2023 BMW I4 Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 12about this part
- Share
- 26%of 46 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 29,000miles
- Trend
- Too newThis model year is less than 4 years old, so a trend is not meaningful yet.
NHTSA recorded 12 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2023 BMW I4, 26% of the 46 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 29,000 miles.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“As I was driving my car into the main avenue out of a parking lot, the car stalled and lost all power, the charge went from 57% to 0% and the power train failure warning came on the dashboard and a high voltage warning as well. …”
NHTSA complaint #11589917, filed 2024-05“My vehicle intermittently loses drive power while being driven, suddenly and with no warning. Sometimes it drives normally, then fails repeatedly later. Before any warning appeared I had isolated instances of hesitation or power loss, but with nothing on the cluster I assumed I was misperceiving it. On August 25, 2026, the vehicle lost power four times while I was driving on the freeway and displayed a drivetrain malfunction warning for the first time. I took the car to an authorized dealer on August 28, 2026, at 60,676 miles. …”
NHTSA complaint #11772119, filed 2026-10“We had a drivetrain malfunction losing all power to car as we were driving.The car lost all control and drove less than 20 feet before coming to a complete stop on the middle of the road. We were not notified about any recalls on the car and just saw there was one on your site. BMW has now had our car for 3 weeks and has had their engineers working on it saying they are testing teach individual power cell at this time. They have not provided us any feedback other than this and a timeline of when we will get our car back.”
NHTSA complaint #11676127, filed 2025-07“On 6/8/23 I tried to start my car and received the following error: Drivetrain malfunction: Driving not possible. Call Roadside Assistance and the car turned off. I tried 3 more times to start the car and received the same message. I could not drive my car, and had it immediately towed to the dealer. This is a brand new 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 with only 1469 miles on it. Yes, the problem has been confirmed by the dealer, testing confirmed faults for the high voltage battery and a 30F current violation and sporadic software issue. …”
NHTSA complaint #11528540, filed 2023-06“The only way I could explain it was as if my brakes were failing. After joining the bmw i4 group on Facebook and having my kids record while driving. I was able to capture the issue. The vehicle drive train will malfunction causing the vehicle to move while not in motion when at a stop light. The vehicle will accelerate on its on. It has recently power off on me while driving and restart back up. I took it to the dealership they said it was fine. I took it today. They couldn’t offer me and my kid ride home or a loaner due to policy. I even asked to trade my car in. …”
NHTSA complaint #11656435, filed 2025-04Related service bulletins
- 11030059Mar 6, 2026The customer states there is a Drivetrain Malfunction message displayed in the instrument cluster. In addition, the following fault memory entries are saved in the CCU (Combined…
- 11029009Feb 5, 2026A manufacturing defect in a bearing of the electronic drive unit could result in bearing damage. This is caused by an unusual acoustic signal in the area of the drive unit. The…
- 11025669Nov 11, 2025RSU availability. BMW AG is conducting a Service Action on certain Model Year 2025 - 2026 BMW vehicles that were produced between March 17, 2021 – November 6, 2025. In certain…
- 10250361Feb 6, 2024The customer states there is a Drivetrain Malfunction message displayed in the instrument cluster. In addition, the following fault memory entries are saved in the CCU (Combined…
- 10242967Sep 29, 2023BMW AG has requested the inspection of all dealer stock of the following part number(s) listed below to ensure the spacer is conformed to drawing.
- 10242885Sep 13, 2023The customer states there is a Drivetrain Malfunction message displayed in the instrument cluster. In addition, the following fault memory entries are saved in the CCU (Combined…
- 10242700Aug 1, 2023?The customer states there is a Drivetrain Malfunction message displayed in the instrument cluster, and in some cases the vehicle will not go into drive readiness.
- 10241364Jul 1, 2023BMW AG has issued a Delivery Stop (effective December 1, 2022) on certain Model Year 2023 BMW i4 andi7 vehicles that were produced between October 5, 2022 and November 10, 2022…
- 10236220Apr 1, 2023BMW AG has issued a Delivery Stop (effective December 1, 2022) on certain Model Year 2023 BMW i4 and i7 vehicles that were produced between October 5, 2022 and November 10, 2022…
- 10233155Feb 1, 2023A bearing in the front electric drive unit could fail due to a manufacturing defect, resulting in a noise while driving.
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
Other parts of the 2023 BMW I4
18 complaintsOther or unknown
12 complaintsBrakes
7 complaintsFuel system
7 complaintsEngine
5 complaintsForward collision avoidance
5 complaintsSteering
4 complaintsVehicle speed control
3 complaintsSuspension
2 complaintsAir bags
1 complaintsLane departure
1 complaintsBody and structure
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2023 BMW I4
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology