My Rex currently under Lemon Law review by BMW NA

[RJBarry]

For those on the Facebook i3 page, this is repeat information as I have been giving a blow by blow color commentary throughout. However, that is not a publicly searchable site, and I feel like my experience is worth others having the opportunity to review. I also assume that people might be interested in my overall experience with the car, as well as the process of the lemon law review, so I thought I might mini-blog it here.

My car is currently under Lemon Law review by BMW NA. Here are some of the facts regarding the current situation, and I'll add more detail as the process unfolds.

History of Problems
Without going into significant detail, issues experienced so far include the 12V low voltage battery, repeated CELs, the red airbag light coming on after charging at 'Max', and, most insidious of all, an intermittent 'Charging Error'. In attempts to remedy this laundry list of problems, and in addition to multiple software updates, the following parts have been replaced: low voltage battery, EME, exhaust sensor, and the KLE. In retrospect, I think I was actually pretty lucky that I was able to get all these parts, but the major delays in the process were waiting for the parts which seem in low supply and high demand.

Lemon Law Review Process
My car is about to go back into the shop tomorrow as the charging errors and the red airbag light error continued over the weekend. This will be the 4th trip to the shop with charging related issues. Arguably the problems may have differed slightly throughout, which means this metric isn't a slam dunk for a lemon law buyback/trade. However, it has already been in the shop for a cumulative of 27 days, which makes tomorrow 28. Each visit has been > 7 days, so my assumption is that this visit will take me over the cumulative 30 days in the shop mark, which is a definitive lemon law milestone.

The dealership took a little initiative and last week (when it was still in the shop for visit #3) and filed for a lemon law review with BMW NA. Given the continued errors this weekend, their action was appropriate if slightly jumping the gun. I was aware that they filed for this only after receiving an email from BMW NA which said they were reviewing the maintenance records and I would have a decision in 7-10 days. With the email there was contact information for a BMW NA customer service representative assigned to the case. She has been responsive and I have sent her emails of "color commentary" surrounding the sale and servicing to supplement the maintenance records. Not sure if the color commentary will aid the process at all, but I was assuming it couldn't hurt.

My Current Mindset
I have a lot invested in the i3 beyond just the car itself. Without getting a lawyer, I'm pretty sure they would not reimburse me for non-BMW accessories such as the WeatherTech floor mats that I have purchased, nor for the EVSE installation (this is the only electric car I would consider). So a this point, I am pushing for a replacement in kind and I'll roll the dice that my experience will be better with a second i3 REX.

Edit: Said they "would" reimburse when I meant they "would not"

 

[Chrisn]

I'm sure they'll offer to give you your money back. A swap is often logistically harder for them, but you of course can simply buy another car.

 

[M2140]

I'm in the same boat. My car was declared a lemon Monday of this week.

BMW NA does not cover anything that was not part of the purchase contract of the car. So i will take a loss on the tint, floor mats, and charging station. If you had all the accessories and charging station on the contract you could get your money back. If purchased afterwards BMW NA will tell you , not covered.

I've had all the following issues:
- CEL
- Slow Charging (4.5 to 6 hrs)
- Reduced Charging errors
- DC Fast Charging fails all the time
- Low Cost Charging timers not functional
- intermittent Weak regenerative braking
- Constantly loosing communication with I Remote app

My car has been in the shop now for 3.5 weeks on this last service visit. ETA before it can get out is 4.5 weeks if everything gets fixed. Not holding my breath since it's been at the dealer 2 times now and a combined total of 4 weeks already. Very little progress has been made on fixing the any of the issues and even though it's had 2 software updates, the CEL still comes on after every single Rex use.

I requested the car be declared a lemon on week 2 if this last visit. BMW NA did a review and since the car was not at the dealer but in a BMW repair facility it was an easy approval. The dealer could not fix my car so they had to move it over to a repair facility in Oxnard to fix DC Quick Charging.

BMW NA offered a full buy back including interest and down payment. It was fair but there were no options for a new i3 or a swap into another BMW car.

The decision was easy for us. I'm an early adopter and have had issues before. But when you consider my car is still in the shop, BMW continues to lie and hide the issues with the KLE, the fact that there is no fix yet for the KLE yet, and lack of communication from BMW; we are going to bail on the car and save up for something else.

 

[Cvkthome]

I have had mine for about seven weeks now and it has 3,000 miles on it. It has exhibited many of the same issues you both have described and is in the shop for a second time now.

This time it sounds like the 12v battery along with the ever present drive-train gremlins which have never gone away. It is fully charged but dead and won't wake up for anything. Right before it died it was throwing off numerous errors I had never seen before.

I still love the car and the local BMW Center has been awesome but I drive a lot of longer distance trips with it and I am nervous about getting stranded.

Right now there is no definite time table for getting it back. They have ordered the battery and then will see what is going on. I am hopeful they can figure it out.

Please keep us posted on what you do.

 

[M2140]

I put 4200 miles on mine in 6 weeks. the miles are a combination of my wife's regular commute and we take it out on the weekends for long trips, usually to the max range (around 85-90 miles) to like a museum or Disney, charge and then go.

We tried to explore the full range of the car and use the DC quick charge and got stranded twice. Quick Charge did not work and Level 2 charging went down to 5-6 hrs.

I cannot trust the car anymore and the slow charging will not be fixed with a replacement KLE until the new redesigned KLE hits dealers "late 2014".

I did not get any pushback from BMW NA on the request for Lemon status mainly because they still don't know what is wrong and they have not fixed a single issue on the car yet. Seems odd to me considering the dealer tells me that they flew someone in from Germany to work on my car at the BMW repair facility in Oxnard.

 

[RJBarry]

Double post

 

[RJBarry]

I heard from BMW NA today, right on schedule: 9 days after they quoted me 7-10 days for a response.

They have decided that CA lemon laws apply and are offering to buy back my i3 REX.

So, while the experience with the car and the maintenance was extremely painful, the lemon law process was rather straightforward. If I decide to get another i3, they are offering a $1000 customer loyalty credit. I need a little soul searching before I talk to the dealership about my decision. I would love a working i3 REX. Not sure what the odds are on getting two duds in a row. I am still leaning toward giving it another chance.

Regarding the floor mats and EVSE expenses, there is a clause where I can make a claim for "collateral expenses". If I decide not to get another i3, then I will make an attempt to claim those expenses and see what happens.

 

[WoodlandHills]

I think the odds for another dud are pretty slim as long as you don't include the weak 1st generation KLE in the calculation. That's a fleetwide issue and is serious enough to be priority number 1 at BMW iHeadquarters which means that a fix is not long in coming. It is a big deal and it will make the car unusable for some peoples mission profile, but it is really only a temporary glitch, typical of the rollout of such advanced tech. It the price one pays to be an early adopter....... Have you seen the i3 Production videos on YouTube? I look at those and I am amazed that the robotic factory works at all, much less the end product! I can't get over the fact that one can purchase such an object as an i3 for the price they are asking. The mind boggles!

 

[M2140]

My offer did not come with a collateral expenses clause. But in reading around the web, and on the state website as well, it's very difficult to get reimbursement for components added to the car not included in the original purchase contract. So things such as the floor mats, tint, charging station are not covered unless they were bundles in the original deal.

 

[Chrisn]

Get a new one. There's nothing in the price range that is more fun or more unique. I did a Lemon Law buy-back on a Nissan GTR when it first came out and I got a bad copy. Nissan really hassled me about the repurchase, which upset me-- so I got grumpy and decided to not get another one. I regret it.

Net-net, they paid you $1000 to drive a buggy beta car (for free) for a while. Congratulations. Now buy a less buggy one and enjoy it.

 

[RJBarry]

Thanks for the perspective Chrisn.

 

[M2140]

I heard from BMW NA today, right on schedule: 9 days after they quoted me 7-10 days for a response.

They have decided that CA lemon laws apply and are offering to buy back my i3 REX.

So, while the experience with the car and the maintenance was extremely painful, the lemon law process was rather straightforward. If I decide to get another i3, they are offering a $1000 customer loyalty credit. I need a little soul searching before I talk to the dealership about my decision. I would love a working i3 REX. Not sure what the odds are on getting two duds in a row. I am still leaning toward giving it another chance.

Regarding the floor mats and EVSE expenses, there is a clause where I can make a claim for "collateral expenses". If I decide not to get another i3, then I will make an attempt to claim those expenses and see what happens.

Were you able to get confirmation if they were going to refund you the cost of the EVSE or the floor mats?

 

[RJBarry]

Were you able to get confirmation if they were going to refund you the cost of the EVSE or the floor mats?

I have decided to go for one more try of the i3 REX. So the question didn't really come up.

Wish me luck :shock: !

 

[i3SiliconValley]

For those dealing with these massive failures, when did you take delivery of your i3? I'm wondering if there is a production run that was more faulty then others. And yes, I know that these vehicles are being produced full time, but typically assembly lines will adjust processes, parts etc as learnings are generated.

Just curious if these lemons are clustered around a certain delivery time period.

 

[WoodlandHills]

I am sure that in 10 years when BMW celebrates their first decade of their i Division, the news stories will all mention the slow starting sales and the software and charging glitches. And then they will be forgotten as they highlight the dozen or so i models on offer including the iM cars.

 

[BeemE]

Bought my Rex on 10/01/14. Enjoyed it for 18 days then the car wont accept charge, luckily had the Rex to use to get back home from a 170 mile trip. Took it to the dealer and was told it is the "KLE" on board charger and will take another week to fix.

Pretty unhappy with this so far and have sent BMW a formal complaint. A brand new car should not break down after 2 1/2 weeks of use.

 

[adwardhaan]

I would like to recommend a website http://www.lemonlawclaims.com there one can get complete information about lemon law.

 

[noakey]

For those on the Facebook i3 page, this is repeat information as I have been giving a blow by blow color commentary throughout. However, that is not a publicly searchable site, and I feel like my experience is worth others having the opportunity to review. I also assume that people might be interested in my overall experience with the car, as well as the process of the lemon law review, so I thought I might mini-blog it here.

My car is currently under Lemon Law review by BMW NA. Here are some of the facts regarding the current situation, and I'll add more detail as the process unfolds.

History of Problems
Without going into significant detail, issues experienced so far include the 12V low voltage battery, repeated CELs, the red airbag light coming on after charging at 'Max', and, most insidious of all, an intermittent 'Charging Error'. In attempts to remedy this laundry list of problems, and in addition to multiple software updates, the following parts have been replaced: low voltage battery, EME, exhaust sensor, and the KLE. In retrospect, I think I was actually pretty lucky that I was able to get all these parts, but the major delays in the process were waiting for the parts which seem in low supply and high demand.

Lemon Law Review Process
My car is about to go back into the shop tomorrow as the charging errors and the red airbag light error continued over the weekend. This will be the 4th trip to the shop with charging related issues. Arguably the problems may have differed slightly throughout, which means this metric isn't a slam dunk for a lemon law buyback/trade. However, it has already been in the shop for a cumulative of 27 days, which makes tomorrow 28. Each visit has been > 7 days, so my assumption is that this visit will take me over the cumulative 30 days in the shop mark, which is a definitive lemon law milestone.

The dealership took a little initiative and last week (when it was still in the shop for visit #3) and filed for a lemon law review with BMW NA. Given the continued errors this weekend, their action was appropriate if slightly jumping the gun. I was aware that they filed for this only after receiving an email from BMW NA which said they were reviewing the maintenance records and I would have a decision in 7-10 days. With the email there was contact information for a BMW NA customer service representative assigned to the case. She has been responsive and I have sent her emails of "color commentary" surrounding the sale and servicing to supplement the maintenance records. Not sure if the color commentary will aid the process at all, but I was assuming it couldn't hurt.

My Current Mindset
I have a lot invested in the i3 beyond just the car itself. Without getting a lawyer, I'm pretty sure they would not reimburse me for non-BMW accessories such as the WeatherTech floor mats that I have purchased, nor for the EVSE installation (this is the only electric car I would consider). So a this point, I am pushing for a replacement in kind and I'll roll the dice that my experience will be better with a second i3 REX.

Edit: Said they "would" reimburse when I meant they "would not"

Hi... mine was in the shop for 58 days in the first 3 months of ownership... i managed to eek £150 vouchers from customer relations.

 

[EH2ZEE]

And I thought my i3BEV had a lengthy stay at the dealership at 17 days straight and counting...!

And yes, I, too have noticed that every new approach to replacing some component takes about a week. it takes time to diagnose, then time to order, then time for the part to arrive, then more time to install, and lastly, more time to test the charging.