BMW 228iYears to avoid, problems & recalls

NHTSA has 58 owner complaints and 9 safety recalls on record for the BMW 228i.

Years to avoidNoneBased on weighted complaints Best years—Fewest complaints for their age Owner complaints58Top: Electrical system Safety recalls92014–2024 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years.

Best & worst years

BMW 228i years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the 228i median. Tap a year for its full report.

7 17 18 3 8 3 2 0

'14'15'16'20'21'22'23'24

Avoid
Caution
Solid
Best
Not rated

2024Not rated–/1000 complaints · 1 recall 2023Not rated–/1002 complaints · 1 recall 2022Not rated–/1003 complaints · 2 recalls 2021Not rated–/1008 complaints · 3 recalls 2020Not rated–/1003 complaints · 2 recalls 2016Not rated–/10018 complaints · 1 recall 2015Not rated–/10017 complaints · 3 recalls 2014Not rated–/1007 complaints · 4 recalls

Complaints by system

Most common BMW 228i problems

All model years combined: 58 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

25Electrical system3 crash/fire/injury

15Engine and engine cooling

7Power train1 crash/fire/injury

6Fuel/propulsion system1 crash/fire/injury

6Engine

6Service brakes1 crash/fire/injury

4Air bags

4Exterior lighting

4Wheels

179 other systems2 crash/fire/injury

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.

Complaints by system
System	Complaints	Crash, fire or injury
Electrical system	25	3
Engine and engine cooling	15	0
Power train	7	1
Fuel/propulsion system	6	1
Engine	6	0
Service brakes	6	1
Air bags	4	4
Exterior lighting	4	0
Wheels	4	0
9 other systems	17	2

9 recalls

BMW 228i recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

Side/window: head25V-871 · 2014–2015 · Dec 17, 2025 · 851 vehicles Structure: body24V-711 · 2023–2024 · Sep 25, 2024 · 7 vehicles Wiring: connectors/plugs/receptacles24V-608 · 2014–2016 · Aug 13, 2024 · 720,796 vehicles Air bags: side/window24V-288 · 2014–2015 · Apr 24, 2024 · 5,761 vehicles Electrical system: software23V-584 · 2020–2022 · Aug 16, 2023 · 144 vehicles Fuel injection system: fuel rail22V-513 · 2022 · Jul 20, 2022 · 5 vehicles Seat belts21V-554 · 2021 · Jul 21, 2021 · 21,537 vehicles Visibility: power window devices and controls21V-091 · 2020–2021 · Feb 18, 2021 · 14,011 vehicles Delivery: fuel pump15V-189 · 2014 · Mar 31, 2015 · 18,054 vehicles

1 investigation

NHTSA investigations of the 228i

Sep 17, 2021
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureEA21002 · 2014–2016 · still open
Open