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

[ronbot]

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

What was your conclusion?

 

[ronbot]

"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.

He didn't suggest a dealer repair, but an indie... independent repair shop. That's a very valid suggestion he made... a new compressor is around $1300 online from a BMW parts dealer. Flush though will only be as good as the shop understands the electric valves in the system, which need to be operated by BMW service software. Pick an independent BMW shop they'll know how to do such, and then can flush both subsystems... add a return line filter, and hopefully make a successful repair.

 

[Archmeister]

See below

 

[Archmeister]

He didn't suggest a dealer repair, but an indie... independent repair shop. That's a very valid suggestion he made... a new compressor is around $1300 online from a BMW parts dealer. Flush though will only be as good as the shop understands the electric valves in the system, which need to be operated by BMW service software. Pick an independent BMW shop they'll know how to do such, and then can flush both subsystems... add a return line filter, and hopefully make a successful repair.

Here's a link on my experience a couple of years ago. Hope it's helpful.
https://www.mybmwi3.com/threads/i3-hvac-compressor-woes.18220/post-77347

 

[HolyRex]

Hi I have a 15 Rex .. took to dealer as no A/C and light for A/C on button not illuminating. $1800 later told compressor had internal failure and luckily no metal in lines, 6k repair cost. I bought compressor on eBay and changed 12v battery thru local mechanic- no A/C still and light not illuminating .. now trying refrigerant valve replacement- this is a frustrating car! Any ideas or help out there? I’m in south Florida.