The $730 dog vomit

[pisote]

I have had my i3 for four months now, and since I have a very short commute, I have never had charging problems. Instead I have discovered something unpleasant about the car and the BMW corporation. I drive everywhere with my aged dachshund - he loves the heated seat, and always sits on his seat cover. But old dogs have health problems and one day after leaving him in the car for 15 minutes, I came back to find he had thrown up on the center console. Messay, but not hard to clean up. But after it was cleaned up the Idrive stopped working. I could not select anything by pushing the central knob down, though I could move through menus. Given the integrated electronics, this made the car essentially undrivable. What steamed me was the dealership which demanded $730 for a replacement. The idrive is right behind the coffee cup holder - so dont spill your coffee or it will cost you $700. I have driven a prius for the last 12 years, and that car was not rendered inoperable by a cup of dog vomit. So it will look messy, but I am sealing all the gaps around the idrive with silicon seal. When I tried the BMW customer support line, they seemed to be saying it was normal for a car to be incapacitated by a spill - and remember the idrive unit is right behind...the cupholder.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Many BMW's warn you to not spill things in their trunks, too. I've read horror stories of more than $1K to fix things there as the result of liquids draining through...there's a bunch of electronics underneath the trunk of a modern BMW. Something like one of the WeatherTech liners is prudent. Unfortunately, not viable for the console. Vomit is acidic...and can make a mess of electronics and gum up mechanical things as well. Really hard to clean out.

 

[I33t]

Sounds like you should throw a protective cover over the consile if you're leaving your poor old dawg in the car.

 

[busaman]

this may sound a bit harsh but i never have (dogs they make the car stink) or children eat ANYTHING in my car i can always tell what the previous owner has done and resale value takes a hit...

 

[i3StormTrooper]

I've never understood folks leaving pets in vehicles.

 

[pisote]

The i3 has a feature that allows you to keep the climate control on while you are out of the vehicle. Some stores do not allow dogs. The dog has trouble walking and is becoming senile - cannot be left home alone. What would you suggest?

 

[ScottinOregon]

In Oregon you can get in big trouble (arrested, even, if it turns into a big brouhaha) for leaving a dog in a car because of the hot dog cooking potential if the sun comes out. And there are plenty of people (the kind, we used to say, to watch out for if the commies take over, now I guess it'd be if the taliban takes over) more than happy to call the car in to the cops and even, I read once, park so as to block your egress if you get back to your car before the cops arrive. Of course I do it all the time but am tentative, and park away from others in hopes no one sees the dogs. That, and trying to remember to turn off the "motion inside the car" alarm!

 

[PluviaPlumbum]

Not wishing to sound unsympathetic as you are obviously a caring pet owner, most would do anything and pay huge vets bills etc for their canine family member. But blaming BMW for the consequences of your pets' mishap seems a bit harsh in the context that you describe. End of the day what would you expect an Independent Franchised dealer to do? A free repair would seem well beyond reasonable and for swapping out an I drive unit and the labour involved the price seems about right to me. Could you this claim as an accident on your insurer ? - that would seem the appropriate way to go.