2018 BMW I3

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

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 !

NHTSA ID

11745052

Incident

Jul 21, 2025

Roof delaminating and is danger of flying off

NHTSA ID

11607941

Incident

Aug 5, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID

11604373

Incident

Jul 16, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID

11583327

Incident

Apr 16, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID

11539447

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

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.

NHTSA ID

11529897

Incident

Jun 28, 2023

"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.

NHTSA ID

11505089

Incident

Feb 1, 2023

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) ?

NHTSA ID

11468829

Incident

Jun 11, 2022

The EVAP systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials and / or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original first in-service / delivery date.

The High-Voltage (HV) Battery Assembly Cell Modules Temperature Sensors (Internal NTC repair kit-specific) limited warranty for defects in materials or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original in-service/first delivery date.

the High-Voltage (HV) Battery Assembly Cell Modules Temperature Sensors (Internal NTC repair kit-specific) limited warranty for defects in materials or workmanship has been extended to 15 years/150,000 miles as determined from the original in-service/first delivery date.

For this vehicle, the EVAP systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials and/or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original in-service date. This coverage is subject to the same vehicle eligibility requirements, limitations, and exclusion criteria that apply to the BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Vehicles that are registered in California or a State that has fully adopted the State of California PZEV(SULEV) / TZEV emission regulations (As applicable, State of registration, model, and model year dependent), the emission-relevant coverage for this component is 15 years / 150,000 miles.

The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle “discharged battery” complaints.

Due to a production error, the telematics control units were delivered without an IMS configuration.