2016 BMW I3 Owner Complaints

Driver airbag warning light illuminated. Vehicle was diagnosed at BMW of Sherman Oaks (RO# 176741) and confirmed as a faulty driver airbag module - part# 32-30-6-870-366. BMW technician found fault code 930904: Driver's airbag interval stage 1, resistance too high stored. BMW NA declined goodwill repair assistance despite the failure occurring within 20 days of warranty expiration. This is a safety-critical federally mandated system. Multiple BMW i3 owners in online communities report the same issue and reference TSB SI B65 18 16 as a known defect related to a cable being too short. I believe this may be a widespread defect affecting 2014-2018 BMW i3 vehicles that warrants investigation.

NHTSA ID

11743788

Incident

May 20, 2026

While driving my 2016 BMW i3 with Range Extender, the vehicle experiences sudden and complete loss of propulsion at very low state of charge (0–1%). The car abruptly loses motive power, forcing me to pull over, sometimes while in traffic. After sitting for several minutes, limited power may return, but the vehicle often shuts down again, and in some cases the Range Extender engine does not engage at all. This has occurred repeatedly and creates a serious risk of being stranded or hit while merging or driving on public roads. BMW has inspected the vehicle twice (07 Nov 2025 and 13 Jan 2026) and confirmed the loss of propulsion and need to pull over but classified the behavior as “normal” without performing high-voltage battery diagnostics. The failure appears consistent with high-voltage battery voltage collapse under load, causing the battery management system to shut down the drivetrain. This is not normal power limiting — it is a sudden drivetrain shutdown that occurs without warning and poses a significant safety hazard.

NHTSA ID

11711282

Incident

Nov 16, 2025

Faulty airbag warning

NHTSA ID

11677072

Incident

Jun 6, 2025

The contact owns a 2016 BMW I3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and the air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel filler had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for further assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

NHTSA ID

11656031

Incident

Apr 22, 2025

Mileage

40,000 mi

The roof has bubbled and peeled away leaving an exposed permeable roof, meaning if it rains, water will get into the car because of the roof material being not safe, not strong, peeling away. Just terrible! Looking online, so many people with i3s ha e all had the same issue!

NHTSA ID

11646070

Incident

Mar 12, 2024

Translucent protection coat on roof delaminated; pieces blown into air. Bare roof and some coat pieces available for inspection upon request (no inspection yet). Other BMW i3 owners have reported same issue. No prior indication of problem on vehicle itself.

NHTSA ID

11640459

Incident

Feb 3, 2025

Roof panel is deteriorating and loosing integrity. Outer laminate coat broke down in general sun conditions, and now underlying roof structure is breaking down as well. The dealer has not inspected the roof yet, but this is an issue widely discussed on community forums, and it’s breaking down on my vehicle now.

NHTSA ID

11609080

Incident

Aug 16, 2024

The roof is bubbling and peeling up. Water gets in it when it rains, then it bubbles greatly. BMW won’t fix it, repair shops don’t want to fix it because it’s an obscure roof. They recommend I take it to BMW which won’t fix it (roof replacement suggested). I just bought this car and drive it as normal, and the special carbon fiber roof is degrading too fast.

NHTSA ID

11548761

Incident

Oct 1, 2023

The roof on outside is starting to flake off in chunks and expose bottom layers.

NHTSA ID

11539528

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

Battery degradation

NHTSA ID

11539526

Incident

Jul 13, 2023

Roof peeling

NHTSA ID

11539525

Incident

Jul 13, 2023

The carbon fiber roof of my 2016 BMW i3 REx is really starting to bubble and wrinkle. After taking it to two shops any mitigation would cost hundreds of dollars to address. The roof is starting to peel and am worried about water getting to the car. BMW should have engineered these roofs differently. They should be responsible to cost associated with fixing them.

NHTSA ID

11539515

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

My carbon fiber composite roof is delaminating and separating. There is a risk that the degradation of the roof will become so bad that it will separate off my car while driving and may hit another car. This is a common problem with bmw i3 roofs. It is crazy that the entire roof panel can structurally fail but because it isn’t steel/rust bmw isn’t worried about it.

NHTSA ID

11539176

Incident

May 3, 2021

My bmw i3 has a faulty wiring harness or some other defect that is causing my car to turn off the airbag system. This is a chronic issue with bmw i3’s. Either the wiring harness is bad or the airbag becomes too stiff and the car deactivated the entire airbag system. Dangerous!

NHTSA ID

11539172

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 BMW I3. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the contact heard a whistling sound, and the roof detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 19,000.

NHTSA ID

11539150

Incident

Aug 17, 2021

Mileage

19,000 mi

Loses power "without warning"; actually, when the REX turns on it automatically mentions that power "could be" lost when the REX turns on. However, that is very understated. In fact, there is nowhere in the owner's manual that raises this issue; doesn't even mention that there could or would be a "warning" if battery is low and REX is being used. Bottom line: The REX cannot keep up with driving. Please refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmn58reGv8k The above is identical to my experience. Especially VERY DANGEROUS when on the interstate highway. I was looking for an exit so that the battery might recharge a bit because I could only go 25-35 mph. Seems like the REX is warming up and not outputting standard power, as expected... It might be that the problem is that the computer is not calculating the correct state of charge and therefore not giving the REX enough time to complete its warm-up cycle.? Or it should kick in earlier than single digit battery strength left. I started recording at 9% SoC and I was expecting this power loss. I found a safe(r) road to do this on with minimal traffic. Fast Forward to 2:59 to see the power-loss happen. The first time this happened I was on the highway, that was not fun. To quote another driver with the same issue (see YouTube earlier), "Power-loss due to low charge should be gradual and with a warning, not this sudden. This makes for a dangerous situation if I'm on the highway or hill. I know that enabling 'hold state of charge' before 7.5% is a 'manual workaround' but that is NOT a fix. HSOC is not even an option on the REX in the USA - you have to unhide the menu via a coding change."

NHTSA ID

11513467

Incident

Oct 17, 2018

The contact owns a 2016 BMW I3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. Additionally, the contact stated that after making a turn, the steering wheel failed to properly return to center. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the cause of the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.

NHTSA ID

11509547

Incident

Jan 16, 2023

Mileage

88,000 mi

The contact owns a 2016 BMW I3. The contact stated that the driver restraint warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer, and the contact was informed that the front driver’s side air bag system was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 57,000.

NHTSA ID

11502605

Incident

Jan 12, 2023

Mileage

57,000 mi

Involved in a frontal collision and air bag did not deploy. Airbag could've prevented more serious injuries suffered. I contacted the service center at BMW Roseville and left a message for the service manager, no return call. The vehicle has been inspected by an insurance authorized collision center and is considered totaled. There were no warning there was a problem and didn't appear until the collision happened and it didn't deploy.

NHTSA ID

11439937

Incident

Oct 14, 2021

Previously reported a steering incident no. 11438343. Dealer indidicated that there was a "bug in the software" and that the car would be entitled to a one time fix under extended warranty. Dealership worked on the issue and completed the warranty repair on 11/28/2021 and I picked up the vehicle. Upon starting the car, the steering felt "different". I turned right to exit the dealership and tried to straighten the car but the steering turned full left and I crossed into the opposite lane of traffic. I stopped, turned the wheel to center, let it go and it turned full left on its own. I shut the car off, restarted and steering was normal. Drove back to the dealership for them to complete the repair. Dealership reported that this has occurred once for them but they cannot get it to repeat so they are going to keep the car for a few days. I am concerned that they will consider this an out of warranty repair because they were clear that they would offer a "one time fix" for the known issue.

NHTSA ID

11438729

Incident

Oct 28, 2021

Vehicle experiences periodic loss of "power steering". Very difficult to steer or control. Steering does not re-center making control difficult. Steering is restored after shutting down the car for a few minutes. Dealership cannot find any faults or codes.

NHTSA ID

11438343

Incident

Oct 27, 2021

POWER STEERING FAILURE WHILE IN MOTION - OPERATING THE VEHICLE ON PUBLIC ROADWAY - MAKING IT DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS TO NAVIGATE A TURN. NO WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED.

NHTSA ID

11404544

Incident

Mar 23, 2021

Mileage

50,600 mi

EVERY 3 TO 21 DAYS, MY STEERING PULLS HARD TO THE LEFT. THIS OCCURS ON FLAT ROADS ON DRY PAVEMENT. I HAVE TO PULL THE STEERING WHEEL HARD TO THE RIGHT TO KEEP THE VEHICLE GOING STRAIGHT AT CITY DRIVING SPEEDS (0-35 MPH). ON ONE OCCASION THIS OCCURRED WHILE ON THE FREEWAY DRIVING AT 70 MPH. TIRE PRESSURES ARE ALL WITHIN SPEC AND TIRES ARE IN GREAT SHAPE. AFTER STOPPING AND RESTARTING THE CAR, IT SOMETIMES WILL GO AWAY. IN LOOKING AT THE BMW RECALLS AND TECHNICAL NOTES, THEY HAVE NO SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM AND CALL IT A SOFTWARE ISSUE. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME AT LEAST 6 TIMES.

NHTSA ID

11361132

Incident

Sep 21, 2020

Mileage

33,400 mi

ON A FREEWAY DRIVING AROUND 65MPH FRONT CAR CAME TO SUDDEN STOP SO APPLIED BRAKES AT FULL STRENGTH BUT CAR CONTINUED AT THE SAME SPEED FOR FEW SECONDS AND THEN BRAKES TOOK EFFECT BUT IT WAS TOO LATE BY THEN. THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME SORT OF LAG BETWEEN WHEN BRAKE PEDAL PRESSED AND ACTUALLY BREAKS GET APPLIED TO SLOW DOWN VEHICLE. ALL 4 TIRES ARE NEW AND SERVICING DONE 4 MONTHS BACK. *TR

NHTSA ID

11329245

Incident

Jun 16, 2020

Mileage

20,000 mi

STARTED THE CAR AFTER CHARGING IT OVERNIGHT AND "DRIVETRAIN: STOP CAREFULLY" AND "TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION" APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE CAR HAS BEEN COMPLETELY FINE BEFORE THIS.

NHTSA ID

11306969

Incident

Feb 4, 2020

Mileage

13,000 mi