Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.
Chart based on 46 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2018 BMW i3 4dr Hatch
168-horsepower Electric + Gas 1-speed automatic RWD
168-horsepower Electric + Gas 1-speed automatic RWD
37000 mi
US $220
Low voltage battery failed, producing a burning sulfur smell with steam coming out of the battery overflow valve behind the front right wheel. Electrical system stopped working, requiring use of physical key to access vehicle, which set off the car alarm until a tow could be arranged several hours later. Battery was covered under warranty as was the tow.
42000 mi
Seat heater stopped working (think a spill) and module replaced. Covered under CPO warranty but would have been $700.
Brought in for heating/cooling compressor noise. Motor mount bolts recall, but needed also mounts as the bolts had bent.
6000 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.
7320 mi
12 volt battery defective. Replaced when car brought in for oil and filter change.
34000 mi
Recirculation Light (manual) not illuminating, Passenger side seat heater light flickers when turned on, eventually stops flickering.
168-horsepower Electric + Gas 1-speed automatic RWD
1000 mi
Backup camera stopped working; screen displayed black video, video with red lines. Backup camera determined faulty and replaced
8000 mi
Rear view camera was loose
18000 mi
The climate control panel would go blank during hot weather
23000 mi
Driver's SRS malfunction. Dealer determined the driver's airbag was faulty Replaced the airbag and issue was resolved. passenger airbag reprogramming recall.
13135 mi
Rear view camera was flaky and was replaced by the dealer
15000 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!
13000 mi
A/c system failure. Dealer has attempted to repair 2 times with no success. Currently parts are on order to try again
13000 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.
20000 mi
Fuel door opener. Still not fixed.
6600 mi
Wiring in driver heated seats system short circuited, causing malfunction and internal damage to seat cushion.
38000 mi
US $2440
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.
3500 mi
Reverse camera stopped working - replaced by dealer with new camera as unsure what was the cause. No further problem
4640 mi
Drivers airbag fault, replaced under warranty
6360 mi
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.
11700 mi
Airbag failure warning light- replaced airbag wiring harness with new design.
Performed SIB 61 31 14 KLE Update. Replaced KLE P/N 61-44-8-647-315 and reprogrammed ECU.
5906 mi
Drivetrain malfunction light and car shut down. Cause: Faulty Safety Box. Replaced Safety Box P/N 61-21-8-645-849 and reprogram ECU. Also replaced several gaskets, seals, screws, bolts, and warning labels required for removal to complete repair.
6316 mi
Car failing to charge using L2 EVSE. Cause: Faulty Cell Supervision Circuit (CSC) module. Replaced CSC P/N 61-27-7-648-785 Cell Monitor and several seals, gaskets, screws, bolts, and warning labels required for removal to replace part.
8526 mi
Clicking noise while charging vehicle. Performed EME reprogram per SIB 61 02 15.
9000 mi
AC started blowing warm air. A software update was performed but was unsuccessful. Technician determined AC compressor is not building pressure internally. A new compressor has been ordered but will not be in until September 10!
9000 mi
New AC compressor was installed on Sept. 9. No metal was found in the lines. AC is now working again.
26000 mi
12 V battery wouldn't hold a charge. Even though the high voltage battery had plenty of charge, car wouldn't start. Had to be trucked into dealership. 12 V battery is a dealer-only repair part (no after-market batteries available). Battery is not stocked, and BMW America didn't have it either. So waited two weeks for part to become available.
4000 mi
Radio head unit dead. No display, no radio, NAV, Bluetooth. Bad head unit control module.
15500 mi
AC was not working. Dealer recharged and checked for leaks, non detected. System Repaired.
11000 mi
It was just a firmware update
25000 mi
AC compressor was noisy and was replaced.
8000 mi
US $250
12V battery failed. Not covered under new vehicle warranty.
168-horsepower Electric + Gas 1-speed automatic RWD
2500 mi
Software issue caused failure of 12V battery and failure of all car systems. The 12V battery was charged and the software was updated.
68200 mi
C $4000
Blowing warm just needed recharge
22000 mi
12V battery went out and damaged HV battery. Car became inoperable and had to be towed to dealership. My dealership had never changed a 12V battery on an i3 and multiple escalations to BMW Corporate were required, both on the technical side and also to have most of the work covered under the HV battery's warranty. The general warranty on this vehicle is expired.
26000 mi
US $90
12V battery installed in May was found faulty and was again changed - this time under full warranty.
31000 mi
US $1397
Heating system for driver's seat.
6000 mi
CEL comes on periodically. Replaced Elec A/C compressor and programmed the vehicle (complete encoding)
4000 mi
12v battery completely died.
8000 mi
Dealership attempted to update the car firmware during the normally scheduled maintenance visit. After 2 failed attempts, the car "blue screened" and became unresponsive.
10000 mi
Software update attempted 2x, and failed both times. After second attempt, car "blue screened" and took nearly a week to fix
1000 mi
Airbag/restraint system error light appeared on dash one week after delivery. Dealer diagnosis fault in engine or motor (I can't recall which) wiring harness, part needed from Germany, ETA 10 days. Part arrived in 7 days.
4200 mi
Airbag sensor failure light came on in September for the second time since I got the car. Was previously repaired in May by replacing main wiring harness. This time it was repaired during repair of drive train also reported in October.
8100 mi
Warning message showed on iDrive and instrument displays saying Fault in Airbag or Seatbelt systems.
21000 mi
Replaced reversing camera
23000 mi
Heated seat mat replaced
40000 mi
The gas tank cover would not open. same problem with gas cap not opening, they had parts this time.
15500 mi
Rear (back up) camera had moisture inside of it (it's supposed to be sealed). It was replaced free of charge under warranty.
21700 mi
Replaced the instrument cluster under warranty. The old one had a display screen that was getting delaminated.
15000 mi
The LED lights on the radio and climate control panel would flicker or fail to work at all. The entire panel was replaced.
34900 mi
Problem on 12V auxiliary battery, need to be replaced.
18000 mi
Petrol refuel flap would not open. Software update to correct. No parts.
30000 mi
Fuel filler flap will not open-software error.
10700 mi
Electric fuel door release stopped working for a few days. Had to use emergency cord in frunk. Drivetrain error when running REX generator. Cleared itself after a couple days. Seems like a pressure problem of some kind when it uses a lot of gas quickly.
14000 mi
fuel door actuator replaced
3842 mi
Replace KLE (on-board charging) module.
35340 mi
Back up camera was dirty inside the shell
19000 mi
Check engine light would come on after charging sessions (this is an electric car)
