2025 BMW i4 Problems: Reliability, Recalls, and What Owners Should Know

If you’re looking at a 2025 BMW i4, you’ve probably heard mixed things: excellent driving dynamics and efficiency on one hand, software quirks and the occasional recall on the other. This guide pulls together what we know so far about 2025 BMW i4 problems, from official recalls to real owner complaints, so you can separate internet noise from issues that actually matter, especially if you’re shopping used.

Overview: How Reliable Is the 2025 BMW i4?

Stepping back from individual horror stories, the i4 has actually built a reputation as one of the more reliable premium EVs. Owner surveys and early reliability scores have ranked it near the top of the segment, and many drivers report tens of thousands of essentially trouble‑free miles. That said, the pain points tend to cluster in a few areas: software/iDrive glitchescharging behavior, and a small number of hardware recalls affecting specific VIN ranges rather than the entire fleet.

Known 2025 BMW i4 Problems by Category

Let’s unpack each category, with an eye toward what’s an annoyance you can live with and what’s a red flag when you’re evaluating a 2025 i4, especially as a second owner.

2025 BMW i4 Recalls: What We Know So Far

Because the 2025 i4 shares its hardware and software stack with earlier model years, most of the meaningful safety actions show up in broader recall campaigns that cover 2022–2025 cars. A few are worth calling out because they sound scary on paper but are tightly defined and fixable in practice.

From a used‑EV buyer’s perspective, recalls aren’t automatically a deal‑breaker. Many are one‑time fixes, and a car with all its recall work done can actually be a safer bet than one built later but still waiting on its first campaign.

Software and iDrive Glitches

If the i4 has an Achilles’ heel, it’s not the battery pack, it’s the software glue tying everything together. Owners of 2023–2025 cars routinely talk about iDrive quirks rather than mechanical failures: frozen cameras, driver‑assist options grayed out, climate controls or heated seats ignoring voice commands, and navigation settings that seem to revert after every update.

The upside is that these issues are rarely safety‑critical and often improve as BMW iterates software. The downside is that they’re the sort of low‑grade friction that separates a car you love from one that silently irritates you every day.

Charging and Plug & Charge Issues

Charging is where the i4’s software stack intersects with messy real‑world infrastructure, so it’s no surprise that charging complaints feature heavily in owner forums. When someone says their i4 “has problems,” it’s often one of these scenarios:

• Scheduled or “charge in time slot” settings occasionally ignored, so the car starts charging immediately instead of waiting for off‑peak hours.
• Inconsistent behavior on some Level 2 public stations, especially where other brands charge fine, leading to aborted sessions or “charging station error” messages.
• Plug & Charge (with networks like Electrify America) requiring a dealer visit, then still not activating correctly until BMW and the charging network finish back‑end setup.
• Confusion when the car correctly starts early because it needs more than the specified time slot to hit a departure‑time or target‑SOC goal.

For a current owner, these are mostly quality‑of‑life issues. For a used‑EV shopper, they’re a reminder to plug the car into your reality during a test: your wall connector, your local public DC fast chargers, and your utility’s off‑peak window if you have one.

Battery Health and Range Concerns

Given the headlines around high‑voltage battery recalls across the industry, it’s natural to worry that a used 2025 i4 is a ticking time bomb. So far, that’s not what the data shows. Outside of specific recall batches with weld or assembly defects, outright battery failures on the i4 appear rare compared to some rivals.

When you’re test‑driving any 2025 i4, pay attention to how range estimates change with speed and temperature, and ask for any service records touching the high‑voltage system. A car that’s already had a precautionary battery‑module replacement under recall isn’t a red flag by itself, if anything, it means the weakest link has already been addressed on BMW’s dime.

Chassis and Structural Issues on Certain i4s

One under‑the‑radar recall involved potential cracking of the left‑side longitudinal beam, a key structural member, on a limited group of 2024 i4 eDrive40, xDrive40 and M50 cars. This is the sort of thing you definitely want fixed, but again, the campaign is VIN‑specific and not a blanket indictment of the platform.

• If a 2025 i4 you’re considering was built on the same line and timeframe as the affected 2024s, your BMW dealer can verify whether it’s in the campaign and whether the inspection/repair is done.
• If you’re buying private‑party, ask explicitly whether any structural or body‑related recall work has been performed and get documentation.

What This Means If You’re Buying a Used i4

Put all of this together and a pattern emerges: the 2025 BMW i4 is not a problem‑child EV, but it is a modern, software‑heavy BMW. That means your real‑world experience will depend less on whether a blogger once had a glitch and more on whether the exact car you’re looking at has been updated, maintained, and used in a way that suits how you’ll drive it.

If you’re buying through a marketplace that understands EVs, a lot of this legwork, battery testing, recall checks, pricing against real‑world degradation, can be done for you. That’s the niche Recharged is built to fill for used EV shoppers who don’t want to gamble on forum anecdotes.

Checklist: Before You Buy a Used BMW i4

FAQ: 2025 BMW i4 Problems & Ownership

Bottom Line: Should 2025 BMW i4 Problems Scare You Off?

If you go by social media alone, every modern EV is a disaster. The reality with the 2025 BMW i4 is more nuanced. Yes, there are real problems, software gremlins, occasional charging headaches, and a handful of serious but tightly scoped recalls. At the same time, the i4 has quietly built a reputation as one of the more dependable premium EVs on the road when maintained and updated properly.

For a shopper, the smart play isn’t to avoid the i4 altogether; it’s to buy one with its homework done: recalls closed, software current, battery health verified, and charging behavior proven in the real world. That’s exactly the kind of due diligence Recharged bakes into every used EV it sells, so you can enjoy the good parts of a 2025 BMW i4, the drive, the refinement, the design, without losing sleep over the headlines.