Which versions of the AC compressor have people had failures with?

[EVMan]

Curios , who makes this compressor.
Tesla uses a variable speed scroll compressor made by Hanon Korea

 

[Anonymous]

Curios , who makes this compressor.

I believe the i3's AC compressor is manufactured by Mahle Behr GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany.

 

[TARDISi3]

Curios , who makes this compressor.

I believe the i3's AC compressor is manufactured by Mahle Behr GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany.

On my 2017 i3, the original compressor was manufactured by Hanon Systems, Portugal.

In recent years, there has been a consolidation in the ac systems space. There have been takeovers of businesses by other businesses, so Mahle Behr may now be in cahoots. Never know, through the structure of the business, they may be related.

That, or BMW changed suppliers over time.

 

[Anonymous]

On my 2017 i3, the original compressor was manufactured by Hanon Systems, Portugal.

Checking deeper, I think you are right - Mahle Behr makes several BMW AC compressors, and on a third-party parts site listed the i3 in with a bunch of BMW models, but think that is an error. Other sites only show Hanon for i3 AC compressors.

 

[TARDISi3]

On my 2017 i3, the original compressor was manufactured by Hanon Systems, Portugal.

Checking deeper, I think you are right - Mahle Behr makes several BMW AC compressors, and on a third-party parts site listed the i3 in with a bunch of BMW models, but think that is an error. Other sites only show Hanon for i3 AC compressors.

Mahle Behr does make compressors for the i3. The replacement that I have installed over the weekend was from them, not the original one from Hannon Systems.

 

[Anonymous]

The replacement that I have installed over the weekend was from them, not the original one from Hannon Systems.

Maybe the Hannon Systems AC compressors were the ones (early years) that had the failures, possibly a quality control in manufacturing issue, with BMW eventually going to Mahle Behr for another source. Or BMW just has multiple suppliers for the i3 AC compressor.

 

[TARDISi3]

The replacement that I have installed over the weekend was from them, not the original one from Hannon Systems.

Maybe the Hannon Systems AC compressors were the ones (early years) that had the failures, possibly a quality control in manufacturing issue, with BMW eventually going to Mahle Behr for another source. Or BMW just has multiple suppliers for the i3 AC compressor.

It would be interesting to learn what compressor the new i3 is shipping with.

 

[TARDISi3]

The new compressor that I installed had a build date of April 2020.

 

[EVMan]

So , do all new cars come with variable speed compressors, or is this a EV thing ?

 

[i3Alan]

So , do all new cars come with variable speed compressors, or is this a EV thing ?

Most EVs and hybrids use variable speed all electric compressors, because they already have the high voltage battery. With a high voltage power source, this is the most efficient way to provide AC to a vehicle. It allows for the right sized compressor always able to turn at the most efficient speed, instead of a greatly oversized compressor that must be able to provide adequate cooling when the engine is idling (or slightly stepped up for the compressor), while not over-compressing when the engine is near red-line. The electric compressor is only concerned with the heat load in the cabin (and battery) and is driven exactly as needed, and is sized appropriately, and does not have to handle a wide range of engine speeds.

 

[EVMan]

In my opinion , the variable speed AC , is a game clanger in comfort for me
The i3 AC is quite decent ....Not sure if others cars are as good

 

[eXodus]

Variable Speed A/C is not only a game changer in cars but in residential.

I went from a On/Off A/C unit to a Mini Split Inverter variable unit. Everything is variable on that thing.

External Fan speed, Compressor Speed, Internal Fan speed. A nominal 12.000 BTU unit can regulate between 2500 and 14000 BTU. Sizing the A/C is much easier with such abilities.

I would love that BMW would have added a variable internal speed to the cabin Fan. But at least either I didn't found it - but my fan speed is stuck to the one I got selected on the dash.

Even my 1996 Volvo A/C already had an automatic adjusting Fan speed. You needed more - cool it gave you also full blast on the fan. Volvo usually had two temperature sensors for the Climate above the passenger.

 

[joantucker]

I took possession of my i3 in August, 2014. The only other AC work ever done was a recharge 2 weeks before the catastrophic failure.

I have almost the same thing as you took it off my tongue. I'm tired of fixing it already. I used to have more patience to fix these air conditioners myself. And I did preventive cleaning myself, poured freon, and poured it out. I even learned a little about how to detect a freon leak. From whom I just did not take advice. Most often, you have https://www.marvellous.sg/aircon-light-is-blinking/. I was sorry for the money for such frequent trips to the service. So I'm looking for some other model so that I don't worry so much. Now I don't have enough patience, and I don't have time. So I hope I will find an answer to my question on this forum.

 

[i3Alan]

I took possession of my i3 in August, 2014. The only other AC work ever done was a recharge 2 weeks before the catastrophic failure.

I have almost the same thing as you took it off my tongue.

Where do you live, what was your repair estimate, and how did that i3 journey end up?

 

[Slint]

+1 on AC compressor failing with grinded metal in the system…

Have had it from 2014. Driven it for 180 000 kilometers.

Interesting to see that the battery outlives the rest of the car. People worry about battery lifetime, while they should worry about the crap parts surrounding it.

C’mon BMW - had you advised me to change the AC compressor earlier I would have! They should have warned me, as it seems pretty common.

Attempting a repair. Wish me luck…Was hoping this would be my forever car, but if this does not end well then it will be outlived by my French diesel car.

 

[GDM528]

Where can I go looking for cheap replacement compressors for my failed 2104 i3?

My compressor started rattling about 3 years ago. Dealer gave me the elsewhere-documented usurious out-of-warranty repair quote, economically totaling my car. At that point I sharply reduced compressor operation by turning off climate control. Cold, rainy days are miserable - but still way better than walking.

Feel free to throw darts at this scheme:

Bide my time, waiting for more i3's to end up in the scrapyard, most of which will have usable compressors. Purchase one of these 'refurbished' compressors and take it to a local repair shop. Ask them to simply perform the labor and equipment to swap in the replacement compressor, add a debris trap (maybe two?), and purge/recharge the coolant. No warranty on it failing. When it starts rattling again, I find another compressor and have it swapped in, along with a new line filter.

So, where to find used compressors - Ebay? Or would a local AC repair shop have better sources?

 

[tliet]

Wouldn't it be worth to just order a new compressor and have an i3 trained indie tech do the swap? I wouldn't be comfortable driving around with the old compressor as the car is also using it to condition the battery (which may be less influenceable by the driver).

 

[GDM528]

Wouldn't it be worth to just order a new compressor and have an i3 trained indie tech do the swap? I wouldn't be comfortable driving around with the old compressor as the car is also using it to condition the battery (which may be less influenceable by the driver).

"Worth" is the operative word here. Dealer repair cost exceeds the market value of the car, economically turning the i3 into a rolling scrapyard. Repairing the car is cheaper than a new car, but that same expense could be considered a discount on the purchase of a replacement EV with 4x the range. A like-new cooling system in a nine-year-old car could simply be teeing up for the next car-totalling disaster, e.g. motor mount failure (a real doozy).

A "totalled" car can be liberating from the usual (and expensive) mindset of repairing a car 'back to factory' - how about "just keep this thing rolling" instead? Kinda like how some teenagers treat their first car.

 

[ZapPanda]

Hoo boy, I didn’t want this to be my first post to the forum, but I just got news (after the car sat at the dealer for a month waiting for compressor parts from Germany) that they found a bunch of metal in the A/C system of my 2015 i3 BEV. The dealer says it’s not worth repairing.
What are my options here? I had two local bmw shops send me to the dealer because they said it was too proprietary for them to work on beyond charging the freon.
I’m in Charleston, SC, so it’s too hot to go without AC and I’m not sure what the danger to the battery is.
Here’s what the dealer said they drained from the compressor

 

[ronbot]

First, BMW designed this vehicle without the industry standard AC trap that could have prevented the catastrophic failure. Most auto AC systems have a particulate trap in the dryer to prevent exactly this kind of catastrophic failure should the compressor start flinging parts. Having an abnormally complex dual loop system, including at least one heat pump and one cooling loop on the REX, or two heat pumps on the BEV greatly increases the value of such a trap that BMW left out. THEY WERE IN THE WRONG.

Second, the actual loss I suffered was not the $22,000 repair quote, but the loss in book value due to the failure. That was about $8000. Had BMW advanced me $8K towards a new i3, that is most probably what I would have done. For anyone who asks, there is almost a certainty that BMW will find a reason to give $1K, be it first BMW, or previous BMW owner, or veteran, or student, or senior, or member of a BMW club, or whatever. BMW is very generous with $1K discounts on their cars, so the $2K in my case was rather insulting.

They decided to underdesign the AC system to not have the protective trap, and they likely had a pretty good estimate of how many catastrophic failures that would cause. If they assumed that these failures would all occur out-of-warranty and cost them nothing, then double shame on them. They apparently are helping current victims of this problem with paying all but about $5K of the cost by only charging the customer for the cost of the compressor replacement and covering all the rest of the downstream damage. This is entirely reasonable. They didn't treat me so well, and I would have been satisfied at half that cost to BMW with a new i3 purchase to boot.

This is exactly how I felt when my drive motor failed... they under-designed it (wrong type bearings, and no live-lubrication) expecting to get past the warranty period, then insult with the $2k offer.

Oddly, they DID help quite a few owners with a free replacement motor via Goodwill Assistance... as reported in various social media platforms... but not me. I was told "at 94k miles, it's too many miles to offer Goodwill aid"... telling me that they don't expect these cars to live much past 100k miles.