Clear Roof Coating Peeling Up

I just got my i3 back for the dealership for some warranty repair work (i.e. they had to replace my whole battery pack after it kept trying to kill me [read my previous blog for more details]) and, while getting out of the car, I noticed that the clear poly coating they put on the carbon roof is bubbling off...and in a big way. It is bubbling up along the leading edge, side edge and right in the middle. The middle bubble is quite large (about 3-4" in diameter). I can see where it initially started to delaminate due to an impact that scratched it. I have read other forums where owners have had scratches and repaired them with clear paint, but has anybody else notice the whole clear coat peeling off in one sheet? Especially from getting scratched?

I will take it back to the dealer next week (it's still under warranty) but having just spent 6 weeks there I'm sure they will not be pleased to see me pull up... :shock:

What did BMW do about the clear coat on the roof?

I'm having the same issue. I bought my 2015 in 2017 (w 5k miles on it). I drive it as a second car, and keep it garaged most of the time (It now has 15k miles). I saw a small bubble or two, but now there is a large one, like the one you described.

I took it in to the dealership last month, and they took photos and sent them to BMW. They have scheduled for someone to come to the dealership and look at it later this month. When they called to advise me, they said that the "roof looks different from the others that they've seen" and implied that I put on my own after-market clear coat. I told them that I hadn't, and they said maybe the owner before me did. I'm hoping this isn't an implication of them trying to get out covering it.

I've enjoyed the car, but the dealerships in my area aren't able to service it well. Every time I have the smallest issue, it's several weeks for a resolution. I love the uniqueness of the i3, but might have to bight the bullet and get a Prius for my next EV/hybrid. I've had better luck with Toyota, and they won't be stumped any time I bring the car for service.

The dealer stalled out of repairing my roof issues citing pending litigation issues (on the issue that the car is no longer working at all). They took pictures of it an everything. The didn't tow it in to fix the drive train [the 4th time] late last year. I got fed up and towed it in myself this last December. They told me they would not fix the car or the roof as it was no longer under warranty. My 4-yr old, 36,000 mike immaculate car is a door stop and will never get back on the road again. The lawyers tell me that they will buy the car back a day before they have to step in the court room, but not a moment sooner. When they do they will also have to issue a recall as they still haven't a solution to my problem. My suggestion is to either sell it while it is still running or wait until they recall it (like VW did the diesel Golfs) and get more coin for it.

Like you, I loved the car for the first 2 years then my feelings started waning as it spent more and more time in the shop. Now it won't run at all and they won't fix it.

I hope this is of some help

joshuahcraig said:

When they called to advise me, they said that the "roof looks different from the others that they've seen" and implied that I put on my own after-market clear coat.

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It's probably a long shot, but I wonder whether the previous owner might have had IR-reflecting film installed on the roof. I have considered having a film like this installed on the roof of our i3, but installers have told me that they expected the film to degrade and start peeling.

No, it wouldn't be because of some aftermarket coating or film. I'm a composite engineer by trade and the epoxy is bubbling off the roof because of either poor surface prep (when they applied the clear coat) OR, if a clear coat wasn't used, it's because of epoxy/fabric incompatibility. I suspect they applied a glossy clear coat to the clear epoxy finish (like the frame is) and they just didn't do a good surface prep.

The peeling clear coat on carbon fiber roof showed up on M3's too, so no way that BMW should claim they haven't seen this before, or not know the cause (poor prep/contamination).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9M-XOPz3Lk

MikeBrace said:

The dealer stalled out of repairing my roof issues citing pending litigation issues (on the issue that the car is no longer working at all). They took pictures of it an everything. The didn't tow it in to fix the drive train [the 4th time] late last year. I got fed up and towed it in myself this last December. They told me they would not fix the car or the roof as it was no longer under warranty. My 4-yr old, 36,000 mike immaculate car is a door stop and will never get back on the road again. The lawyers tell me that they will buy the car back a day before they have to step in the court room, but not a moment sooner. When they do they will also have to issue a recall as they still haven't a solution to my problem. My suggestion is to either sell it while it is still running or wait until they recall it (like VW did the diesel Golfs) and get more coin for it.

Like you, I loved the car for the first 2 years then my feelings started waning as it spent more and more time in the shop. Now it won't run at all and they won't fix it.

I hope this is of some help

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Wow, that's crazy. Buying the i3 new runs like $45-55k, so you'd expect to get decent service. I got a relatively good deal on my used one, and paid nearly half that, but I will likely be trading it in soon. Even when I've had some small things (ie a software upgrade or check engine light), the dealerships in my area don't know how to handle it. They always give me the impression that they're not fans of the car, either. I feel like they could have tested this car for another year or two before bringing it to market.

I can get a new Prius Prime EV+Hybrid for $20k less, Toyota will know how to service it, and I won't be made to feel like a tree-hugging millennial every time bring it to the dealership.

I'm taking the i3 later today, so I will keep you all updated with what they say.

I can get a new Prius Prime EV+Hybrid for $20k less, Toyota will know how to service it, and I won't be made to feel like a tree-hugging millennial every time bring it to the dealership.

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Yeah - we test-drove a friends. Electric range of 20 miles (12 miles at freeway speeds) was kind of a joke. And after our friend test drove our i3, his comment was, "Gee, my car drives like a hippo, compared to yours." He just traded his in for an I3s

The dealer model for profitability is geared for ICE vehicles, with their regular service intervals. A typical EV doesn't require anywhere near as much routine maintenance. As a result, the real profit center (maintenance) with an EV doesn't support the sales as much...so, things can get a bit disconnected. That will likely have to change as more and more vehicles start to become electrified. Some dealers just don't get the EV thing at all, either, and (I think because of their lack of contribution to the dealership's profit margin), are less inclined to deal with them.

A typical EV doesn't require anywhere near as much routine maintenance. As a result, the real profit center (maintenance) with an EV doesn't support the sales as much...so, things can get a bit disconnected.

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Yup! And because EVs currently make up such a small percentage of a Dealer's service/maintenance, most only have one mechanic trained on them. That will be changing though with BMW keeping the i3 in production as well as the i8, and releasing the i4, iNEXT, and iX3 as well. With BMW EV electric ranges soon to be pushing 300 miles, EVs will really start taking market share.