BMW I3 pulling problems

Filed Jun 25, 2023 · Steering · AZ

While driving through a parking lot at slow speeds on 6/24/2023 around 6:30 pm in Phoenix AZ, I noticed the steering felt very heavy and the car pulled hard to the left. While driving slowly down a driveway, I checked the air pressure data and found all 4 tires at recommended levels. I drove 15 miles to my home below the speed limit while wrestling with the steering wheel, thinking that the power to the steering system had somehow failed. Some quick online research upon my return revealed that this problem is not unusual, but can be resolved by turning the car off and then back on again. Following this procedure solved the issue, but leaves me with uncertainty as to when it may happen again.

Filed Sep 25, 2020 · Steering · 33,400 miles · CA

Every 3 to 21 days, my steering pulls hard to the left. This occurs on flat roads on dry pavement. I have to pull the steering wheel hard to the right to keep the vehicle going straight at city driving speeds (0-35 MPH). On one occasion this occurred while on the freeway driving at 70 MPH. Tire pressures are all within spec and tires are in great shape. After stopping and restarting the car, it sometimes will go away. In looking at the bmw recalls and technical notes, they have no solution to this problem and call it a software issue. This has happened to me at least 6 times.

Filed Feb 20, 2020 · Steering · 21,000 miles · WA

After driving short distance on a city street, suddenly car started pulling to the left or to the right side, the steering became very heavy ( it feels like power steering stopped working).

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 Nov 29, 2019 · Electrical, Fuel system · 47,300 miles · FL

A day after the recommended service. While driving on I 95 with range extender, noticed the drive train malfunction alert with rapid deceleration needing to pull to the right shoulder quickly. Bmw assist took the car to the nearest bmw dealer, who said it was lack of electric charge, plugged the car in charger and gave it to me to head back home town. Few days later the problem again recurred. Now the car is at the dealer in home town.

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 Jul 25, 2019 · Steering · 6,500 miles · CA

It's my 7th month driving brand new 2018 i3 bev. After got off the work today, the july 25th, 2019, the car started pulling to the left. I had no problem I thought I had a flat so I checked the tire pressure monitor and it was just fine. I realized that the steering wheel got heavier than usual and quite difficult to turn. It wouldn't stay center but kept moving to the left while being really heavy. Even on the flat pavement. I checked online and there are a lot of people complaining about this very issue with i3. Most of them said turning the car off and turn it back on usually fixes the problem but it's not always the case. Drivers with the same issue also say that it's a software problem as the i3's steering wheel is completely assisted by electrical motor, not a conventional way of how power steering wheel is operated. I feel disconcerted as this is directly related to the operation of the vehicle and safety. Some claimed that software upgrade may fix the problem but I feel strongly that bmw should step up and proactively fix the issue! This is dangerous!

Filed Jun 19, 2019 · Brakes, Steering · 10,000 miles · CA

There is rapid acceleration while taking foot off accelerator when the car is in motion going up hill. Antilock brakes slow to engage on steep declines and approaching a stop sign. There is too much power to the rear wheel, the car skids on painted surfaces such as cross walks and painted yield signs on road surfaces when accelerating from a full stop. The wheels spin on crosswalk paint. The car has a built in gyroscope and pulls to the left when starting from a parked position after parked for several days on a hill. The pulling continues for several blocks. The car needs a new set of tires and only has 10,000 miles. The car has been inspected twice by bmw technicians at peter pan bmw in burlingame. We were told the surfaces similar to those found in san francisco were replicated in burlingame and there was no problem with the car. The problems still persists.

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.