2014 Bmw I3 REX
Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report
Quick Summary
The 2014 Bmw I3 REX has 43 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 0.5x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is transmission problems (26% of all complaints), specifically: 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 "r. ⚠️ 2 fire reports filed.
43
Total Complaints
0
Recalls Issued
—/5
Safety Stars
0.5x
vs Segment Avg
Known Problems
TRANSMISSION
11 complaints- • 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 "R
- • 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
- • 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
“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 "R”
— NHTSA complaint filing
ENGINE
7 complaints- • 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 FR
- • 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 "R
- • 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
“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 FR”
— NHTSA complaint filing
FUEL SYSTEM
6 complaints- • 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 FR
- • 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 "R
- • 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
“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 FR”
— NHTSA complaint filing
ELECTRICAL
6 complaints- • 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 FR
- • 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 MAINTEN
- • 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
“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 FR”
— NHTSA complaint filing
SPEED CONTROL
3 complaints- • 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
- • ADAPTIVE SPEED CONTROL WILL UNEXPECTEDLY QUIT AUTOMATICALLY TRIGGERING UNEXPECTED BRAKING FORCE. THIS GREATLY INCREASES THE RISK OF BEING STUCK FROM THE REAR. *TR
- • 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
“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”
— NHTSA complaint filing
Estimated Repair Costs
Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.
🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist
Based on 43 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:
- ☐TRANSMISSION: 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 "R
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐ENGINE: 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 FR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐FUEL 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 FR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐ELECTRICAL: 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 FR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)
Bmw I3 REX — Year Comparison
How does 2014 compare to other years? Fewer complaints = more reliable.
Full years-to-avoid analysis →NHTSA Safety Rating
No NHTSA safety rating available
At a Glance
- Complaints
- 43
- Recalls
- 0
- Fire reports
- 2
- Crash reports
- 3
- Injury reports
- 0
- Segment avg
- 80
Check a Specific VIN
See recalls for YOUR 2014 Bmw I3 REX