Discussion
I have a mid-2015 (65) BMW i3 60Ah REX that had sudden loss of power and needed taken to local dealer.
Apparently they were unable to ascertain issue without speaking to BMW(UK) who have come back advising that the EME (Electric Motor Electronics) module needs to be replaced. They will apparently cover 50% of the cost of the part (~£2k pre-VAT) but my total bill for the other 50% plus fitting costs etc will not leave much change from £5k.
Obviously it is still worth fixing as the car itself is worth more than that but it's a kick in the teeth as I had been planning on changing it in the not too distant future.
Anyone else had this issue? (I see there was a recall by BMW USA for this module on a limited number of facelift cars)
Should I be asking for a larger contribution from BMW(UK) (and if so has anyone any advice on this front). One issue may be that I purchased the car privately, rather than from BMW, but it does have a full BMWSH. It is 5yrs 1 month old and has covered 60,000miles.
Apparently they were unable to ascertain issue without speaking to BMW(UK) who have come back advising that the EME (Electric Motor Electronics) module needs to be replaced. They will apparently cover 50% of the cost of the part (~£2k pre-VAT) but my total bill for the other 50% plus fitting costs etc will not leave much change from £5k.
Obviously it is still worth fixing as the car itself is worth more than that but it's a kick in the teeth as I had been planning on changing it in the not too distant future.
Anyone else had this issue? (I see there was a recall by BMW USA for this module on a limited number of facelift cars)
Should I be asking for a larger contribution from BMW(UK) (and if so has anyone any advice on this front). One issue may be that I purchased the car privately, rather than from BMW, but it does have a full BMWSH. It is 5yrs 1 month old and has covered 60,000miles.
A friend had a lexus system failure that resulted in the car not working at all, that was traced to water. Lexus wanted £5k min for a new battery control unit. I found an independent places that specializes on these. They took out the control unit, left it overnight on the radiator in the garage (it was Jan). Plugged it in the next morning and everything worked. They traces the leak and fixed the rubber seal. £500
Basically, find an independent who is prepared to investigate.
Simon
Basically, find an independent who is prepared to investigate.
Simon
Boylston said:
Basically, find an independent who is prepared to investigate.
Simon
Difficulty with that is they would be unlikely to offer the 50% discount on the affected part, so what you'd save on labour would likely be offset by the higher cost of the part, plus it probably requires specialist equipment, which not even all BMW dealers have.Simon
alfa aficionado said:
I have a mid-2015 (65) BMW i3 60Ah REX that had sudden loss of power and needed taken to local dealer.
Apparently they were unable to ascertain issue without speaking to BMW(UK) who have come back advising that the EME (Electric Motor Electronics) module needs to be replaced. They will apparently cover 50% of the cost of the part (~£2k pre-VAT) but my total bill for the other 50% plus fitting costs etc will not leave much change from £5k.
Obviously it is still worth fixing as the car itself is worth more than that but it's a kick in the teeth as I had been planning on changing it in the not too distant future.
Anyone else had this issue? (I see there was a recall by BMW USA for this module on a limited number of facelift cars)
Should I be asking for a larger contribution from BMW(UK) (and if so has anyone any advice on this front). One issue may be that I purchased the car privately, rather than from BMW, but it does have a full BMWSH. It is 5yrs 1 month old and has covered 60,000miles.
Thought the Hybrid system had a longer warrantyApparently they were unable to ascertain issue without speaking to BMW(UK) who have come back advising that the EME (Electric Motor Electronics) module needs to be replaced. They will apparently cover 50% of the cost of the part (~£2k pre-VAT) but my total bill for the other 50% plus fitting costs etc will not leave much change from £5k.
Obviously it is still worth fixing as the car itself is worth more than that but it's a kick in the teeth as I had been planning on changing it in the not too distant future.
Anyone else had this issue? (I see there was a recall by BMW USA for this module on a limited number of facelift cars)
Should I be asking for a larger contribution from BMW(UK) (and if so has anyone any advice on this front). One issue may be that I purchased the car privately, rather than from BMW, but it does have a full BMWSH. It is 5yrs 1 month old and has covered 60,000miles.
Try quoting the Consumer Rights Act at them, that usually encourages them to make a better offer. A 5 year old well maintained car should not need such expensive repairs, and unless they can show you abused it then you have a good case that the part was defective from the factory. Normal lifetime of that part will be lifetime of the car, it's not a consumable.
aestetix1 said:
Try quoting the Consumer Rights Act at them, that usually encourages them to make a better offer. A 5 year old well maintained car should not need such expensive repairs, and unless they can show you abused it then you have a good case that the part was defective from the factory. Normal lifetime of that part will be lifetime of the car, it's not a consumable.
Has anyone ever done this?I'm wondering if this needs to be done before getting car repaired OR whether I go ahead (accepting their 50% contribution to parts currently on the table) and then take them to the small claims court, claiming as you point out that failure of this, non-consumable part, suggests there was a manufacturing defect as an EV should last more than 5yrs?
Interesting. I went to the Ombudsman to get the warranty clarified on my MB C350e. After a protracted ‘discussion’ MB eventually and very grudgingly acknowledged that the 6 year/63000 mile warranty covered battery, electric motor and “power electronics”, not just battery, but it was like pulling bloody teeth to get that out of them, despite me having a document that had informed my purchase stating exactly that, which they later insisted was ‘for internal use only’ and didn’t apply.
a
holes, the lot of ‘em.
a
holes, the lot of ‘em.alfa aficionado said:
Has anyone ever done this?
I'm wondering if this needs to be done before getting car repaired OR whether I go ahead (accepting their 50% contribution to parts currently on the table) and then take them to the small claims court, claiming as you point out that failure of this, non-consumable part, suggests there was a manufacturing defect as an EV should last more than 5yrs?
Better to try to get them to sort it up front under CRA rather than going to Small Claims Court later.I'm wondering if this needs to be done before getting car repaired OR whether I go ahead (accepting their 50% contribution to parts currently on the table) and then take them to the small claims court, claiming as you point out that failure of this, non-consumable part, suggests there was a manufacturing defect as an EV should last more than 5yrs?
I'd assumed all EVs had an 8 year warranty (within reason) on the drive train + battery.
Interesting to keep reading about the i3, it seems it was just not quite ready for launch in the early days, and they've kept having to update it, so many of the early cars have serious issues.
Don't touch one without some kind of warranty is the lesson I guess. Still, £5k, scary.
There are a couple of EV specialists in the UK now, have you tried indra? They might be able to at least recommended someone who could help.
Interesting to keep reading about the i3, it seems it was just not quite ready for launch in the early days, and they've kept having to update it, so many of the early cars have serious issues.
Don't touch one without some kind of warranty is the lesson I guess. Still, £5k, scary.
There are a couple of EV specialists in the UK now, have you tried indra? They might be able to at least recommended someone who could help.
jjwilde said:
I'd assumed all EVs had an 8 year warranty (within reason) on the drive train + battery.
Interesting to keep reading about the i3, it seems it was just not quite ready for launch in the early days, and they've kept having to update it, so many of the early cars have serious issues.
.
I thought the 8 years is battery only.Interesting to keep reading about the i3, it seems it was just not quite ready for launch in the early days, and they've kept having to update it, so many of the early cars have serious issues.
.
My i3 has been 100% fine to be fair. 5 years old now. I've not bothered paying dealer service £££ costs, given all it needs is a brake fluid change every 2 years,
alfa aficionado said:
Has anyone ever done this?
I'm wondering if this needs to be done before getting car repaired OR whether I go ahead (accepting their 50% contribution to parts currently on the table) and then take them to the small claims court, claiming as you point out that failure of this, non-consumable part, suggests there was a manufacturing defect as an EV should last more than 5yrs?
I had some success with BMW using the CRA argument a few years back, not on an i3 admittedly but these would appear to have numerous design/ engineering flaws unfortunately so it’s worth pushing them IMHO.I'm wondering if this needs to be done before getting car repaired OR whether I go ahead (accepting their 50% contribution to parts currently on the table) and then take them to the small claims court, claiming as you point out that failure of this, non-consumable part, suggests there was a manufacturing defect as an EV should last more than 5yrs?
Have you searched on speakEV? e.g. https://www.speakev.com/threads/minor-downsides-of...
Some of the posters on there are *very* knowledgeable on the i3 and it’s failings (e.g. Jack) - perhaps start a new thread if you can’t find anything that matches your issue? I believe there is also a Facebook i3 group with plenty of info.
If the car drives could you get it to an EV specialist? Or call some for advice. e.g. https://www.hevra.org.uk/
Worth exploring other options before spending so much on what could well actually be a small, repairable issue I’d say (or one that BMW should contribute more towards fixing).
What are BMW actually proposing to replace? As per link above is it the EME or REME?
This also details some of the problems with them:
https://www.speakev.com/threads/for-the-love-of-go...
This also details some of the problems with them:
https://www.speakev.com/threads/for-the-love-of-go...
Not sure if the OP is still looking but this may be of help
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwi3uk/?multi_per...
Scroll down to KLE story.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwi3uk/?multi_per...
Scroll down to KLE story.
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