The Used Car Index

2021 BMW 230I problems

NHTSA lists 1 complaints for the 2021 BMW 230I, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as BMW 230I.

At a glance

Complaints
1
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
21,537
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
40

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES1100.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESDOORS1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
noise or comfort1100.0%0.84
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
low1100.0%0.85

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 1 tagged complaints of 1 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

2 recalls.

21V554000

Date: 2021-07-21. Systems: SEAT BELTS.

Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 2 Series (230i, 230i xDrive, M240i, M240i xDrive), 330e, 330e Xdrive, 4 Series Coupe (430i, 430i xDrive, M440i xDrive) M4 Coupe, M4 Competition Coupe, BMW 4 Series Convertible (430i, M440i), BMW X1 sDrive28i, xDrive28i, 2 Series Gran Coupe (228i, 228i xDrive, M235i xDrive), M2 Competition Coupe, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, M3, M (excerpt)

Consequence: During a crash, a seat belt retractor that does not function as intended increases the risk of injury. (excerpt)

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the seat belt retractors (including the seat belts) and, if necessary, replace the retractors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417; 1-866-825-1525 (MINI); 1-877-877-3735 (Rolls Royce); and 1-888-270-9371 (Toyota). (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

21V342000

Date: 2021-05-12. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 BMW 230i and M240i vehicles. Supports within the roof liner may be insecurely attached.

Consequence: The support may separate from the roof liner and fall into the passenger compartment, increasing the risk of injury during a crash necessitating the deployment of the head air bag.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and repair or replace the roof liner as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters will not be sent. The one owner was notified on June 15, 2021 by telephone and the vehicle has been repaired. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

40 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT19
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM8
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING5
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY5
STEERING4
STRUCTURE4
ENGINE3
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE3

11034457

Date: 2026-06-30. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

While driving on rough roads, a cracking sound is heard coming from the headliner area.

11035496

Date: 2026-06-26. Type: Warranty Program/Extension. Systems: 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.

11032730

Date: 2026-05-05. Type: Warranty Program/Extension. Systems: ENGINE.

The EVAP systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original in-service date.

11005231

Date: 2024-07-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

While driving on rough roads, a cracking sound is heard coming from the headliner area.

10249435

Date: 2024-01-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Customer complains of a musty odor or damp front footwell carpet.

10249027

Date: 2024-01-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: 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 A A?A A A A discharged batteryA A?A A A A compl

10249018

Date: 2024-01-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.

At low outside temperatures (below 40 degrees F) and slow driving speeds (i.e. when parking, maneuvering)with a large steering angle, the front end can be slightly axially misaligned. This can be felt (jerking)/ heard via an acoustic acknowledgement (clunk) as seen at the 11 second mark of the vide

10249032

Date: 2024-01-05. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EQUIPMENT.

The Central Information Display goes black intermittently due to resets of the Head Unit (HU-H3). FaultB7F8F9 A A A A A A A A?A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A?A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A HU-H: ResetA A A A A A A A?A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A will be stored in the HU-H3.

10245376

Date: 2023-11-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.

The steering wheel heating takes a long time to achieve the desired temperature.

10245365

Date: 2023-11-13. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

PRESSURE CONTROL VALVE (PCV) EXTENDED LTD WTY 15 YEARS/150,000 MILES

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
230I1

Same model, other years

All model years | All BMW models

Other BMW models, 2021

  • X3: 111 complaints
  • X5: 108 complaints
  • X7: 47 complaints
  • 330I: 29 complaints
  • 530I: 17 complaints
  • 430I: 15 complaints
  • M340I: 11 complaints
  • 540I: 9 complaints

Sources

Get this record as JSON

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