2018 BMW i3

After reviewing BMW’s warranty documentation, I believe that the part replaced — specifically the evaporative emissions (EVAP) valve or purge valve AND vapor canister (active charcoal canister) — should be covered under the California Extended Emissions Warranty (TZEV) for my 2018 BMW i3 with Range Extender. According to BMW’s California Emissions Warranty documentation (pages 14), the Evaporative Canister / Active Charcoal Filter is explicitly listed as a covered component under the Extended Emissions Warranty applicable to BMW i3 Range Extender vehicles in California. Furthermore, page 18 of the same document outlines the California Emission Control System Limited Warranty (TZEV), which provides coverage for emissions-related components for up to 15 years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Additionally, since we purchased this vehicle in 2021, we have meticulously maintained it and kept detailed fuel and service records. The vehicle has only been refueled NINE times total of 17 GALLONS of fuel with each refueling carefully logged by date and milage. The most recent refueling occurred on March 28, 2025, prior to our service visit at your dealership. These records demonstrate that the fuel and emissions systems have been minimally used, making premature failure of the vapor canister highly unusual. WE have never over filled the tank and dealer is claiming / assuming that is the cause. We believe this is a design flaw on BMW and we do pay the price. Many frustrated BMW i3 owners with similar issue and no help from BMW. THERE ARE MANY REPORTS OF THIS SAME ISSUE ALSO A BMW RECALL BULLETIN ( SIB 01 05 24 ) I3 REX EVAP SYSTEM PURGE VENT VALVE EXT LTD WTY PLEASE MAKE BMW TO RECALL / REPAY ALL I3 OWNERS WITH THIS ISSUE. WHAT IS THE POINT OF AN EXTENDED WARRANTY IF NO ONE IS ENFORCING IT !

Reported

Jun 2026

Incident date

Jul 2025

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

Roof delaminating and is danger of flying off

Reported

Aug 2024

Incident date

Aug 2024

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

This isn't a safety issue, rather it's a known problem with the factory AC compressor inside of BMW i3s and i8s that seem to constantly fail. I had a replacement under the car's factory warranty and the part already failed again right outside the part's warranty period. The replacement itself was quoted as a little over $9,000 but the dealership has since gone down to just under $4,000 to replace something that's just 2 months outside of warranty (but is probably something that would have failed an inspection had I just "taken it in" earlier). NUMEROUS people in online forums have confirmed this to be a known issue, but the company is holding their ground. Car companies should be held to a higher standard, and I'd like to ask the NHTSA to intervene and assist in this matter.

Reported

Jul 2024

Incident date

Jul 2024

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

My car has a problem with the carbon fiber roof panel. In the sun, the clear epoxy of the roof is de laminating from the carbon fiber beneath it. This is a safety issue because as it delaminates the clear epoxy is no longer properly attached to the roof and may fly off and into other vehicles when traveling at highway speeds. This is a well documented issue with these cars on the Reddit forum r/BMWi3.

Reported

Apr 2024

Incident date

Apr 2024

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

The roof is cracking, yellowing and bubbling. I have heard that this is the beginning of roof failure and de-lamination. There have been reports and incidents of others roofs delaminating and having large pieces flying off and hitting other cars.

Reported

Aug 2023

Incident date

Aug 2023

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

On two occasions the power steering failed while i was driving, once several months ago and again last Wednesday. Fortunately i was driving on surface streets close to home. i parked the car for twenty minutes and upon starting it the problem seemed to be gone. After the first occurance i went to the dealer and they said they knew nothing about the problem. I also called BMW USA.... again they knew nothing. The second time, last week, i took the car to the dealer again and they located a software update. Without actually acknowledging the problem, BMW had a software update and after initially asking me to pay for it, they agreed to pay.

Reported

Jul 2023

Incident date

Jun 2023

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

"Driver restraint system malfunction" light came on today. BMW i3's have had recalls in their past models due to design flaws in their airbag systems and assembly. While my car's year hasn't had a recall, searching the web shows that this issue is extremely common on BMW cars. And when the car is out of warranty (after 3 years), the cost for fixing this issue is exhorbitant. BMW should be pushed to fix this issue at no cost versus charging customers thousands for their faulty safety system design.

Reported

Feb 2023

Incident date

Feb 2023

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

Hello , I am owning a BMW i3REX (2018). Recently like many other users experienced multiple times the loss of power steering after starting the vehicle. While previous events like this were short lived and resolved with stopping, turning off and on the vehicle, this time it was on entering a highway, where the car suddenly lost its power steering and could not be driven properly. I had to exit , switched the car off and restart after a couple of minutes, which resolved this problem completely. I am reporting this to you, as I see this as a major safety risk for the BMW i3, which as it seems also other driver experiences and so far no solution has been found by BMW (please see https://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5065) ?

Reported

Jun 2022

Incident date

Jun 2022

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

On May 2, 2022, the car began to power down involuntarily every time I applied the brakes. This happened 2-3 times, and I was able to restart. The final time was in the middle of an intersection, the car would not restart, could not be placed in neutral to be moved out of the intersection, and I had to have a police tow. The tow service took it to Sport Motoring, where they performed a diagnosis on May 3, 2022. The diagnosis shows 8 faults in the EME module, among other things. I located a recall (Recall #19V310000) for the 2018 i3 which details the exact issue of the car powering down on its own due to a faulty EME module. Sport Motoring called BMW Customer Service on May 3, 2022, and asked if the car might need to have this recall applied. They agreed that the symptoms did seem similar and said they would need to have a diagnosis from a dealer. Based on the call with BMW customer service, I had the car towed to Nalley BMW of Decatur. They charged me for an initial diagnosis which did not include any information from the EME module and stated that the 12v battery needed to be replaced, and then if needed they would perform further diagnosis for an additional charge. I paid for the diagnosis and the battery in advance. After replacing the 12v battery, the dealer test drove my vehicle and said it was performing normally, so I picked it up on May 6, 2022. On my way home, the car began involuntarily powering down again. I documented the error messages on the two screens with photos. I drove back to the dealership with one more loss of power on the way. At this point, the dealer states that the faults clear every time they power the vehicle on and that the vehicle is not repeating the problem when they test drive it, so there is nothing more they can do. I cannot drive this car as it is a serious safety hazard. I also learned that this dealer had possession of the car in 2021 and sold it at auction in July that year because it had issues they could not cure.

Reported

May 2022

Incident date

May 2022

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

The contact owns a 2018 BMW i3. The contact stated that while driving in the rain at approximately 45 - 50 MPH, the vehicle had unintended acceleration and the contact lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle came to a full stop after getting stuck in the mud on the side of the road. The failure nearly caused a collision. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 42,600.

Reported

Feb 2022

Incident date

Feb 2022

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

CRUISE CONTROL DEACTIVATES FOR NO REASON CAUSING SUDDEN DECELERATION. OCCURS RANDOMLYN DURING CITY AND HIGHWAY DRIVING. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR MONTHS. BMW DEALER HAS RECIBRATED THE SENSOR AND UPDATED THE SOFTWARE. NO IMPROVEMENT.

Reported

Jan 2021

Incident date

Jan 2021

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

I CAME OUT OF THE PUBLIC GARAGE WHERE I CHARGED MY 2018 BMW I3'S AT A CHARGE POINT STATION FOR A LITTLE LESS THAN 4 HOURS (ABOUT 47 MILES RANGE), AND SUDDENLY WHEN STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT, A BIG RED ERROR MESSAGE CAME UP ON THE DASHBOARD (DRIVETRAIN SOMETHING....) AND THE CAR STOPPED. I TRIED TO RESTART IT A FEW TIMES AND EVENTUALLY IT STARTED AGAIN AND ALLOWED ME TO GO BACK HOME. I READ A FEW THINGS ONLINE CONFIRMING THAT THERE IS NO WARNING MESSAGE AND THAT THE CAR CAN JUST STOP LIKE THAT AND I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT IT HAPPEN ON A FREEWAY WHEN DRIVING WITH MY KIDS IN IT. THIS IS NOT SAFE!!!

Reported

Oct 2020

Incident date

Oct 2020

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

TL* THE CONTACT LEASED A 2018 BMW I3 EQUIPPED WITH BRIDGESTONE TIRES, TIRE LINE: ECOPIA, SIZE: 175/55/R20, DOT NUMBER: (NOT AVAILABLE). THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 TO 65 MPH THE PASSENGER'S SIDE REAR TIRE SUSTAINED A BLOWOUT. THE CONTACT MOVED THE VEHICLE ONTO THE ROAD SHOULDER AND HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A TIRE REPAIR FACILITY. THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE REAR TIRE WERE REPLACED. ADDITIONALLY, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE FRONT TIRES WERE PREVIOUSLY REPLACED ALSO DUE TO BLOWOUTS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 26,000. THE VIN WAS INVALID.

Reported

May 2020

Incident date

May 2020

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

IT'S MY 7TH MONTH DRIVING BRAND NEW 2018 I3 BEV. AFTER GOT OFF THE WORK TODAY, THE JULY 25TH, 2019, THE CAR STARTED PULLING TO THE LEFT. I HAD NO PROBLEM I THOUGHT I HAD A FLAT SO I CHECKED THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR AND IT WAS JUST FINE. I REALIZED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL GOT HEAVIER THAN USUAL AND QUITE DIFFICULT TO TURN. IT WOULDN'T STAY CENTER BUT KEPT MOVING TO THE LEFT WHILE BEING REALLY HEAVY. EVEN ON THE FLAT PAVEMENT. I CHECKED ONLINE AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS VERY ISSUE WITH I3. MOST OF THEM SAID TURNING THE CAR OFF AND TURN IT BACK ON USUALLY FIXES THE PROBLEM BUT IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. DRIVERS WITH THE SAME ISSUE ALSO SAY THAT IT'S A SOFTWARE PROBLEM AS THE I3'S STEERING WHEEL IS COMPLETELY ASSISTED BY ELECTRICAL MOTOR, NOT A CONVENTIONAL WAY OF HOW POWER STEERING WHEEL IS OPERATED. I FEEL DISCONCERTED AS THIS IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE AND SAFETY. SOME CLAIMED THAT SOFTWARE UPGRADE MAY FIX THE PROBLEM BUT I FEEL STRONGLY THAT BMW SHOULD STEP UP AND PROACTIVELY FIX THE ISSUE! THIS IS DANGEROUS!

Reported

Jul 2019

Incident date

Jul 2019

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2014-2018 BMW i3 electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Unbelted, small adult, drivers may be at a higher risk of neck injury in the event of a frontal crash. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Risk: During a frontal impact, unbelted, small adult, drivers could be at a higher risk of neck injury.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will update the Driver air bag control unit software, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 8, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at the dedicated i3 recall number 1-855-269-3361.

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW 330e iPerformance, i3 Rex, i3 Sport Rex, X5 xDrive40e, i3 BEV, i3 Sport BEV and 2019 i8 and i8 Roadster vehicles and 2018-2019 530e iPerformance, 530e xDrive iPerformance and 740Le xDrive iPerformance vehicles. Capacitors within the TurboCord Portable Chargers may fail, possibly resulting in a shock hazard or a fire.

Risk: An electrical shock or a fire can increase the risk of injury or death.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the charging cable, and replace it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 22, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 i3 BEV and i3 REx hybrid electric vehicles. A circuit board problem within the Electric Motor Electronics (EME) module may shutdown the supply of high voltage electrical power.

Risk: A shut down of high-voltage electrical power would result in a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the EME module, free of charge. The recall began June 13, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.