i3 HVAC Compressor Woes

[ZapPanda]

Well, my 2015 i3 giga with 45,000 miles on it has a failed AC Compressor. I just picked it up from the dealership, who basically said "Sorry", with no other options given. They showed me a video of the liquid they'd drained from the system, full of fine metal shavings. To add insult to injury, when I picked it up they had left the passenger window open on a rainy day.
The Service Advisor said that the week before I brought mine in, they'd had another in and quoted the repair at $13K. So, this seems to be a pretty common problem that BMW is washing their hands of. It's pretty frustrating that BMW went thru all this effort to create a low carbon footprint car that just gets bricked when the Compressor fails.
I have an appointment at an indy European shop next week to take a look, and they seemed like they could figure it out. But I'll believe it when I see it, as the last two indy shops I approached said similar until they realized the compressor would need to be replaced.
Has anyone found a suitable solution to this problem short of removing the battery and replacing all AC channels? If not, what are my options for selling as-is?

 

[weajd]

Pat's garage did a video discussing the BWM I8 and the AC compressor that is common between them. The part number for the AC compressor seemed to change through the years, hopefully improving it so it would not fail so easily. If they get low on oil/refrigerant, I can see how lack of oil would cause the compressor to fail. One would hope they had sensors to detect that condition.
Anyway, hopefully you can tell us how your situation went, if you replaced it.

 

[alohart]

Has anyone found a suitable solution to this problem short of removing the battery and replacing all AC channels?

I would be tempted to buy a used compressor that I would ask an independent mechanic to install with an inline filter that would trap metal fragments. If some battery pack cooling channels are clogged, some battery cells might overheat which should be detected before cell damage occurs with a reduction of maximum power occurring. If the front heat exchanger is clogged, the climate control system would not work well. You might get lucky with nothing being clogged with metal fragments being trapped in the filter which could be changed if it became clogged.

 

[weajd]

Metal fragments from engines can be caught by using a magnetic drain plug in the oil pan.
Those would be steal shards. Not sure what type of metal is coming from the AC compressor - aluminum or steel. If steel, a magnet around where the freon is fluidic could help.

 

[weajd]

IF (big if) there are pressure sensors somewhere in the system that are monitored by the computer, if those could be read out from the CAN bus and displayed to a user on a display screen, that would be useful to note and possibly determine low freon/oil and failure in advance. Kind of like low oil pressure in an engine indicating advanced failure and low oil.

 

[PVEVman]

I just got the same problem with my 60k mile,2015 I3rex. Metal shavings in the system, 13.5k repair bill. So the car is a loss. Hardly a good way to save the planet.

 

[TheAirman]

Seems to affect the pre-LCI cars more often. I wonder what the failure rate is among the post LCI cars?

 

[weajd]

Seems to affect the pre-LCI cars more often. I wonder what the failure rate is among the post LCI cars?

They have been updating the part numbers for that compressor through the years.
Not sure whether the facelift in 2018 has anything to do with that. There is only one that can be ordered new now for all years.
I am curious about Rex vs BEV and failures. The BEV uses the AC compressor as a heat pump so it may get used more often when in heat mode. On the other hand, the REX may cause extra heat in around the AC compressor.
With active cooling of the HV batteries, the AC system becomes very important. When I was younger owning cars from the 70s, it seemed I always had issues with the AC system. More recently, I had rocks from a truck I was following on the freeway hit the condenser on a road trip in a toyota highlander hybrid that caused the freon to leak out.
A rock guard in front of the condenser on a BMW i3 can be important, particularly when road tripping with it.

 

[SteveinParadise]

Anyone know how you can tell if your car has the filter on the compressor and if you can add it later? we have a 2016 60ah i3 Rex .

 

[Archmeister]

Guys,

I had this exact problem a few years back towards the end of Covid Summer 2022. BMW would not even quote me on back order for this part. The car is supposedly not drivable without this as it needs to keep battery cool.

My local guy had a connection and found the part in his network or mechanics and sourced it when BMW was unable/unwilling. About USD 2K for the part and labor. Probably cheaper for the part and more for the labor now .

They also flushed/filtered/refilled the refrigerant. They explained the old pump has failed because of filings of metal in the system. Another USD 300.

Car washed and handed back the keys in a day.

FYI—the compressor is actually made in Portugal by Hanon Systems (I’m guessing they bought the Visteon business). The old pump was branded “HVCC Visteon”. See photo for details on part number. Note old vs new in first photo.

 

[Hasij2]

I wonder if the compressor should be proactively changed. I have a 2014 with 65k, and the HVAC system makes a growling sound Sometimes, usually when it’s raining.

On a side note, the compressor makes the metal shavings. The metal shavings don’t just magically appear and ruin the compressor.

 

[Archmeister]

Good idea. The growling sound means you’re likely going to have to replace it soon.

 

[Simoni3]

I wonder if the compressor should be proactively changed. I have a 2014 with 65k, and the HVAC system makes a growling sound Sometimes, usually when it’s raining.

On a side note, the compressor makes the metal shavings. The metal shavings don’t just magically appear and ruin the compressor.

Defo, replaced mine 70k miles, noisy, replace the front radiator too, prob waste of money, but getting stone chips ?

Need the car for work, cheaper to do if it’s all appart

 

[alohart]

Need to install a wire mesh screen to block road debris from damaging the radiator.

 

[Simoni3]

From where is the mesh slid in, or does the front need to be disassembled?

 

[amalcolmm]

The compressor went bad on my '14 REX (72k miles) at the end of last year. It was still functional, but made a high-pitched whirring noise - not quite a howl, but more intrusive than the REX - when the AC kicked in, and had thrown out an error code from the main battery. The local exotic car shop I took it to - the i3 felt very downmarket surrounded by Lambos, Ferraris and Porsches! but they also handle BMWs - said there were no metal filings, although they changed out the filter/dryer as a matter of course. Total was $2600 for the compressor itself and ~$900 for labor and the filter. I seem to remember reading somewhere (here, probably) that the BEV doesn't have the same filter/dryer setup as the REX, which might make it more susceptible to shavings, but my memory often plays tricks on me these days so I may be (probably am) wrong.

 

[alohart]

From where is the mesh slid in, or does the front need to be disassembled?

https://www.mybmwi3.com/threads/climate-control-radiator-protector.5654/post-74099

 

[Simoni3]

great, tnx

 

[Pipino]

Looking for prevention here.
From another thread: Would it be useful to flush the AC at a certain age/milage in order to prevent an expensive break down? Any costs known?

 

[weajd]

Guys,

I had this exact problem a few years back towards the end of Covid Summer 2022. BMW would not even quote me on back order for this part. The car is supposedly not drivable without this as it needs to keep battery cool.

My local guy had a connection and found the part in his network or mechanics and sourced it when BMW was unable/unwilling. About USD 2K for the part and labor. Probably cheaper for the part and more for the labor now .

They also flushed/filtered/refilled the refrigerant. They explained the old pump has failed because of filings of metal in the system. Another USD 300.

Car washed and handed back the keys in a day.

FYI—the compressor is actually made in Portugal by Hanon Systems (I’m guessing they bought the Visteon business). The old pump was branded “HVCC Visteon”. See photo for details on part number. Note old vs new in first photo.

Thanks for the photos of the before and after AC compressors. They clearly have been redesigning it through the years.
Can you please tell us what year of BMW i3 and model REX or BEV for which the replacement occurred. Thank you.