AC Condenser Damage - 2015 BMW i3 REX

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I have my #5 stainless steel woven wire mesh (74% open area) and look forward to reading your installation instructions.

Posted in Mods and Acc.

"AC Condenser Protection - A How To"
 
Hey guys! In the process of doing this my self.

Do I absolutely need a new AC manifold(intake pipe)? I assumed all I would need is a new condenser in addition to the refrigerant & oil.

Thanks!
 
First off, you NEED to be sure that the condenser has a drier in it. You need that. This write up completely overlooks that, I just put everything back together(1 week of down time). Now I have to go through the process all over again and buy the correct condenser with a drier in it.

ALSO, remove the condenser through the BOTTOM of the car. Praying and forcing it by taking out of the top and “trying not to damage all the fins” is completely unnecessary. I just dropped it in & out through the bottom - 2 screws hold a plastic price below the radiator/condenser.
 
Unfortunately I am in this same position with my 2014 Rex. I have a third party warranty and I thought it was safe taking my car to the stealership to diagnose what was wrong with the AC system. After a $250 diagnosis they determined that it was a rock in the condenser and it would cost another $1100 to fix it. It kills me that their diagnosis cost more than the labor they have for replacement. Ok well it's my turn to fix it the same way and add some sort of screen in front of it so that I also don't end up with it happening again. I do have some questions based on my on research.

kallisti5 said:
DO NOT USE PAG-ANYTHING!

BMW was as confusing as possible around the AC oil. It seems like they couldn't make up their minds
on which oil to use since all the documentation is conflicting. (Hell, even the can of BMW AC oil is conflicting.

However, additional research shows PAG-ANYTHING will damage the electric compressor and your car. Even though the SP-A2 is
labeled for R1234yf (and even says *DO NOT USE ON R134a systems* on the can, it is compatible with R134a and R1234yf per this:
https://www.behrhellaservice.com/behr-hella-service/assets/media/Compressor_Oils_EN.pdf

My 2015 has a BMW part number for the AC oil, which matches the can of Sanden SP-A2. My car is also R134a. I feel like BMW were going to have all BMW i3's use R1234yf, but changed their mind to R134a at the last minute for the 2014, 2015 years. The SP-A2 can saying "do not use on R134a" is really saying "don't use it on traditional mechanical compressor vehicles (since it won't mix with PAG-ANYTHING).

To make matters even more confusing, the BMW AC sticker says "PAG 2339920" which when you look up 2339920 you find a the SP-A2 (which i'm pretty sure is a POE oil, not PAG)

The electric compressors require an AC lube with a high "dielectric strength" since it co-exists with the motor windings for the AC compressor. Using something conductive like PAG-ANYTHING will result in arcing within the compressor and damage your compressor/battery.

tldr: use SP-A2 if your car says "PAG 2339920" and DON'T use any PAG.

As far as I could tell you are wrong about the PAG. From what I read here http://www.airstal.com/dokumenty/atsb83-05-2017.pdf

Sanden has made a version that they call SP-A2 and they use it in both their mechanical and electrical compressors – that very interesting indeed due to
the fact that most of the other OEM producers use POE oil with a very high di-electrical strength in order to avoid any possible conflicts between the motor
windings and the lubricant. It might be that Sanden have added some features that improves the di-electrical strength so it reaches the same level as the
POE has...it will require a separate analysis and test to find out the di-electricak strength of the SP-A2.

You are correct in that normal PAG oils will create arcing if the oil comes in contact with the coil winding. It seems that BMW used R134 and R1234YF at the same time depending on the market the car was destined for, but both types of refrigerant in the i3 used the same SP-A2. More information is here https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...g/64-53-condenser-dryer-with-lines/1VnXj85WOR

I had one question I had about the amount of oil to add though. It seems that they recommend 40ml of additional oil when replacing a condenser with the integrated dryer. https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...ing/64-53-condenser-dryer-with-lines/1LEbCldB
 
I had similar damage to my 2016 i3 Rex caused by road debris, and the AC repair was covered under my auto comprehensive/collision policy.
 
symonray said:
I had similar damage to my 2016 i3 Rex caused by road debris, and the AC repair was covered under my auto comprehensive/collision policy.

totally forgot about that! what was the estimate cost of repair.
 
i3Houston said:
symonray said:
I had similar damage to my 2016 i3 Rex caused by road debris, and the AC repair was covered under my auto comprehensive/collision policy.

totally forgot about that! what was the estimate cost of repair.
My AC damage was caused by faulty design. The compressor self destructed and spewed metal filings throughout the system. My quote to repair was $22292.65. I decided not to repair it. Traded it in for salvage and got $8477, for a vehicle with a pre-AC failure fair market value of $15940. To soften my loss, as a goodwill gesture, BMW sent me a check for $2000, so I am "only" out $5942 (and no i3).
 
i3Alan said:
My AC damage was caused by faulty design. The compressor self destructed and spewed metal filings throughout the system. My quote to repair was $22292.65. I decided not to repair it. Traded it in for salvage and got $8477, for a vehicle with a pre-AC failure fair market value of $15940. To soften my loss, as a goodwill gesture, BMW sent me a check for $2000, so I am "only" out $5942 (and no i3).

Ouch... this is why i traded my 2015 in, no way was I going to trust it outside of warranty, and anyone that does is playing russian (german?) roulette.
 
Ouch... this is why i traded my 2015 in, no way was I going to trust it outside of warranty, and anyone that does is playing russian (german?) roulette.

True - but with some pretty long odds. The major customer survey companies rate the i3 as extremely reliable.

About 150,000 i3's sold world-wide, with some 'high-miler's' out there, a third well above 50,000 miles, and even some with over 100,000 miles on the clock.

If even 1% had major systems failures, that would be 1,500 cars out of 150,000, which would be slamming the boards with their stories, and would certainly trigger a recall. My guess is there is a pretty low chance of having an i3 with a major (expensive) system failure of any kind, most of which happen when under factory warranty.

Sucks to be the one that gets hit with the perfect storm though - a bad Dealership that botches the initial diagnosis/repair which likely caused the failure and won't take responsibility, and the regional BMW NA area manager who is just as bad, backing the dealer over the customer.
 
2014 i3 Rex.

I'm having an issue w/ my hybrid battery cooling circuit - there is an electronically controlled Expansion Valve on the rear pass side of the batt that is throwing a code (P0CE1) "Stuck On". No cabin A/C but appears to be cooling batt ok. I have the part ordered and now I'm just waiting for it to arrive (of course this happens in July during record high streaks...).

QUESTION:
Regarding the oil Sanden SP-A2, if I'm not pulling apart the compressor do I really need to add any oil after I evacuate the refrigerant? Looking at shop manual it would leave me to believe I don't if I don't lose more than 150g of r134a that I don't need to top up the fluid. Otherwise I'll be forking over another $100 to the dealer for the can of SP-A2. Certainly don't want to use the "universal oil" that the shop said they had.......

Any insight you can provide is helpful. Great post and well written, thanks!
 
Anyone know where I can get PAG oil equiv to the Sanden SP-A2?

BMW has Refrigerant Oil Sanden Sp A2 832550 - BMW (83-22-2-339-920) but it's backordered for 4 weeks to come from Germany. Apparently only 4 cans in the country and it's spoken for.

Mahle shows equiv ACPL9000P but it's not available anywhere in USA in so far as my search goes.

Hella 8FX351213141 is also equiv to SP-A2 but can't find it.
 
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