Air conditioning failed

[Elektrey]

Hey Guys,

just to chime in my car has what seems like the same problem. It's in BMW service right now and they are still diagnosing but it doesn't look good. Last I heard the AC compressor wasn't working and they're going to check everything for damage and to make sure nothing else is broken.

I am appalled that a car could be so badly designed to total itself randomly from normal wear after only 4 years and 30,000 miles.

I am even more appalled that this issue is common enough to show up multiple times on threads on the internet for a car that sold 5-10k units a year.

Sadly even if I come away with it not being totaled I am going to sell it and I am no longer recommending this car (or BMW for that matter) to anyone, which is a shame because I really love it and it made a good impression on me of BMW as this is my first BMW.


Will keep you guys updated.

 

[panamamike]

Hey Guys,

just to chime in my car has what seems like the same problem. It's in BMW service right now and they are still diagnosing but it doesn't look good. Last I heard the AC compressor wasn't working and they're going to check everything for damage and to make sure nothing else is broken.

I am appalled that a car could be so badly designed to total itself randomly from normal wear after only 4 years and 30,000 miles.

I am even more appalled that this issue is common enough to show up multiple times on threads on the internet for a car that sold 5-10k units a year.

Sadly even if I come away with it not being totaled I am going to sell it and I am no longer recommending this car (or BMW for that matter) to anyone, which is a shame because I really love it and it made a good impression on me of BMW as this is my first BMW.


Will keep you guys updated.

Can you tell us the year and version of the i3? Can you describe the symptoms you experienced? Thanks for sharing, let's hope for a good outcome.

 

[panamamike]

Anyone know if the BWM extended warranty would cover this failure.

 

[Elektrey]

Can you tell us the year and version of the i3? Can you describe the symptoms you experienced? Thanks for sharing, let's hope for a good outcome.

2015 BMW i3 BEV. 34,000 Miles, got it at 17,000 miles 18 months ago.

Approximately two months ago I noticed a humming noise coming from the underside of the car. It starts to become noticeable around 25-30 and ramps up but once you go past 30mph it is a constant volume level.
Approximately one month ago I noticed the A/C wasn't blowing cold. It may have not been blowing cold before however, as it was winter and I wasn't using the a/c much if at all.

They're telling me now that the Compressor and Heat Pump Shutoff Valve need to be replaced and are quoting me $4,520.72 to fix those items and say that there is a chance that more parts need to be replaced but they need to replace those two first.

I've already spent $660 in diagnostic fees and the car has been there for 4.5 Business days.

I'm having my service adviser talk to his manager/sales/etc. to see what they can do.

Absolutely ridiculous.

I advise anyone who owns this car to sell it ASAP, it is not worth the headache even if this is only happening to a small amount it is not worth the risk.

EDIT: I just want to add some more info to this:

The service adviser said it was caused by a failure of the part and their solution is to replace it with the same exact part. He said there is no newer part available.

My warranty ran out 9 months ago, in April of 2019.

 

[Anonymous]

They're telling me now that the Compressor and Heat Pump Shutoff Valve need to be replaced and are quoting me $4,520.72 to fix those items and say that there is a chance that more parts need to be replaced but they need to replace those two first.

Have you talked with BMW-NA to see if they will cover some of the repairs under 'good-will'?

That said - it's a used car past warranty - you have to expect that there can be repair costs. When I bought my i3, I mentally back-burnered at least $5 grand in 'expected' repairs over the the life of my ownership. This is from experience. Owned a Mercedes D - every trip to the mechanic was $1,000 plus - and it made the trip at least twice a year. Owned a Saab, and chased expensive electrical issues with it for years. Went from a Honda Element to the i3, when the Honda was in need of $3,000 in AC repairs, a $2,000 trans rebuild, and $1200 on a transfer case, plus a lot of odds and ends, like failed window regulator, worn shocks, etc. to the tune of about $8 grand in needed repairs - on a car with a book value of $4.000.

If you need a car that won't cost you a dime to maintain - then you lease new ones - those are the ONLY ones that will be 'maintenance free'. Google 'car-repair' in your town, and count how many repair shops are within 10 miles of you. Think they are their because cars never break down???

I prefer used for the value, paying around $20,000 for a car that sold new for $54,000. If it costs me $5,000 - $8,000 in repairs the next few years, that's almost what I would lose just in trading it in on another car, and I'm close to saving that amount just in reduced running expenses vs an ICE vehicle (and I get to drive a great fun car). And if I'm lucky, repairs will end up at the lower end, not the higher end.

 

[Elektrey]

They're telling me now that the Compressor and Heat Pump Shutoff Valve need to be replaced and are quoting me $4,520.72 to fix those items and say that there is a chance that more parts need to be replaced but they need to replace those two first.

Have you talked with BMW-NA to see if they will cover some of the repairs under 'good-will'?

That said - it's a used car past warranty - you have to expect that there can be repair costs. When I bought my i3, I mentally back-burnered at least $5 grand in 'expected' repairs over the the life of my ownership. This is from experience. Owned a Mercedes D - every trip to the mechanic was $1,000 plus - and it made the trip at least twice a year. Owned a Saab, and chased expensive electrical issues with it for years. Went from a Honda Element to the i3, when the Honda was in need of $3,000 in AC repairs, a $2,000 trans rebuild, and $1200 on a transfer case, plus a lot of odds and ends, like failed window regulator, worn shocks, etc. to the tune of about $8 grand in needed repairs - on a car with a book value of $4.000.

If you need a car that won't cost you a dime to maintain - then you lease new ones - those are the ONLY ones that will be 'maintenance free'. Google 'car-repair' in your town, and count how many repair shops are within 10 miles of you. Think they are their because cars never break down???

I prefer used for the value, paying around $20,000 for a car that sold new for $54,000. If it costs me $5,000 - $8,000 in repairs the next few years, that's almost what I would lose just in trading it in on another car, and I'm close to saving that amount just in reduced running expenses vs an ICE vehicle (and I get to drive a great fun car). And if I'm lucky, repairs will end up at the lower end, not the higher end.

I'm ok with paying for repairs, even with the 5K if thats the end of it, but I'm sure they'll find more damage based on what im reading online and I'm sure by the end of it it will be totaled in repairs. And it's not acceptable to me to replace the part with the same exact part if failure is this expensive, doesn't make sense.

It's pretty apparent that the failure mode of the AC compressor is a hugely flawed.

Those repairs you listed didn't happen to cars with 30,000 miles did they?

I will reach out BMW-NA after I try to see what the dealership can do first.

I am okay with maintenance and paying for repairs but I am not paying for BMW's faulty design of their AC compressor that damages the car so badly when it fails that the coolant system and consequently the car has to be rebuilt. Especially when the AC compressor fails so commonly and early from what I am reading.

Your Honda element example is completely uncomparable and its comparing apples and oranges. You say the Honda element had a book value of $4,000. This puts it (at least at the moment) at a 2006-2007 model.

A 13 year old car with $8,000 in repairs for multiple items that are designed to wear on a car worth $4,000 is different than a 5 year old car with $20,000 in repairs from a single part with 30,000 miles on it on a car worth $15,000.

 

[alohart]

I am okay with maintenance and paying for repairs but I am not paying for BMW's faulty design of their AC compressor that damages the car so badly when it fails that the coolant system and consequently the car has to be rebuilt. Especially when the AC compressor fails so commonly and early from what I am reading.

It's difficult to ascertain how common A/C compressor failure really is. It can result in an expensive repair bill which tends to generate posts in fora like this one. There are thousands of i3 drivers in this forum and in the i3 Worldwide Facebook group, yet only a tiny percentage of these drivers have posted about A/C compressor failures. If this were a really common problem, these groups would have far more posts about this problem.

 

[i3Houston]

There are thousands of i3 drivers in this forum and in the i3 Worldwide Facebook group, yet only a tiny percentage of these drivers have posted about A/C compressor failures. If this were a really common problem, these groups would have far more posts about this problem.

It may be specific to early i3, 2014,2015 or issue occurs after 3-4 years.

 

[Elektrey]

It's difficult to ascertain how common A/C compressor failure really is. It can result in an expensive repair bill which tends to generate posts in fora like this one. There are thousands of i3 drivers in this forum and in the i3 Worldwide Facebook group, yet only a tiny percentage of these drivers have posted about A/C compressor failures. If this were a really common problem, these groups would have far more posts about this problem.

It is a small percentage but I think it's big enough for it to be an issue and reason to stay away from this car. I've read way too many "AC compressor" failure stories online for a car that sold 6-10k a year and is driven less than other cars. Many of these stories I've read the issue was covered under warranty. I wonder how many other drivers do not post because they get it replaced under warranty.

Seeing as how there is no fix other than to just hope that the next compressor they throw in there doesn't give you a 20k repair bill 3-4 years down the line, this is completely unacceptable.

I am not on facebook but I read on one forum that a lot of people on the i3 facebook group have AC problems.

For an issue that is this large, for a part that fails either prematurely without reason or under a very small amount of wear compared to the expected life of the car, and that causes the repair cost to exceed the cost of the vehicle on a 5 year old car, I would think any amount of occurrence of an issue this big would be unacceptable even a tiny fraction of a percent.

It's bad engineering on two fronts, one being designing a part that fails without a good amount of use of the car or within a few years, and two designing that part so when it fails it destroys the entire cooling system and requires the car to essentially be rebuilt.

BMW should have never sold or produced this car with these flaws that when combined create a massive issue.

Also, this thread being about the AC compressor failure is the most active and longest thread (besides coding the i3) in the technical bmw i3 discussions. That says a lot about how big this issue is.

I urge BMW to do the right thing and buy back people's cars who have failed from this defect and to correct the issue causing this massive failure and send out a TSB to all BMW service centers. Anything else would frankly be negligence on their behalf IMO.

It may be specific to early i3, 2014,2015 or issue occurs after 3-4 years.

I am thinking this is a part that fails after a certain time period from looking at when the other posts were for this issue. I wouldn't be surprised if the 2015 and 2016s started popping up with this issue more and more as time goes on.

 

[alohart]

I've read way too many "AC compressor" failure stories online for a car that sold 6-10k a year and is driven less than other cars.

This and other i3 forums don't have just U.S. participants. BMW had a 30k annual i3 production capacity until 2018 (?) when the capacity was doubled due to demand. I think annual worldwide sales has averaged ~30k.

While the average annual mileage of an i3 is less than that of a similar ICE vehicle, the A/C compressor almost certainly operates for a higher percentage of the time in an i3 because it's responsible for cooling the battery pack as well as providing cabin heat in BEV's with a heat pump in addition to cabin cooling. However, the compressor isn't next to a very hot, vibrating ICE, so I would think that it should last longer in an i3.

I am not on facebook but I read on one forum that a lot of people on the i3 facebook group have AC problems.

I am one of over 18k members of the Facebook group. Today, A/C compressor failure isn't among the top 9 topics being discussed. The number of members who have experienced A/C compressor failure and posted about it might be no more than 10 (difficult to determine). Of course, not all 18k members own or have owed an i3, so it's impossible to determine the percentage of i3 drivers in this group who have experienced A/C compressor failure. However, it's certainly a very low percentage.

According to compressor parts numbers on realoem.com for our August, 2014, BEV, the current A/C compressor is the 6th different compressor since 2013 of which 3 have superseded the compressor in our i3, so it seems that BMW is aware of the problem and has tried to source more reliable compressors over the years. Unfortunately, that doesn't help existing i3 owners whose compressors fail other than the replacement compressor likely being more reliable.

For an issue that is this large, for a part that fails either prematurely without reason or under a very small amount of wear compared to the expected life of the car, and that causes the repair cost to exceed the cost of the vehicle on a 5 year old car, I would think any amount of occurrence of an issue this big would be unacceptable even a tiny fraction of a percent.

I can recall only 1 or maybe 2 i3 owners whose A/C compressor failure resulted in damage whose repair cost exceeded the value of his i3. By far, the most common A/C compressor failure results in no cooling but no catastrophic failure that spreads shrapnel throughout the battery pack and cabin cooling plumbing.

It's bad engineering on two fronts, one being designing a part that fails without a good amount of use of the car or within a few years, and two designing that part so when it fails it destroys the entire cooling system and requires the car to essentially be rebuilt.

As I stated, A/C compressor failure apparently rarely destroys the entire cooling system. However, the fact that this is possible and that the repair can be so expensive is worrying.

However, there are many examples of expensive cars in which component failure can be extremely expensive to repair. This is one reason I wish that Honda or Toyota had built a compact corrosion-resistant RWD hatchback EV like our i3. I had owned 2 very reliable and relatively inexpensive to repair Hondas but never had owned a BMW vehicle other than a motorcycle. Before buying our i3, I knew that the risk of a very expensive repair was greater than if it had been a Honda or Toyota EV. I took the risk in 2014 and have not had any out-of-warranty repairs in over 5 years of ownership. However, if the Honda Urban EV were available in the U.S., I would consider replacing our i3 with it because I think it would be less likely to have a very expensive repair.

Also, this thread being about the AC compressor failure is the most active and longest thread (besides coding the i3) in the technical bmw i3 discussions. That says a lot about how big this issue is.

It actually means that many forum members have posted about this without actually having experienced compressor failure. It's a definite concern. However, it's easy to assume that this is a more frequent problem than it is.

I urge BMW to do the right thing and buy back people's cars who have failed from this defect and to correct the issue causing this massive failure and send out a TSB to all BMW service centers. Anything else would frankly be negligence on their behalf IMO.

That would be nice for us i3 owners. However, auto manufacturers weigh the cost of doing as you suggest versus the harm done to sales by not doing so. So far, it seems that BMW has assessed that the harm to i3 sales has been minimal as evidenced by increasing worldwide sales. Judging by BMW's choice to delay the U.S. introduction of 2020 i3's despite few new 2019 models available for sale, 2020 i3 sales must be strong enough elsewhere to sell every i3 that BMW can build.

A broken motor mount bolt or the plastic mount itself could also cause catastrophic damage including to the A/C compressor. BMW replaced the bolt with a stronger bolt but did not authorize the expensive replacement of the plastic mount. So far, it seems that replacing the bolt has greatly reduced the incidence of bolt or mount breakage. The failure of one of the electronics modules like the Electric Machine Electronics (EME) would result in a multi-thousand dollar repair cost unless one is able to buy and install a used one which would be beyond the capability of almost all i3 owners.

An i3, like any expensive car, is a time-bomb waiting to explode. Fortunately for most of us, the explosion has not occurred yet and hopefully will never occur.

 

[Elektrey]

First of all thank you everyone for your feedback, and I hope I am not hijacking this thread.

An i3, like any expensive car, is a time-bomb waiting to explode

Understandable, but after 34,000 Miles? I've had the car for a year and a half. A failure of this magnitude this soon is completely unacceptable for a car.

I went to the dealer today and talked to the Service Manager. He has spoken to BMW on my behalf and they said they would consider helping if more parts need replacing once I pay the $4500 to replace the known broken parts.

alohart, Do you think that a complete failure is really that rare? Should I pursue this option?

I worry if I replace the compressor and shutoff valve that they will find more damage and it wouldn't make sense to pay much more than that on a car thats worth what this is worth.

Seems like a risky bet.

I will be in contact with BMW Customer Relations and see what they say.

They are also going to have the BMW Techs from New Jersey look at the problem and get their input on the situation.

In the meantime they are going to get it appraised as a trade in, although I am not sure I would buy another BMW, but I am curious of the value.

This is an extremely frustrating and disappointing position to be in, especially because I loved the car so much.

 

[ronin]

After reading all of this and on the facebook groups, I addressed these concerns and sent links to get my dealer (BMW Seattle) to proactively inspect both the motor mounts (bolts were replaced) and the A/C system before the warranty ran out and my service advisor shrugged it off like whatever.

Has anyone gotten their dealer to actually do something proactively?

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone gotten their dealer to actually do something proactively?

You have to tell them you think something is wrong with it, for them to pay any attention. I had my car in for scheduled service, and after reading all the horror stories, told them I thought the AC was 'noisier' than normal. They checked the Freon level, and ran a stress test on the AC. then replaced it under warranty.

 

[Elektrey]

Just wanted to update the thread and say that I sold the BMW i3 at a loss and no longer have it.

Final offer from BMW was 50% of the 25,000 dollar repair bill at a reducer labor rate coming to 11,200 or so. Easily not worth it and not worth my time to fight BMW.

Extremely disappointed with BMW and will never EVER own another.

Along with the ridiculous repair bill the car was in the shop for 3 Weeks which is absurd.


For all of you that still have and love your i3s I wish you the best.

I know this is a pretty uncommon issue, but you are essentially playing russian roulette with the car even if the chances are really small.


Looks like this is the end for me here, best of luck to all of you.

 

[Anonymous]

As you said, the AC failure is rare - and with the complexity of the tech in new(er) cars, there will be a small percentage that fail with a high repair-cost, no matter what the car brand. Guy at work had his Nissan Murano transmission fail six months out of warranty. Dealer quoted close to $10 grand to replace (was not re-build-able). Buddy had his Corvette turbo engine blow, a year out of warranty - $15 grand plus. It happens to any car, but not a lot.

 

[i3Alan]

As you said, the AC failure is rare - and with the complexity of the tech in new(er) cars, there will be a small percentage that fail with a high repair-cost, no matter what the car brand. Guy at work had his Nissan Murano transmission fail six months out of warranty. Dealer quoted close to $10 grand to replace (was not re-build-able). Buddy had his Corvette turbo engine blow, a year out of warranty - $15 grand plus. It happens to any car, but not a lot.

Yep, $10K for a tranny is expensive. Should be about half that. I would hope that Nissan would help quite a bit since it is only 6 months out of warranty. Did Nissan offer any assistance?

Yep, $15K for a high performance turbo V8 is a tad high. I would hope that GM would help a bit, since it is only a year out of warranty. Did GM offer any assistance?

Nope, $23K for an AC repair is OUTRAGEOUS in any rational world. It is INSANE that BMW would not mostly cover such nonsense that was less than a year out of warranty.

Enough with the false equivalencies.

 

[Anonymous]

I would hope that Nissan would help quite a bit since it is only 6 months out of warranty. Did Nissan offer any assistance?

No, went through three layers of 'supervisors' with Nissan customer service, and just got the same word-for-word 'why we can't help you' script read to him over the phone each time. He bought a used CVT from a wreck, had a local indy mechanic install it, but in the end could not get it running right so sold the car to a salvage yard to part out.

Did GM offer any assistance?

Nope. Offered him some kind of lame trade-in deal on a new one was all. He ended up buying an LS7 crate motor ($14,800) and horse-trading with a mechanic in the local Corvette Club for the installation.

 

[panamamike]

This isn't surprising because it was a "catastrophic" , very expensive failure. They won't do anything for you unless it become a class action type issue. They figure it's more cost effective. Sad, but it is what it is.

 

[Fisher99]

Maybe BMW is taking notice of the possible AC compressor failure in the early i3's. Took my 2015 in for my last 'free' REx oil change, and getting the front shock dust boots that split replaced before my warranty is up in a couple of months. After reading this thread, asked the Service advisor to check the AC compressor while it was in for the service. They took the car in for the oil change, ordered the rubber boots, and came back and said they also ordered a new AC compressor, and would install it under warranty. Took the car back in a week later when the parts were in, and got both the new rubber boots and the new AC compressor installed - for $0.

Wow! Just discovered this thread. Wish I'd have seen it a few weeks ago, as that is when my CPO warranty expired. I would definitely have taken it in for them to diagnose A/C "issues", even though I'm not currently experiencing any on my 2014 i3/REX... Sigh....

 

[trumpetdoug]

Would like to thank this forum for this invaluable information.

Wondering if this situation (expensive air-conditioning repair) only applies to pre 2017 models, or can it happen to any i3?
Yes you guessed it, I have just purchased a used 2017 with 20,000 miles on it. CPO car with about 18 months of factory warranty left.


Thanks again for all the great info!!!


Doug - out