⌘K
Your vehicleHome›BMW› i8
BMW · Convertible

BMW i8

Every model year 2016–2020: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

5 Model years 2016–2020
4 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years
4 Complaints owner reports, all years
B Newest grade 2020 Safety Signal
2018 Best on record cleanest filed year
BMW i8 — photograph via Wikimedia Commons
BMW i8 · Photo: OWS Photography · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Every BMW i8 model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year
YearPowertrainsSafetyRecallsComplaintsCrashBest efficiency
2020Plug-in hybridB11—27 mpg
2019Plug-in hybridC20—27 mpg
2018Plug-in hybridA00—28 mpg
2017Plug-in hybridA10—28 mpg
2016Plug-in hybridA03—28 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road
Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2018

On the filed record so far, the 2018 is the cleanest i8 year we hold, and the 2019 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

YearSafety SignalRecalls /yrComplaints /yr
2018A00
2016A00
2017A0.10
2020B0.201 critical
2019C0.301 critical
Advertisement

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record
  • 2019: best combined mpg 28 → 27; 1 → 2 EPA configurations

Common questions about the BMW i8

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which BMW i8 year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2018 i8 comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade A (100/100), 0 recalls and 0 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What BMW i8 years should I avoid?

No i8 model year carries a D or F Safety Signal or a standing advisory. The ranking page orders every year on recalls and complaints per year on the road, and says why.

How many recalls does the BMW i8 have?

Across model years 2016–2020, NHTSA has posted 4 recall campaigns for the BMW i8. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.