[JimJams]

I bought an i3 from a non-BMW dealer the other week. My first EV - very excited.

The very next day: the dreaded drivetrain fault warning on the dash.

Took it to a BMW main dealer: moisture ingress in REx. It needs a new REx (I assume they mean the petrol motor).

They've warned me to expect a big bill. They're still totting it up...check back on this thread for the final amount. But if anyone wants to take an early gue$$ at the replacement cost of a Rex then feel free....

Fortunately the supplying dealer is on the hook for the bill. I bet they will fight it tooth and nail, but fortunately the law is tight.....

When this all dies down, I am so buying a warranty....that's if my missus lets me keep it! I

 

[E-Gizmo]

I hope you took it back to the supplying dealer before BMW?

If you didn’t you may find that you are liable for the bill.

 

[cah197]

Engines need to be run frequently to keep the moisture out and lubricated all round.

I expect this car hasn’t been using the ReX very much if at all.

 

[JimJams]

I hope you took it back to the supplying dealer before BMW?

If you didn’t you may find that you are liable for the bill.

Good point E-Gizmo - I called them first and asked if i can send it straight to Main delaer,as they wouldn't know how to fix it. They held their hands up to that and agreed - so far they have been reasonable.

 

[Jack]

The important question is what year car, if it’s a 14 or before most REME were replaced with a redesigned one very early on to resolve a trapped moisture issue.

My old car definately never had the replacement as I had another fix applied that meant I never needed the hardware change.

@cah197 I3 runs engine regularly, to prevent such problems.

It is unlikely that entire REX is under replacement it will only be the REME aka big ass alternator. Parts will run into £4K, labour should be no more than a day.

 

[JimJams]

The important question is what year car, if it’s a 14 or before most REME were replaced with a redesigned one very early on to resolve a trapped moisture issue.

My old car definately never had the replacement as I had another fix applied that meant I never needed the hardware change.

@cah197 I3 runs engine regularly, to prevent such problems.

It is unlikely that entire REX is under replacement it will only be the REME aka big ass alternator. Parts will run into £4K, labour should be no more than a day.

Thanks Jack, v useful - it is a 2013 reg. Nothing in service history mentions the recall, but it has been seen by BMW main dealers for two services in its 29k miles. Seems to have a full service history.

 

[Davidss]

...
When this all dies down, I am so buying a warranty....that's if my missus lets me keep it! I

From reading other posts on this forum I'd be prepared to fall in line with any suggestion from your missus about not keeping it.
Other posts suggest that BMW don't add a warranty to any used vehicle after the BMW warranty has lapsed. The assumption is that open market warranties are either not available, or so restricted as to be not worth the money.

Thus your safest course of action might be to sell 'immediately', then if permission is granted, buy again but this time with a BMW warranty in existance.
Do factor in the year on year costs to keep the BMW warranty alive, and be aware of any 'do not extend' dates, or other parameters, that BMW have in the small print.

Regards

 

[SteveMalta]

Does anyone know if the standard BMW 3 year warranty can be extended and for how long?
Good advice so thanks to the OP for raising it

 

[gzoom]

Does anyone know if the standard BMW 3 year warranty can be extended and for how long?
Good advice so thanks to the OP for raising it

You can buy a BMW backed extended warranty for a set monthly rate or an annual fee for the non EV cars, not sure about the i cars.

Speaking from personal experience I woudlnt touch another modern BMW without a warranty. Reliable BMWs are not.

 

[cah197]

Reliable BMWs are not.

I hear the electric windows can be difficult.

 

[bitmanev]

that's for me to never get a Rex but a BEV

 

[jonathanhoey]

Engines need to be run frequently to keep the moisture out and lubricated all round.

I expect this car hasn’t been using the ReX very much if at all.

Someone elsewhere on this forum linked to the technical manual for the REx engine, which says that it will activate itself every eight weeks for a self-test cycle (presumably to keep it in running order).

Is an eight-week interval too long (ie should those of us with a REx be manually engaging it more frequently?)

 

[srichards]

@JimJams

The alternative for the supplying dealer is to give you a full refund and then sell the car again but mention the REX is busted then they don't have to fix it. If the repair cost runs into ££££ then it's better for them to knock off ££ and sell it again or more likely punt it out to auction knowing full well that it won't be tested anyway. Then some other poor sap will inherit the problem.

 

[Jack]

Is an eight-week interval too long (ie should those of us with a REx be manually engaging it more frequently?)

8 weeks is perfectly fine - don't conflate multiple issues together.

As this vehicle is very early it has completely different parts to later models - the REME in particular was only replaced on customer vehicles that exhibited the moisture problem, only a small amount of the fleet ever did show the issue.

The first fix was to run the engine hot to dry the REME, the permanent fix was a redesigned part anything 64 plate onwards will have the new part.

that's for me to never get a Rex but a BEV

ATM the most reliable cars in the hybrid stable have been these overly complicated PHEV things - the simple BEV ones have had way more and continuing issues.

 

[donald]

I would think with that experience you would prefer to reject the car (30 day rights) and get one with a warranty from a franchise. The extra margin you will pay must surely be worth the de-stress?

 

[gnomen]

I asked my BMW dealer whether I could purchase a warranty extension with my new i3 (coming in March). He said there was no warranty extension available. Would be delighted to hear otherwise.

 

[MarkyM]

That is a bit worrying. I love my i3. Just coming up to 1 year and 15,000 miles and I would have hoped to keep it long term, but only if I could extend the warranty after year 3. The i3 is a complex (especially with the Rex) and rather unique car in its build and I believe would be expensive to "fix" if anything fairly simple goes wrong. But the above comment from gnomen above tallies with my friend who has had his 2014 i3 for just over 3 years now. He enquired regularly about extending his warranty in the last few weeks leading up to the 3 year mark.BMW never got back to him at all! He has had various fairly minor issues with his, all dealt with under warranty. The last of which was his charging socket failing to "lock on" when plugged in,just before his warranty was up. All fixed under warranty again. He has had recent issues with the Drive mode selector,failing to engage the correct gear (D,N,R etc). He called out the AA and was told that turning the car on+off would (SHOULD!) re-set the solenoid inside it,which seemed to work. The AA guy also said he had seen plenty of these Drive selector faults on the latest BMWs but had never seen one on an i3 before. He has his fingers crossed he won't be stuck again.

 

[Jack]

mark.BMW never got back to him at all!

This is were you go - BMW Insured Warranty and Roadside Assistance.

 

[JimJams]

The final estimate came to £5k!

• £4k for a new Range Extender Electrical Machine (well spotted @Jack)
• £400 for a new occasional charger
• £506 for two new rubber suspension dust covers (!). Makes £400 for the charger seem cheap....

Thanks to everyone on here who has chipped in with advice.

I called the offical BMW warranty folk: £1600 pa with no excess, £1200 pa for £250 excess.

Your opinions please: the supplying dealer is giving me a choice of sending the car back for full refund or paying the £5k bill for me (good on them).

What should I do - stick or twist?

I do love the car (it has adaptive cruise, which is v rare and not available on a Zoe), but I can't justify £1600 for a warranty - I'd resent it!

@Jack - given that it is a '63 model, would you send it back for a refund even after a REM fix?

 

[JimJams]

He enquired regularly about extending his warranty in the last few weeks leading up to the 3 year mark.BMW never got back to him at all!

The person I spoke to at BMW Warranty had to call the underwriter to get the quote I've given here - that gave me the impression that they don't want to cover i3's at all, but then again I'm the paranoid sort!