Rex is toast... Any way to stop maintenance cycle?

[michaelghammer]

Hi all I3 experts

I hope some of you may be able to help me with my Rex predicament. I have a 2015 I3 60Ah Rex model and until recently I thought it was the best car I had ever owned. But now trouble with the rex have turned things into a nightmare.

A couple of months ago the rex came on and from the noice you could clearly hear that something was not right. After a while the rex shut down and gave the Drivetrain malfunction error. I wanted to get all the "usual suspects" out of the way so I installed a new 12 battery and a new fuel relay.

Then I figured that the noise might be caused by the engine running on only one cylinder. So I put in new spark plugs and new ignition coils. But still the same.

So I gave up and took the car to the local BMW workshop. They too said it was the spark plugs or ignitions coils that were faulty even though I told them that I tried changing them. But they changed them anyways. No luck. Then they changed the fuel injection nozzles. Still the same.

They did however find out that the rex was not running at all. The noise was just the engine being turned over by the starter and not starting properly. They said that they had removed the exhaust and saw flames coming out when the rex was trying to start.

And then they gave up. They want to pull the rex out but they really don't know what is wrong with the rex and they will not give any guarantee or a fixed price for the repair.

I suspect that it might be a misaligned crankshaft censor that is causing the engine to misfire and not start at all.

So, I´ve come to the conclusion that I will have to use my car as a BEV and do without the rex.

But now a new problem has occured. The car wants to do the rex maintenance cycle and tries to start the rex, which it can´t. But it will turn the engine and cause a lot of misfire noise. Then it will give the engine malfunction error. It will repeat this with very short intevals. On a short 15 km trip it will run and fail the rex maintenance cycle twice. This is VERY annoying.

Is there any way to disable the rex maintenance cycle? As a quick´n dirty I will unplug the ignition coil wires. This will end the misfiring noise but it will not stop the maintenance cycle. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

- Michael Hammer

 

[mojo]

Michael - I've not yet looked at the advanced coding options for the i3, but I suspect that you will find something there that tells the car if/when to run a maintenance cycle. If you want to investigate that further, take a look at some of the forums where BimmerCode "Expert Mode" coding on the i3 is discussed. Of course, you will need BimmerCode (or an equivalent) to make the coding change, assuming you can find which parameters need altering.

 

[agzand]

The REX could be still under warranty. Depends on which states the car is registered.

 

[michaelghammer]

@agzand, Unfortunately, I'm in Denmark, and there is no waranty on the Rex.

@mojo, I was hoping this was the right place and someone would know. Do you have any suggestions regarding other forums where I might find the answers regarding BimmerCode and i3?

- Michael Hammer

 

[mojo]

Sorry Michael - my bluetooth dongle only arrived yesterday so I'm just a beginner! I'll be Googling for this type of info in the same way that I guess you have been...

It would be worth trying "BimmerCode" in this forum's search facility, as I'm sure it has been discussed here before. I ~think~ there may be a FB group for BimmerCode, but I haven't got as far as looking for it yet.

 

[michaelghammer]

No problem
I will keep searching
Can I ask which adapter you went with?

- Michael Hammer

 

[mojo]

I went with the Vgate iCar Pro BT4.0 which cost GBP16.99, shipped. I should add that although I have tested it on the demo version of BimmerCode and it connects Ok, I haven't yet paid for and activated BimmerCode - but I'm pretty sure that if it connects, it will work Ok.

 

[michaelghammer]

Thanks mojo.

I just ordered a Vgate iCar Pro BT4.0 Thanks again for your help.

- Michael Hammer

 

[mojo]

To set your mind at rest, I've tested it fully now and thankfully it does work Ok with BimmerCode.

So now I've done my four completely unnecessary coding changes to my car, and have no more need for it... That's about £12 per change! I did have a play with changing the pedestrian alert sound, but none of the alternatives sounded much different to me.

Good luck in finding what you're looking for.

 

[JohnKelly]

If you drain the fuel tank, the REX will not try to start.. as far as I'm aware.

 

[michaelghammer]

Thanks John

That is a great suggestion. Why didn´t I think of it?
But it might be a challenge to drain the tank. My first try to pump the gas from the tank didn´t work because of the different anti siphon measures installed.

- Michael Hammer

 

[duanew]

Yes siphoning is hard. I tried to do it when I first got my used i3 to get old gas out. I was unsuccessful and gave up.

 

[agzand]

I think a motorcycle repair shop that has experience with 650 scooters could determine the problem. But I understand your predicament, you could spend a lot of money and don't get a resolution.

 

[spartacus68]

Don’t like the idea of not being able to fix the engine. Back to your predicament, the fuel tank is under the frunk box. Might be easier than trying to drain it with a syphon from the filler cap. This is the video for accessing fuel pressure sensor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA6Pu9Y3w2I&t=323s

 

[swis3]

BMW Garage removed our fuel tank drained it and refilled with fresh fuel within 1 1/2 hours, rex was diagnoised with bad fuel so not starting, cost was at bmw prices ( owch) but it did work a treat

 

[michaelghammer]

Hi Swis3

Could you please expand on the symptoms of your Rex not starting. How did it sound when it tried to start the rex?
I´m tempted to let my local repair shop empty the tank and retry with fresh gasoline.

- Michael Hammer

 

[swis3]

Hi there, Rex would not start at all ,the starter moter would have 3 to 4 attempts at starting then shut down with with a drive train error message,tried multipull times to run maitinance cycle, after the 4th attempt there was smoke and smell from unburnt fuel from the back end of the car, there was no attempt that the rex would start, thought that it was a tdc censor or fuel pump relay, BMW teck guy convinsed me it was bad fuel in the tank, had filled it up with the superfuel a while before but hardley used the rex so the fuel when bad, big bebate on weather the ordenery or the superpetrol goes off quicker !!

 

[mwiebi3]

Hi all I3 experts

I hope some of you may be able to help me with my Rex predicament. I have a 2015 I3 60Ah Rex model and until recently I thought it was the best car I had ever owned. But now trouble with the rex have turned things into a nightmare.

A couple of months ago the rex came on and from the noice you could clearly hear that something was not right. After a while the rex shut down and gave the Drivetrain malfunction error. I wanted to get all the "usual suspects" out of the way so I installed a new 12 battery and a new fuel relay.

Then I figured that the noise might be caused by the engine running on only one cylinder. So I put in new spark plugs and new ignition coils. But still the same.

So I gave up and took the car to the local BMW workshop. They too said it was the spark plugs or ignitions coils that were faulty even though I told them that I tried changing them. But they changed them anyways. No luck. Then they changed the fuel injection nozzles. Still the same.

They did however find out that the rex was not running at all. The noise was just the engine being turned over by the starter and not starting properly. They said that they had removed the exhaust and saw flames coming out when the rex was trying to start.

And then they gave up. They want to pull the rex out but they really don't know what is wrong with the rex and they will not give any guarantee or a fixed price for the repair.

I suspect that it might be a misaligned crankshaft censor that is causing the engine to misfire and not start at all.

So, I´ve come to the conclusion that I will have to use my car as a BEV and do without the rex.

But now a new problem has occured. The car wants to do the rex maintenance cycle and tries to start the rex, which it can´t. But it will turn the engine and cause a lot of misfire noise. Then it will give the engine malfunction error. It will repeat this with very short intevals. On a short 15 km trip it will run and fail the rex maintenance cycle twice. This is VERY annoying.

Is there any way to disable the rex maintenance cycle? As a quick´n dirty I will unplug the ignition coil wires. This will end the misfiring noise but it will not stop the maintenance cycle. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

- Michael Hammer

I have the exact same scenario. Dealership is worthless. They have no clue. Had it 6 weeks. Didn’t know anything. Told me they could replace the Rex for $8000. I did everything you did. Did you figure out how to bypass and turn it into a bev?

 

[mwiebi3]

Michael - I've not yet looked at the advanced coding options for the i3, but I suspect that you will find something there that tells the car if/when to run a maintenance cycle. If you want to investigate that further, take a look at some of the forums where BimmerCode "Expert Mode" coding on the i3 is discussed. Of course, you will need BimmerCode (or an equivalent) to make the coding change, assuming you can find which parameters need altering.

Any chance you can send me a link to where I can find this information? I have this problem too.

 

[mwiebi3]

Sorry Michael - my bluetooth dongle only arrived yesterday so I'm just a beginner! I'll be Googling for this type of info in the same way that I guess you have been...

It would be worth trying "BimmerCode" in this forum's search facility, as I'm sure it has been discussed here before. I ~think~ there may be a FB group for BimmerCode, but I haven't got as far as looking for it yet.

Ever find anything?