AutoUtility currently tracks 13 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 BMW i3. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 6 complaints (46.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 13 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (6 reports • 46.2% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Steering System (4), Powertrain & Transmission (3)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 0 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2019 BMW i3
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Electrical System
Steering System
Powertrain & Transmission
Fuel & Propulsion System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #19V599000 HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM
Engine & Cooling
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 BMW i3
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 BMW i3
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The car has lost power on the highway multiple times and gone into Limp mode with no warnings on the dashboard. The Rex engine has failed to start as well. Very dangerous on the highway going 20 mph trying to make the next exit. The car has been back to the BMW dealer multiple times (over 2.5..."
"This is an electric vehicle. I experienced a sudden loss of all power while traveling on the interstate in heavy traffic. I nearly lost control of the vehicle as it would not respond to my inputs. I had to cross two lanes of dense interstate traffic to get to a safe area to pull over and it was..."
"In early September, a "driver retention system" error appeared the dash display of my '19 i3. I searched the issue on line and tried but failed to resolve it. A few weeks later, the seat belt alarm stopped going off when the belt was clasped. At this point, I had no choice but bring it in for a..."
"We were sitting at a traffic light for a few minutes behind another vehicle. Suddenly, our car accelerated very quickly. My foot was on the brake when the car accelerated. I felt the brake pedal depress further as it accelerated. I initially thought a car had hit us from behind and propelled us..."
"The contact owns a 2019 BMW I3. The contact stated that while stopped in traffic on a bridge, the vehicle stalled, and independently shifted to park(P). The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The Police arrived on the scene and directed traffic around the vehicle..."
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 | 33 | 3 | 2 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 BMW i3 | 51 | 2 | 3 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 BMW i3 | 14 | 0 | 3 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 BMW i3 Current Page | 13 | 1 | 1 | Current |
| 2020 BMW i3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 BMW i3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2021 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2019 BMW i3
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 11 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 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.