LOTS of issues w/ '14 REX

[dfdureiko]

bought a '14 REX 2.5 weeks ago, it was towed yesterday for it's 2nd visit to the BMW dealer. While driving back from south Florida where I bought it,,,,,car died after battery ran out and engine would not start. While waiting for a tow, kept turning the car off and on, finally the engine started and I made it home. brought car to my nearest dealer Reeves BMW Tampa, 35miles from home. they replaced voltage cable. Yesterday same thing happend on a rural state highway 12 miles from my house. BMW Roadside did not seem to know what they were doing....1st tow company would not tow the car, by the time the 2nd one got there the car was totally dead, and could not be moved out of park, had to put sliders under the rear wheels and drag it onto the flatbed. Here is what showed up on my iphone last nigh. I have about 10,000 miles left to the warranty and I must say I'm a little worried at this point.......can't seem to add the iPhone image so heres what it said
Has anyone else experienced such issues?
Thanks,
Dan

Drivetrain: Stop carefully
Brake system: drive moderatley
Brake system: Contin. driving possible
Battery discharged: Start engine (how do I do THAT!)
Increased steer. effort.: drive moderatley
Parking brake malfunction
Collision warning system inactive
Pedestrian warning malfunction

 

[MikeS]

It is possibly the 12v battery that has degraded/discharged as this throws up lots of spurious faults.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Is it possible that the car was caught in one of the floods and nobody told you?

 

[alohart]

In addition to a failing 12 V battery, the symptoms you describe might be due to the need to have the battery pack's charge level calculation calibrated by a special BMW procedure. This problem has occurred with other early REx's. The system thinks the battery pack's charge level is higher than it actually is, but the voltage of the battery pack suddenly drops indicating that the charge level is much lower than calculated, so the battery pack management system begins shutting off accessories and reducing propulsion power to preserve the remaining charge. But by this time, starting the REx engine is too late because by the time it is warmed up and producing significant power, the battery pack's charge level has dropped so low that everything is shut down.

Apparently the recalibration isn't implemented by a standard software update but by a procedure that requires the dealer to communicate with BMW in Germany so that the recalibration can be implemented remotely.

 

[dfdureiko]

this seems very likely considering the symptoms BUT, the car drove fine in the interim, rex turned on etc. That being said had not had to use the rex for over a week. The longer I drove it on electric, the more I worried about the rex starting....I realize they only sell a VERY few i3's in Tampa. I love the car I want it fixed, and am willing to help them accomplish that..
oh and, I asked the very young enthusiasic guys at the dealership about i3's.....they said they sell four times as many i8's.....it must be the market.....

 

[dfdureiko]

Thanks for all your help!
Dealer says 12V battery has to be replaced for 500.00, not under warranty because I "left the car or lights on". Already talked to BMW USA they are calling dealer.....yes the car was on for just over 1/2 hr on the side of the road, hazards were on for over two hours. When tow truck finally got there car was totally dead. Only had the car three weeks........from the sound of BMW USA,,,,I think they are going to help me, but might take a few days.

 

[TOEd]

Dealer replaced our faulty 12 volt battery under warranty. No symptoms experienced. Problem found during a regular inspection and oil change. So imho they should replace your battery under warranty without any question.

I watched mechanic replace our battery. 10 minute job. He removed contents of frunk. Then he removed two bolts that hold down plastic box that is the frunk. Next he removed the frunk. This allowed access to battery which he replaced per usual procedure. Easy peasy. So when I need a new battery Costco will get my $ and the old battery. Unless the dealer wants to replace it for free under warranty.

Best of luck.

 

[dfdureiko]

I called BMW USA this morning they were to contact the dealer. Dealer called me and said they were doing it as a goodwill gesture. That's all well and good he gets replaced but I think it was a warranty issue. As I never left For the car or lights on. Maybe the previous owner? Car was dead when second truck truck got there, WW2 emergency flashers.

 

[dfdureiko]

Sorry for my Siri

 

[alohart]

So when I need a new battery Costco will get my $ and the old battery.

I'm pretty certain that the i3 12 V battery is not a standard automotive battery size. I know that it's an absorbent glass mat (AGM) battery, not a standard flooded-cell lead-acid battery, so I would be very surprised if anyone other than a BMW dealer or maybe eventually a 3rd-party BMW parts supplier would have such a battery. An AGM battery charges at a lower voltage than a flooded-cell battery, so the i3's charging system might not maintain a flooded-cell battery well.

I don't want to pay the high BMW tax when I need to replace our 12 V battery after it is not longer under warranty, but I haven't found an alternative yet. I could do as I did with our Honda Insight which is to install an Odyssey PC680 AGM battery, but its 16 Ah capacity is less than the i3 battery's 20 Ah. This worked in our Insight even though its original battery was 27 Ah, but the PC680's capacity might be insufficient for our i3. The PC 680 is also not exactly the same size as the original i3 battery, but it could probably be fit without much trouble.

I have read that a new 12 V battery must be "registered" when installed in an i3:

"Vehicles with energy management systems (IBS, power module): Register battery replacement

The vehicle electrical system is informed about the vehicle battery characteristic data, such as type, size, age and current power capacity. Therefore, there will always be only one work scope provided that is permitted by the current status of information.

If the performance readiness drops below a defined minimum, a Check Control message will be generated to advise the driver that the battery must be replaced.

When installing a new vehicle battery, the battery must be registered and thus must also be registered with the vehicle electrical system.

Note:
Only this registration/logon will ensure that the corresponding Check Control message will go out again."

I don't know what this means in real life other than I might not be able to replace our 12 V battery myself. Seems like BMW has guaranteed work for its dealers' service departments.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Many of today's cars use computer logic to optimize battery management. I literally just replaced the battery in my GT today. I have a Schawaben (from ECS Tuning) that can reprogram and register the battery, along with lots of other functions. It's on sale now from http://www.ecstuning.com, or was, at 25% off. It's made for them by Foxwell (model 501?). I think the Bimmercode app can also handle the reprogramming, but I've only just today bought the code to activate that, so I haven't looked.

realoem.com can probably give you the characteristics of the i3's battery, and I'd be REALLY surprised if there wasn't an alternate out there that would fit and work. As it happens, in my search for a compatible battery for my GT, it turns out that BMW parts was the cheapest place to buy a suitable battery. Interstate makes one, but it was $20-90 more than the one directly from the BMW parts department at the local dealership! FWIW, the dealership charges $220 on my GT to install and reprogram the car for a new battery...you can buy the Scan/Test tool for lots less, and battery replacement isn't hard...so, I figure that the tool paid for itself on this one task.

The AGM battery in the i3 is more akin to a large motorcycle battery, but I don't think it is actually a unique size or capacity. It doesn't need to be large since there's no starter motor to try to crank over in the cold against the high compression ICE. And, if you can find one that is slightly different, the software allows some variation for change when reprogramming the computer. Note, it not only includes the capacity and type of battery, but also triggers the date it was installed so it can compensate for age over time...so, while a new battery (if it's the same type) would probably work without reprogramming, it would unlikely last as long without it.

 

[TOEd]

When they replaced our i3 12 volt battery I saw what appeared to be a typical agm motorcycle battery. I guess that a two cylinder 647 cc REx scooter engine could be easily started with such a battery. These batteries are sold at Wal-Mart and Costco.

Please see attached link to a typical battery that sells for as little as $60 Canadian. Motorcycle engine applications are listed at the end of the linked page.
https://www.canadianbatteries.com/specials.php

 

[spinball]

Finding the right battery won't be enough if you need a special BMW diagnostic tool to "register" it with the car's computer, as mentioned above.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Finding the right battery won't be enough if you need a special BMW diagnostic tool to "register" it with the car's computer, as mentioned above.

Coding a BMW for a new battery can be done by at least some aftermarket shops...for instance, while I didn't buy theirs for my ICE, Pep Boys does offer that service. If you're planning on keeping the car for awhile after warranty, the Foxwell 510 (also sold by ECS Tuning as a Schwaben) can do it. That goes on sale once in awhile. The Bimmercode app can do it, but it's not as straight forward, but doable.

 

[tobiassej]

My I3 REX from 09/2014 couldn't drive today.
Several functions didn't work.

First it said only electric power available with 2.5 % battery power (in real life almost fully charged) showing another 114 km available.

Then driveline failure with RED demand to stop.

Couldn't charge (the car was in our carport).

Is this a 12V battery failure or should I fear more?

 

[alohart]

My I3 REX from 09/2014 couldn't drive today.
Several functions didn't work.

Is this a 12V battery failure or should I fear more?

Multiple incorrect error messages can occur when the 12 V battery's voltage drops too low.

If the 12 V voltage is too low, the high-voltage system cannot turn on which prevents the battery pack from being charged. However, the charging circuit can charge the 12 V battery even when the high-voltage system cannot turn on. If the 12 V battery is able to take a charge (i.e., it is not short-circuited), you might be able to leave your charging cable connected for a while until the 12 V battery has a high enough voltage to turn on the high-voltage system.

If you have an external 12 V charger, you could try charging the 12 V battery following this procedure. If you just want to measure the voltage of the 12 V system, you could connect a voltmeter to the 12 V terminals under the cargo compartment floor as shown in the photo near the bottom of the page that I referenced above (no need to disconnect the high-voltage system just to measure the 12 V voltage).

If the 12 V voltage is above ~12.0 V, then the problem isn't due to a bad 12 V battery.

Good luck!

 

[tobiassej]

BMW decided it was a charging cable that needed to be exchanged (?).

I insisted that they would also check the 12V and afterwards they also exchanged the 12V battery. They concluded it discharged and needed exchange as-well....I could have the cable exchange for free and only pay for checking and the battery...

I really don't have another BMW I3 service available but start doubting their qualification since they also needed I3 forum help to exchange the Climate compressor in our second I3 (at first they exchanged the water pump).

Look forward to receive the bill and test the car within the next days (the drive back from service 100 km was no problem and the REX was tested as well).

Thanks

 

[i3Houston]

BMW decided it was a charging cable that needed to be exchanged (?).

I insisted that they would also check the 12V and afterwards they also exchanged the 12V battery. They concluded it discharged and needed exchange as-well....I could have the cable exchange for free and only pay for checking and the battery...

What was their charge for checking the battery?

 

[tobiassej]

Received the bill.

980$ (6300 Dkr.)

New battery 202$ the rest is identifying the error and replacing the battery (698$).

I've responded that the price is more than expected and difficult for me to understand. Let's se how it goes... I'll keep you updated.

It suppose using official mechanics is always more expensive. Is it me being sensitive?

 

[alohart]

980$ (6300 Dkr.)

New battery 202$ the rest is identifying the error and replacing the battery (698$).

What is your VAT percentage for parts and labor and the hourly labor rate charged by your BMW dealer? If your VAT is 25%, the battery price seems similar to what a U.S. BMW dealer would charge. I recall reading of some i3 owners paying a dealer ~$400 to have a battery replaced and registered with the computer module that controls 12 V battery charging. This is much more than I would have paid for our Honda

If I am able to buy a replacement battery from a source other than a BMW dealer, I could replace it myself. However, I don't have the BMW computer program and programming cable necessary to register the new battery, so I would try to find an independent BMW mechanic to perform this registration which shouldn't take more than 15 minutes of labor.