2015 BMW I3: loss of power steering

5 of the 47 complaints about the 2015 BMW I3 describe loss of power steering.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 11%
typical mileage: 30,250
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 19 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Loss of power steering by model year

2019
1
2018
2
2017
2
2016
3
2015
5
2014
1

What owners say

Filed Feb 8, 2020 · Steering · 31,719 miles · NV

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.

Filed Sep 8, 2019 · Steering · 38,600 miles · PA

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.

Filed Jun 16, 2019 · Steering · 30,000 miles · MO

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.

Filed Dec 7, 2018 · Steering · 25,000 miles · TX

Twice the power steering failed to function correctly. Each time the feedback to power assist "floated" in an undetermined state. The ability to force a turn (make hard turns) seemed to active the power assist and worked as expected. Straight driving seemed to caused the power assist to go on an off and wander or vary the force. It would seem to engage power assist when steering went off center. The effect was similar to driving in ruts. Both times the failure corrected on power off for a few minutes. Power off for only a minute didn't fix. Reported to dealer with no find report back. I suppose with a puny car like this they could have just removed power steering.

Filed Aug 12, 2018 · Steering · 30,250 miles · CO

While driving, steering became heavy, notchy. It would not center itself; for example, around a turn, the steering wheel would stay in the direction I turned. This has happened several times over the last few months! It seems there is a bug in the software. Bmw can't find anything wrong. Several forms have been created over this problem.