BMW I3 loss of power problems

Filed Jul 21, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · CA

The car has lost power on the highway multiple times and gone into Limp mode with no warnings on the dashboard. The Rex engine has failed to start as well. Very dangerous on the highway going 20 mph trying to make the next exit. The car has been back to the BMW dealer multiple times (over 2.5 months at the dealer ) with no repair. They are now offering to take the car in trade. The car is still under the EV warranty in California. Seems they and BMW engineering don’t know how to repair the car and are now putting the burden on the consumer.

Filed May 11, 2026 · Engine, Steering · IL

This is an electric vehicle. I experienced a sudden loss of all power while traveling on the interstate in heavy traffic. I nearly lost control of the vehicle as it would not respond to my inputs. I had to cross two lanes of dense interstate traffic to get to a safe area to pull over and it was terrifying because the car just suddenly shut down while traveling at highway speeds. The dealership that I had the car towed to did some diagnostic work and said that "EME" had failed. The EME is the main processor that controls all electrical functions in the vehicle. My understanding is that 2019 BMW i3's were recalled due to failures of the EME due to corrosion. How my car was missed in that reacall, I can't ascertain. Perhaps because my particular car has an "S" designation, so it is called an "i3S" and it slipped through the cracks on the original recall. At any rate, the failure was catastrophic; it could have caused an accident and killed me. The car lost all power at highway speeds. Please look into why the i3S was overlooked in the original recall.

Filed Mar 23, 2023 · Transmission · CA

Loses power "without warning"; actually, when the REX turns on it automatically mentions that power "could be" lost when the REX turns on. However, that is very understated. In fact, there is nowhere in the owner's manual that raises this issue; doesn't even mention that there could or would be a "warning" if battery is low and REX is being used. Bottom line: The REX cannot keep up with driving. Please refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmn58reGv8k The above is identical to my experience. Especially VERY DANGEROUS when on the interstate highway. I was looking for an exit so that the battery might recharge a bit because I could only go 25-35 mph. Seems like the REX is warming up and not outputting standard power, as expected... It might be that the problem is that the computer is not calculating the correct state of charge and therefore not giving the REX enough time to complete its warm-up cycle.? Or it should kick in earlier than single digit battery strength left. I started recording at 9% SoC and I was expecting this power loss. I found a safe(r) road to do this on with minimal traffic. Fast Forward to 2:59 to see the power-loss happen. The first time this happened I was on the highway, that was not fun. To quote another driver with the same issue (see YouTube earlier), "Power-loss due to low charge should be gradual and with a warning, not this sudden. This makes for a dangerous situation if I'm on the highway or hill. I know that enabling 'hold state of charge' before 7.5% is a 'manual workaround' but that is NOT a fix. HSOC is not even an option on the REX in the USA - you have to unhide the menu via a coding change."

Filed Oct 10, 2022 · Acceleration, Transmission · CA

I was driving uphill on a winding, narrow highway, California State Route 18, when the range extender kicked in and I had a sudden loss of power. I could not maintain vehicle speed. It was terrifying. I was alone. I didn't know what to do. I turned on my hazard lights and I pulled over every time vehicles came up behind me.

Filed Jun 12, 2022 · Steering · TX

Hello , I am owning a BMW i3REX (2018). Recently like many other users experienced multiple times the loss of power steering after starting the vehicle. While previous events like this were short lived and resolved with stopping, turning off and on the vehicle, this time it was on entering a highway, where the car suddenly lost its power steering and could not be driven properly. I had to exit , switched the car off and restart after a couple of minutes, which resolved this problem completely. I am reporting this to you, as I see this as a major safety risk for the BMW i3, which as it seems also other driver experiences and so far no solution has been found by BMW (please see https://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5065) ?

Filed May 11, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · GA

On May 2, 2022, the car began to power down involuntarily every time I applied the brakes. This happened 2-3 times, and I was able to restart. The final time was in the middle of an intersection, the car would not restart, could not be placed in neutral to be moved out of the intersection, and I had to have a police tow. The tow service took it to Sport Motoring, where they performed a diagnosis on May 3, 2022. The diagnosis shows 8 faults in the EME module, among other things. I located a recall (Recall #19V310000) for the 2018 i3 which details the exact issue of the car powering down on its own due to a faulty EME module. Sport Motoring called BMW Customer Service on May 3, 2022, and asked if the car might need to have this recall applied. They agreed that the symptoms did seem similar and said they would need to have a diagnosis from a dealer. Based on the call with BMW customer service, I had the car towed to Nalley BMW of Decatur. They charged me for an initial diagnosis which did not include any information from the EME module and stated that the 12v battery needed to be replaced, and then if needed they would perform further diagnosis for an additional charge. I paid for the diagnosis and the battery in advance. After replacing the 12v battery, the dealer test drove my vehicle and said it was performing normally, so I picked it up on May 6, 2022. On my way home, the car began involuntarily powering down again. I documented the error messages on the two screens with photos. I drove back to the dealership with one more loss of power on the way. At this point, the dealer states that the faults clear every time they power the vehicle on and that the vehicle is not repeating the problem when they test drive it, so there is nothing more they can do. I cannot drive this car as it is a serious safety hazard. I also learned that this dealer had possession of the car in 2021 and sold it at auction in July that year because it had issues they could not cure.

Filed Oct 12, 2021 · Transmission · VA

The car turned off while driving and presented a "drivetrain" error message. The car lost power but I was able to safely steer to the side of the road. Car was taken to BMW dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. Was informed that the EME (Electric Motor Electronics) Module was bad and would need to be replaced. The car is 5 years old and has 31,700 miles and has never been in an accident. The estimate to replace the EME was $7,000

Filed Jan 31, 2021 · Steering · 7,400 miles · IN

Lost power steering as I was leaving my house, making car very difficult to control. Thinking I had a flat tire, I turned around and returned home. Shut down the car, checked the tires (they were fine), restarted it, and power steering returned. This happened twice within a few days.

Filed Aug 18, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 50,000 miles · CA

While driving the vehicle suddenly jerked and lost all power while in motion on a city street. I can't imagine what would have happened if I was on the freeway with traffic. The message on the screen in my car stated drivetrain malfunction stop and turn off engine do not continue to drive call roadside assistance.

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.