Jason wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:38 pm
Have had 2014 i3 towed to bmw dealer twice for DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION. This time they replaced one of eight High Voltage batteries.Took a month because I am in Hawaii..
I have read about excessive delays in the replacement of a battery pack module in other U.S. locations, so I doubt that the delay is due to your living in Hawaiʻi. It might be that airlines won't transport Li-ion battery cells so these modules must be shipped by sea and land from Germany. I would think that they could be stocked in a North American BMW parts warehouse, but that doesn't seem to happen for many i3 electronic modules and parts.
Jason wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:38 pm
Read all the feedback, and must agree this is not a car I can afford to keep without Warranty.
The general warranty on our 2014 BEV expired in November, 2018. I know that an expensive electronic module, the A/C compressor, the plastic motor mount bracket, etc., could fail which could result in a repair cost that is a significant percentage of the market value of the car. However, this seems like a fairly low probability, so I don't worry about it.
Jason wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:38 pm
So I asked what a one year plan would cost. $4,300. Guess I should just take a $15,000 loss and unload it as a trade in if any other dealer will take it. My 2 year warranty is almost up.
Unloading it is a guaranteed loss. Keeping it might result in a significant loss, but that's not guaranteed.
Jason wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:38 pm
So I got out the customer book and read that the HV battery has an Eight year/80,000 mile Warranty in this state. There was also good coverage for Corrosion, and the REX engine. Has anyone had to use these services.? I would keep the car longer if i had assurance that the battery pack was covered. Paid $507 for 12v. Replacement battery.
I assume that your battery pack module was replaced under the battery pack warranty which, according to
this warranty manual, is 8 yr/100,000 mi. In addition to being warrantied against defects in materials or workmanship, the usable battery pack capacity is warrantied not to decrease by more than 30%. So your battery pack is covered by a warranty for at least 2 more years, depending on the date your i3 was originally sold. Battery pack failures have been very uncommon although it might not seem so to you.
As you discovered, BMW dealers charge way too much for a 12 V battery replacement. I plan to replace the 12 V battery in our i3. BMW of Honolulu's price for a battery was ~$210 a year ago. I ordered the same battery from an East Penn Manufacturing retailer in Honolulu for $150 including shipping. Replacing the battery isn't difficult, so I will do it when the original battery fails. I understand that not everyone would be comfortable doing this, but I don't want to overpay for something that I can do myself.
I plan to keep our i3 until it's totaled in a collision or it has a repair cost that exceeds its market value.