2015 BMW I3

Power steering malfunctioned causing steering to be very stiff. This happened whenever the car exceeded about 25 MPH, and returned to normal at low speeds. The car wanted to veer out of the lane and required force to keep it in the lane. After turning the car off and back on, the car steering returned to normal. This event happens sporadically, about once a month. While the steering can be overpowered to keep the car on course, this can be very dangerous if you are not expecting it.

STEERING BECOMES LOPSIDED, IT'S LOOSE TO TURN ONE WAY, AND HARD TO TURN THE OTHER WAY, AS IF ONE OF THE FRONT TIRES IS FLAT. THE CAR WILL TEND TO VEER LEFT OR RIGHT, AND I HAVE TO PULL HARD ON THE STEERING WHEEL TO KEEP IT GOING STRAIGHT. THERE IS NO CONSISTENCY AS TO WHETHER IT VEERS LEFT OR RIGHT, AND THE DIRECTION CHANGES INTERMITTENTLY. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS ALSO INTERMITTENTLY, SOMETIMES EVERY FEW DAYS OR EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS. TURNING THE CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON RESOLVES THE PROBLEM, BUT THEN THE SAME PROBLEM EVENTUALLY OCCURS AGAIN SOMETIME LATER. THIS IS MOST LIKELY A SOFTWARE ISSUE. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME BEHAVIOR ON I3'S ONLINE AND ON NHTSA WEBSITE. THIS IS CLEARLY A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, AND BMW SHOULD ADDRESS IT RIGHT AWAY. *TR

INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING, IT FEELS LIKE THERE ARE TWO FLAT FRONT TIRES, BUT THEY ARE OF PROPER INFLATION. STEERING PULLS ONE WAY OR THE OTHER WITH NO CENTER FEEL. FEELS LIKE YOU ARE DRIVING AN OLD TRUCK WITH LOOSE STEERING LINKAGE. UNSETTLING AT HIGH SPEEDS OR CURVY ROADS. SENSORS ALERT ON THE DASH: PEDESTRIAN WARNING, STABILITY CONTROL, AND OTHERS. THIS HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE, AND DEALER LOOKED AT THE STEERING ANGLE SENSOR, AND DID AN ALIGNMENT, WHICH RESOLVED FOR TWO MONTHS.

STEERING BECAME NOTCHY AND FELT LIKE LOSS OF POWER STEERING AT SPEEDS ABOVE 25 MPH. IT ALSO FELT LIKE IT WAS PULLING TO THE LEFT WHILE ON CITY STREETS DRIVING STRAIGHT. THE CAR IS CURRENTLY AT BMW OF LAS VEGAS. I READ ONLINE WHERE MANY OTHER I3 OWNERS WERE EXPERIENCING SIMILAR ISSUES. MANY HAVE REPORTED THAT THE ISSUE MAY BE SOFTWARE RELATED AND DIFFICULT TO REPRODUCE AS IT HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY AND SHUTTING OFF THE CAR CAN RESET IT GIVING A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY UNTIL THE NEXT TIME IT HAPPENS.

MY 2015 I3 REX JUST HAD THE STEERING GET REALLY HEAVY AS IF I HAD A FLAT AND IT PULLED TO THE LEFT. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CENTER THE STEERING AS IF THE POWER STEERING HAD FAILED. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE ON VARIOUS INTERNET FORUMS FOR THIS MODEL, BUT IT IS INTERMITTENT AND THEREFORE HARD TO DUPLICATE FOR THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. AFTER LETTING THE CAR SIT FOR A WHILE, IT WAS BACK TO NORMAL THE NEXT TIME I DROVE IT.

MY 2015 I3 JUST HAD THE STEERING GET REALLY HEAVY AS IF I HAD A FLAT AND IT PULLED TO THE RIGHT. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CENTER THE STEERING AS IF THE POWER STEERING HAD FAILED. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE ON VARIOUS INTERNET FORUMS FOR THIS MODEL, BUT IT IS INTERMITTENT AND THEREFORE HARD TO DUPLICATE FOR THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. AFTER LETTING THE CAR SIT FOR A WHILE, IT WAS BACK TO NORMAL THE NEXT TIME I DROVE IT.

IN LAST 4 WEEKS, ON TWO OCCASIONS STEERING BECAME VERY STIFF A & HARD TO TURN. BOTH TIMES THE STEERING WAS VERY STIFF IMMEDIATELY WHEN CAR STARTED TO MOVE FORWARD. IN FIRST OCCURRENCE, AFTER LEAVING PARKING LOT UNDER 10 MILES/HOUR, I DROVE 25-30 MILES/HOUR IN CITY TRAFFIC (STRAIGHT STREETS), THEN DROVE UP TO 65-70 MILES/HOUR ON INTERSTATE 95 (MOSTLY STRAIGHT AHEAD DRIVING). IN THE SECOND OCCURRENCE, AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, I REVERSED STRAIGHT OUT OF THE DRIMVEWAY AT ABOUT 5-10 MILES/HOUR. I DIDN'T HIT ANY MANHOLE COVERS OR SIGNIFICANT UNEVENESS IN EITHER CASE.

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, AFTER POWERING-UP THE CAR, THE STEERING HAS BEEN VERY HEAVY AND PULLED TO EITHER THE LEFT OR RIGHT. THE CAR RESISTED BEING DRIVEN IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND IT FELT AS THOUGH SOME SELF-DRIVING FEATURE WAS TRYING TO WREST CONTROL. ON ALL OCCASIONS, EXCEPT FOR ONE, PARKING THE CAR, POWERING-OFF, PAUSING FOR A FEW SECONDS AND POWERING BACK ON HAS RESOLVED THE PROBLEM. IF THIS SITUATION WERE TO OCCUR ON THE HIGHWAY IT COULD EASILY THROW THE CAR INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. AN ONLINE BMW I3 FORUM HAS MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS GOING BACK TO 2014. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER TWICE AND THEY CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG. IT WOULD SEEM TO BE A FIRMWARE ISSUE AND I FEAR BMW IS WAITING FOR A FEW FATALITIES TO SEE IF IT WORTH ADDRESSING.

THE I3'S POWER STEERING WENT OUT CAUSING THE CAR TO PULL TO THE LEFT RESULTING IN ME DRIVING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND ALMOST OFF THE ROAD. (LOW SPEED, 15MPH). USING FORCE, I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, WITHOUT THE USUAL POWER STEERING ASSISTANCE, STRAIGHTENING OUT THE VEHICLE'S DIRECTION AND GOT ME ON THE CORRECT SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CAR WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER. ADDITIONALLY, THE STEERING WHEEL WAS ALSO MOVING BY ITSELF CAUSING THE CAR TO DRIFT TO THE RIGHT. STRAIGHTEN OUT THE WHEEL AGAIN AND IT WOULD TURN ITSELF TO THE RIGHT AGAIN. THE I3 WAS IMMEDIATELY POWERED DOWN AND RESTARTED/REBOOTED AND THE ISSUE WENT AWAY. SINCE THIS OCCURRED AT LOW SPEED, THE RISK OF AN ACCIDENT WAS REDUCED. HOWEVER, IT THIS WERE TO OCCUR AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, IT COULD BE DISASTROUS. NO ERRORS CODES WERE EVER DISPLAYED. I WILL BE INSTALLING A DASH CAMERA TO RECORD THE NEXT TIME THAT THIS HAPPENS. A SIMPLE INTERNET SEARCH RESULTS IN MANY OWNERS REPORTING SIMILAR DANGEROUS SITUATIONS.