Unexpected, very powerful, acceleration surge BMW i3

[ilya335]

Just ran across this thread after an unfortunate incident in a 2017 i3.

I believe the i3 stores a crash log so that BMW can review the last few moments prior to a collision. What did BMW tell you happened?

I currently don't have any more information as the incident just occurred. This is their 2nd BMW i3 and it only had 1800 miles on the ODO.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Odds are, when they leaned forward to hit the button, they pressed the accelerator pedal. The odds of a mechanical failure are slim. Let us know if they are able to retrieve any info from the car. I see a couple of this type of accident reported on the news every week...not one of them has been a mechanical problem...all operator errors. This is the first i3 I've heard about that had that issue, though.

 

[ilya335]

Odds are, when they leaned forward to hit the button, they pressed the accelerator pedal. The odds of a mechanical failure are slim. Let us know if they are able to retrieve any info from the car. I see a couple of this type of accident reported on the news every week...not one of them has been a mechanical problem...all operator errors. This is the first i3 I've heard about that had that issue, though.

I will keep this updated.

I would understand if the accelerator pedal was pressed accidentally and the car crashed into the gate. However, it went through the gate completely destroying it and travelled another 30ft with no signs of slowing down which would mean the driver would have to have kept the gas floored the entire time. The crash was very intense.

This was after a 30-45 min drive so weird that one would suddenly mess pedals up though things do happen. The driver has lived at the property for over 15 years and has daily driven over a dozen BMW's included M3's, X5M's etc. Also had a '15 i3 for the last two years so the driver is pretty used to the driving dynamics of the car.

Just want to let everyone to be careful as the 0-40mph and torque delivery of the car is very intense. It took out a 400lb metal gate no problem snapping/bending many attachment bars.

I'm just very thankful that they were able to walk away from this.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The most common scenario is people think they've pressed on the brake pedal, but are on the accelerator, pressing harder to try to stop but the opposite occurs. The i3 can be a little unusual because it does not have the typical creep of an automatic transmission.

 

[bwilson4web]

Do not rule out driver side, floor carpet. This was a thing in the Toyota world after the Saylor crash:
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/CHP-Officer-Family-Killed-in-Crash-56629472.html

Bob Wilson

 

[Mbkitt]

Hello,

I have had my car for about 3 weeks and experienced the sudden acceleration problem. I’m terrified of driving the car again if they don’t find the source. Is there anyone who can discuss this problem so I have an understanding of what needs to be done to make the car safe?
Best,
Melissa

 

[jadnashuanh]

All EVs have maximum torque and thus acceleration from stop. The odds are the accelerator pedal was pressed. Unlike an ICE that most people have most of their driving experience on, an EV doesn't sound any different when you press the pedal, but it does take off MUCH faster when you do, especially if it is floored.

 

[EVMan]

Just to add
When my car had a DSC traction unit failure , while driving, , the steering wheel and brake became heavy . ( It lost all its power stuff)
So that is as far as i came close to electronics failure

While i was at very low speed and I used muscle force to stop and could only take a slow turn. It may have been different with a person with less muscle force , needing more breaking urgency.

It was scary....

 

[DKBG]

The same thing has happened to me a few times. Most recently it cause a fender bender accident. The other times I was lucky not hit someone. It seems to happen in stop and go traffic travelling at slow speeds.
I have a 2015 i3 REX. I don't think everyone is just randomly hitting the wrong pedal after driving our i3's for years. I read an article about the regenerative braking turning off when you go over bumps (once this happened to me on a street with speed bumps). The traction control and stability systems think they are helping. So the car doesn't have the usual braking when releasing the "gas" pedal. I believe this must have happened to me.

 

[Userbmwi3]

I have been using a BMW i3 for a year and I write in this forum to describe an incident that has happened recently to me with this model in order to know if there are others users with similar incidents.
While driving at low speed to a parking slot:
1) after lifting the foot from the accelerator, in place of deceleration, the vehicle continues accelerating;
2) did not respond to the brake pedal, despite pressing repeatedly, hitting finally an obstacle
3) when turning the rear gear, without touching the acceleration pedal, the car unexpected accelerate and impact against another obstacle.
Please, if anyone has suffer a similar incident, please let me know.
If you are so kind, in your case, did you have an answer from BMW?
Thank you so much

 

[jadnashuanh]

The brakes in the i3 are mechanical (hydraulic), like nearly every other car sold today. Their power assist is electrical verses the more common vacuum assisted. If there was an electrical problem, it would take more pressure to stop, but stopping is still possible. The brakes are more powerful than the motor, but I think you'd find in the i3, if you're pressing the brake hard, it would override the accelerator pedal (but I'm not positive), as that signal is also electrical and controlled by the computer. So, even if there were a total electrical failure, the hydraulic brakes will still work. Now, if the brake pedal went to the floor, there was a mechanical problem, not an electrical one. I can't think of an electrical problem that would cause the brake pedal to go to the floor.

 

[abrise]

I purchased my BMW i3 in my home state of California on August 21, 2016. And between the purchase date and May 7, 2017, we experienced 3 episodes of sudden acceleration. All 3 episodes occurred split seconds before the car was to make a complete stop.

The 1st incident occurred when my husband was attempting to park the car in our driveway. The 2nd incident occurred just as I was coming to a complete stop at a traffic light, and the 3rd, just as I was parking the car against a street curb. The 3rd incident was the scariest because the sudden acceleration caused me to collide with my tall SUV, (but fortunately just on the tire) then the BMW hit the street curve, jumped over it, and finally came to a stop just inches away from striking my husband and our small dog.

I called my BMW dealer to pick up the car and they picked it up the following day. They called in a special team from New Jersey to inspect the vehicle. A few weeks later, the inspection team inspected the car and they informed me that they found nothing wrong with the vehicle. Dealer representatives then offered to spend some time with me to show me how to properly drive the car. I'm in my mid forties and I've been driving since I was a teenager. Until recently, I was a field engineer for 13 years during which time I drove various different vehicles to work sites scattered all over southern California. So I am used to driving different vehicles ranging from small hybrid SUV's, to large work vans, trucks, and even natural gas vehicles. So trust me .... I do not need driving lessons and I was furious after hearing their insulting suggestion. (I wonder if they would ever say something like that to a man?)

Anyway, I declined their offer to give me driving lessons and I refused to take the vehicle home with me because the car is just NOT SAFE.

The car has been at the dealer's car lot since May 8, 2017 and as I write this it is July 24, 2018. I have been making all the car payments and insurance payments even though the car is not in my possession. I had no choice because neither the dealer nor BMW would work with me and because I don't want to damage my credit.

I tried to persuade the dealer to swap my BMW i3 for a different model that was similarly priced, but when we worked out the numbers, my monthly payments were going to DOUBLE.
I offered to exchange my 9 month old BMW for one of their used "service loaners" but they were not interested. And after suggesting various fair and reasonable exchange deals I noticed that they wouldn't budge, so I offered to exchange my BMW i3 for another BMW i3 but that move would ALSO result in a DOUBLING of my monthly payments.

It became clear to me that the dealer was willing to accommodate me as long as I was willing to pay the equivalent of 2 car payments. Not very accommodating at all. So far this is how BMW has dealt with me.

 

[flyboy320]

I offered to exchange my 9 month old BMW for one of their used "service loaners" but they were not interested. And after suggesting various fair and reasonable exchange deals I noticed that they wouldn't budge, so I offered to exchange my BMW i3 for another BMW i3 but that move would ALSO result in a DOUBLING of my monthly payments.

It became clear to me that the dealer was willing to accommodate me as long as I was willing to pay the equivalent of 2 car payments. Not very accommodating at all. So far this is how BMW has dealt with me.

Post your experience on BMW's Facebook page, social media is the way to get companies to sit up and take notice, they hate the negative exposure.

 

[viking79]

How brakes work and how cars work I don't believe it possible for there to be an unintended acceleration not fixed by application of the brake pedal.

 

[bwilson4web]

There are only 11 BMW i3 complaints recorded by the USA, NHTSA.GOV web site. None of them report unintended acceleration.

Regardless, you should not drive a car that scares you. Mine is quite benign except when at a stop light with other cars. I reflexively floor the accelerator each time and love it.

If you've experienced a problem that has not been resolved, file a complaint with the NHTSA.GOV. Otherwise, it doesn't count.

Bob Wilson

 

[Anonymous]

A few people have reported their i3 suddenly "accelerating". Turned out in cases reported, that If the regenerative braking system was operating and the car made a sharp turn, or hit a pothole or a bump, causing the wheels to lose traction, the traction control would disengage the regen to prevent a loss of control. When this happened, it would give the driver the sensation of sudden acceleration. When you are in full regen and it suddenly disengages, it does feel like the car is suddenly accelerating or surging ahead, when if fact it just isn’t being slowed down by the regenerative braking as expected. The system was intentionally designed to do this, to prevent the thin tires from losing traction while negotiating hard turns or rough roads. It’s not a problem as long as you are aware of how the system functions, know it could happen, and you are ready to use the friction brakes if necessary.

I've encountered this myself, at a stop-sign near my house. Couple of roughly patched potholes leading up to the sign, hit at the right speed, cause the regen to disengage, and the car feels like it's jumping forward. I have always been a "two-foot" driver (rally car racing, left-foot braking is faster and safer on the course), so braking quickly never an issue, just comes automatically. I can see where it would be unsettling and might scare a one-foot driver, unless they know about it and are ready for it.

 

[Myeye3]

I was involved in a four car crash when my car suddenly accelerated and within seconds I hit the car in front the air bags were activated. It all seems to happen simultaneously.

the car was full of smoke which turned out to be gas.

BMW knew the accident had taken place immediately and asked over the blue tooth if I needed an ambulance they also notified the police.

Excellent service as a replacement car was delivered a few hours later.

I’m still shocked at what happened.

 

[antollamh]

Happened to my wife in a car park today. Front bumper damaged after sudden surge forward hitting embankment. She insists she did not hit the accelerator and has lost all confidence in the i3. Refuses to drive it again. Everyone online insists it is always driver error, but without knowing what happened, I have to accept the car is unsafe.

 

[Bingle]

Happened to my wife in a car park today. Front bumper damaged after sudden surge forward hitting embankment. She insists she did not hit the accelerator and has lost all confidence in the i3. Refuses to drive it again. Everyone online insists it is always driver error, but without knowing what happened, I have to accept the car is unsafe.