The BMW i4, the carmaker’s flagship electric vehicle, is a buzzkill. It has faced a string of alarming technical maladies and has even been forced to issue safety recalls. Owners have taken to popular YouTube channels and Reddit to share stories of things like unreliable over-the-air updates, major safety hazards, and infuriating CarPlay compatibility. As these situations continue to develop, thousands are now raising their hands and asking how dependable is this new high-tech vehicle.
CarPlay integration in the BMW i4 has been described as inconsistent, with experiences ranging from poor functionality to potentially dangerous situations. Fixing it would help eliminate the frustration of users who find themselves forced to jump through hoops to use CarPlay as intended. Open your car with the BMW app, for starters. Next, log in with your BMW ID in iDrive, put your iPhone on the charging tray and use Face ID to start up the vehicle double-clicking the side button.
The convoluted nature of this layout has exasperated countless motorists. As one frustrated owner put it, “I don’t have a saint’s patience. The complicated key sequence to even get the car started illustrates the underlying software bugs hampering the i4 experience.
Further adding to the annoyance is the BMW i4’s over-the-air update system, a touchy and still unproven technology. Owners have told us tales of the update hanging at 0%, 33%, 75%, etc., for days or longer. This has left many drivers no choice but to make trips to dealerships to have them installed manually. Impacted customers report feeling like beta testers for a product that they believe should have been more widely tested and researched prior to rollout.
This unreliability of the BMW i4’s software presents very serious safety concerns. Ironically, in its first full calendar year on the market, that same vehicle had six recalls. One recall of this nature was especially shocking, as BMW instructed owners in the recall notice that their own cars might cause a fire if left parked. The company warned consumers to “stop driving this vehicle right away,” a damning declaration of potential wrongs under TREAD.
Besides safety recalls, owners have been reporting their vehicle going into a “pseudo-sleep mode.” This defect prevents the lights and other electronic systems from shutting off as intended, causing needless battery drain and risking fire or accident. Now critics are saying the software issues make the new BMW i4 unreliable. They claim it’s not enough, that it doesn’t measure up to previous models, including ones with serious corrosion.
The i4 suffers from what some users refer to as amnesia-like tendencies in its software. Doing so adds anxiety to the driving experience and creates a question regarding the entire reliability of their vehicle. In one case, an owner had to go “meditate for a half hour” after a costly software crash sent them into a tailspin of rage.
From the overall sentiment from current BMW i4 owners, disappointment and frustration is an understatement. Players are tired of suffering through a second-rate implementation of the ownership experience because the technical stuff hasn’t come together. According to one author, it’s possible that the company was able to push these cars to market before they had a chance to rigorously test their digital ecosystem. The author suggests the company used customers for years as unsafe beta testers, prioritizing the company’s profits over those customers’ safety.
Safety concerns and reliability issues are piling up. Now it’s become an uphill slog for BMW to win back consumer trust in its upcoming electric vehicle roster. As owners continue to voice their grievances, the company may need to reassess its approach to software development and customer service.
