How many have had the drive train malfunction error?

[troutguy52]

I forgot to add...on our first repair (dry out & test) they also replaced the HV cable. Second repair was replace generator electrical unit.

 

[troutguy52]

We had the drivetrain malfunction when the car was nearly new running on REx. It stayed on for another 200-300 miles and then came and went until the dealer changed a high voltage cable (!). It never stopped us driving, fortunately.
Now, 4000 miles later and after the original cable replacement, it's coming back (only on REx) from time to time. The dealers are waiting for delivery of "a high voltage cable" to - they hope - fix it permanently. My wife had a long trip recently and it came on again. She took the warning in her stride and simply carried on driving.
Is the US version of the i3 different to the European in the debilitation the drivetrain warning inflicts?

Not sure....did not ask my dealer. My warning said there was a drivetrain malfunction...continue driving but check in with service....

 

[tom10422]

I just had the message yesterday after a 120 mile trip. It stayed on for the rest of my trip and the return trip, was using REX (with the hold charge modification). Car drove fine and the warning stayed on for the return journey. Did not have time to take it to the dealer today so drove my ICE instead. However, when I got home and started it the warning was gone. Drove it for about 12 miles (to/from dinner) without issue. Should I rush to take it to the repair shop? However, they only have ICE loaners and I'd rather drive the I3. I can live with the moisture theory until BMW has an official fix.

 

[TomMoloughney]

I just had the message yesterday after a 120 mile trip. It stayed on for the rest of my trip and the return trip, was using REX (with the hold charge modification). Car drove fine and the warning stayed on for the return journey. Did not have time to take it to the dealer today so drove my ICE instead. However, when I got home and started it the warning was gone. Drove it for about 12 miles (to/from dinner) without issue. Should I rush to take it to the repair shop? However, they only have ICE loaners and I'd rather drive the I3. I can live with the moisture theory until BMW has an official fix.

If it clears once you've let it sit for a while then do' toothier bringing it in. The moisture dried out by itself there's nothing the dealer can do at that point. I get the warning whenever I drive using the REx for an extended period but it always just clears itself once it sits for a few hours. I brought it in the first time it happened and that's when they explained the moisture caused the fault reading to me. It's nothing but a little annoying, the car isn't in any danger of breaking down or anything.

 

[Stevei3]

Hi guys,

I've had three instances of this error altogether. Although BMW informed me it is software related, I tend to agree with Tom about the error being moisture+temperature related.
That said, the error was looked after (tweaked in software ?) and it hasn't appeared for a good while now, not even during our third i3-Alpine journey last week, this time to Austria (2132 km/1316 mi roundtrip).

Regards, Steven

 

[theo1000]

Chalk me up to the list. 10 day owner. 50 mile REX trip in cool / rainy weather. Everything went fine. Put it on charge and next morning there was an Drive train error message. Not sure what to do now.

 

[troutguy52]

I would suggest: a) have dealer check out the issue - they will probably want to run the car/REX mode for several hours to dry out the generator. They may also replace a high voltage cable. In my previous thread - the dealer followed initial service fix of replacing cable, drying out generator etc. In my case that did not work. What finally worked was generator replacement. I now have 4800 miles on my REX with no issues, driving in severe weather - heavy snow, rain, etc and long trips, up to 165 miles one way with battery/REX mode which meant running REX mode 2.5 hours at 55-60 mph no issues. Drive the car almost daily for work commute as well.

I tend to believe it is a moisture+temperature issue, was told that the generator had a moisture port to let moisture escape but it was not working well...that there was an engineering fix for it...now that could be a mechanical fix (like a larger vent) plus a software fix to adjust the sensitivity of detecting moisture...only a guess. Keep us posted, your BMW dealer should really take care of you.

 

[BlueWhiteFlagger]

Mine showed on second day. Took it to dealership and They kept it for a week. sneaked a peek at the dealer invoice to BMW and it came to over 2,600 dollars.

 

[SSi3]

Two day old 2015 i3 REx here... drove it home after delivery (2hr trip, 200+kms)... half on batt and half on REx... the CEL came on the next day. I hooked up my OBD reader and there were 2 stored generic codes (I don't have a BMW specific reader), one was 'ECM/PCM processor' and the other was 'crankshaft position sensor'. Cleared them both last night and they did not reappear this morning, we'll see how often it returns. Unfortunately my dealer is 2hrs away, so I won't be taking it in anytime soon and i't not concerned about it thanks to Tom's reassuring posts

 

[imolazhp]

2015 REx, purchased 4/30/15, coded an hour after purchase and driven home, 425'ish miles, about 300 with REx on. Have used REx a little bit the past few days but I have not gotten any errors from the car yet.

*knocks on wood*

 

[SugarMan1]

Add me to the list. I was not in rex mode - still had 15 miles or so left on electric. Suddenly there was a pop, then the car died. And I mean on a curvy, two-lane road. Not even time to pull off to the side, the car was locked in park. I tried shutting down and turning on multiple times to no avail - always got the Drivetrain malfunction error. Those of you who got that message and were still able to drive were lucky. I had to wait over 2 hours for a flatbed who then winched the car up with the back wheels locked. Apparently there is no simple way to get it into neutral. I asked the dealer how they got it off the flatbed and they said they used soapy water to help slide it off! Got a call today saying that they're going to replace the KLE unit because the pop I heard was the cable disconnecting. Why did the cable disconnect? My wife said it's because I probably didn't pay my cable bill (yuck). In any case they said it would be another few days before it arrived and then they'd need more days to install and test. Fine, I have a nice X1 in the meantime which I'm growing quite fond of. I can't help wondering if the new KLE unit will be a slower charging one. But my real fear is that if this sort of thing happens on the highway, and my car comes to as quick a stop as it did this last time, it could result in a catastrophic accident. Once this is all over will report to NHTSBA.

 

[PipPip]

Did my longest drive today (100 miles each way) and had to use Rex a lot on the way back. Add me to the list, I have the check drivetrain message sitting on my dash. I can continue using the car but need it checked "soon" apparently.

 

[alohart]

How many months have REx owners been reporting check engine lights? Yet they are still occurring and inconveniencing REx owners, many of whom might not know that these check engine lights are frequently due to non-critical problems. Yet BMW has done nothing proactive to fix these problems before they occur. In fact, do we even know whether BMW knows how to fix these problems?

This is our first BMW car. I drove a 1967 BMW R69S motorcycle for 17 years and never had to interact with BMW. I am not impressed by the customer service and technical capabilities of today's BMW AG.

 

[Jeffj]

I agree with Art on BMW responsiveness. My local dealer has been great in terms of customer service and I'm driving an i3 loaner that is virtually the same as my car, but its been in the shop since Labor Day with an ETA of "later this week". Apparently the EME failed and it's taken over 2 weeks to get a new EME delivered (it hadn't arrived as of Monday evening). The only bright point in this is that BMW decided that there was a possibility that the batteries had been compromised, so they've installed a complete new set of batteries (which took 10 days to arrive at dealership).

I've never had any other car take nearly 3 weeks for a mechanical repair. I think the longest I've ever had a car in the shop (not counting accidents and body work) is 2.5 days.

 

[Sparky]

Same thing happened to me Jeff. My parts arrived in one week. They may be changing the design of the EME and that's why there are so few parts. That's just a guess.

 

[NHi3REx]

Happened to me about two weeks ago on a 120mi return trip after significant Rex run time, but the message literally popped up as soon as I pulled into my driveway. And, the next time I drove the car it was gone and I made the same 240mi round trip (120mi each way of different days starting with a full charge) the following week without it coming back (fingers crossed).

 

[drhardee]

My EME failed, but my dealer managed to get another one over-nighted to Columbia, SC. It still took them the better part of a week to get it installed and reprogrammed. 'Twas a $6,420.36 warranty repair that I hope sticks! I posted about it recently in the Main forum.

 

[WoodlandHills]

My EME failed, but my dealer managed to get another one over-nighted to Columbia, SC. It still took them the better part of a week to get it installed and reprogrammed. 'Twas a $6,420.36 warranty repair that I hope sticks! I posted about it recently in the Main forum.

It is interesting that your dealer was able to acquire the part overnight while others have reported waits of over a week. That implies that the others could have done so as well had they wished to give the same level of customer service. Kudos to your dealer!

 

[jadnashuanh]

Parts are stocked based on historical needs and an assessment of predicted failure rates with most companies...having lots of stock sitting around for something that rarely or isn't expected to fail on more than x out of y units is not common. In the rare (hopefully) situation when failures occur faster than expected, or they get an unusual grouping, the part needed just hasn't been replenished yet, it can take awhile to get one.

 

[WoodlandHills]

That is all true, but it still does not explain why one dealer can get the parts overnight while others wait a week or more. If the part is available to one it is available to all, the others just choose not spend the money for express delivery. In other words, some dealers care about customer service and go the "extra mile" and others do not.