2015 BMW I3: pulls to one side

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 Jan 17, 2020 · Steering · 40,000 miles · CA

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.

Filed Sep 19, 2019 · Steering · 41,000 miles · WA

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.

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 Feb 18, 2019 · Steering · 35,000 miles · NJ

In december I had a problem where the car's steering pulled to the left- at first I thought it was due to a flat tire, but it was not. I made a short drive- parked the car for awhile and car drove normally. Problem reoccurred on 2/14/19 - with the car becoming hard to steer- a short parking of the car did not fix it- but sitting overnight did. Http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5065 and a video ( not mine) of the problem. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hjsa2yxok&feature=youtu.be

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.