2020 BMW i3
The 2020 BMW i3 is sold in the U.S. as an electric and plug-in hybrid compact hatchback with 4 EPA-rated configurations. Its longest-range version, the i3, is EPA-rated at 153 miles with 113 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists no recall campaigns for this model year so far (Safety Signal A).
Specs & fuel economy
Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Range | kWh/100mi | Charge (240V) | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| i3 | Electric | RWD | 125 kW AC Induction | 124 | 102 | 113 MPGe | 153 mi | 29.8 | 7 h | $650 |
| i3s | Electric | RWD | 135 kW AC Induction | 124 | 102 | 113 MPGe | 153 mi | 29.8 | 7 h | $650 |
| i3 with Range Extender | Plug-in hybrid | RWD | 0.6L 2-cyl + 125 kW DCPM | 30 | 31 | 31 (86 MPGe blended) | 126 mi electric | 32 | 7 h | $2,650 |
| i3s with Range Extender | Plug-in hybrid | RWD | 0.6L 2-cyl + 135 kW DCPM | 30 | 31 | 31 (86 MPGe blended) | 126 mi electric | 32 | 7 h | $2,650 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 42512, 42513, 42572, 42573.
Emissions & certification
Source: EPA emission certificates| Configuration | Smog rating | Emission standard | Where it can be sold new | SmartWay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i3 | 10 / 10 | Federal Tier 3 Bin 0 / California ZEV | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | SmartWay Elite |
| i3s | 6–10 / 10 | Federal Tier 3 Bin 0 / California ZEV / California LEV-III ULEV50 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | SmartWay Elite |
| i3 with Range Extender | 6–7 / 10 | California LEV-III SULEV30 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 / California LEV-III ULEV50 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | SmartWay |
| i3s with Range Extender | 7 / 10 | California LEV-III SULEV30 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | SmartWay |
Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.
The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.
Factory warranty running out?
The 2020 BMW i3 is in the years where high-voltage electronics and module repairs land on the owner. What an extended plan does and does not cover is worth reading before a dealer quotes you one.
What to check before you buy →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Recalls (0)
Source: NHTSA recall databaseNo NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2020 BMW i3. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them.
These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.
NHTSA defect investigations
Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021. On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject mat
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005 · the investigation’s page →
Hear about a recall before the letter does
The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2020 BMW i3, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.
Parts & accessories for the 2020 BMW i3
Search by fitment on eBay Motors — OEM take-offs, aftermarket, and the trim pieces dealers no longer stock. The listing and the price are the seller's.
Find parts for this i3 →Owner complaints
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseNo owner complaints on file with NHTSA for this model year.
Crash ratings
Source: NHTSA NCAPNHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.
Service bulletins & campaigns
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications- 15 years or 150,000 miles · BMW warranty extension 1390900300For this vehicle, the EVAP systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials or workmanship has been extended to 15 years/150,000 miles, from the original 10 years/120,000 miles…
- 15 years or 150,000 miles · BMW bulletin B012021For the eligible vehicles, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) is extending the limited warranty for the vehicle's Fuel Injectors to: 15 years/150,000 miles as determined by the vehicle's original…
The term and the vehicles it covers are the manufacturer’s, as NHTSA’s summary of each filing states them; a dealer checks one particular car by its VIN. Every BMW warranty extension (46) → · Every warranty extension on file, all makes →
Most often about: Electrical System, Equipment, Engine, Steering, Visibility/Wiper.
- B840326 Service campaign2026-07-10 · Electrical System
- Once the Telematics Module (TCB2) enters sleep mode, a BMW Data Services trigger for Remote Services(remote engine start, lock/unlock/climate conditioning) will not be able to reactivate the TCB2. Due to this issue, Remote Services will not function in the vehicle when parked and locked.
- B010525 Warranty extension2026-05-06 · Engine
- The EVAP systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials and / or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original first in-service / delivery date.
- B611305 Service bulletin2024-01-11 · Electrical System
- The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle “discharged battery” complaints.
- B840922 Service bulletin2022-09-01 · Equipment — Electrical
- Due to a production error, the telematics control units were delivered without an IMS configuration.
- SIB651312 Service bulletin2022-05-01 · Electrical System
- The Headunit High (HU-H), also called NBT, began replacing the Car Information Computer (CIC) on certain MY2013 vehicles with option 609 (as of 7/2012 production). This uses map North America NEXT. The Headunit High 2 (HU-H2), also called NBT-EVO, superseded the NBT HU and was introduced in 3/2014. This uses map North America EVO. The Headunit High 4 (HU-H4, also called MGU21) superseded the MGU s
- B012021 Service bulletin2021-11-01 · Fuel System, Other — Fuel Injection System
- For the eligible vehicles, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) is extending the limited warranty for the vehicle's Fuel Injectors to: 15 years/150,000 miles as determined by the vehicle's original in-service date.
- B651312 Service bulletin2021-09-01 · Equipment — Electrical — Navigational System(Global Positioning System)
- The Headunit High (HU-H), also called NBT, began replacing the Car Information Computer (CIC) on certain MY2013 vehicles with option 609 (as of 7/2012 production). This uses map North America NEXT. The Headunit High 2 (HU-H2), also called NBT-EVO, superseded the NBT HU and was introduced in 3/2014. This uses map North America EVO. The Headunit High 3 (HU-H3, also called MGU) superseded the NBT-EVO
- B640621 Service bulletin2021-09-01 · Engine And Engine Cooling — Engine — Hard Parts Internal/Mechanical
- Different air temperatures are felt from left to right out of the front fresh air grilles (air vents).
A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.
i3 by model year
all years, side by side →Common questions about the 2020 i3
Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kitsDoes the 2020 BMW i3 have any recalls?
No NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2020 BMW i3. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them, and a clean sheet on a recent model year often just means the vehicle is new.
How safe is the 2020 BMW i3?
NHTSA has not published a crash-test rating for the 2020 BMW i3 yet. On the recall record WhichTrim grades it A (100/100), which measures open and severe recalls rather than crash protection.
What is the fuel economy of the 2020 BMW i3?
Across the 4 EPA-rated configurations of the 2020 BMW i3, the best EPA combined figure is 31 mpg (MPGe on the electrified versions) and the longest EPA range is 153 miles on a charge. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.
How clean is the 2020 BMW i3?
The EPA smog rating for the 2020 BMW i3 runs 6 to 10 out of 10 across its configurations. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III SULEV30, California LEV-III ULEV50, California ZEV, Federal Tier 3 Bin 0, Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 — which the table above lists per configuration.
Are there service bulletins for the 2020 BMW i3?
The manufacturer has filed 40 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2020 BMW i3, most often covering electrical system, equipment, engine. The most recent is dated 2026-07-10. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.
What we hold, and what an empty row means
Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.
| Data | Held | Source | What it covers — or what empty means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel economy & configurations | 4 configurations | EPA certification records | Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures. |
| Emission certificates | 4 configurations | EPA emission certificates | Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new. |
| Recalls | none | NHTSA recall campaigns | No campaign has been filed. Because the register is complete, an empty row here means there is nothing to find — not that we are missing it. |
| Owner complaints | none | NHTSA complaint database | No owner has filed one. On a car that sold in small numbers this says very little either way. |
| Crash ratings | none | NHTSA NCAP | NHTSA has not tested this model year. Cars are selected for testing, so untested is not unsafe. |
| Service bulletins | 40 | NHTSA manufacturer communications | Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall. |
| Investigations | 1 | NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation | Open and closed defect investigations, with the agency's own narrative. |
| Driver-assist crash reports | none | NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01 | No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like. |
| Specifications filed with NHTSA | none | NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns | We had no VIN pattern to decode for this model year, or the manufacturer filed nothing usable. |
| Trims, pricing & equipment | none | Manufacturer press kit | We have not transcribed a press kit for this model year yet. This is our gap, not the manufacturer's — the one row here where an empty cell means we are behind. |
Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly.