AutoUtility currently tracks 33 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 BMW i3. Body & Structure issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 10 complaints (30.3% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 33 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Body & Structure (10 reports • 30.3% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Steering System (8), Air Bags & Restraints (6)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 BMW i3
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Body & Structure
Steering System
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #17V720000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Electrical System
Powertrain & Transmission
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 BMW i3
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Driver airbag warning light illuminated. Vehicle was diagnosed at BMW of Sherman Oaks (RO# 176741) and confirmed as a faulty driver airbag module - part# 32-30-6-870-366. BMW technician found fault code 930904: Driver's airbag interval stage 1, resistance too high stored. BMW NA declined goodwill..."
"While driving my 2016 BMW i3 with Range Extender, the vehicle experiences sudden and complete loss of propulsion at very low state of charge (0–1%). The car abruptly loses motive power, forcing me to pull over, sometimes while in traffic. After sitting for several minutes, limited power may return,..."
"Faulty airbag warning"
"The contact owns a 2016 BMW I3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and the air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel filler had failed and needed to be replaced. The..."
"The roof has bubbled and peeled away leaving an exposed permeable roof, meaning if it rains, water will get into the car because of the roof material being not safe, not strong, peeling away. Just terrible! Looking online, so many people with i3s ha e all had the same issue!"
Complaint History for BMW i3
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2021)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 BMW i3 | 47 | 1 | 3 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 BMW i3 Current Page | 33 | 3 | 2 | Current |
| 2017 BMW i3 | 51 | 2 | 3 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 BMW i3 | 14 | 0 | 3 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 BMW i3 | 13 | 1 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 BMW i3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 BMW i3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2021 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 BMW i3
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 13 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,AIR BAGS,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Pedestrian alert sounds
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 ra...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.