2014 BMW I3

AFTER A RECENT SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE COMPUTER IS UNABLE TO INDICATE THE ACCURATE STATE OF CHARGE, CAUSING UNEXPECTED POWER LOSS. MY RANGE EXTENDER WAS NOT ABLE TO ENGAGE BEFORE POWER LOSS, AND THE CAR INDICATED 50+ MILES OF RANGE REMAINING. I WAS DRIVING ON A FREEWAY WHEN THE POWER LOSS OCCURRED, WHICH TOOK ME FROM 65 MPH TO A DEAD STOP IN A MANNER OF SECONDS. *TR

PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR WOULD FAIL TO DETECT A PASSENGER AFTER DRIVE LASTING 20 MINUTES OR MORE. THE PASSENGER AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN THIS STATE BECAUSE NO FAULT CODES ARE REGISTERED IN THE SEAT SENSOR OR ANYWHERE ELSE. BMW CLAIMS THAT THIS CAUSED BY "CELL PHONE INTERFERENCE" AND IT "CAN NEVER BE FIXED" BUT HAS REPLACED MY SEAT SENSOR WITH A TOTALLY REDESIGNED SEAT SENSOR. NO ONE CAN EXPLAIN WHY THE "CELL PHONE INTERFERENCE" LINE WAS USED OR WHY THE SEAT SENSOR WAS REDESIGNED. I PRESUME MY CAR IS FIXED WITH THE NEW REDESIGNED MAT BUT OTHER 2014 I3S MAY NOT BE. THIS ISSUE WOULD OCCUR IN MOTION OR WHILE STATIONARY, ON CITY OR HIGHWAY STREETS. THIS ISSUE WOULD ALSO OCCUR *WITHOUT* CELL PHONES IN THE CAR. ONCE THE ISSUE OCCURS, THE AIRBAG WOULD NOT COME ON AGAIN UNLESS THE CAR WAS LEFT ALONE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME (TURNING THE CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON WITHIN 5 MINUTES WOULD NOT FIX THE ISSUE.)

I TURNED RIGHT INTO A PARKING SPOT IN FRONT OF A COMMERCIAL BUIDLING. I REMEMBER SLOWING DOWN AS I APPROACHED THE PARKING SPACE. AS THE CAR SLOWED, IT SUDDENLY JERKED AND THEN ACCELERATED CAUSING IT TO GO OVER THE CONCRETE PARKING HEADER AND COLLIDE INTO BUILDING EXTERIOR AND METAL GATE. THE CAR WAS IN SLOW SPEED AS I ENTERED THE SPACE. THE SUDDEN UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISED AS I COULD SEE MY FOOT WAS NOT ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. BY THE TIME I COULD APPLY THE BREAKS, THE CAR HAD ALREADY HIT THE BUILDING WHICH CAUSE THE CAR TO STOP MOVING. THE DISTANCE TRAVELED WAS APPROXIMATELY 12-15 FEET.

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR AND AT A STOP LIGHT THE CAR MADE SOME JERKY NOISE AND GOT THE "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION - STOP AND TURN OFF ENGINE. DO NOT CONTINUE DRIVING. CALL ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE" MESSAGE. THIS HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE SERVICE AND THEY NEVER FOUND ANY PROBLEM. NOW IN THE SPAN OF A DAY IT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES. WHEN I TURN OFF ENGINE, WAIT A MINUTE OR SO AND START AGAIN, I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN. I AM NOT SURE WHY THIS IS HAPPENING AND I HAVE LOOKED THROUGH ALL BMW FORUMS AND FACEBOOK PAGES AND NOBODY SEEMS TO HAVE AN ANSWER. I AM WORRIED ABOUT DRIVING THE CAR AND HAVING IT COMPLETELY HALT IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY BMW AND I HAVE YET TO GET AN ANSWER.

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNED A 2014 BMW I3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ANOTHER VEHICLE DRIVING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED, CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF THE CONTACTS VEHICLE WHICH THEN CAUSED THE CONTACTS VEHICLE TO CRASH INTO THE VEHICLE THAT WAS IN FRONT. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED MINOR BRUISES AND REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND DEEMED DESTROYED. THE INSURANCE COMPANY WAS NOT ABLE TO DETERMINE WHAT CAUSED THE AIR BAGS NOT TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 14V422000 (AIR BAGS) AND 15V628000 (AIR BAGS). THE CONTACT WAS TO DETERMINE IF THE MANUFACTURER COULD FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE AIR BAG FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

CHARGED MY CAR OVERNIGHT IN MY CLIMATE CONTROLLED GARAGE AND WENT OUT THE NEXT MORNING TO RUN ERRANDS. TURNED IT ON, PUT IT IN DRIVE, HEARD A POP OR CLUNK FROM THE REAR AND THEN GOT A DRIVE TRAIN NOT AVAILABLE - DO NOT MOVE VEHICLE ERROR. COULDN'T EVEN PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL FOR TOWING - BMW ROADSIDE HAD TO SEND A TOW TRUCK WITH SKATES TO PROP UP THE BACK END AND PUSH IT OUT OF MY GARAGE. IT'S BEEN AT THE DEALER ALMOST 2 WEEKS NOW - THE LOCAL MECHANICS HAVE HAD CALLS WITH BMW BACK IN GERMANY AND THEY CAN'T SEEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.

THE BMW I3 ELECTRIC VEHICLE THAT COMES WITH A RANGE EXTENDER HAS A CRITICAL HAZARDOUS DESIGN FLAW. IT CANNOT CONSISTENTLY POWER THE VEHICLE TO MAINTAIN A SAFE SPEED WHEN DRIVING ON A MODERATE INCLINE FOR A REASONABLE PERIOD. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU MAY BE DRIVING ON A CALIFORNIA FREEWAY AND RUN OUT OF ELECTRIC CHARGE AND THE RANGE EXTENDER WILL KICK IN. EVERYTHING IS FINE UNTIL YOU APPROACH A HILLY AREA. AS THE CAR ASCENDS THE INCLINE IT STARTS TO REDUCE SPEED. SO BEFORE YOU WERE GOING THE SAME SAFE SPEED AS THE SURROUNDING TRAFFIC NOW YOU START TO SLOW DOWN. 70, 65, 60, THINGS START GETTING SCARY AS CARS START PASSING YOU ON BOTH SIDES, 55, 50 45, NOW IT'S REALLY SCARY AND VERY DANGEROUS AS CARS ARE PASSING YOU GOING 70+ MPH. BY THIS TIME YOU ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET TO THE SLOW LANE, SOMETIMES CROSSING MULTIPLE LANES OF TRAFFIC GOING 25+ MPH OVER YOUR SPEED. YOU PUT YOUR 4 WAY BLINKERS ON AND NOW THE CAR IS GOING 39 MPH, WELL BELOW THE MINIMUM SPEED LIMIT ON THE CA HIGHWAY, AND YOU ARE PRAYING THAT SOMEONE DOES NOT SLAM INTO YOU GOING 80 MPH. I HOPE THIS GIVES YOU A CLEARER PICTURE OF MY SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERNS. I HAD MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE AT THE BMW DEALERSHIP A FEW MONTHS AGO AND THE HEAD I3 TECHNICIAN EXPLAINED THAT THAT I WOULD BE GETTING AN ELECTRONICS UPDATE/UPGRADE AND THOUGHT THAT MAYBE IT WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM THAT I WAS EXPERIENCING. AFTER THE SERVICE WAS PERFORMED THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT I NOTICED WAS THE WARNING OF POTENTIAL LOSS OF POWER ALERT APPEAR ON THE DISPLAY AS I STARTED UP A HILL. THE LOSS OF POWER WAS EXACTLY THE SAME AS BEFORE. THIS EXPERIENCE THAT I DESCRIBED TO YOU HAS HAPPENED TO ME SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST AND CONTINUES TO HAPPEN EVERY TIME I RUN OUT OF ELECTRICITY AND HAVE TO RUN ON THE EXTENDER AND CLIMB A HILL THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY STEEP BUT EXTENDS SOME DISTANCE AT AN INCLINE. THE CAR IS UNSAFE.

TWO ISSUES: 1. DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED OF 65 MPH, WITH BATTERY POWER DRAINED, THE REX (RESERVE ENGINE) TURNS ON. SUDDENLY, SPEED DROPS FROM 65 MPH TO 40 MPH WHILE ON A 2-LANE CA FREEWAY, ALMOST CAUSING ME TO BE REAR-ENDED BY TRAFFIC. ONE MONTH LATER, SAME SITUATION, SAME PROBLEM. 2. MANUFACTURER STATES A COMBINED MILEAGE RANGE OF 80 MILES ON BATTERY, 60 MILES ON REX (RESERVE ENGINE), FOR A COMBINED RANGE OF 140 MILES. I HAVE NEVER HAD MORE THAN 60 MILES ON BATTERY AND 40 MILES ON REX FOR A COMBINED MILEAGE OF 100 MILES, 40% LESS THAN BMW STATES, EVEN THOUGH I USE A PROFESSIONALLY INSTALLED LEVEL 2 CHARGER. BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE DEALER TO CHECK THESE ISSUES. THE BMW DEALER?S WRITTEN FINDINGS: "CAR PERFORMED AS DESIGNED; VEHICLE IS EPA RATED TO GO 72 MILES PER CHARGE IN IDEAL CONDITIONS. THIS RANGE WILL VARY DRASTICALLY BASED ON VEHICLE USAGE AS WELL AS WEATHER CONDITIONS. THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION. ROAD TESTED VEHICLE AND WAS EASILY ABLE TO TRAVEL 75 MILES ON A CHARGE. RANGE EXTENDER IS INTENDED TO BE USED AS A FAILSAFE TO GET THE VEHICLE TO A CHARGING STATION AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REGULAR USE, ESPECIALLY AT FREEWAY SPEEDS, AS THE ENGINE IS NOT DESIGNED FOR THIS. POWER REDUCTION AND REDUCED VEHICLE SPEED WILL RESULT. UPDATED COMPLETE VEHICLE SOFTWARE. VEHICLE NOW HAS A BATTERY PERCENTAGE DISPLAY AVAILABLE TO HELP GAUGE WHEN POWER REDUCTION IS TAKING PLACE. THESE ARE THE ONLY MEASURES AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS CUSTOMER COMPLAINT AS THE COMPLAINT IS REGARDING A DESIGN PARAMETER OF THE VEHICLE AND NOT AN ACTUAL ISSUE.? I DISAGREE. MY SAFETY HAS BEEN COMPROMISED, AND THE CAR DOES NOT FUNCTION AS ADVERTISED. NEITHER OF THESE ISSUES IS ADDRESSED IN ANY MATERIAL FROM THE MANUFACTURER, DEALER, OTHER WEBSITES OR OTHER INDUSTRY OR WEB-BASED SOURCES. BMW NA SENT AN ENGINEER TO CHECK THE CAR, HE SAID THIS IS THE DESIGN OF THE BMW, NOTHING MORE CAN BE DONE.