Owners have filed 8 complaints on the BMW i8, covering 2014–2020. The system named most often is Electrical System (5 reports). Worst years by volume: 2015, 2016, 2020; cleanest: 2014, 2020, 2016. On average the car was 6.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on BMW i8
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 8 i8 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 5 Read
The contact owns a 2020 bmw i8. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V601000 (electrical system). The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. The mechanic stated that there were several high voltage battery cells that were faulty. The battery cells were…
High voltage battery assembly cell module temperature sensors Over time one or more of the high voltage cell modules internal sensors fail its a saftey issue A shut down of the high voltage electrical power would result in loss of propulsion increasing the risk of a crash vechicle will not restart
2016 bmw i8 eme high voltage battery temp sensors (ntc sensors) warning lights appeared while driving loss power and my high voltage battery shut down at the red light but was able to restart it again ad make it home
Engine 1 Read
When I dring in to street from parking lot, this vehicle do not speed up, it is stop , not moving at all for about 3 second than kick up fast. It happen some times not every day, I went to dealership for fix it like 4 time but they can not dupulicate the problem and check the system but it came out everything normal.…
Electronic Stability Control (esc) 1 Read
Vehicle is saying chassis stabilization error which I believe is the same as dynamic stabilization. I did some research and have found my make year and model was recalled for the specific problem. The bmw dealership near me is requesting 2,500$ to fix this problem when it is suppose to be free of charge. While I…
Suspension 1 Read
Rear suspension collapsed while driving. The car only has 24k miles since new. Bmw bulletin suggested replacement on both rear suspensions but no owners were informed of this manufacturing defect. Suspension failures should be categorized as critical life/safety recall items instead of just a secret bulletin item
i8 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2016 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2015 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2014 | Suspension | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 7 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.4 years |
A model average of 1.1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the i8?
By complaint volume, 2015, 2016, 2020 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which i8 years are the cleanest?
2014, 2020, 2016 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the BMW i8 have?
8 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2014–2020. Of those, 0 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.