| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2015 BMW i3 repairs by problem area
Engine (40%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (0%)
Brakes and Traction Control (2%)
Suspension and Steering (4%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (44%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (2%)
Other (8%)
Chart based on 48 repairs.
2015 BMW i3 repair cost distribution
$2500+ (0%)
$1000 - $2499 (0%)
$500 - $999 (0%)
$100 - $499 (4%)
< $100 (96%)
Chart based on 28 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2015 BMW i3 4dr Hatch
168-horsepower Electric 1-speed automatic RWD
| BMW i3 in Ontario, Canada Feb 2016 - Jun 2018 | |||
| Oct 20167320 mi | 12 volt battery defective. Replaced when car brought in for oil and filter change. | ||
| BMW i3 in California, United States Dec 2015 - Sep 2018 | |||
| Feb 201713000 mi | Connector for DC-fast charging was not working | ||
| BMW i3 in Washington, United States Oct 2018 - Nov 2018 | |||
| Nov 201834000 mi | Recirculation Light (manual) not illuminating, Passenger side seat heater light flickers when turned on, eventually stops flickering. | ||
| BMW i3 in Colorado, United States Oct 2015 - Sep 2017 | |||
| Aug 20166000 mi | AC compressor suffered catastrophic failure. Metal shavings/debris sent throughout system, causing entire system to be replaced (all valves, hoses, etc.) to properly fix. Long delay waiting for parts. | ||
| BMW i3 in Quebec, Canada Dec 2015 - Jul 2016 | |||
| Jul 20163100 mi | Brought in for heating/cooling compressor noise. Motor mount bolts recall, but needed also mounts as the bolts had bent. | ||
2015 BMW i3 4dr Hatch
168-horsepower Electric + Gas 1-speed automatic RWD
| BMW i3 in California, United States Dec 2015 - May 2018 | |||
| Jun 201715000 mi | 12V battery charging system was mis-diagnosed as larger EV battery problem. When actual problem was determined, repair was quick but car was in shop for 10 days plus lost for one day by recovery service! | ||
| BMW i3 in California, United States Nov 2015 - Mar 2018 | |||
| Aug 201720000 mi | Fuel door opener. Still not fixed. | ||
| Jan 201826000 miUS $200 | Replaced flat tire | ||
| BMW i3 in Ohio, United States Jan 2017 - Sep 2017 | |||
| Jun 201713000 mi | A/c system failure. Dealer has attempted to repair 2 times with no success. Currently parts are on order to try again | ||
| Sep 201713000 mi | A/C System failure. Parts on backorder from Germany caused long delay. BMW was very good and offered loaner car during this period of time. | ||
| BMW i3 in Colorado, United States Nov 2017 - Jan 2018 | |||
| Jan 201811179 mi | Check engine light came on. Checked REX oil level and it was good (oil was like new). Brought car to dealer and received a loaner vehicle. Picked up car the same day. Fault was cleared from the computer. Service department stated that the spark plugs were fouled. They were cleaned, gapped, and reinstalled. Engine was run 20 minutes for diagnostics with no errors. Was informed that should the REX run, we should drive a minimum of 20 minutes to allow it to reach full operating temp. This is rather hard to do as the REX cannot be turned on manually and only turns on when the battery is at 6% or less charge--and I generally try to avoid that in case the REX fails to stay running (which was the case we had--fortunately, we made it home-Eco mode + to the rescue LOL). So.... NEXT STEP: Vgate WIFI iCar2 OBDII Elm327 Code Reader and BIMMERCODE to code the ECU to allow me to turn on the REX manually once the state of charge drops to 75% or lower. This will allow me to run the REX under direct ON/OFF control to ensure it will run for 20+ minutes (no way to tell if its reached operating temperature as there is no instrumentation for the REX). Total investment under$75 to enable full REX control, video playback, and a slew of other features. 5 star for the BIMMERCODE application--real easy to use and does 90% of what "coding" can do without having to spend the effort to learn coding (not hard, but I dont want to invest the time for some of the more esoteric features). Im an electrical and industrial engineer so have no problem learning to code--but not really necessary given the great utility of the BIMMERCODE application. They also replaced, under warranty, a missing screw holding down one of the fluid containers in the frunk. | ||
| BMW i3 in Texas, United States Sep 2017 - Jan 2022 | |||
| Oct 201713135 mi | Rear view camera was flaky and was replaced by the dealer | ||
| BMW i3 in California, United States Jun 2018 - Jun 2022 | |||
| Jan 202238000 miUS $3250 | Airbag module high resistance fault per TSB: SI B65 18 16, warning light came on. Cleared code several times and it kept coming back. Brought to dealer and they found harness had broken behind Driver's steering wheel airbag. BMW says that harness can't be replaced individually, so they had to replace whole airbag (which BMW calls "airbag module"). Interestingly my extended warranty text explicitly covers "airbag module" even though it also says it doesn't cover Airbags or Safety Restraint Systems. After calling warranty company to point this out they agreed and paid. Driver's seat heater failed (at first seemed weaker, then started turning itself off after 5-10 minutes). Needed replacement. Front strut boots had cracked. Preventive replacement. (Extended warranty listed struts, housings, cartridges as covered even though it also said suspension joint boots not covered. They agreed it was covered after calling them.) | ||
| BMW i3 in New Jersey, United States May 2015 - Jun 2022 | |||
| May 201610000 mi | Parking brake switch broke. Took about a week for the part to come in. Drove it till part came in. They kept it overnight for repair. I don't think they knew how long it would take as they had never done it before. | ||
| BMW i3 in Colorado, United States Apr 2015 - Jun 2018 | |||
| Jun 20152000 mi | A clip retaining an exterior door panel broke and had to be replaced. | ||
| Nov 20158900 mi | The check engine light came on due to a misfire. The repair was to update the car's software to the latest version. | ||
| May 201619000 mi | Due to some combination of an engine mis-fire and other trouble codes the computer would not let the range extender run. The cabin heating element was replaced and the car firmware updated. | ||
| Sep 201624000 mi | High voltage battery cooling system valve failed and was replaced. | ||
| Dec 201740435 mi | Check engine light on due to misfire. Drained fuel and replaced with lower octane fuel in hopes that would prevent future occurences. | ||
| BMW i3 in Minnesota, United States Jan 2017 - Sep 2017 | |||
| Mar 201722000 mi | The car said it was due for maintenance, so I brought it in. On the way down (dealer is 250 miles south of me), the i3 showed an error and would not unlock the fuel cover whenever I stopped. This meant I had to open the frunk and pull the manual release each time. I mentioned this when I dropped off the car and they found a bad sensor in the fuel tank so they replaced it. There were also several TSBs, so they made those fixes as well including updating the car's software. | ||
| BMW i3 in California, United States Nov 2015 - Feb 2018 | |||
| Jan 20161000 mi | Backup camera stopped working; screen displayed black video, video with red lines. Backup camera determined faulty and replaced | ||
| Sep 20168000 mi | Rear view camera was loose | ||
| Aug 201718000 mi | The climate control panel would go blank during hot weather | ||
| Feb 201823000 mi | Driver's SRS malfunction. Dealer determined the driver's airbag was faulty Replaced the airbag and issue was resolved. passenger airbag reprogramming recall. | ||
| BMW i3 in Ohio, United States Sep 2015 - Oct 2017 | |||
| Nov 201613700 mi | Fuel system canister problem | ||
| Dec 201614000 mi | Drivetrain error, cleared by dealer and attributed to ice in the High Voltage charging system | ||
| BMW i3 in California, United States Aug 2015 - Jan 2016 | |||
| Dec 20154000 mi | Charger door assembly replacement. Off-peak charging feature not working. | ||
| BMW i3 in Florida, United States Aug 2015 - Jun 2022 | |||
| Mar 20178250 mi | Replaced faulty fuel system pressure sensor, which prevented automatic opening of fuel flap. Replaced faulty fuel system pressure sensor, which prevented automatic opening of fuel flap. | ||
| Apr 20179000 mi | Fuel filler line routing problem led to recall to install clip to prevent rubbing and possible leak. | ||
| BMW i3 in Ontario, Canada Apr 2015 - Jul 2019 | |||
| Jul 20151120 mi | Car displayed a CEL while on the highway, CEL then started flashing, REx shutdown while at speed. Reset it with a restart, was able to get it to the dealer, they replaced the crank position sensor. | ||
| Nov 20153720 mi | After the July CEL fix, the REx continued to produce CELs for cylinder misfire, camshaft position sensor as well as a couple other generic codes. The fix this time was re-adjust the timing, only part needed was a valve cover gasket. | ||
| Dec 20154960 mi | Steering produced strange creaking noise when used in cold temps. The new version bushings were on back order from the November CEL visit. Also requested that vehicle software be updated to the latest Nov version that fixes some bugs. | ||
| Apr 20166500 mi | A service bulletin required updated motor mount bolts due to early versions being prone to breaking. Also included with the new bolts was a software update that compliments the new bolts and changes the sensitivity of the TC system. | ||
| Jan 20176360 mi | In below zero Celsius temps, there is an audible creak from the rear when tipping into the throttle from a stop. It sounds like a motor mount as the motor cradle rocks back as torque is applied. Had two solid yellow (not flashing) CEL's during the summer months, I viewed them with my OBD reader and they were phantom CELs, so I cleared them. Common problem with i3, so I just reported this to the dealer so they could update software. The fuel flap failed to open once so I had to pull the manual release cable (common i3 problem). I reported this to the dealer so they could reset the fuel pressure sensor and check the cable. | ||
| May 201819815 mi | COMPLAINT: CLIENT REPORTS THERE IS A NOISE PRESENT FROM THE REAR WHEN THE VEHICLE IS COLD. PLEASE LET VEHICLE SIT AND ROAD TEST TO TRY TO VERIFY CAUSE: FOUND THAT WHEN GOING AROUND CORNERS ON DECEL A SQUEAK NOISE IS HEARD. FOUND THAT ENGINE FRAME RUBS AGAINST RUBBER MOUNT UNDER THESE DRIVING CONDITIONS THIS IS NORMAL. CORRECTION: SPRAYED SILICONE SPRAY ON RUBBER MOUNT NOISE CANNOT BE HEARD AFTER. COMPLAINT: CLIENT REPORTS THREE DRIVE TRAIN ERROR MALFUNCTIONS OCCURRED BET NOVEMBER 2017 = JANUARY 2018. ONE OF THEM HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING OVER A HIGHWAY EXPANSION JOINT WITH THE REX RUNNING AND THE IMPACT SEEMED TO CAUSE SHUT DOWN REX. CAUSE: CHECK ENGINE LIGHT NOT ON AT THIS TIME. POSSIBLE FUEL TANK PRESSURE SENSOR CAUSING MALFUNCTION LIGHT. REPAIRED ON LINE 1 COMPLAINT: CLIENT REPORTS FUEL FLAP HAS FAILED TO OPEN A FEW TIMES. CHECK AND ADVISE CAUSE: FOUND FUEL TANK PRESSURE SENSOR CAUSING FAULTS PERFORMED BRIEF TEST FOUND FAULT CODE 80601D STORED FOR FUEL TANK PRESSURE SENSOR IMPLAUSABLE. RAN TEST FOR PRESSURE SENSOR FOUND IT TO BE READING OK AT THIS TIME. RECALIBRATED PRESSURE SENSOR AND CLEARED FAULT CODES | ||
| BMW i3 in Alabama, United States Jun 2016 - Dec 2016 | |||
| Nov 20166600 mi | Wiring in driver heated seats system short circuited, causing malfunction and internal damage to seat cushion. | ||
| BMW i3 in New Zealand May 2015 - Jul 2022 | |||
| Apr 20163500 mi | Reverse camera stopped working - replaced by dealer with new camera as unsure what was the cause. No further problem | ||
| Jul 20164640 mi | Drivers airbag fault, replaced under warranty | ||
| BMW i3 in North Carolina, United States Aug 2015 - Jul 2017 | |||
| Jan 20163300 mi | Airbag failure warning light- replaced airbag wiring harness with new design. | ||
See TrueDelta's information for all Hatchbacks
See TrueDelta's information for all BMW models.
