Charge port door actuator died - common issue?

[richs]

The charge part door in my 2017 i3 stopped opening reliably recently. The door would sometimes pop open weakly and sometimes not open at all. I took the car into the dealership today and they diagnosed it as a failed actuator. They replaced it for free under warranty and the door is popping open enthusiastically again.

This sounds like a happy ending, except the car has less than 24k miles on it and is barely three years old, so this might be a recurring failure. Is this a common problem? How hard is it to do a DIY replacement?

Pretty sure that this is the part that they replaced:

https://www.mybimmerparts.com/oem-parts/bmw-actuator-67117309680

 

[alohart]

Our 2014 has never opened its charge port door enthusiastically. The door pops open only enough to insert a finger to pull the door fully open. This behavior hasn't worsened in 6 years, so I guess it is what it is.

 

[jadnashuanh]

It's an electro-mechanical device...they wear out over time and use. Regardless of the miles, you may have opened it lots if you're taking mostly shorter trips and plugging in when getting home, versus someone who nearly empties their battery before they recharge...IOW, miles isn't a good measure.

That being said, it has not been reported here that it's something that regularly fails.

FWIW, on the two ICE vehicles on their fuel filler cover that I've owned, while they do use a deadbolt to lock it closed, the mechanism to open it is entirely mechanical. The i3 seems to combine those two things.

 

[richs]

It's an electro-mechanical device...they wear out over time and use. Regardless of the miles, you may have opened it lots if you're taking mostly shorter trips and plugging in when getting home, versus someone who nearly empties their battery before they recharge...IOW, miles isn't a good measure.

That being said, it has not been reported here that it's something that regularly fails.

Point taken on the car's mileage. I charge up 3-4 times a week, but I've only owned the car for 7 months. I have no idea how often the first owner popped that door open.

In any case, it's nice to know that this isn't a terribly common thing that "everyone" runs into as their i3 ages. I hope I never to have to worry about it again.