12 of the
77 complaints about the 2023 BMW I4 are about the
other systems — 16% of everything
reported for this model year.
F
12
Complaints
2
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
Exactly what failed
Unknown OR Other
12100.0%
What owners said
Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.
Temecula, CACrash
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving on frewway in HOV lane next to tall concrete center barrier, side collision mitigation system suddenly began to aggressively and continuously jerk steering right and left. After about 10-20 seconds this caused loss of control, with vehicle turning around 180 degrees and, during the spin, impacting the center concrete wall, causing deployment of all airbags. Traffic was very heavy, and although there were no injuries or collisons with other vehicles, the loss of control was life-threatening. This route was driven previously under exactly the same conditions (clear, dry day in HOV lane) with no problem more than 20 times. This problem occurred about two weeks after the latest BMW software update. BMW was informed and what they might do is unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11735391 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
El Cajon, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On [XXX], while driving on a public highway, the vehicle shut off and came to a complete stop as I was going around a roundabout. I was in the inside lane, had just finished charging in Yuma, Az., and was just about to get back on the freeway heading back into California. Thankfully, there was no one behind me at that moment and I was able to restart the vehicle and continue driving. After arriving at my destination in Winterhaven, CA, I later saw that I had two missed calls from BMW Roadside Assistance. They called to check on my welfare as, unbeknownst to me, the vehicle sent out an alert as a result of the incident. 12/30/2023, I took the vehicle to BMW of San Diego (where I leased the car from) regarding the above mentioned incident as well as repeated Drivetrain Malfunction warnings. The vehicle had 43,770 miles on it. By 1/12/2024, the dealership informed me they could not replicate the problem, and what I found most alarming, was they could find no evidence that it ever happened. I asked if they could promise me it would not happen again, they could not. This caused me great fear for myself and for others. All they could offer was that I could file a claim with BMW of North America, which I did that same day. It was not until 3/19/2024 that BMW notified me they rejected my claim. On [XXX], as I was returning home from El Centro, CA, I received a warning message, "URGENT HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM CHECK UP" and directing me to the nearest service center. Again, I took the vehicle to BMW of SD, stopping to charge along the way, because the range was dropping rapidly. The mileage was 95,074, still under warranty. Again, they found nothing and made me take the car back. Ultimately, on [XXX], another alert "Range reduced: Limited charging possible. Have problem checked by the nearest service center." At BMW of El Cajon I was told that Cell Module #2 had failed and would need to be replaced, but now the car was out of warranty and my cost would be $23,366. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION A
NHTSA complaint #11731151 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Gig Harbor, WA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The sunroof spontaneously shattered while driving on the freeway. The sun shade was closed but had it been open, the glass would have entered the cabin and potential for harm. In addition, the loud bang was a distraction and had there been more heavy traffic there was potential for accident. There was no identified object that hit the sunroof. The car was taken to the dealership for repair and inspection.
NHTSA complaint #11713771 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Alameda, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The sunroof of my BMW i4 exploded and shattered while I was driving under light rain on 45-mph road. The explosion was very loud and scary. Luckily sunroof sliding shade was closed otherwise shattered glass will fall inside of car.
NHTSA complaint #11699707 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fountain Valley, CAFire
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The vehicle randomly caught fire after sitting idle for approximately 8 hours. Going to a conference in Aria Las Vegas and drove over 260 Miles. There was no issues, no indicator warning lights or strange noises during the drive. Arrived at Aira approximately 4:00PM. Parked vehicle on the third floor of the Aira Self-Parking and did not touch the car after parking the car. I received a call at approximately 12:00AM that night from Aria Security. From Aria Security, stated that vehicle has caught fire. Fire was put out by Clark County Fire department, fire report received. A whiteness who called Aria Security, stated he heard loud popping, like small explosions, from driver side front tire before the fire started. Clark County Fire Department stated fire originated on driver side front of engine area. Battery not involved. Car is total loss. BMW NA performed a visual exam only. BMW NA stated that due to damage and connectors being present, could not find cause of fire and unwilling to perform a more detailed inspection. Cause of Fire and involved components are unknown at this time.
NHTSA complaint #11683180 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Northridge, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Slowed to a stop with B mode engaged. Suddenly car lurched forward prompting me to slam on the brakes. No one was injured or vehicles damaged but it was unsettling. No warning or other issues prior to failure. No manufacture has looked at it and since it’s likely unable to reproduce often a test drive would likely not see it either.
NHTSA complaint #11616893 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Santa Monica, CACrash
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving down a residential street with cars parked on both sides. My car stopped very suddenly because the passenger side front tire was pierced and flattened by something on the road. Almost simultaneously the car began to oscillate or jolt from side to side and hit a car parked on my driver’s side very hard and then oscillated back to a parallel position. This is a known problem on the i4 edrive community website. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11567649 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Elk Grove Village, IL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This is an electric vehicle. The affected part is called a heat changeover value - this value controls the coolant that is used by the car to keep the drive battery cool. The valves have a problem with leaks and when they leak, the car should not be driven out of safety concern. The main battery could overheat causing a fire/explosion. My vehicle experienced this issue and was undrivable for approx. 30 days. There are several Facebook and Reddit groups reporting this problem from all over the world. While my vehicle was at the dealer for the repair, this dealer had another vehicle like mine with the same issue along with another BMW electric vehicle, different model, same issue. From what I understand the parts are being replaced but not with a redesigned part. This also seems to be impacting more than just 2023 vehicle model years.
NHTSA complaint #11566379 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Dallas, TX
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Wireless CarPlay is not operating correctly and proving to be a hazard in driving. Often times, the GPS will randomly shift the “location of the car”, making it unsafe to drive because it is off by several miles, and a distraction because the screen moves with the location ping. I’ve reported this to apple and BMW several times over the last few months since January. Attached are just three of several instances in which this has happened (and I had a friend who was able to screenshot these).
NHTSA complaint #11518443 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Longmont, CO
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The on-board GPS sends incorrect information to Apple CarPlay devices, including both location and dead reckoning. This means that any application on the phone--including SOS and 911 calls—sends inaccurate location information when this is occurring. It is intermittent but acknowledged by BMW as an issue. Since CarPlay specifications for wireless CarPlay note that all GNSS information comes from the car to the phone, this is 100% a BMW issue (although they point to Apple). There are reports this happens with Android Auto, as well. There are also reports of this impacting the location BMW thinks the car has, including the My BMW app, which may also impact BMW's emergency services (untested by me for obvious reasons).
NHTSA complaint #11511830 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Corona del mar, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Our BMW i4 is equipped with wireless Apple CarPlay. CarPlay gets its geo-location (ie, GPS) data from the car. Since CarPlay is also an extension of your iPhone, the phone also is getting its GPS data from the car. In some situations, the car sends the wrong GPS data to CarPlay, and then all the mapping applications in CarPlay (and on your phone) have the wrong location. When this happens, the car is shown way off course, and the navigation app starts giving you rerouting instructions to get you back on course. Of course, these instruction are nonsensical and the locations are sometimes comical -- we live near a body of water, and the car is often shown driving through the water. This can only be corrected by rebooting the cars iDrive system or by disconnecting your phone completely from the car. This is a safety issue for two reasons. First the car gives you erroneous navigation instructions which can confuse you and potentially lead to an accident. But more importantly, the car is giving your phone the incorrect geo-location. This means that when you look at any map on your phone it shows you in the wrong the location. Modern iPhones have an SOS feature. If your car crashes, it will call 911 and relay your location. However, it will send the *wrong* location because it only knows what the car is telling it. This problem has been seen in several different BMW models; most often with cars that have iDrive 8. Based on BMW owner community forums, BMW dealers were made aware of the problem as long ago as June 2022. BMW USA has acknowledged the problem, and if pressed will say "we are working on a resolution" but refuse to give a timeframe for a fix. In the meantime, they say "don't use CarPlay maps". But of course that doesn't address the phone GPS / SOS issue.
NHTSA complaint #11511840 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Bellevue, WA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When using navigation with CarPlay the position can become incorrect. This happens inconsistently but when it happens can happen suddenly. It is distracting as the navigation keeps re-routing and this often makes the map rotate in the big central display. It can also disorient the driver if they are driving in an area which is not familiar to them.
NHTSA complaint #11511898 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.