2017 i3 Rex EME Repair $14,000 USD? Is this for real?

[AlohaSpirit]

2017 i3 Rex EME Repair $14,000 USD? Is this for real?

I've owned 9 BMW's from the same Hawaii BMW dealer over the past 25yrs and this EME repair is incredibly shocking. How does any car after 5 years have a $14,000 repair on only a electronic voltage controller? My main batteries were still charging great at 147 miles on my nightly charge. In perspective, who would have ever thought this EME repair would cost the same as buying a used 2019 i3 with 50K miles for $15K. This is crazy! Any ideas or thoughts from anyone that has had experienced this i3 EME repair would be greatly appreciated? Thank you from Hawaii.

Aloha!

 

[agzand]

You can probably fly in a specialist from Europe and have them fix your car. That is a ridicules number quoted by the dealer.

http://remmington.info/bmw i3 i8 EME.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3251969648...V4PJ4NXURg9RjwCnIZ7xOt8gk=|tkp:Bk9SR6y4te_AYQ

 

[Arm]

2017 i3 Rex EME Repair $14,000 USD? Is this for real?

I've owned 9 BMW's from the same Hawaii BMW dealer over the past 25yrs and this EME repair is incredibly shocking. How does any car after 5 years have a $14,000 repair on only a electronic voltage controller? My main batteries were still charging great at 147 miles on my nightly charge. In perspective, who would have ever thought this EME repair would cost the same as buying a used 2019 i3 with 50K miles for $15K. This is crazy! Any ideas or thoughts from anyone that has had experienced this i3 EME repair would be greatly appreciated? Thank you from Hawaii.

Aloha!

Yeah that's ridiculous...report them to BMW...that should no be that expensive...it's a $500 part AT THE MOST.

 

[alohart]

Yeah that's ridiculous...report them to BMW...that should no be that expensive...it's a $500 part AT THE MOST.

You must be thinking of a different module. The EME seems to be the most expensive electronic module in an i3, maybe because of its wide-ranging functionality including converting DC power from the battery pack to AC power for the propulsion motor, converting AC power from the propulsion motor to AC power for the battery back (regen), converting high-voltage DC power to 12 V DC power, etc. It includes its own liquid cooling circuit. High-power electronics aren't cheap. A company in Bulgaria repairs i3 EME's for $2,535 and sells reconditioned i3 EME's for $3,400. This wouldn't be a viable business if a new EME cost only $500.

If the EME in our i3 failed, I would seriously consider shipping it to the U.K. or Bulgaria where companies claim to be able to repair them.

 

[i32014]

AlohaSpirit, what did you end up doing? I got a similar quote from my BMW dealership in Ohio, $14k for replacing EME, Safety box and HV cables after Drivetrain Malfunction. I have 2014 i3 BEV with just under 27k miles. It's shocking because the car was without a problem for 10+ years other than needing a new 12v battery last year.

 

[maclaytodd]

I have a 2014 i3 Rex (Electronaut edition) which had EME failure. In my case, the 12v charging inverter appears to have failed. My experience with this car has not been good as A/C compressor (Visteon) failed and was replaced ($2716) and cabin heater failed and was replaced.

I spent $4764 at dealer having Safety Box replaced and declined spending another $10,000 to have EME replaced. What I've done to put the car back in service is add a 12V 100Ah LFP battery and 40A DC-DC battery charger in the frunk area. At $450, this keeps the small BMW 12v battery charged for at least a couple of hours and this allows using the full range of the HV battery. The i3 low voltage system requires about 10 amps continuous to wake up when doors are opened, 22 amps to run in daylight, 40 amps to run at night with windshield wipers and approaching 50 amps to run all these along with range extender.

This is admittedly a kludge but it makes the car useable for local trips. It does extend the range a little. The one glitch, is sometimes the car does not go to sleep for a few hours so I have to keep the LFP battery on a charger when parked. So far, no error codes.

 

[Dutchi3]

Another solution may be to mount an external DC-DC converter to keep the 12v battery charged, Meanwell has a lot of these. I once needed one in my electric van, because the oem DC converter died. But that car's main voltage was between 130v (nominal) and 190v (balancing NiCad). With 385v on tap in the i3 it may not be everyone's cup of tea to fiddle with the high voltage. This is also not a recommendation, but in theory it could be done.