CSR

BMW · NHTSA safety record

2023 BMW I4

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

44

Complaints

8

Crashes

1

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2023 BMW I4 have filed 44 safety complaints with NHTSA between February 2023 and May 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 18 of them (41%). The typical failure was reported at 16,000 miles, the median across the 4 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 7 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (7)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION MOTOR:CONTROLLER:SOFTWARE

25V395000 · July 23, 2025

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2022-2025 i4, 2022-2024 IX, 2023-2024 I7, and 2024 I5 vehicles. The electric drive motor software may shut down the high-voltage system, causing a loss of drive power.
The risk
A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The electric drive motor software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 5, 2025. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 71,286 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

25V470000 · July 16, 2025

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2022-2025 IX, 2023-2024 I7, and 2022-2023 i4 vehicles. The high-voltage battery cell modules may not have been assembled properly, resulting in stress on the module frame and possible module failure.
The risk
Battery module failure may lead to a shutdown of the high-voltage system which can result in a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, module failure increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will replace specific high-voltage battery cell modules, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters explaining the safety risk were mailed September 11, 2025. Another notice will be sent once the remedy becomes available, anticipated December 31, 2025Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 136 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:HYBRID MANAGEMENT

23V449000 · June 28, 2023

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2022-2023 iX xDrive50, iX M60, i4 eDrive40, i4 M50, and 2023 i760 xDrive hybrid electric vehicles. The high voltage battery combined charging unit (CCU) may not have been manufactured correctly, resulting in improperly connected and/or assembled components inside the CCU.
The risk
An improperly connected or assembled CCU can interrupt electrical power while driving and result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the high voltage battery combined charging unit (CCU), free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 23, 2023. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 69 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

23V295000 · April 26, 2023

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2022-2024 iX xDrive50 and 2023 i4 eDrive35, i4 eDrive40, and i4 M50 Hybrid Electric vehicles. The high voltage battery cell monitoring circuit may have improperly secured electrical connections which can result in an engine stall.
The risk
An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the high voltage battery cell monitoring circuit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 22, 2023. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 31 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

23V118000 · February 23, 2023

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2023 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, M3, 330e, 330e xDrive, 430i Convertible, 430i xDrive, M440i, 2022-2023 430i, 430i xDrive, M440i xDrive, i4 eDrive40, and i4 M50 vehicles. During a service visit, a replacement electronic control unit (ECU) may have been installed with incorrect programming, which can cause the automatic door locking (ADL) function to not lock the doors as intended.
The risk
Doors that do not lock as intended while the vehicle is in motion may open during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will update the ECU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 10, 2023. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 120 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION:WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT

23V026000 · January 25, 2023

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2022-2023 i4 eDrive40 and iX xDrive50 electric vehicles. During vehicle start-up, the artificial sound generator control unit may experience a fault and fail to generate the external pedestrian warning sound. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
The risk
Without external warning sounds, pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will update the external artificial sound generator software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 9, 2023. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 3,431 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY THERMAL:MANAGEMENT:SOFTWARE

22V944000 · December 20, 2022

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2022-2023 iX xDrive40, iX xDrive50, iX M60, i4 eDrive35, i4 eDrive40, i4 M50, and 2023 i7 xDrive60 vehicles. The high voltage battery electronic control unit (ECU) software may cause an interruption of electrical power.
The risk
An interruption of electrical power may result in a sudden loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the high voltage battery ECU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed February 10, 2023. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 14,086 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 44.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 18 41%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12 27%
POWER TRAIN 11 25%
SERVICE BRAKES 7 16%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 14%
ENGINE 5 11%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 11%
STEERING 3 7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 7%
SUSPENSION 2 5%
AIR BAGS 1 2%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2023 at 18.

2023 2026
2023 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

The vehicle randomly caught fire after sitting idle for approximately 8 hours. Going to a conference in Aria Las Vegas and drove over 260 Miles. There was no issues, no indicator warning lights or strange noises during the drive. Arrived at Aira approximately 4:00PM. Parked vehicle on the third floor of the Aira Self-Parking and did not touch the car after parking the car. I received a call at approximately 12:00AM that night from Aria Security. From Aria Security, stated that vehicle has caught fire. Fire was put out by Clark County Fire department, fire report received. A whiteness who called Aria Security, stated he heard loud popping, like small explosions, from driver side front tire

NHTSA complaint 11683180, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed

I opened our garage door remotely, as I always do, and pulled into the driveway. As I entered the garage, I attempted to brake but the car continued to roll despite my pressure on the brake pedal. The car ran into the shelving and other items against the garage wall. I have entered our garage in this way many thousands of times, and I am confident I did nothing differently this time.

NHTSA complaint 11524818. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · towed

Sudden acceleration when entering an open parking space, causing the car to hit two vehicles and causing extensive damage to my and the other vehicles. Safety of others would have been at risk as the accelerations was unintended and unexpected and if people were present they would have been in danger. The vehicle is currently at dealership for examination of unintended acceleration and accident. No warning of sudden acceleration nor any issue with car prior to accident. Air bags were not activated. Police contacted but since noninjury no report filed.

NHTSA complaint 11540956. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION

crash · towed

I was driving down a residential street with cars parked on both sides. My car stopped very suddenly because the passenger side front tire was pierced and flattened by something on the road. Almost simultaneously the car began to oscillate or jolt from side to side and hit a car parked on my driver’s side very hard and then oscillated back to a parallel position. This is a known problem on the i4 edrive community website. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11567649. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The dashboard turn signal indicators are blocked by the steering wheel unless I adjust the steering wheel to a very high position that makes driving unsafe. When the turn signals are on, there is no clicking noise like many cars have. I suggest that BMW update the vehicle software to allow the driver to adjust the location of the turn signal indicators within the digital dash display, or also include turn signal indicators in the heads-up display.

NHTSA complaint 11740342. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving my 2023 BMW i4, the vehicle suddenly displayed multiple drivetrain and chassis malfunction warnings shortly after charging the vehicle at a ChargePoint station. The vehicle experienced a sudden loss of power/propulsion while driving, creating a serious safety concern. After stopping, the vehicle began rolling backward unexpectedly and several systems appeared to malfunction. The center display/screens became partially or fully unresponsive/blank and multiple warning messages appeared simultaneously. Due to the loss of propulsion and safety concerns, CHP assistance was required to safely move the vehicle off the roadway. The vehicle was later towed to BMW service for inspection

NHTSA complaint 11739767, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

crash · towed

While driving on frewway in HOV lane next to tall concrete center barrier, side collision mitigation system suddenly began to aggressively and continuously jerk steering right and left. After about 10-20 seconds this caused loss of control, with vehicle turning around 180 degrees and, during the spin, impacting the center concrete wall, causing deployment of all airbags. Traffic was very heavy, and although there were no injuries or collisons with other vehicles, the loss of control was life-threatening. This route was driven previously under exactly the same conditions (clear, dry day in HOV lane) with no problem more than 20 times. This problem occurred about two weeks after the latest

NHTSA complaint 11735391, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On [XXX], while driving on a public highway, the vehicle shut off and came to a complete stop as I was going around a roundabout. I was in the inside lane, had just finished charging in Yuma, Az., and was just about to get back on the freeway heading back into California. Thankfully, there was no one behind me at that moment and I was able to restart the vehicle and continue driving. After arriving at my destination in Winterhaven, CA, I later saw that I had two missed calls from BMW Roadside Assistance. They called to check on my welfare as, unbeknownst to me, the vehicle sent out an alert as a result of the incident. 12/30/2023, I took the vehicle to BMW of San Diego (where I leased the

NHTSA complaint 11731151, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
I am reporting a recurring, catastrophic suspension defect in my 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 that results in life-threatening rear tire failure. Despite adhering to all maintenance schedules, the vehicle's rear axle geometry fails to maintain stability, leading to extreme, accelerated inner-tread wear while the center and outer tread remains healthy. Timeline of Events: Initial Incident 5/4/2025 (21,493 miles): Suffered a sudden rear tire blowout while driving due to the inner tire wall wearing down to the metal cords. The dealer (BMW of Fort Lauderdale) performed an alignment and replaced the tires on my expense. Recurring Failure 3/6/2026 (35,200 miles): Less than 14,000 miles after the

NHTSA complaint 11722997, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was driving about 30 mph when I was prompted with the following error message, “Drive train fault, restart not possible, High Voltage Battery,” I was able to drive home which was about 1 mile away. I drove the car home, parked it and turned it off for 45 minutes then I attempted to turn it on but was unable to and continued to receive the same message. Side note, this vehicle was purchased from BMW Beverly Hills on 1/25/26 and not a month went by before I ran into this issue.

NHTSA complaint 11720407. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the BMW I4

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 26 3
2022 9 8

Other 2023 BMW models

Every BMW on this site — 249 vehicles, 484 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
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