How many have had the drive train malfunction error?

[eamdude]

After three months in service and a new battery pack I got the i3 (BEV) back. I asked about the cause of the breakdown. The service guy here in Stockholm said he didnt know and claimed that BMW Germany could not answer either. No excuses and no explanations were given to either the fault or the long service time.

After three days the "Drivetrain malfunction but you can still drive the car" notice is back.

I dont know if this car will work the full lease time (doubt it, another year to go) but one thing is sure. Never-ever BMW again, the support of the BMW i3 here in Sweden is non-existant.

Electric cars are so much simpler that startups can make it (Tesla) and cars is fast becoming software-based. If companies like Apple goes ahead with its plans I think oldtimers like BMW is smoked, I am prepared to pay and I have had it with a car industry that mostly reminds me of something out of a Charles Dickens novel.

My i3 has now been in service for almost 10 weeks. I had the drive-train warning with "you can continue driving" - and in the end left it at the dealers to have them check everything out. I got the car back after they upgraded some software but I didnt even get home, after only a few km's there was a "thunk" in the back of the car and it halted immediately with some nasty "drive train" error messages on the screen. After this moment the car was alive for about 17 minutes and then it was completely dead, no warning lights and I could not open trunk - not anything.

It was shipped back to the dealer and since then they've had it - BMW Assist here in Sweden gave me a slightly damaged Skoda as a loaner (I'm especially not that keen on not being able to close the inner-roof console that always hangs down, its sharp edges and something hitting the car from the side would not be fun).

They claim to have BMW Germany involved but they seem to replace a single part at a time, before ordering the next, so progress is really-really slow. There is also talk of some software bug.

The i3 is a very-very nice car as long as it works - but the lack of support makes it a bad deal here in Sweden.

 

[justanotherdrunk]

joined the drivetrain malfunction group today

can no longer say the car has been trouble free after 13 months/ 10k miles

dealer has it/ no loaners available



noticed the app info

:?:

 

[i3StormTrooper]

I think the first image is warning you at you have a Samsung

The app is due for some decent updating that's for sure.

Glad to know it reminds you on the phone it's broke. Since my fix in November I haven't had the issue again. Knock on eucalyptus wood

 

[WoodlandHills]

Ours comes and goes...... Given my confidence in BMW we are avoiding them as much as possible: until it actually stops running we'll keep it away from the "service dep't". I am using the word service in the agricultural sense, as in: "The bull serviced the cow......"

Thank god, it's a lease!

 

[justanotherdrunk]

now early the next day i can see using the phone app that the car has been worked on by the dealer

the app error message is gone and the charge % is increasing

and its been driven 0.2 miles since last charge :lol:

kinda cool

im easily amused

 

[i3StormTrooper]

Agree I've done that before when it went in the shop, one thing that would be nice though is the app would alert you if the car is being moved, that way you can track their movements … ha ha ha ha

 

[salty]

Agree I've done that before when it went in the shop, one thing that would be nice though is the app would alert you if the car is being moved, that way you can track their movements … ha ha ha ha

You could install a tracker in the car. https://www.bk-gts.com/

 

[jadnashuanh]

I do not know how often it gets updated, but accessing the map page on the app has shown me where my car was during service. I've been able to tell when it was in the service bay verses parked outside fairly easily.

 

[justanotherdrunk]

car returned from dealer the next day and cleaner than they received it


dealer performed:

campaign 221001 >

replace engine mount screw program and code control unit


campaign 725901 >

replace front passenger airbag


DCFC switch contactor stuck >

reset fault code memory and retest twice with no problem found

apparently the car didnt like the chargepoint corporate office new dc fast charger and nearly fried the contactor switch

the dealer is not really sure




lessons learned and note to self >

store personal profile car settings on usb stick before next software upgrade - everything gets set to default

radio presets
door lock options
lighting options
max speed warning
eco pro+ options
gps enable
etc


:?

 

[Lecram]

I had a drive train malfunction last weekend. After a stop before a traffic light (the SOC was 5%, the rex was on), the rex turned off at standstill, which is normal. When the light went green, I accelerated and the rex stayed off, which is not normal. A warning appeared on my dash that there was a drive train error. At the next traffic light, I turned off the car and on again, and the rex did his job as normal until today.

Today, the i3 was checked by the i-agent. The problem is the generator of the rex. This need to be replaced.
Costs: 3,100 euros ($3,400)!! Luckily, I have an extended warranty, but it is a lot of money. The car is 2.5 yr old, 60,000 km (37,500 mls) and I have used the rex for less than 10,000 kms (6,000 mls).
There are two other people I know who have the same problem.
Any other Rex owner who had the generator replaced?

 

[Thebollox]

came on twice in a day after 3 days in my new 94rex.
Took it straight to my local dealer and the warning sign did not appear then or for the next 3 weeks.
Im up to 1000 miles of very entertaining driving.
Not sure the New York winter will prove much fun.

 

[GI3L]

I had a drive train malfunction last weekend. After a stop before a traffic light (the SOC was 5%, the rex was on), the rex turned off at standstill, which is normal. When the light went green, I accelerated and the rex stayed off, which is not normal. A warning appeared on my dash that there was a drive train error. At the next traffic light, I turned off the car and on again, and the rex did his job as normal until today.

Today, the i3 was checked by the i-agent. The problem is the generator of the rex. This need to be replaced.
Costs: 3,100 euros ($3,400)!! Luckily, I have an extended warranty, but it is a lot of money. The car is 2.5 yr old, 60,000 km (37,500 mls) and I have used the rex for less than 10,000 kms (6,000 mls).
There are two other people I know who have the same problem.
Any other Rex owner who had the generator replaced?

this is a manafacture problem
with condensation and bad design! even out of warranty this would be a warranty case IMO.

is this moisture and rex shutdown a 2014 i3 problem or is this also present in the 2015 and up models?

 

[asokadas]

i had this problem two months after buying suddenly i could not start drive train issue comes after several attempts i could engage gears. after a kilometer or so suddenly the error massage came on and engine stopped completely ( In the middle of heave traffic) 24 hotline did not answer.after several attempts of switching off and switching on I could manage to get to the service center. now it is being looked at and they seem to think i had not charged it every day to maximum ( i was charging every other-day you see) I was not told that one should charge everyday and you must charge it full every-time i am thoroughly disgusted with the assistance although i liked the car at least the first 2000 km
asoka

 

[alohart]

now it is being looked at and they seem to think i had not charged it every day to maximum ( i was charging every other-day you see) I was not told that one should charge everyday and you must charge it full every-time

I rarely charge to full and because I drive so little, I sometimes don't charge at all for more than a week. Yet I have never had a drive train error.

Apparently, charging to full does allow the charge levels of all the battery pack's cells to equalize, but this cell balancing shouldn't have to occur daily or even weekly, especially when the battery cells are so new.

So it's difficult for me to understand the advice that you received.

 

[jadnashuanh]

IMHO, it doesn't hurt to charge the thing daily, or leave it on the EVSE. But, the only time you could hurt the battery pack is if it was low, cold out, and you didn't recharge it. In normal, temperate weather, you do not need to charge it daily. I just find it handy to always have it full when I leave.

Assuming the information is correct in the i3 electronic book, available for free, recharging 10x from 90% puts the same wear on the battery pack as recharging it once from 0%. The i3 is not your typical cellphone battery type or charging circuit. And, unlike most devices, the car literally completely disconnects the acv inputs once it's happy. It may turn it back on a few times to balance the cells, but once fully charged and happy, it may not turn the EVSE back on for a week or more to top off. There's some hysteresis in the system of, I think, at least a couple percentage points, and the standby losses are quite small, assuming everything is working properly.

 

[MoreliaViridis]

My engine light came on and the drivetrain malfunction, still ok to drive today, June 28, 2017. It's a 2015 with 22,000 miles. I've had the car for about a month, used, certified from the BMW dealer. It was a trade in purchased originally from the same dealer I bought it from.

I proceeded to look on line. After a couple hours of reading about the same warning condition from other owners across the planet which apparently have attempted solutions ranging from doing nothing to a month at the dealer and 30,000 dollars in parts swapped out to produce the similar result of the warning going away for some amount of time to typically coming back on..... I honestly don't believe the real solution is known.

I drove to work where it sat for the 2 hours while I read on line about the condition. I then turned the car on, but didn't drive. It now only showed the engine light on and the drivetrain warning gone all systems OK. I proceeded to call the BMW dealer to inquire to see if they've discovered a given solution. The response was it could be many things, then a big list of things which I've read about already in which the cars leave with the warning off then go back on. After the list of things mentioned by the service person, he said they leave with the waring off. I figured OK, that seems very much like the world wide attempts on the same problem with results to then later have the drivetrain warning come back on at some point again. I didn't say that to them, but politely said I'll wait for now. I went out to my car again and decided to drive the car. After I moved the car, shut it off then back on again the engine light was off and all warnings were gone.

It's not humid here with our dew point temperature being around 35F at the time of malfunction, though the car would have experienced a wide range in temperature through a 24 hour period, night time low in the garage about 90F after experiencing street surface temperatures easily over 140F. That relative humidity range would have been between about 3% and 14%.

 

[Milam]

I am confused.

Why did you not want to take your car in for service/repair?

 

[Milam]

I have noticed something.

People who use only lower case usernames, tend to be very critical of the i3.
Is there a connection between their usernames and attitudes?

 

[Milam]

Simple fix for 80% of the problems.
Leave your cars on the chargers, when not being used.
Lithium Batteries are much more robust than NiCads.

 

[MoreliaViridis]

I am confused.

Why did you not want to take your car in for service/repair?

Because at the point of service being performed you've included new variables and you're putting faith in an individual which you don't know in being able to properly diagnose and repair while inviting assorted other problems due to disassemblies and errors. You're rolling the dice. Just read the 10 pages of this thread. Some of the people ended up with 10s of thousands of dollars of parts on their cars while loosing months of use with the same result as others which did nothing. The ideas of what's been performed at service over the planet are so vast and invasive I just wouldn't want that process to be initiated on my car. You'll potentially end up with a car in for service all the time.

Not to complain, but as an example I bought a used "certified" i3. They put on new tires. Good. One tire had 47 lbs of air, another 32 lbs of air another 29 lbs of air and another 36. I corrected the air to factory specs.

My BMW dealer is super awesome, friendly and I love the car, but I'm just not going to need help on one little error message that went away in a couple hours and hasn't returned. The car itself has figured out nothing is wrong and proceeded to operate as normal. I'll observe and attempt to duplicate the conditions which occurred before the error message.

No drivetrain warning again yet.