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BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

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Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#51
post #2

This is exactly why I’m so uninterested in driving en EV. I usually word it as “I don’t want to drive a computer”, but the reality is that I don’t want to be on the wrong end of the power imbalance that comes from this amount of complexity.

Teslas are dead simple, to the point where people are putting Tesla anything in virtually anything you can think of - classic cars, random sedans, you name it.

There’s also that guy on YouTube who updated the electricals in his original Model S with electricals from a 10 years later Model 3 Highland just by buying spare parts, and it was pretty doable with fairly basic and limited tools/public information.

So the complexity in this article is just a BMW/PHEV thing, not an EV thing.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PHEV in the title is plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Different from a pure EV.

Does that make a difference in this regard? If so, how, and is it an unavoidable penalty for PHEVs? I can see PHEVs having a complexity penalty from having an IC engine over and above the EV components, but that does not seem to be the source of the problems here.

Well designed PHEVs can actually be simpler than pure ICs (at least on the hardware side. To build a combustion only car well, you need to balance efficiency, power, and responsiveness. This means you need all sorts of complicated tech, like correctly sized turbos, variable valve lift, variable valve duration, etc. In a PHEV, otoh, you have an electric engine (which can also steal power from the driveshaft), which means you don't need to worry about responsiveness of the combustion engine. You can fill half a second of turbo lag with the motor, and optimize for narrower RPM ranges since you can charge/discharge the battery to keep the engine running in its happy place. You also no longer need fancy and complicated brakes because you can do 99% of your braking with regen.

All of this does come with more complex software, but the hardware can end up with significant simplification.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#54
post #36
post #8

I think it continues to be under-appreciated how much of a lead Tesla still has in EVs. Even BMW can't make something that is practical. First people said "competition is coming" for about a decade. Now the competition has finally half arrived, but it's still so far behind. Perhaps the closest is BYD, but most BYD drivers would prefer to be driving a Tesla.

The BMW neue klasse is far superior to the latest Teslas. Both in software hardware and handing. https://youtu.be/P-H-GJaGiUg?si=eq8YWy8gyJ5YS99X I think it even surpasses Chinese brands.

I think the (negative) point is the cost of ownership. European cars are very cool, if you can afford to keep them running

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#55
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The 2026 Leaf takes many of the Ariya’s good qualities and one ups them at one of the lowest price points in the industry. Still costs $30k+ USD for base trim. Chinese cars are going for sub-$20k. Few governments want a repeat of the Japanese disruption of US/European car manufacturing, so they were banned before getting the opportunity.

I’d love to see a ~$20k EV too, but it’s gonna be tough to pull that off without China’s cheap labor and materials, at least until EVs start moving at the kind of volumes that traditional ICE and hybrid vehicles sell at.

We're never going to see a $20k car in the US again. Why would they sell any car for $20k, when they could sell it for $30k like they are doing now? They make more money selling fewer cars at higher prices, so no manufacturers are interested.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#56
post #36
post #8

I think it continues to be under-appreciated how much of a lead Tesla still has in EVs. Even BMW can't make something that is practical. First people said "competition is coming" for about a decade. Now the competition has finally half arrived, but it's still so far behind. Perhaps the closest is BYD, but most BYD drivers would prefer to be driving a Tesla.

The BMW neue klasse is far superior to the latest Teslas. Both in software hardware and handing. https://youtu.be/P-H-GJaGiUg?si=eq8YWy8gyJ5YS99X I think it even surpasses Chinese brands.

i think they look absolutely horrible both inside and out. but, of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#57

This makes me feel that peak car was 2010 ish, when, when engines were powerful, cheap, and not too polluting, but also not overly complex. Spare parts were small, cheap, and easily accessible too (atleast for my toyota) I dread being forced to upgrade, not out of disdain for the environment, but the fact that I will spend more money, on a less reliable, less "mine" car, and more something big daddy government wants.

I have never owned or wanted a pickup, but now I'm wondering about getting a basic one (if that's still an option.) It is annoying and depressing.

I've felt similarly recently, and I think those days are fleeting if not gone. Ford recently talked about replatforming their entire range, which would include basic trucks at more reasonable prices, but there's not really a market for work trucks in the way there used to be, and they're gone in favor of the luxury ones with small beds. It is annoying. There is an interesting startup that I can't remember the name of that touts an 8 foot bed (which is great) in the chassis footprint of a Mini Cooper. I don't think I saw pricing, but I would snatch one of those up.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as long as you don’t compare them to any car. teslas in 2025 belong in a museum lol I own tesla s 2014, my neighbour has 2025, same car. tesla x was cool… in 2017. tesla 3 is like a worse looking kia and model y is like if you took tesla 3 and pumped some air in it.

If all you care about is looks, that is. Get out of any other car and you forget you can't just walk away from it and it'll shut itself off and lock the doors. I've had my Tesla driving friends drive my ICE car, and then not even turn off the engine when they go into the store because you don't need to do that with a Tesla.

When my buddy got his first Tesla back in 2018 he had a ICE rental for some reason and he left it running in the driveway all day once on accident.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#59

> BMW has over-engineered the They have over-engineered the everything , because that is what BMW does. That is what they have been about for the last thirty years.

People get upset when a BMW is expensive to repair, but they're misunderstanding the sophisticated German engineering. You're not supposed to repair it. You're supposed to throw it away and buy a new one.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#60
post #2

This is exactly why I’m so uninterested in driving en EV. I usually word it as “I don’t want to drive a computer”, but the reality is that I don’t want to be on the wrong end of the power imbalance that comes from this amount of complexity.

The article points out that it’s specificity BMW making this hard and expensive.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone.

If you own a BMW you’ll be dropping $5k on a repair someday. It’s a matter of when not if. That’s why most people lease them and move on to the next one.

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