History of motor mount bolt?

[bwilson4web]

Hi,

This posting has reminded me to ask:

. . . I didn't know that a weak bolt would need to be replaced with a stronger version on the poorly-engineered motor mount system. I now know that even the stronger bolt can break, and that newer i3's have an improved motor mount system. I feel that BMW should have retrofitted all i3's with the defective motor mount system, but BMW has chosen not to do so. Should our motor mount break after our warranty expires, the repair cost would likely be so high that we would get rid of our i3 if a more reliable alternative that meets our needs is available.
. . .

When I got our 2014 BMW i3-REx, it spent about a week in June 2016 getting all of the earlier 'campaigns' done including what I understood was a software patch to mitigate bolt failure. Was there an earlier campaign that actually replaced the motor mount bolt hardware?

In Dec 2016 we have a motor mount bolt failure that took two weeks to repair with a substantially larger bolt and mount hardware. In particular the fixtures on each side of the motor/engine assembly, a structural plastic and aluminum part, were replaced with all aluminum parts. The new bolt is about 50% larger in diameter.

I'm curious if the original motor mount bolt has ever been replaced?

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

 

[I33t]

Hi Bob,

Is the replaced bolt visible? If so, could you post a photo of it and the dimensions?

Our i3 has been serviced by the local BMW dealer and has had several updates but no specific details given.

 

[alohart]

Is the replaced bolt visible? If so, could you post a photo of it and the dimensions?

Bob posted many photos in this thread.

Realoem has diagrams and parts lists that might include bolt sizes, but I think there are errors on discontinued dates that make it difficult to determine what parts were original and which were later or current versions.

 

[Srivenkat]

Hi,

Does anyone know if the "final fix" for this issue was effected at the factory with the 2015 or 2016 models?

TIA.