2014 BMW I3 Rex
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › BMW › I3 Rex › 2014
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Owner complaints
22 complaints1 involved a crash1 involved a fire
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Electrical system · Electrical system › 12v/24v/48v battery
The contact owns a 2014 BMW I3 Hybrid. The contact stated that after charging the vehicle overnight the next morning the vehicle climate control was activated and moments later smoke was present inside the vehicle coming from the front passenger side air vent. After exiting the vehicle flames were…
The contact owns a 2014 BMW I3 Hybrid. The contact stated that after charging the vehicle overnight the next morning the vehicle climate control was activated and moments later smoke was present inside the vehicle coming from the front passenger side air vent. After exiting the vehicle flames were seen coming from the front passenger side air vent and the vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroyed and later towed away. A fire report was taken at the scene. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The manufacturer later had the vehicle examined and informed that the fire was caused by a loose bolt used to secure the 12V battery. The failure mileage was 40,000.
- Steering
Assisted steering IS working intermittently and incorrectly identifying straight. Happens occasionally when driving, causing driver to have to adjust steering direction. Safety issue that could lead to accidents.
- Electrical system · Electronic stability control (esc) · Power train
The car, while driving on a 2 lane road, ceased it operation announcing it had drive train failure. luckily I was slowing for a light, as the steering and brakes also became unresponsive. the car could be manually turned off (the remaining functions and power off). it then could be turned back…
The car, while driving on a 2 lane road, ceased it operation announcing it had drive train failure. luckily I was slowing for a light, as the steering and brakes also became unresponsive. the car could be manually turned off (the remaining functions and power off). it then could be turned back on and driven. in other words, the car decided to go off line while in a state of engagement with the road and the driver.
- Steering
My BMW I3 over the past year when driving at any speed has had a handful of times where power steering becomes extremely twitchy our cuts out completely like it doesn't know what centered IS so that I have no power steering and this creates a safety hazard for drivers. The car IS unstable and no…
My BMW I3 over the past year when driving at any speed has had a handful of times where power steering becomes extremely twitchy our cuts out completely like it doesn't know what centered IS so that I have no power steering and this creates a safety hazard for drivers. The car IS unstable and no longer returns to center when taking corners and feels extremely heavy. The only way to fix this IS to shut the car off for 3-5 minutes until it resets. Because it happens randomly and there IS no error code dealers are unable to duplicate or fix the issue.
- Electrical system · Engine · Fuel/propulsion system
The rex (range extender) on my I3 does not turn on, at random, when the battery level of the vehicle gets to a point that IS low enough for it to turn on. When this happens, the vehicle experiences a sudden and violent loss of speed with no warning. This has, on more than one occasion, nearly…
The rex (range extender) on my I3 does not turn on, at random, when the battery level of the vehicle gets to a point that IS low enough for it to turn on. When this happens, the vehicle experiences a sudden and violent loss of speed with no warning. This has, on more than one occasion, nearly caused an accident while in traffic. The BMW dealership has confirmed this IS an issue in my vehicle and has successfully been able to reproduce it on more than one occasion. It has been 'fixed' on more than one occasion as well. The vehicle still experiences this issue intermittently with no warning. The dealership IS no longer able to reproduce this issue when taken in for service. The dealership has now taken a stance that the vehicle violently losing power and speed (as if the brakes have been applied heavily) IS "operation normally for conditions" and "no actions taken" and advice that this IS an acceptable and known and have "advised customer of limitation of driving on the rex with too many customer demands..." the vehicle has experienced the rex not turning on and losing power while in motion and on the highway and surface / light commercial streets at all levels of speed. The direction of travel does not likely have any impact on this. It has happened while going 35mph and also while going 70mph, and other speeds in between. It has been confirmed and happened to myself, my wife, and at least two separate times (during the same trip, on different days) to the dealer while it was in their care for repair.
- Seat belts
Warning light indicates "passenger restraint system warning". took to dealer and they said it IS related to passenger seat belt. repair IS not cover by warranty as auto has 52,700 miles on it. dealer charges $1,242 for parts an labor.
- Electrical system · Power train
This car IS extremely dangerous. 'the eme malfunction happened the first day that I drove the car after purchasing. Not long after I started driving in the morning the computer said that the rex wasn't working. About 40 minutes later on my trip, the computer said that the car was performing…
This car IS extremely dangerous. 'the eme malfunction happened the first day that I drove the car after purchasing. Not long after I started driving in the morning the computer said that the rex wasn't working. About 40 minutes later on my trip, the computer said that the car was performing maintenance on the rex. In the evening while driving home, the computer said that the battery was discharging, and then the car lost power on the freeway. I was able to get it to start again after some time. This was particularly scary at the time as I had my 18 month grandson in the back seat. 'the second eme failure was seriously more dangerous. I was traveling on 405 southbound when the power train malfunction warning came on and immediately the car lost power. I was not able to pull off the freeway and the car stopped in the far right lane with no shoulder. Cars were coming up so fast and close. I was afraid for my life so I fled the car and jumped over the guardrail for safety. I called the police and they had to block the lane and put out flares until an emergency tow truck could arrive. 'i am very afraid of this car and since the second event happened I haven't driven the 100-mile journeys for which we bought the car. I babysit my grandson who lives up north, and this IS the reason we purchased this car, to save on gas. I do not want to put my grandson in danger so I now use our other car, which does not have good gas mileage. both times were on the freeway at freeway speeds
- Power train
Left motor mount bolt broke when traffic light turned green at 4:00 pm in friday rush hour traffic. The bolt failure shifted motor down ~3" and broke power cable(s) and battery cooling lines. The car shifted into "n", once, and rolled off the road into a parking place. Shifted into "p" and…
Left motor mount bolt broke when traffic light turned green at 4:00 pm in friday rush hour traffic. The bolt failure shifted motor down ~3" and broke power cable(s) and battery cooling lines. The car shifted into "n", once, and rolled off the road into a parking place. Shifted into "p" and contacted BMW road side service. BMW service asked to shift into "n" but the car remained in "p". They did not have workaround instructions to force it into "n" and reported there were no tire "skates" to slide car on a flat-bed. more technical details at: http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4266#p37104
- Power train
Driving southbound on I680 in northern california, car switched to the range extender just before me getting to the altamont pass. part way up the hill car lost power unexeptedly. took car back to BMW dealership as it was in the shop the week before for a drive train malfunction. dealer said…
Driving southbound on I680 in northern california, car switched to the range extender just before me getting to the altamont pass. part way up the hill car lost power unexeptedly. took car back to BMW dealership as it was in the shop the week before for a drive train malfunction. dealer said this powre loss was normal for the vehicle on the grade as the rex cannot keep high voltage battery charged up enough while going uphill. they said it was to be expected. nothing received prior to sale information of this possiblity.
- Engine · Fuel/propulsion system · Power train
I test drove a BMW I3. I got into trouble because they forgot to charge it up completely when I drove it. almost died. consumer reports describes it all better than I can: "a new lawsuit alleges that BMW I3 electric cars can suddenly slow down when their battery power IS low, potentially…
I test drove a BMW I3. I got into trouble because they forgot to charge it up completely when I drove it. almost died. consumer reports describes it all better than I can: "a new lawsuit alleges that BMW I3 electric cars can suddenly slow down when their battery power IS low, potentially putting passengers in dangerous situations. filed tuesday in u.s. District court in los angeles, the class-action suit alleges that the I3'S 'range extender feature ... Doesn't produce enough power to prevent a dramatic decrease in the vehicle's performance. As alleged, if the car IS under any kind of significant load (such as going up a hill, or loaded with passengers), the speed of the car will dramatically decrease as the battery charge diminishes,' according to a press release from plaintiff attorney jonathan michaels of newport beach, calif." -- consumer reports magazine reports.
- Engine · Power train
Test driving this BMW I3, I noticed the rex range extender engine was dangerously slow. the 34 hp scooter engine IS a hazard in traffic. I also noticed the brake lights would not come on when slowing to a stop. consumer reports outlined it, and I can't say it better. .... Why are there not…
Test driving this BMW I3, I noticed the rex range extender engine was dangerously slow. the 34 hp scooter engine IS a hazard in traffic. I also noticed the brake lights would not come on when slowing to a stop. consumer reports outlined it, and I can't say it better. .... Why are there not minimum fmvss performance standards to cover the hazards while in rex-mode (battery dead, running on scooter motor in heavy, fast, traffic)? this IS a new area: weird behavior from evs in rex mode. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/10/beware-tailgating-a-bmw-i3/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/10/bmw-i3-has-the-little-engine-that-could/index.htm
- Power train
I was driving on a windy, hilly road when I heard a bang and the car rapidly decellerated and came to a complete stop. display showed "drivetrain malfunction - do not drive car" the battery showed there was still power left, and the range extender (rex) had a full tank of gas, but the car would…
I was driving on a windy, hilly road when I heard a bang and the car rapidly decellerated and came to a complete stop. display showed "drivetrain malfunction - do not drive car" the battery showed there was still power left, and the range extender (rex) had a full tank of gas, but the car would not move. it also could not be shifted into neutral in order to be pushed out of the road and away from traffic. after hours of directing oncoming traffic around the car on this two-lane road, a flatbed finally arrived and had to drag the car with locked wheels up onto the flatbed using a winch. BMW said the car had many faults stemming from a "problem in the sme. also said "puma response was to replace kle" car has since been working fine but if this had happened on a busy road, it could have been catastrophic.
- Power train
While in bumper to bumper traffic, on a smooth surface street, we heard a pop or bang and immediately an error message was displayed "drivetrain malfunction, pull over and stop". before I could pull over, the vehicle went into park while I was stopped and could not be put into neutral. I was in…
While in bumper to bumper traffic, on a smooth surface street, we heard a pop or bang and immediately an error message was displayed "drivetrain malfunction, pull over and stop". before I could pull over, the vehicle went into park while I was stopped and could not be put into neutral. I was in rush hour traffic and had to direct traffic around mt car for 1.5 hours before a tow truck arrived, had I been on train tracks or in a higher speed section of road, I could have been in a dangerous situation. this failure mode must be corrected for me to want to keep the car. a driver must be able to push their car out of harms way if there IS a malfunction.
- Steering
Vehicle does not drive straight, very dangerous on the freeway. vehicle IS brand new but manufacturer does not want to correct the problem. always have to adjust the steering constantly for the vehicle to go straight, vehicle IS wandering. if you are following the vehicle it appears as the driver IS drunk.
- Wheels
Flat tire, tire unrepairable big hole and ruptured after normal driving. No jack given, no spare tire given multiple complaints about same car
- Engine · Fuel/propulsion system · Vehicle speed control
I bought BMW I-3 in 9/14. It ran fine until last weekend in nov. On sat. 11/29/14 we were driving on I-5 north at about gorman exit car went on gas extender and all of sudden speed dropped from 60-65 miles to 30 miles and below and will not go faster than that on freeway despite me flooring the gas…
I bought BMW I-3 in 9/14. It ran fine until last weekend in nov. On sat. 11/29/14 we were driving on I-5 north at about gorman exit car went on gas extender and all of sudden speed dropped from 60-65 miles to 30 miles and below and will not go faster than that on freeway despite me flooring the gas pedal. We took next exit of frazier park driving in right most lane with hazard lights on and all the way upto pine mountain club same thing happened. We charged the car overnight to full capacity and drove back to porter ranch next day. I went to my work on 11/30/14 later in afternoon and coming back from panorama city to porter ranch again car came on gas this time at the ramp from I-405 north merge with 118 west and this time car completely stopped on the ramp it was at about 3.45 pm it was raining in the valley. I was so afraid that somebody will hit me from back. Fortunately enough after long-long few minutes I was able to start my car and took next exit on 118 west (hayvenhurst) and drove back home on street with hazard lights on in the rain. seems, car going on gas extender on freeway IS a"death trap". I donot remember any body warning us of that prior to purchase of this vehicle. *tr
- Equipment adaptive/mobility · Vehicle speed control
Adaptive speed control will unexpectedly quit automatically triggering unexpected braking force. This greatly increases the risk of being stuck from the rear. *tr
- Engine · Fuel/propulsion system · Power train
BMW should immediately recall or warn drivers abut the I3 range extender model. someone could be killed or seriously injured in an accident caused by a deadly flaw in the car that I experienced. yesterday morning, the battery was low in power and I was in rex mode and driving up the conejo…
BMW should immediately recall or warn drivers abut the I3 range extender model. someone could be killed or seriously injured in an accident caused by a deadly flaw in the car that I experienced. yesterday morning, the battery was low in power and I was in rex mode and driving up the conejo grade returning to la from santa barbara. I was traveling about 65 miles per hour in the fast lane. I am not sure about the precise speed because I was driving into the sun and the cruise control would not operate (see below). suddenly, and without warning, the car lost power. despite having my foot pressing the accelerator down to the floor, the car quickly dropped speed. as the car dropped speed all the way to about 35 miles per hour, I quickly moved over lane by lane to the right where I finally had to limp onto the right shoulder. several cars moving up on my rear had to swerve to avoid hitting me. fortunately, it was early in the morning and traffic was light. normally, this stretch of the freeway IS full of fast moving cars and trucks. as I limped to the top of the grade, the car regained power and drove as usual. earlier, on the drive, I experienced another defect in the car, I was driving along at sunrise on cruise control and when the sun came up the car suddenly turned off the cruise control and released the accelerator. I understand that the active cruise control my not function under certain light conditions. however, the car should warn that it IS no longer in active mode, but should continue to maintain speed - not just suddenly turn off and release the accelerator which at highway speed IS dangerous.
- Air bags · Seat belts
Date 09/05/2014 mileage 4,078. on board diagnostic system indicated "fault in airbag, belt tensioner or belt force limiter." the dealership was unable to duplicate tensioner fault. additionally the dealership determined air bag fault was caused by high resistance in a coil spring and replaced the…
Date 09/05/2014 mileage 4,078. on board diagnostic system indicated "fault in airbag, belt tensioner or belt force limiter." the dealership was unable to duplicate tensioner fault. additionally the dealership determined air bag fault was caused by high resistance in a coil spring and replaced the coil spring. warning repeated again on 09/15/14 at 4,424 miles. the dealership upon testing found fault code 9030be3 and performed testing under this fault protocol. the dealership then test drove the vehicle reporting that the warning did not reappear. the dealership then cautioned that should the fault warning re-appear, there was the remote possibility that the vehicle memory would have to be wiped and the software re-installed. updated 08/24/15. *Jb
- Electronic stability control (esc) · Power train · Vehicle speed control
On august 29, 1:25pm, when I drove the BMW I3 car in the comcast parking lot into a park spot, the vehicle speed was almost slow down to zero after I left my foot from the accel. Pedal since the car will slow down without accel. Pedal pressed. Then, I pressed the p button in the switch knob as I…
On august 29, 1:25pm, when I drove the BMW I3 car in the comcast parking lot into a park spot, the vehicle speed was almost slow down to zero after I left my foot from the accel. Pedal since the car will slow down without accel. Pedal pressed. Then, I pressed the p button in the switch knob as I did many times over the 700 miles experiences in this car. The car was abruptly speed up with a very big torque, I used by foot to press the brake pedal. It didn't work. The car was in an around 50-mile-speed (according to an observer in the comcast park lot) rushing forward. It rushed over the concrete-parking-lot-stop-bar, and then rushed over the parking lot curb into the small hill and the bushes. The car was slowed down by the concrete-stop-bar, then by the parking lot curb, and it was finally stopped by the bushes to avoid the rush to a road next to the bushes. the whole accident was observed by many people in the comcast parking lot and a police officer was called by them to process this with a traffic ticket was issued to me. the car was recalled by the dealer to reflash almost all the control software and to install navigation software the day before the accident and I just picked up the car in the morning. The root cause IS still investigating by the dealer/bmw. *tr
- Engine · Fuel/propulsion system · Power train
I was driving my BMW I3 rex from the san francisco bay area to the beach near santa cruz via highway 17 with my wife and two children. getting to the beach from most of the sf bay area requires driving over some coastal hills. as I approached the hills, my EV battery was very low. the I3 with…
I was driving my BMW I3 rex from the san francisco bay area to the beach near santa cruz via highway 17 with my wife and two children. getting to the beach from most of the sf bay area requires driving over some coastal hills. as I approached the hills, my EV battery was very low. the I3 with "rex" (similar to the chevy volt) has a gasoline engine that activates when the main EV battery IS depleted. in these hills, the rex engine turned on. for several minutes, the car drove normally and kept pace with moderate traffic in the slow lane. the speed limit on highway 17 varies from 50mph to 65mph. on the hilly parts, it IS a two lane highway with no shoulder on either side, infrequent exits and occasional turn-outs. without any warning from the car, I experienced a sudden and dramatic reduction in power, with the car slowing from approximately 50mph to 25mph even under full throttle. I turned on my hazard blinkers as approaching cars honked and swerved to avoid us. with no shoulders, we had to "limp" to the next turnout. this was extremely alarming and potentially dangerous. we realized that engine was running loudly and we surmised that it was recharging the battery. after a couple of minutes, I confirmed that power was restored by briefly accelerating in the long turn-out. I then attempted to merge back onto the highway. although full power seemed available initially, as I pulled out of the turn-out into the slow lane, the power dropped again, slowing us from 40mph back to 25mph. we again limped to the next turn-out as cars avoided us. most shocking of all, I spoke with bmw's internal "i concierge" product team who informed me that this was normal operation for this vehicle. I learned that the I3 has a special mode to safely deal with hills, but this was removed from the us car in order to maximize california "credits." money trumps safety.
- Electrical system · Engine · Fuel/propulsion system
Driving on interstate 5 in encinitas, the I3 showed an electrical error. within a few minutes, I get a slew of errors, battery can't charge, discharge at high rate, drive train malfunction....until it said idrive system shutting down... *tr I was barely able to get the car to the side of the…
Driving on interstate 5 in encinitas, the I3 showed an electrical error. within a few minutes, I get a slew of errors, battery can't charge, discharge at high rate, drive train malfunction....until it said idrive system shutting down... *tr I was barely able to get the car to the side of the freeway before all systems shut down completely. 5 minutes later, the car started, and I was able to take it the dealer. the car has been at the dealer being diagnosed since (approximately 2 weeks). they have replaced the 12V battery and the eme.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10249027The 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.
- 10193496The vehicle may exhibit any of the following at very low State of Charge (SOC) ? less than 8%: - Power loss or high voltage system shutdown while running range extender (REx). - Inconsistent performance of the REx. - High voltage system shutdown in vehicles without REx. - Excessively high range displayed in instrument cluster.
- 10058161BMW model I01( I3 and i3rex): bulletin information replacing faulty convenience charging electronics (kle) could cause increased vehicle charging times.
- 10058160BMW i01(i3 and I3 rex) : information regarding cause of high-voltage battery stop charging, in some cases the battery will not charge above 34% even out of transport mode.
- 10058159BMW i01(i3 and I3 rex: information regarding customer concerns of intermittent charging failures or no charging at all.
- 10057565BMW: monitor of isolation resistance to ensure separation of hv+ or hv- and vehicle ground and not let it drop below predetermined threshold, causing drivetrain malfunction check control message (ccm) to appear and not prevent or lead to breakdown for restarting.
- 10057563BMW: vehicle programmed; actual range vehicle capable of achieving to full charge not changed due to instrument cluster showing range lower than prior update of software.
- 10057537BMW: level 2 charge will cause vehicle to increase charging time due to convenience charging electronics (kle), with faulty fitted capacitor.
- 10057536BMW: high voltage battery fails to charge above certain state when performing vehicle pdi and causes led ring around charge port to blink red.
- 10056972BMW: a warning lamp will occur at engine startup, the power steering IS also unavailable. Model I01.
- 10056719BMW: with drivetrain malfunction message displayed and service engine soon, engine can go into reduced power mode, due to engine position management (epm) unfavorable parameters in dme software.