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What 47 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 BMW I3

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (47)Crash / fire / injury (2)Steering (15)Airbags (7)Body & structure (7)Electrical system (6)Speed control (6)Transmission & drivetrain (4)Engine (3)Fuel system (3)Seat belts (2)Brakes (1)

1 of 47 complaints match · Brakes · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jul 20, 2016Electrical systemBrakesEngineCrash

I TURNED ON THE CAR, OPENED THE GATE AND PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE. I PRESSED THE GAS PEDDLE LIGHTLY AND THE CAR FLEW OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY, HIT THE GATE, FLEW OUT INTO THE STREET AND HIT A PARKED CAR. DURING THIS TIME, THE CAR BRAKES NEVER WORKED. IT WAS AS IF THE GAS PEDDLE WAS STUCK AND THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK TO STOP THE CAR.

NHTSA ODI 10886033

Working with the data? Download all 47 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 25, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2015 BMW I3 verdict →