3) Just went in for a routine service and told need a new engine mount for £2,500

What's it made from, Platinum?

 

£2k+ of sodding labour. Who builds a car which needs 10 hours to remove the whole motor to replace a mount - which is so poorly designed it fails at less than 50k miles on an underpowered car.

 

These early cars, particularly the REx, had their fair share of problems. In theory all the issues that have plagued you should have been fixed by recalls (engine mounting bolts and software upgrades), under warranty or when in for routine servicing. I presume you don’t have an extended warranty which is sadly absolutely necessary for these early REx’s? I would ask for the service history to be checked to see what updates have been done and if they were overlooked look for a contribution from BMW. Yes, the car may be 6 years old but the mileage is still quite low and I think all the problems you have had are BMW known issues. If however the car has been serviced outside the BMW network I think you may be better at cutting your losses. My first 2015 i3 had a few problems - fortunately none serious and I am lucky in having a helpful local dealership - but my 2018 LCI has been absolutely bullet proof. I think BMW have made a lot of minor and subtle improvements during the i3’s life which has resolved all those early build issues.

 

Time to sell this one on while everything is working and I can honestly tell buyers it's in perfect condition.

 

It's a shame BMW allowed these early lemons to remain in the market. I suspect they've worked that out for themselves by now. My early 2014 car was always at the dealership. The next two have never been back.

 

Struth!

Is it possible to take the engine off it, and at least save doing the engine jobs? (What's an 'electric machine' BTW?)

 

(What's an 'electric machine' BTW?)

About £4K...

I suspect it‘s the electric motor being talked about?

I did read on another forum a while back that the bearing had gone on an i3 motor and the replacement motor (machine) was £4.1k. Why they can’t replace just the bearing I’m not sure.

 

Just browsing ebay, it seems that BMW do actually call it an 'Electric Machine'.

BMW I3 2013 on 0.0 Electric Automatic High Voltage Motor Inverter at E-machine for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BMW I3 2013 on 0.0 Electric Automatic High Voltage Motor Inverter at E-machine at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

Just browsing ebay, it seems that BMW do actually call it an 'Electric Machine'.......

Lazy translators using literal equivalents rather than proper translations. There are 2 volumes of German - English and English - German engineering dictionaries, maybe BMW don't own a set.

 

It will drive me back to ICE.

That's exactly what my i3 REx did to me.

When I first got it (early 2014), I was so enthusiastic, telling myself I'd never buy an ICE vehicle again. Fast forward three years later, 20 odd trips to the dealer, thousands of pounds worth of repairs (at BMW's cost), charging niggles that took numerous attempts to fix and then a REx failure 100 miles away from home leaving me with a flatbed recovery - that was all I could take. I was back in an ICE.

All rather depressing when friends, family and work colleagues are asking how you are getting on with an EV and you have to tell them the truth...

 

UPDATE - the part is about £300, plus 10 hours labour. You have to remove the whole motor (electric machine!) and subframe. BMW know me and they have (reasonably) paid for 70%. My car is low mileage and there is no doubt that these early cars have appalling reliability. The service manager (and this probably the biggest i3 dealer in the country) says he never sees the new cars and I tend to believe that. It's still dented my faith in BMW. As an aside, I've owned a quite a wide variety of cars in my time. By far the 2 most unreliable have been an Audi RS4 and this BMW. Put me off both marques for life.

 

What did you pay for it in the first place Jamesi3 ?

 

£15k

 

Sorry to hear that James, I'd be taking it up with BMW customer services, put in a complaint if you havent already, theyve been very good with me in the past

 

In fairness, BMW UK have paid for a lot of the repairs - justifiably - but they will stop doing this shortly and for what it's cost me, I could have run a 996, had a lot more fun, and probably made money on the car.

 

Just asked the cost of 1 year's warranty from BMW for the car - £1250. That tells you how unreliable it is, on a £10,000 car from supposedly one of the most reputable marques, this is farcical.

 

A 996 is not exactly the most bulletproof car either

 

By now, they’re sorted. And anyone can fix them. Used it as a realistic comparison because same price.

 

The warranty on my Cayman GTS was cheaper than the warranty on the i3 ! Cost me £10k in depreciation over 4 years .

 

My horror story: My BMWi3 range extender from 2015 has mileage below 25,000 and I am 'a very careful lady driver '. I broke down Saturday evening with a drivetrain message on the dash. I was not able to charge it the previous day so I had to drive back from Suffolk to London on petrol. My car suddenly stopped on the A406 approaching London. It was put on a flatbed recovery vehicle first to my home and then another flatbed recovery vehicle to get it to the dealership in Woolwich where it has been since Tuesday. It was in the same dealership for a factory recall dealing with an issue on charging a few weeks ago. The first shock: they quoted £10,430 to get it fixed yesterday, but then also said that they are in discussion with BW Germany to see how much they will cover as there was a factory recall and maybe also look at how the dealership can reduce their labour cost. I see from previous posts that they charge £200 an hour for servicing. WOW. Not a car for an elderly lady like me who does not have a seriously big bank account.

 

The first shock: they quoted £10,430 to get it fixed yesterday, but then also said that they are in discussion with BW Germany to see how much they will cover as there was a factory recall and maybe also look at how the dealership can reduce their labour cost. I see from previous posts that they charge £200 an hour for servicing.

Sorry to hear that. Has BMW dealer diagnosed the fault? It sounds like catastrophic failure at that kind of price. The earlier recall sounds like the recall my wife got for her 65 plate REx for electrical charging unit.

 

Oh my, my sympathies, Think I'll look a little harder at trading my i3 in

 

If any of the car was bought on finance or paid for via a credit card then section 75 could apply and finance provider could be on the hook for
the repair cost too as would the supplying dealer depending on when it was bought.

Which? magazine have a legal helpline that might be able to help. Not sure how much it costs to use though.

 

If any of the car was bought on finance or paid for via a credit card then section 75 could apply and finance provider could be on the hook for
the repair cost too as would the supplying dealer depending on when it was bought.

Which? magazine have a legal helpline that might be able to help. Not sure how much it costs to use though.

Interesting. I can look into that, but first I shall see what BMW Woolwich propose to do for me. I shall post something on the outcome here, hoping to help others.

 

Fingers crossed you get a positive outcome to this and BMW do the right thing. If it's been serviced by them or in for previous work, that all helps in terms of goodwill. The EME from what I've read was recalled on newer cars. Apparently linked to immobiliser so to needs to be coded to the car, not just plug and play. Again shouldn't happen. BMW service technicians won't even take these things apart. They just order replacement units at owner's expense, and labour rates are horrendous.

 

Yes I hope that they will do t'he right thing too'. The guy I spoke to today from Woolwich said he will keep in touch every day with me, even if there is no definite answer from BMW Germany. He said they were looking after ME and arguing my case against the factory in Germany. I am obviously shocked at the quoted cost and really hope that they will cover almost all of the costs at least. He told me not to worry

 

Yeah -- LEAF is a lot harder to park than an i3. It doesn't turn very well.

Other than that there isn't anything wrong with one. We've had two, a 2014 and a 2017. The '17 is better for longer trips. Otherwise much the same.


The i3 was an all new car back in 2013. The i3 was a clean-sheet design. That is unusual for a legacy automaker.

It took a few years for BMW to learn about and then correct the issues. The new ones may look the same but there are many small changes under the skin.

The i3 was groundbreaking when they came out. There still isn't another car like it.

 

The i3 was an all new car back in 2013. The i3 was a clean-sheet design. That is unusual for a legacy automaker.

It took a few years for BMW to learn about and then correct the issues. The new ones may look the same but there are many small changes under the skin.

You're right, and reviews are for the most part glowing based on ride quality, styling and usability, however get down to forum-specific level and you see that there are some fundamental flaws. The key thing for me is will BMW support customers like Birte? We are the ones that have dipped our toes into the water so-to-speak with early electric ownership, and all the pitfalls that result as an early adopter.

If BMW continue to effectively abandon owners (after three year warranty expires, or approved used one year warranty) to face astronomical bills, then our loyalty to the brand is going to cease. If you were running a comparable ICE car, then the worst that can happen is oil starvation or timing belt breaking which effectively means a new engine or expensive rebuild. Both are well documented as part of a strict servicing regime, so for the best part can be avoided. I should know as I've run diesels getting into 175k+ mileage territory or 10+ year ownership.

I know BMW can't have an open wallet on this, as some times it's down to driving style and the care of the vehicle. But if these known documented faults, such as fuel pressure sensor, fuel pump relay, motor mount, high voltage wiring and now EME failure aren't covered via goodwill, then BMW are in for a surprise.

There are similar issues with early Audi eTron and Renault Zoe, so these sorts of things aren't confined to one manufacturer. Anyway - not wishing to go off topic, I'm glued to this thread and want the right result for the OP, as any of us could be in a similar position.

 

Hi Birte. The EME fault has been recorded on 2018 and 2019 i3's too. This is state-side: BMW is recalling 2019 i3 and i8 models over fears they could lose propulsion - Roadshow

Had a few issues myself this year. My wife's car suffered a drive-train error and was returned to BMW main dealer 4 times to resolve. I even ran out of electric battery power, as it relates to the successful engagement of the petrol engine if you are low on battery power. I even pointed them to the fuel pump relay from the outset which resides under the passenger dashboard and spoke with their electric service technician who assured me they have never ever had an issue with that component in all his years of working on these types of cars. I mentioned forums and was instantly dismissed. They changed the fuel pump first, then the oxygen sensor, then finally the relay I'd asked them to investigate in the first place. £1k later and I'm still angry about it, but nothing compared to the potential bill they are quoting you.

Once you start to understand how these dealerships work - you see that they literally throw parts at the car until its resolved based on the data stored in the car. The actual technical expertise is gone in terms of fault finding. They refer to service bulletins from BMW and work through it like an A-Z.

Again, car has been serviced meticulously, oil and filter changes, brakes, air quality sensor, all genuine BMW parts fitted by myself in the last 3 years. It goes to BMW dealer for air conditioning and recalls only as I'm not paying £200 an hour on top of expensive main dealer items. Most of the items are made by other manufacturers anyway and re-badged.

 

Hi Birte. The EME fault has been recorded on 2018 and 2019 i3's too. This is state-side: BMW is recalling 2019 i3 and i8 models over fears they could lose propulsion - Roadshow

Had a few issues myself this year. My wife's car suffered a drive-train error and was returned to BMW main dealer 4 times to resolve. I even ran out of electric battery power, as it relates to the successful engagement of the petrol engine if you are low on battery power. I even pointed them to the fuel pump relay from the outset which resides under the passenger dashboard and spoke with their electric service technician who assured me they have never ever had an issue with that component in all his years of working on these types of cars. I mentioned forums and was instantly dismissed. They changed the fuel pump first, then the oxygen sensor, then finally the relay I'd asked them to investigate in the first place. £1k later and I'm still angry about it, but nothing compared to the potential bill they are quoting you.

Once you start to understand how these dealerships work - you see that they literally throw parts at the car until its resolved based on the data stored in the car. The actual technical expertise is gone in terms of fault finding. They refer to service bulletins from BMW and work through it like an A-Z.

Again, car has been serviced meticulously, oil and filter changes, brakes, air quality sensor, all genuine BMW parts fitted by myself in the last 3 years. It goes to BMW dealer for air conditioning and recalls only as I'm not paying £200 an hour on top of expensive main dealer items. Most of the items are made by other manufacturers anyway and re-badged.

It is really kind of you guys to give me all that information - it takes time to write and you have all been so generous with your time. It so useful for me to get this information in the forum as it is the only way that I could know that other people also have expensive problems with their BMWi3. It is absolutely horrifying that even cars from 2018 and 2019 should have this massive problem of the EME. BMW gives a guarantee for the battery for 10 years, but I think the EME problem is even more expensive to resolve than replacing the battery because of the labour involved. Obviously they are charging at £200 an hour for mechanics who get nothing like that in their pay packet. Yes, it truly shows how much a racket the dealership is. The only sensible advice to me who cannot deal with all of these repair issues myself must be to just be pragmatic and buy a small ICE car and know that it can serviced 'round the corner' by various mechanics.

 

If you lease a new car in warranty there is no reason not to get an EV.

My i3 is on a 3 year lease.

Other Small EVs worth a look:
Renault Zoe
Seat Mii electric
Mazda MX-30

 

If you lease a new car in warranty there is no reason not to get an EV.

My i3 is on a 3 year lease.

Other Small EVs worth a look:
Renault Zoe
Seat Mii electric
Mazda MX-30

BUT what is the range for the EVs? I had petrol for peace of mind with my BMWi3. I go regularly to Cambridge (65 miles) and Suffolk (100 miles) to see my sons and the grandchildren. I can charge at both addresses for the return journey

 

I have have this issue in my 2015 i3 range extender.

Have a post on here saying Don't buy i3 .

For a year nearly every 4 weeks my car was getting repaired from BMW, I bought it used from a dealer and it came with extended warranty.

The EME unit was the last straw at the time I though they said REME unit to me at the time .

They had the car nearly 2 weeks.

Every time I went to the dealership when it went It for something else instated now concerned I was with the new fault.

Eventually come to near end of the one year used warranty BMW finally agreed to extended the warranty for further year.

That moment I had it up for sale.


The guy who bought it said while he was baffling with price said he did not care about the warranty . I wonder how many time her used it during the the year.


The strange thing I went out and bought 2016 newer model i3 range extender 94ah. As I liked the car so much.

Got it with 33k about to turn 80k I have had no issues until now...
something seems strange with steering need to get looked at. Hopefully not too huge


I feel the pain lady who possibly on the hook for the repairs.

Hope you have positive as possible outcome.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

 

I have have this issue in my 2015 i3 range extender.

Have a post on here saying Don't buy i3 .

For a year nearly every 4 weeks my car was getting repaired from BMW, I bought it used from a dealer and it came with extended warranty.

The EME unit was the last straw at the time I though they said REME unit to me at the time .

They had the car nearly 2 weeks.

Every time I went to the dealership when it went It for something else instated now concerned I was with the new fault.

Eventually come to near end of the one year used warranty BMW finally agreed to extended the warranty for further year.

That moment I had it up for sale.


The guy who bought it said while he was baffling with price said he did not care about the warranty . I wonder how many time her used it during the the year.


The strange thing I went out and bought 2016 newer model i3 range extender 94ah. As I liked the car so much.

Got it with 33k about to turn 80k I have had no issues until now...
something seems strange with steering need to get looked at. Hopefully not too huge


I feel the pain lady who possibly on the hook for the repairs.

Hope you have positive as possible outcome.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

When I bought my 2015 BMWi3 it had been a test car only from Cooper Thames Ditton dealership and it only had 3,500 miles on the clock. It was just over a year old. It is absolutely rotten having this EME problem and I have no idea when I will get it back, nor what it will cost in the end by the time the dealership discuss the factory recall with BMW Germany. It was in for a factory recall relating to charging

 

In 5 years EVs have come on a lot. If you have destination charging in both places than just about any one (except Honda E or Mini) would do it without charging along the way.

There was a good car wow episode on running a set of newer smaller EVs until they were flat.

 

Would you buy another secondhand EV, or one that didn't have full manufacturers warranty to cover your ownership? It's sad to read your story, but reading this forum yours isn't the first, and I doubt will be the last.

How does the original repair quote of £10,430 compare to the part ex if you were to have traded it in before the fault.