechatronic, com-

bines hydraulic and electronic controlsinside the transmission case. Another

new feature is the ability to limit the

transmission permitting the driver to

perform controlled downshifting. This

is accomplished via the upper right-

hand button on the multifunction steer-

ing wheel, labeled L/D (for

Limit/Drive). Actuation of this button

puts the transmission in its limit

mode, which captures the gear current-

ly engaged as the highest gear the trans-

mission will reach (6th, 5th, 4th, etc.).

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Then, the driver may drop the

transmission down to L5, L4, L3, L2

and L1 by successively pressing either

of the twin shift buttons near the steer-

ing wheels rim. To return to normal

automatic operation, the driver need

only press the L/D button again.Indications of all operations are easily

seen in a instrument cluster window

directly in front of the driver.

Additionally, a new feature called

Standby Control partially disengages

one of the internal clutches to reduce

fuel consumption and tendency to creep

during idling in gear. This automatic

hold feature automatically sustains

hydraulic pressure to the four wheel

brakes anytime the vehicle comes to a

stop, eliminating any tendency of the

vehicle to creep and comes in handy

when on a hill. When activated, the

electromechanical parking brake

engages automatically anytime the

engine is switched off and Auto P

appears in the instrument cluster if

Auto Hold is selected.We havent the space to do justice

to all the marvelous innovations in the

7-series. Suffice it to say the car is so

chock full of manufacturing firsts, the

Society of Automotive Engineers voted

it Best Engineered Car for 2002.

Among the groups praises was the

MOST-based navigation and multime-

dia system. Nirvana for techies, but is a

head full for the average mortal.

Even the windshield wipers are

now electronically controlled and the

surface area cleaned has vastly

increased. In their parked position,

every three days or so the wipers move,

so that the rubber wiper blades do not

get set into a distorted position from

being stationary. What a waste. Anyone

who owns this mechanical marvelwould NEVER let it sit for three days.

Instrumentation has undergone a

radical reduction. I have mixed emotions

about how BMW handled it. Delighted

with the advancements, I pondered if

perhaps too much was changed too fast.

It took a few days to become comfort-

able spinning and tapping the main con-

trol dial to mostly get what I wanted out

of the center armrest mounted function

manager. The learning curve evoked

sporadic doses of amusement and frus-


The 2002 BMW 7 SeriesThe 2002 BMW 7 Series

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Built right. Backed right.

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Motorcraft parts are the only parts that are

designed, engineered and recommended by

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the next time a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury rolls

into your shop. Motorcraft parts deliver

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your customers expect and deserve. From

electrical components to transmissions, count

on Motorcraft.

2002 FORD MOTOR COMPANY

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tration trying to change radio stations,

adjust volume, load in GPS tracked des-

tination, survey diagnostics, or read any

scale of map available on the rather

large CRT in the center of the dash.

Getting chummy with the multi-

tude of readouts for navigation, tele-

phone, climate control and entertain-

ment systems qualifies for an honors

course for which one ought to get a

gold star when deciphering some por-

tion of the matrix. At times I just gave

up after repeated, failed attempts to

bend the system to my will. Mercifully,

BMW left a traditional array of controls

(including a command center on the

steering wheel) for those who have a

longer learning curve.

I confess to falling apart in laugh-

ter when after verbally cussing out the

system for not complying with my

voice command and failing miserably

trying to find the control on the spin-

ning dial, the chocolately-smooth bari-

tone electronic voice activation finally

replied, pardon me?


The 2002 BMW 7 Series

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GEARS June/July 2002 35

by Lance Wiggins

1. How service friendly is thetransmission?

No need to service this ZF6HP26, this

is a service for life type of transmis-

sion with $25-50 dollar a quart fluid. If

it is necessary to remove the fluid

dont worry, the drain plug is on the

bottom of the pan and the f iller is on

the passengers side.

TECH SIDE

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Purchase Any Of These Washers BetweenNow And August 31, 2002 To Qualify.To Get A Rebate Form:

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2. How easy is it to Diagnose?

The diagnostic connector is located behind a small

panel on the drivers side kick panel. Using your scan

tool you may have to use the generic side to gain

access to the computer for diagnosis. There are many

computer operated features in and on this vehicle

including the voice activated computer in the dash.

You should be very accurate in diagnosing this vehi-

cle making sure not to overlook the obvious.


The 2002 BMW 7 SeriesThe 2002 BMW 7 Series

ID PLATE

OBD II

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3. What special features are there?

Including the voice activated computer, ride control and

comfort that makes my bed look bad, this transmission has

a few things very unique to it. The shifter is electronically

controlled, a solenoid outside of the transmission is used to

pull the cable into a drive or reverse position. The comput-er uses the solenoids in the transmission to operate the dif-

ferent gears up to and including the manual gears. This

transmission is a work of art and drives like youre floating

on air. Luxury at its best


GENERAL

Curb weight, lb. 4376 4464Weight distribution, front/rear, % 50.4/49.650.6/49.4Wheelbase, in. 117.7 123.2

745i 745Li

ENGINE & ELECTRICAL

Engine type DOHC 32-valve (4-cam) V-8,Valvetronic variable valve lift &VANOS 2 variable valve timing 1Power @ rpm, hp 325 @ 6100 1Torque @ rpm, lb-ft. 330 @ 3600 1

DRIVETRAIN

Drive system Front engine/rear drive 1Automatic transmission ZF 6HP26, 6-speed 1Ratios: 1st 4.17:1 12nd 2.34:113rd 1.52:1 14th 1.14:1 15th 0.87:1 16th 0.69:1 1

Reverse 3.40:1 1Final drive ratio 3.38:1 1

PERFORMANCE DATA

Acceleration, 0-60 mph, sec. 5.9 1Top speed, mph 150 (electronically limited) 1

2002 BMW 7 SERIES

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

745i 745Li

The 2002 BMW 7 Series

SERVO SHIFTED MANUAL LINKLAGE

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the 2002 bmw 7 series

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