How many have had the drive train malfunction error?

[i3PL]

Are the BEV models more reliable then? Perhaps I need to just lose the training wheels and go full BEV.

Also, it is possible to find 2014 i3s with the BMW CPO warranty, but it appears that only tacks on 1 year to the warranty, and there seems to be a lot of exclusions. Would it even cover issues with the REX? Or "drivetrain issues"?

I think I read every forum and article about "drive train" problem with BMW i3 - this problem occurs in both versions REX and BEV.
I bought mine 2014 i3 with BMW CPO warranty and they gave me 2 year extra.

So far I use this warranty to:
- fix the problem with opening the tank cover
- replace the AC expansion valve ~$480
- replace damper cover
- replace steering rods
- replace engine mounts
- fix the drive train problem ~$5k

All of this repair was made from CPO warranty.
So far I paid only for new brake pads with sensors ~$310

In the BMW intranet my warranty is described as "Repair Inclusive - 4 years / 200,000 km" so probably first owner bought this option and they was able to transfer this option to me as a new owner.

 

[Milam]

I just took my 2017 REX in for an idiot light.

My guess, the REX unit is low on oil.
I could have fixed that, with the help of another member.
But
The unit is less than three months old.
I did not want to take any chances.
Plus, they loaned me a 320i.
Will wash the car.
And update the software.

Will let you know the outcome.

 

[Milam]

My error code turned out to be a Fuel Surge Valve.

Everything is fixed.
Everything is perfect again.

Thank you

/s/ Tom Milam

 

[vbodsworth]

I have had the drivetrain error message about 6 times in total. If it happens when the REX is on. the REX is shut off. But sometimes it happens when the REX is not on, but then it is not possible to turn the REX on.
But if you stop and turn the car off, so far the error has always cleared.
I did take it in to a BMW dealer when a recall for another issue was requested, and they said the had to change a wiring loom.
But it has happened subsequently.
I am concerned that one day it will not clear and I will be stranded without sufficient power and no REX, so I am going to take it back to BMW again. I am coming up for my 3 year warrantee finish in about 6 months and at the evry least I would like to get some guarantee that they will extend this if I report the fault.

 

[Sparky]

I've had one catastrophic failure and a couple that have cleared. I've made the decision, with the aid of my service advisor last week, to not keep the car past the warranty. Put a deposit down on a Tesla Model 3, due late next year. I'll compare the Tesla to the Bolt and trade in the i3. When it was in for service last week, I took a look at the used prices on the lot. Cars like mine were selling for $15-20k. Can you imagine what their trade in values were!

 

[Benagami]

2014 i3 REx Electronaut. I bought it used four months ago. Got drive train error after an 88 mile ride in 22 degree F weather after using the range extender. The error did not occur right away. I charged my car, and when it was done charging I moved it. The moment I hit the start button I got the drive train error. Many of these errors are being reported on Facebook's i3 page. My car goes out of warranty in four months. I'd sell the car but in Massachusetts the lemon law is such that I have to divulge these problems, so I guess I'm screwed. How can BMW do this to people?!

 

[jadnashuanh]

Has the car had all of the service campaigns applied to it? I don't have a REx. From some of the reading, it appears that the issue may be moisture. A car that sat on the lot may be more prone to it than one that is driven regularly AND has the REx activated which generates some heat, and can dry things out. I haven't heard much feedback in awhile from people on this issue, so my first action would be to discuss it with the dealership and get this addressed. In general, if a car is exhibiting a specific problem before the warranty expires, the manufacturer is obligated to fix it. Some have found this is a one-time issue, some have it happen more often. The computer stores the fault codes, and a generic OBD-II reader doesn't read the BMW specific codes...you need one designed with those built in which, obviously, the dealership has. FWIW, you can buy one yourself and in the scheme of things, it isn't a huge cost (around $150-200, depending on where you buy it). Foxwell makes one, ECS Tuning sells that as a house brand as Schwaben.

 

[Milam]

Thankfully, none.


2017 i3 REX

 

[jlangham]

Well, you can now add me to this list! Mine is a BEV, so not exclusive to the REX. I have found some interesting things since getting this error many times in the past week or so.

First time it happened, I drove in the rain. When I got home, still had about 55% battery so didn't feel like charging. Didn't drive the next day and left it off the charger. Got in the car the next day, had the Drivetrain error - along with the Parking brake error, and a bunch of others. Car wouldn't respond to anything I did. Hooked up the OUC (110v Occasional Use Charger) and the car wouldn't charge. BMW Connected app showed car in "Error" state where it normally said "Charging." Left the charge cable on, got on here and checked this forum. Saw that some had their car dragged to the dealer with mixed to terrible results. Some said that it had to do with the 12v battery, so went out, clicked the remote LOCK - it locked! Hit UNLOCK - and it unlocked and started charging! The BMW Connected app switched from Error to Charging. Finished charging and car ran okay.

Next time, again while car was parked in garage with some charge left, but this time, I didn't leave it overnight and still got the error. Again, plugged in the OUC and car wouldn't charge. Clicked LOCK/UNLOCK on the remote and the car started charging!

Happened again this morning. At first, it didn't work immediately. Left the charger connected for about an hour and tried the LOCK/UNLOCK and the car started charging again!

I'm going to take this info to the dealer and see what they think. Maybe this will help others with this error. EXCEPT for you guys who unfortunately had this happen while driving!

 

[alohart]

Some said that it had to do with the 12v battery, so went out, clicked the remote LOCK - it locked! Hit UNLOCK - and it unlocked and started charging!

Did you check the 12 V battery?

The symptoms could be explained by a weak 12 V battery. Whenever an i3 is being actively charged (as opposed to just plugging in an EVSE with a fully-charged battery pack), the 12 V battery is being charged also. So a while after each charging session, your 12 V battery's voltage is high enough for the car to function correctly. However, after sitting for a while, the 12 V battery discharges to the point where errors are set and thinks don't work correctly.

Of course, the problem could be something totally different…

 

[jlangham]

Some said that it had to do with the 12v battery, so went out, clicked the remote LOCK - it locked! Hit UNLOCK - and it unlocked and started charging!

Did you check the 12 V battery?

The symptoms could be explained by a weak 12 V battery. Whenever an i3 is being actively charged (as opposed to just plugging in an EVSE with a fully-charged battery pack), the 12 V battery is being charged also. So a while after each charging session, your 12 V battery's voltage is high enough for the car to function correctly. However, after sitting for a while, the 12 V battery discharges to the point where errors are set and thinks don't work correctly.

Of course, the problem could be something totally different…

Art, I haven't put a meter on the battery yet, but the last one that happened was right after being plugged in overnight on the charger. I know I'm not supposed to trust my display, but it is showing my 12v battery was fully charged when it happened last.

I'll ask the dealer if they put in a new battery since this is a CPO. If not, I'll see if I can get them to put one in based on this issue.

 

[alohart]

Art, I haven't put a meter on the battery yet, but the last one that happened was right after being plugged in overnight on the charger.

Testing the voltage of the i3's 12 V battery isn't as easy as with many ICE vehicles because unlocking or opening the doors, rear hatch, frunk, etc., activates the high-voltage system. The power consumed by the various controllers that boot during the activation process will drop the 12 V system voltage significantly. When the voltage drops below a certain limit (12.0 V??), the DC-DC converter will begin charging the 12 V battery which raises the 12 V system voltage to ~14.3 V.

To be able to measure the 12 V battery resting voltage reliably, I had to connect voltmeter leads to the 12 V terminals under the rear cargo compartment floor that BMW recommends using for charging the 12 V battery. To avoid the need to open the rear hatch to read the voltmeter, I ran the leads up through the underside of the car to the 12 V terminals.

Also, a weak 12 V battery could have a normal resting voltage, but the voltage would drop precipitously under load. So load testing is a better way to test a 12 V battery.

I know I'm not supposed to trust my display, but it is showing my 12v battery was fully charged when it happened last.

I'm confused by how you are determining the charge level of your 12 V battery. There is nothing on an i3 display the indicates the charge level of its 12 V battery.

I'll ask the dealer if they put in a new battery since this is a CPO. If not, I'll see if I can get them to put one in based on this issue.

A BMW dealer can test the 12 V battery. If it doesn't pass their test, they should replace it under warranty. However, if it passes their test, they would likely not replace it.

I continually monitor the voltage of the 12 V system using a 12 V voltmeter plugged into the auxiliary power port below the climate control system controls. I have never owned a car whose 12 V system voltage behaves like that of our i3, so I thought that our 12 V battery must be failing. Our BMW dealer tested it, determined that is was normal, and explained why the 12 V system behaves as it does. So after 4.5 years, our 2014 BEV still has the original 12 V battery.

 

[jlangham]

Sorry, I assumed the little battery pictured next to the level indicator was the status of the 12v battery - I was incorrect.

I will have the dealer check my car out this week. For now, I'm plugging it in every day - even if it doesn't need much of a charge.

 

[TheMK]

My i3, a 2014.7 REx still has the original 12V battery, and seems to be doing fine. I think there are two different versions of the 12V battery. Mine is the 20Ah AGM battery. https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/i01-i3-rex-hat/repair-manuals/61-general-vehicle-electrical-system/61-20-battery/1LiMpr2r. According to this page the battery should be good until (at least) 70,000KM. (43,495mi). Now, that doesn't account for age of the battery, but it suggests that it should have a reasonable service life.



As to this thread's original question, I've experienced the drive train malfunction error. If you have the REx model like I do, it has a standard check engine light for REx engine related things, if this light comes on it also seems to trigger the "Drive train error".

 

[jlangham]

My i3, a 2014.7 REx still has the original 12V battery, and seems to be doing fine. I think there are two different versions of the 12V battery. Mine is the 20Ah AGM battery. https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/i01-i3-rex-hat/repair-manuals/61-general-vehicle-electrical-system/61-20-battery/1LiMpr2r. According to this page the battery should be good until (at least) 70,000KM. (43,495mi). Now, that doesn't account for age of the battery, but it suggests that it should have a reasonable service life.



As to this thread's original question, I've experienced the drive train malfunction error. If you have the REx model like I do, it has a standard check engine light for REx engine related things, if this light comes on it also seems to trigger the "Drive train error".

As I said, mine is a BEV so it's not just a REX issue. Thanks for the battery info. I'll be in touch with my dealer to see what they will do about all this.

 

[alohart]

I think there are two different versions of the 12V battery. Mine is the 20Ah AGM battery.

I believe that all North American i3's were delivered with a 20 Ah AGM battery. The 40 Ah flooded-cell "warranty replacement" battery listed in RealOEM is physically too large to fit in the i3's battery box according to a forum member who tried.

 

[BLecure]

I am a two time victim of the Drive Train malfunction error code. I have a 2014 BEV with less than 20K miles and 10 weeks off of warranty. Dealership diagnosed a bad EME module along with a bad safety box, etc. at a cost of over $9000 (after a ton of negotiating off of the original $12,000 bill). Was given a 2 year warranty on the repair. Less than 400 miles later, the same thing happened, the error code and the complete shutdown of the car. In the post repair check after the initial repair, the E-Transmission seized up which also damaged the drive axle, wheel hub and engine mount on left side. Since I had not received the car, the Dealership agreed to fix the E-Transmission at their cost (I believe the technician screwed up the repair and caused the second damage). After driving the car for 400 miles, the same error code and total shutdown happened. Now the dealership is telling me that BMW engineering has determined that the battery cells and harness needs to be replaced for another $5000!! I don’t see the connection between the battery cells and the drivetrain malfunction code. I am currently in negotiations on the second repair but the dealership is trying to rip me off once again.

Bottom line...........Stay far away from this car.......if you must or do own one.....DO NOT OWN AN i3 THAT IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. The costs of repair are astronomical and the car is worthless without the repair since it will not operate.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, but if the Dealership told me their "fix" on a 2014 car with a market-value of $15K was going to cost over $9K to repair, it would be in my garage getting dismantled and the usable parts sold piece-by piece.

Had a friend do that with a SAAB. Value was about $12K used, and the repair quote was over $7K. Junking it and piecing it out, he made over $14K,

 

[TheMK]

That's a big problem with the i3. It's low volume, and far too new to have tons of old, used parts in circulation, old enough now that it's depreciated a bit- though the value seems to have hit a floor of around $15,000. What this means, is it still costs like a $50,000 car to fix, even though its not. That being said, I have plenty of confidence in this car, so i don't loose sleep over what potential repair costs might be.

 

[PBNB]

Bottom line...........Stay far away from this car.......if you must or do own one.....DO NOT OWN AN i3 THAT IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. The costs of repair are astronomical and the car is worthless without the repair since it will not operate.

Sorry to hear about your series of events. I know that the right thing to do would be for BMW to come to the table and help you out. There are so many cars with similar drivetrain issues that they can't ignore this and expect individuals to cover these huge costs.

Perhaps the drivetrain errors need to be consolidated and brought to BMW's attention with the assistance of a lawyer? We only hear about the problems that get posted on the forums but I am sure there are many more and I am not too sure how capture those to help light the fire.

My i3 has only 22k Kms on it and so far has been trouble free after 6 months of ownership and I did extend our warranty so we have that to fall back on. I think most CPO buyers didn't extend their warranties and will be heading into this situation if the drivetrain issues happen to them.
Ours was not a CPO as we bought it from a Honda dealership who imported it from California. I am concerned that we are all Beta testers for BMW's next line of electric cars!