How does the electric BMW i4’s maintenance cost compare with that of a traditional gas-powered BMW sedan of similar size, like the 3 Series? What does it cost to run compared to other EV rivals? We’re going to look at the answers to all of these questions, but let’s start with the BMW i4’s maintenance schedule, as prescribed by the manufacturer:
All of the items for the 10,000-mile service, plus:
All of the items for the 10,000-mile services, plus:
All of the items for the 10,000- and 20,000-mile services, plus:
All of the items for the 10,000-, 20,000-, and 30-000-mile services, plus:
All the items from the 2-year inspection, plus:
A new i4’s maintenance is covered for free under BMW’s 3-year/36,000-mile BMW Ultimate Care Plan.
Below, you can see CarEdge’s estimated annual maintenance costs for the BMW i4 over its first 10 years. We compare it with various vehicles to put its maintenance cost into perspective, including its similarly sized but gas-powered 3 Series sibling, and a selection of semi-premium and mainstream compact electric sedans:
BMW i4 (EV)BMW 3 Series (gas)Tesla Model 3 (EV)Hyundai Ioniq 6 (EV)Kia EV6 (EV)Year 1$447$581$180$202$247Year 2$516$673$195$222$274Year 3$651$850$225$261$326Year 4$829$1,085$264$313$395Year 5$1,000$1,311$302$362$462Year 6$1,309$1,719$370$452$581Year 7$1,450$1,904$400$492$636Year 8$1,518$1,993$415$512$662Year 9$1,580$2,075$429$530$686Year 10$1,639$2,154$442$547$709Total After 10 Years$7,899$14,345$3,222$3,893$4,978Chance of Major Repair in 10 Years41.71%41.71%13.89%18.31%24.49%The i4 comes in at nearly half the 3 Series’ expected maintenance cost, but it’s just as likely to require a major repair in 10 years, and all its EV rivals are far cheaper to run. CarEdge additionally notes that the i4 is expected to retain only 46.1% of its value after 5 years, putting it in position number 155 on the list of depreciators among luxury brands. EVs are expected to shed more value, but the best-performing EV still beats the i4 by a long way – the Audi Q6 e-tron in position 73 with 53.9%.
Due to it still being a fairly new model, RepairPal doesn’t have an estimation for the typical annual repair cost expected of a BMW i4, but notes that BMWs in general cost $968 to repair per year on average, and get a reliability rating of 2.5 out of 5, or 30th out of 32 brands. This is what RepairPal says some typical repair jobs and diagnoses on a 2025 i4 should cost:
BMW fared well in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, finishing in 9th place, right on the survey average. Here is how it shapes up against those brands that we compare it to in terms of maintenance cost in the first table, as well as with all the other premium brands assessed:
Survey RankingBrand2024 J.D. Power PP100#1Lexus135#6Porsche175#9BMW190Study Average190#12Cadillac196#13Hyundai198#16Genesis200#20Acura216#21Mercedes-Benz218#22Infiniti219#24Volvo245#25Lincoln251Tesla*252#27Land Rover268#28Audi275*Not eligible for a ranking because it does not meet study award criteria
This survey only covers problems encountered after the first 3 years, and not over the long term, and the i4 not only costs significantly more to maintain than similar electric sedans, but is also at much higher risk of requiring a major repair in 10 years
In common with many other European brands, a BMW i4 is more expensive to maintain than rivals from Asian brands, and it’s also more likely to require expensive, unforeseen repairs over the long term. That being said, for a person moving to the i4 from a gas-powered 3 Series, they can look forward to nearly halving their maintenance costs, so it does make sense to go electric from that standpoint, if you’re up for the i4’s near-$60K starting price.
