$2.5K to replace Expansion Valve for Battery cooling?

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EVBob

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Messages
154
Greetings All!,

summary: $2,504 seems really high to replace an expansion valve? - in 2017 this costed $480 (albiet for the Air conditioning system - but the battery and the cabin AC share the same system)


Got a drivetrain error a few times and phantom CELs - thinking the fuel pressure sensor (on the REX) is going out again (that BMW has acknowledged and extended the warranty on that part to 150,000 miles)...

Brought it to the dealer to check - they came back and told me the Expansion Valve needs to be replaced a reprogramming second for $2,504 (See attached).... found mention of this before for $480 (reference: https://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1519&start=120 ) - granted this was for the cabin AC system, but the battery cooling system and cabin ac share the same system - would this valve for the battery be in a similar location and be a similar type for the battery cooling system?

Is this part really buried in the car?

Image of estimate here.


///update
Looking into Expansion Valves for the i3 - it looks like there is only one for the car - About $300...and it is in the front of the car, and looks to be on or near the top - so access shouldn't be too hard?...

-- Reference Part #16 -- https://parts.bmwmonterey.com/a/BMW__/50945601__6215587/Refrigerant-lines--front/64_1982.html

This should be treated like an AC repair? - remove refrigerant, replace part, put back in refrigerant, test? - If so labor shouldn't be more than $200? --- Combined with parts & consumables, of lets say $500 - this should be under $800 for repair?

//update 2
So there is a valve near the battery pack - that will take 4-6 hours of labor to swap out and test....hopefully they don't find metal shards or indications of a failing compressor....ugh....
 
I noted this is an old important post.
Can you update us on how this went?

Also, can you let us know what year car to you have?
I am guessing it is a REX and it is before 2017.
It seems you have found there are different expansion valves for the HV battery and the cabin. I have read where BMW replaces the expansion valve for the HV battery only to find out about the metal shards indicating an issue with the electric compressor.
BMW changed the part number on that electric compressor as the years went by. Hopefully they fixed the design with the later part numbers.
Unfortunately, these BMW i3s are expensive to repair, including expensive parts.
 
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