Returning my i3 for a refund

[Gonville]

Would it be right to assume that because it is electric transmission? Gears? That there isn't a similar parking engagement bolt when you select park? So if you just leave it without putting on parking brake or selecting park? That would then cause some movement of the wheels/final drive that the software might detect being loaded or out of position when turning it on again?

Is that a potential cause of these issues as a standard driving technique is to select park but not necessarily parking brake?

(Here in the UK we can't pass our test if we don't use the 'handbrake' at every possible occasion. Maybe that is the difference? I still select 'handbrake' tile even though it is electric and I have an auto box. I remember my old Chevy and the foot operated parking brake with fond memories. Rarely used. )

 

[pdurham]

We've had our i3 REx for 4 days. Check engine light came on on day 2. Dealer had it overnight and reported that there is a software issue resulting in error codes. According to the dealer, relayed they said from BMW North America, the software is being revised and will be installed sometime in the next month. I was told that in the meantime we were likely to see the check engine light come on, but that the car should continue to work fine and it was OK to continue to drive it with the check engine light on. So far, after just a few hours of operation, that prediction seems accurate.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Agree, Tesla offers Supercharger on all model S models, but it comes standard on the higher spec versions.

Yes, poor adjective choice on my part. In the US, Tesla supercharger is included on the P85 trim, a $2000 option on 85 and 60 trims. Was trying to make the point that it's not on the $70K car.

 

[RoboBMR]

Thank you pdurham. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any answers from my BMW dealer service department or BMW corporate. They appear to be just as lost as I am or they're not willing to be honest and admit it's a software issue. I honestly believe what you're sharing with me is more true over them trying to convince me that a "bad" charging station is upsetting my car. I'm not willing to believe that at all. There would be so many lawsuits if "bad" charging stations were ruining our EV's.

 

[buickanddeere]

Anybody purchasing a newly released machine, no matter what it is. There should be no surprise that there are "teething problems", glitches and required updates. It's just part of ownership and driving.
I can't understand why somebody feels they are a victim for purchasing a BMWi3 and are looking for sympathy.Buyer beware.
I thought I put a post here that every BMWi3 should have a wrench in the glove box that fits the 12V battery clamp. If the vehicle comes down with some phantom software bug that would make MicroSoft proud.
Just power the 12V down and clear the processor. Power back up and drive home instead of waiting on a tow truck.

 

[NCY2]

I bought my i3 with range extender on May 28th and love it so far. I have seen the engine light come on and didn't know what that meant until now. The dealer had no idea! Glad to hear it is no big deal. Have not had any other problems as described here. So far i have been charging on public level 2 chargers or the 110 plug until I get my i3 charger installed.

 

[RoboBMR]

buickanddeere,

Although I find your recommendation to be possibly helpful, I strongly advise against it for a couple of reasons.

1) To assume that the typical i3 owner is going to have any mechanical knowledge is totally unrealistic and you're expecting to much from the average consumer. Especially someone who's income bracket can afford a BMW costing over $50K. Those people are going to be well manicured and not have a lot of dirt under their nails. Not being elitist, just being honest about who the majority of BMW's clientele are.

2) Doing any mechanical work yourself will most likely void the warranty. A manufacturer wants total control over a car being fixed while under warranty so they have an exact file on what's been done. If you admit you fixed something yourself, they can easily say "then you're on your own". Makes no difference if you're right on how to solve the problem, it's how the manufacturer see's it and you're at the mercy of following the warranty rules. Fixing a brand new car yourself gives the manufacturer and easy out to be released from all liability. Even something as minor as disconnecting and reconnecting the battery.

By the way... I'm not looking for ANY sympathy. I just want my story to be "out there" so a potential buyer can be fully educated on what they could be getting themselves into. I believe anyone would want to read as much info as possible from existing i3 owners before making a decision to buy.

 

[mindmachine]

buickanddeere,

Although I find your recommendation to be possibly helpful, I strongly advise against it for a couple of reasons.

1) To assume that the typical i3 owner is going to have any mechanical knowledge is totally unrealistic and you're expecting to much from the average consumer. Especially someone who's income bracket can afford a BMW costing over $50K. Those people are going to be well manicured and not have a lot of dirt under their nails. Not being elitist, just being honest about who the majority of BMW's clientele are.

2) Doing any mechanical work yourself will most likely void the warranty. A manufacturer wants total control over a car being fixed while under warranty so they have an exact file on what's been done. If you admit you fixed something yourself, they can easily say "then you're on your own". Makes no difference if you're right on how to solve the problem, it's how the manufacturer see's it and you're at the mercy of following the warranty rules. Fixing a brand new car yourself gives the manufacturer and easy out to be released from all liability. Even something as minor as disconnecting and reconnecting the battery.

By the way... I'm not looking for ANY sympathy. I just want my story to be "out there" so a potential buyer can be fully educated on what they could be getting themselves into. I believe anyone would want to read as much info as possible from existing i3 owners before making a decision to buy.

Disconnecting and reconnecting the 12 volt battery is not going to void any warranty. You my be over the top wanting to return your car but most of the rest of this community understand that a ground up new concept like the i3 is going to have a few bugs to deal with and we are not going hyper over it.

 

[I33t]

Disconnecting and reconnecting the 12 volt battery is not going to void any warranty. You my be over the top wanting to return your car but most of the rest of this community understand that a ground up new concept like the i3 is going to have a few bugs to deal with and we are not going hyper over it.

+1

Disconnecting the 12v battery is also dead easy. All you need is the right sized spanner and a few minutes. On a new car, especially an electric car like the i3, you aren't going to get dirt under your fingernails either.

 

[bxb40]

Instead of disconnecting the battery, you could just pull the fuse of the ECU for few seconds. Instant reboot and no wrench or opening the hood needed, the fuse panel should be under the dashboard somewhere (I do not have an i3 so cannot give you details).

 

[stumbledotcom]

Instead of disconnecting the battery, you could just pull the fuse of the ECU for few seconds. Instant reboot and no wrench or opening the hood needed, the fuse panel should be under the dashboard somewhere (I do not have an i3 so cannot give you details).

Fuses are underneath the dash on the passenger side. The owner's manual has an illustration of the location.

Not to be too thick but where is the 12v battery located? Owner's manual doesn't show the location. I looked under the fabric panels on either side of the front storage compartment but didn't see it. Not sure there's even enough room up there if it's a standard-size car battery.

 

[ultraturtle]

Not to be too thick but where is the 12v battery located?

It's up front, on the right side:

It appears to be significantly smaller than standard size - typical of BEV, HEV and PHEV batteries that typically need to maintain little more power than that needed to boot the system.

 

[MikeS]

Disconnecting and reconnecting the 12 volt battery is not going to void any warranty. You my be over the top wanting to return your car but most of the rest of this community understand that a ground up new concept like the i3 is going to have a few bugs to deal with and we are not going hyper over it.

+1

Disconnecting the 12v battery is also dead easy. All you need is the right sized spanner and a few minutes. On a new car, especially an electric car like the i3, you aren't going to get dirt under your fingernails either.

+2

As for this comment 'To assume that the typical i3 owner is going to have any mechanical knowledge is totally unrealistic and you're expecting to much from the average consumer. Especially someone who's income bracket can afford a BMW costing over $50K. Those people are going to be well manicured and not have a lot of dirt under their nails. Not being elitist, just being honest about who the majority of BMW's clientele are.” Wow! Maybe thats a good description of typical USA client but I doubt it fits for the european market -and yes you are being elitist!

I have been on this forum for some time (while I wait 6 months plus for my I3) so was well aware of the 2 issues you are so upset about. The Check Engine Light is also covered in the forums as‘known’ software bug that just appears to affect the USA market. In fact I think Tom covered it as well on the forum.

Clearly the drive train issue is potentially more significant, but as some have mentioned more often it seems to be a glitch that can be reset just as your was.
So in reality, you had the drive train issue that occurred once after a ‘reset’ and you have the check engine light which is just a light - doesn’t seem so bad to me. Maybe its just because its a clear sunny sunday morning at 0630 in the UK which makes me feel so positive.

 

[XXL]

This would be ok for a EV experiment but not for a mass-market EV. I would think BMW would have learned from the Active E recalls (drivetrain problems).
I ordered this EV for my wife, i cannot imagine her to let her have loosening bolts of removing fuses to get the car started, it's a 50k car fgs!
But maybe this is what they mean with "drive the future now" ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPUcUOd1r1w

 

[Surge]

Unfortunately, since this is a new car for BMW in many senses of the word, we should expect less reliability than from a more mature platform, like the 3-Series, or a Toyota Camry.

A BMW, any BMW, will never have the reliability of a Toyota Camry. It's not quite accurate to compare a 3 series reliability (I had a late-90s version and it left us stranded twice), to a Camry (my dad once drained the oil by mistake and it ran for 3 weeks without any loss of compression or other issues!).

 

[Surge]

I bought my i3 with range extender on May 28th and love it so far. I have seen the engine light come on and didn't know what that meant until now. The dealer had no idea! Glad to hear it is no big deal. Have not had any other problems as described here. So far i have been charging on public level 2 chargers or the 110 plug until I get my i3 charger installed.

I don't think you should assume it's "no big deal" and keep driving!
If it is a big deal and you keep driving, you will void your warranty!!

 

[noakey]

I bought my i3 with range extender on May 28th and love it so far. I have seen the engine light come on and didn't know what that meant until now. The dealer had no idea! Glad to hear it is no big deal. Have not had any other problems as described here. So far i have been charging on public level 2 chargers or the 110 plug until I get my i3 charger installed.

I don't think you should assume it's "no big deal" and keep driving!
If it is a big deal and you keep driving, you will void your warranty!!

Just enjoy the fact you are driving sone of the latest motoring tech there is. Mine has been in a workshop with a broken charge regulator module for 2 of the 4 weeks of ownership. .. i have no intention of seeking a refund... i can't wait to get back behind the wheel. Yeee.

 

[RoboBMR]

Hello everyone,

I initially started this post to educate potential i3 buyers of the issues the car is currently having the moment you drive it off the lot. I honestly didn't write the post to scare anyone away from buying the car. My goal is to be informative. After reading this post, I welcome a potential buyer to make their own decisions. I'm not trying to make it for them although I can't endorse the purchase of this car at this time.

A few responses have been surprising. The people out there who have a "it's not a big deal" attitude really shocked me. Either they have a really laid back personality where nothing bothers them no matter how much something disrupts their life, money to burn or it's secretly people from BMW trying to do damage control to this post. For those of you think BMW wouldn't secretly contribute to this post posing as an i3 owner, please don't be naive. Companies do this all the time to put out fires.

I believe the most important thing above all is to look at the cold, hard facts.

1) This car has a lot of issues that have not only been posted by me, but by several other people on this forum. That is an undisputed fact.
2) No NEW car should have this many issues right away. It's totally unacceptable.

For the people who think these issues are "no big deal", we'll have to agree to disagree.

I don't have money to burn or an unlimited amount of time to keep taking the car back to the dealer for service. If people out there like that exist, I'll trade lives with you.

Lastly... If you think leaving the check engine light ON is ok because BMW said it is, that's a flat out lie! That's how your warranty gets voided.

 

[noakey]

Hello everyone,

I initially started this post to educate potential i3 buyers of the issues the car is currently having the moment you drive it off the lot. I honestly didn't write the post to scare anyone away from buying the car. My goal is to be informative. After reading this post, I welcome a potential buyer to make their own decisions. I'm not trying to make it for them although I can't endorse the purchase of this car at this time.

A few responses have been surprising. The people out there who have a "it's not a big deal" attitude really shocked me. Either they have a really laid back personality where nothing bothers them no matter how much something disrupts their life, money to burn or it's secretly people from BMW trying to do damage control to this post. For those of you think BMW wouldn't secretly contribute to this post posing as an i3 owner, please don't be naive. Companies do this all the time to put out fires.

I believe the most important thing above all is to look at the cold, hard facts.

1) This car has a lot of issues that have not only been posted by me, but by several other people on this forum. That is an undisputed fact.
2) No NEW car should have this many issues right away. It's totally unacceptable.

For the people who think these issues are "no big deal", we'll have to agree to disagree.

I don't have money to burn or an unlimited amount of time to keep taking the car back to the dealer for service. If people out there like that exist, I'll trade lives with you.

Lastly... If you think leaving the check engine light ON is ok because BMW said it is, that's a flat out lie! That's how your warranty gets voided.

I agree with totally... it has been an informative discussion. I am surprised that your local dealer (no matter how far away) distance come to collect the car and replace it with a hire car at mo inconvenience or expense to me. Maybe if this support had not been available I would have felt differently.
I hope you get your car sorted... neil.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Not to be too thick but where is the 12v battery located?

It's up front, on the right side:

It appears to be significantly smaller than standard size - typical of BEV, HEV and PHEV batteries that typically need to maintain little more power than that needed to boot the system.

The 12v battery is indeed up front, on the right. Thanks ultraturtle. Remove the fabric panel then look behind and below the windshield washer filler/reservoir. It appears to be at least half the size of a standard car battery. One terminal is visible behind some cables. The other is obscured by the storage box. No wonder the manual doesn't show the location. Definitely not meant to be owner accessible. I suspect it would be quicker to wait for the system to reset itself rather than try and disconnect the visible terminal. Looks like the storage box will have to be removed if and when the battery needs to be replaced.