How many have had the drive train malfunction error?

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jtoast

Active member
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
25
Location
Oklahoma
I would like to get an idea of how prevalent the drive train malfunction error is. I personally have had it twice so far and my Rex has less than 1,000 miles on it. The first time they replaced the 12v battery and they are not sure what they are going to do this time. So far my car has been in the shop for 14 of the 23 days that I have owned it and it will be at least another week before I get it back.

If you haven't had the error, please ignore this post. I don't care if you think it will be fixed in a future update. All I'm looking for is a basic idea of how widespread the problem is.

If you have had the issue, please post how many times, what they did to fix it, how long it took to fix, and about how many miles you had on the car.
 
I had the issue once, on the first proper journey! It said it was OK to continue, but take it into service ASAP. A small orange warning symbol came on in the bottom left of the screen for the rest of the 75-mile trip. Next start-up, it was gone.
I rang the salesman, and he said new cars often come up with this, and it usually goes away.

edit:
...But, on a 300-mile trip to the Lake District, Rex-ing all the way, it came on again. And stayed on overnight, but then cleared. I took it into Lloyds BMW in Carlisle, and they took very detailed notes of its comings and goings to send back to BMW. (They also showed me the records of every 6 minutes' motoring :eek: )
I'm going to take it to the agents I bought it from ASAP to see if they can clear the fault.
(Had the car a week, and already got 900+ miles on the clock! It's even better than I dared hope :D . A full report on Rex ranges elsewhere.)
 
Had it once, when running rex for extended period without properly functioning air-con so battery was getting warm.

After having firmware update and aircon coolant pressure checked all has been ok. Took a few days, 1 day for full firmware update and a couple to diagnose the aircon problem, the mothership was undecided as to whether the unit was faulty or just running at wrong pressure so require some more investigation.

Has not reoccurred in over 2000miles.
 
Yes. Had it twice at about 2000 miles. In each case it disappeared and there were no residual warnings. I may be wrong but I think both cases were when the REx was running.

No recurrences. But the catastrophic failure of *everything* at around 6000 miles may have been related. Who knows.
 
Mine malfunctioned two days ago. Dealer tried to charge 12v but failed now want to replace battery. I asked what caused it to drain, but they do not know.
 
Falcon,

Thats the situation I'm in except it has now happened twice. They still have no idea whats wrong with mine.
 
I'm pretty sure that the i3's accessory plugs are not switched. This is both a benefit and a problem. Even a phone charger left plugged in, even if not charging the phone, draws some current. To protect your i3's 12vdc battery, unplug anything when you aren't actually using it. Since the 12vdc battery isn't all that large, even a small drain over time can be problematic.
 
jadnashuanh said:
I'm pretty sure that the i3's accessory plugs are not switched.

FYI, the one under the center dash is switched for sure. I have my Valentine One plugged in there and it turns on/off with the car. It goes on during pre conditioning too.
 
I think it is only a Rex problem. I've had it several times, and BMW (who are sending someone over from the factory :eek: ) are going to have the car for a few days to look into it.

Edit: Shortly after posting the above, I went out and had the warning on battery! :( ...so it's not Rex only, and I haven't used Rex for 3 days.
 
I get the error - but so far only when I charge it. I use the low cost option and it comes up 2 hours prior.

I agree with the previous poster-I am starting to wonder if it has something to do with the temperature of the main battery or other component. Running the REx might warm it up too much? I have received the error prior to charging each night lately and it has been very warm in the garage.

All a theory of course.
 
ericblz said:
I get the error - but so far only when I charge it. I use the low cost option and it comes up 2 hours prior.

I agree with the previous poster-I am starting to wonder if it has something to do with the temperature of the main battery or other component. Running the REx might warm it up too much? I have received the error prior to charging each night lately and it has been very warm in the garage.

All a theory of course.
I had it on a round trip from Bristol to Plymouth - 260 miles. Battery all the way to Plymouth - fine. Rex all the way back because the Ecotricity CCS chargers were faulty. The error message came on half a mile from home, but was clear in the morning after charging. Did a similar journey a few months ago in a demo model with no issues. I wondered if it was because it got too hot (I did also give it a bit of a blast around the ring road just before getting home) or possibly that I had plugged the iPod in for the whole trip and it may have drained the 12v battery. I didn't take it to the dealer because it cleared but maybe I need to tell him so they can gain more data on what is causing the problem.
 
@pastyboy - go see your dealer there should be a software update to address your problem, I had this too when doing Leeds-London and back again with the Rex - new update cleared the issue.

I have also had a leak in my A/C which hasn't been helping either...
 
The 12vdc battery gets charged by your main batteries while you are driving, or when connected to your EVSE. Using something plugged into it just decreases overall range, and, it appears that they are not shut off when shutting the car down, so beware of leaving something plugged in when leaving the car! Even a phone charger that is not connected to your phone still draws a little bit of power. Over time, that can be a problem, as the main traction batteries are not in the circuit until you go to ready state and you can discharge the 12vdc battery and create problems for yourself.
 
jackt said:
@pastyboy - go see your dealer there should be a software update to address your problem, I had this too when doing Leeds-London and back again with the Rex - new update cleared the issue.

I have also had a leak in my A/C which hasn't been helping either...
Thanks Jackt.
 
Happened to me today, charged the car overnight, the app alerted me to an error stating charging interrupted at 99%. When I went to unplug the relays in the car started clicking like crazy and when I powered up my REX it gave me drivetrain malfunction error, currently sat on my driveway waiting to be towed to BMW in Pleasanton, just passed 5k miles and the temperature here last night was cool.

Stuart
 
The towing company had issues getting it into Neutral off my driveway, they got it into Neutral once by pushing it into drive 3 times and then for whatever reason the tow guy tried to start it and locked it into park and couldn't get it back into Neutral. Had to cringe as they put skids under the rear wheels and slid the car onto the flat bed :(

Mechanic said the 12v battery had no charge, so now it's in the shop while they trace the issue :(
 
The 12vdc battery powers pretty much all of the electronics, and if it gets discharged or isn't making a good connection, your car will be non-op. That battery is only recharged while the vehicle is running or during the charging cycle on the main batteries. But, if there's a bad connection, all bets are off.
 
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