2020 i3 errors?

[pfanning]

2020 i3s BEV US spec with ~15k miles has two seemingly unrelated errors that seemed to start at about the same time. I'm the original owner, no accidents or other issues. Never had an issue with the 2017 i3 BEV we turned in when purchasing the 2020.

Acoustic Pedestrian Protection error cycles on/off.

Blinker speed is intermittently fast, sometimes fine, sometimes fast, on both left and right. No lights are out.

Anyone experience this? Maybe a sign of very early 12v battery failure?

TIA

 

[EvanstonI3]

well it is getting close to being 3 years old so swapping out the 12v would not be out of the question

 

[Arm]

I'm trying to figure out how old my 12v is as I got my car last year October as a CPO. It's a 2019 i3s. I tried looking at the batter in the hopes I'd see some markings or date but nothing. The CPO checklist isn't clear either on whether the battery was changed, charged, service, etc.

 

[EvanstonI3]

I'm trying to figure out how old my 12v is as I got my car last year October as a CPO. It's a 2019 i3s. I tried looking at the batter in the hopes I'd see some markings or date but nothing. The CPO checklist isn't clear either on whether the battery was changed, charged, service, etc.

Look here to see if there is a Date Code by the Negative Terminal on the Battery.
You only need to open the Frunk. No need to remove the Frunk Tray.
If you do NOT see a Date Code where indicated, chances are that the 12v has been changed as these are only on Factory-installed batteries. All others get a sticker. This is my car's original battery and the Code 1317 denotes it was installed the 13th week of 2017

 

[Arm]

Yeah I don't see any code like that...that's what I was looking for. I'll look again. Thank you for the clarification BTW.

 

[alohart]

I'm trying to figure out how old my 12v is as I got my car last year October as a CPO. It's a 2019 i3s.

The earliest 2019 i3's were manufactured in probably late fall 2018, so the oldest your battery could be is ~4.5 years. I would be very surprised if BMW would replace the 12 V battery in a CPO when the battery's 4-year warranty is still valid, so your battery is likely original. Our 2019 i3 was manufactured in January, 2019, and it still has the original battery which seems to be in good condition. The battery in our 2014 BEV that we bought new lasted 7+ years before its capacity had degraded so much that vampire loads discharged it fairly quickly while it was parked.

If you're concerned about your battery failing, buy a replacement and store it at home charging it every 4 months until it's needed. That assumes that you have a battery charger and are planning to replace the battery yourself.

 

[Arm]

I checked my battery again and couldn't find any markings of any kind on it. There was a QR code on it and the main sticker but it didn't have any information regarding the date. The battery looks too "new" frankly but it's not really possible to tell the age simply by its condition.

So far, I've not had any issues knock on wood.

I would not change it myself. I'll just take it to the dealer and let them handle it.

This is an image of what I see:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tTc9JMDvbA9cg8HV9

 

[3pete]

I checked my battery again and couldn't find any markings of any kind on it. There was a QR code on it and the main sticker but it didn't have any information regarding the date. The battery looks too "new" frankly but it's not really possible to tell the age simply by its condition.

So far, I've not had any issues knock on wood.

I would not change it myself. I'll just take it to the dealer and let them handle it.

This is an image of what I see:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tTc9JMDvbA9cg8HV9

This is what the one I just pulled out of my 2014 looks like. The previous owner allegedly replaced it around 2018 and I'm inclined to believe him since the vent tube wasn't hooked up correctly and it seems unlikely one of these would last 9 years.

I certainly don't see a date on it though.

Replacement really wasn't too bad. I did trickle charge the battery the day before which seems like it's the most important step.

I even registered it with BimmerLink, which the PO hadn't done.

 

[pfanning]

Closing the loop on this issue. Maybe I win the weird error path award?

A couple weeks after the electronic gremlins started, I started getting the dreaded 'battery discharging while stopped' error at startup. Thinking this should all be covered under warranty, I made an appointment with the local dealer to diagnose and change the 12v battery.

After being quoted an attempted robbery of ~$600 to replace a 12v battery if that was really the problem, 'cause of course the 12v battery is a 'wear' item not covered by warranty, the car was take back for diagnosis that was covered by warranty. Turns out it was a bad a headlight module that was triggering the other electronic errors and draining the battery. I'd have never guessed that was the issue.

The headlight control unit and 12v battery were replaced under warranty. The battery was replaced due to the drainage/failure caused by the faulty module. It appears all issues have been fixed.

Moral of the story, our cars are one big integrated circuit, and the obvious fault (12v battery in this case) may not be the true cause.

 

[Vworld]

Do you have a part number for the ''The headlight control unit''?
Want to do it myself, hence I am out of warranty, thank you bmw brother

 

[AlexKassulke]

Do you have a part number for the ''The headlight control unit''?getting over it
Want to do it myself, hence I am out of warranty, thank you bmw brother

You can refer here 63117493227 / 63117493228

 

[pfanning]

Do you have a part number for the ''The headlight control unit''?
Want to do it myself, hence I am out of warranty, thank you bmw brother

Part on invoice for a 2020 i3s in the US is 63-11-8-494-844 Control Unit for Front Light 631210