BMW 228i

Owners filed 58 complaints across 8 model years of the BMW 228i. The 2016 drew the most (18).

Model years8
Complaints58
Recalls17
Fires2
Deaths0

Which BMW 228i years should you avoid?

Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 BMW 228i model years have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to judge, so any ranking would be noise. The table below has every year as filed.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Every BMW 228i model year compared

Complaints per year
YearComplaintsRelative volumeRecallsFiresCrashesMost reportedStatus
20240
1———Routine
20232
1——EngineRoutine
20223
2—1Power TrainRoutine
20218
3——Exterior LightingRoutine
20203
2——WheelsRoutine
201618
11—Electrical SystemRoutine
201517
312Electrical SystemRoutine
20147
4—1Fuel/Propulsion SystemRoutine

Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.