Live data from Hacker News

BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

evclinic.eu

211–220 of 548 posts

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#211
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Tesla is remarkably well done. Simplicity is under rated. https://electrek.co/2025/12/03/tesla-model-y-named-worst-car... >So much so i bought one with the intention to keep for a looooong time. Good luck with that.

I am affacted by this as well: the rear knuckle uniball bearing was broken after 3 years (Achsschenkel). Many MY here in Europe have this issue, due to bad parts or too hard suspension. But there are two other things that make it a bit unfair for Tesla in comparison to other brands: Often the cars fail official inspections because of rotten breaks - this happens when your drive carefully and the Tesla is using regene…

> Often the cars fail official inspections because of rotten br[e]ak[e]s - this happens when your drive carefully and the Tesla is using regenerative breaking instead of the real br[e]ak[e]s.

That's something that they should have taken into consideration when designing the car.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#212
post #18

> 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.

After reading the blog post I had the same thought. Doing an oil change on my F650GS motorcycle required removing the plastics, draining the oil from both the top and bottom of the motorcycle, removing a plate on the side of the engine after install the BMW specified oil redirection funnel, extracting the filter and reinstalling. The oil funnel had a legit BMW part number. Most of us either just made a mess or used a…

Wait until you see a picture of a clutch replacement on an R1200... this should probably have a NSFW tag attached: https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycle/comments/1he20rk/r_1200_...

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#213

> 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.

I think it's a German thing to be honest. I've wrenched on Mercedes Benz and VW personally, and I've heard horror stories from Audi as well.

My merc exposure is both on very old (70s) and modern. So I would actually argue that over engineering shit is in their DNA, they don't know how not to do it.

My brother had an old W123 body Merc for a while. It had fucking vacuum lines running to all the doors for central locking. I had a SsangYong with an old-school Merc OM617 diesel engine in it. Great engine, and it was relatively easy to work on, but the oil filter was positioned such that you can't replace it without spilling oil all over the engine bay. Infuriating!

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#214
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 com…

On the Model 3, you have to drop the HV battery pack to replace the brake lines that prematurely rust in wintery climates, so Tesla is not fully immune either.

And check some videos of what you have to do to swap the door-actuating motor (which gets guaranteed water ingress) in the front doors (yes, not the gullwings) of a Model X.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#215
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also how they got a lot of things very early in the game like radars. They had adaptive cruise control in 1999 (similar to Mercedes).

Yet somehow adaptive cruise is a rarity on the BMWs out there, often requiring an option package that few dealers spec. (Though I think this may be finally starting to change with the 2025 model year).

That's just because literally everything is an optional add-on on a BMW.

So many BMWs out there on the road without the indicators package because the owner cheaped out when buying it.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#216
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a lifelong Toyota fan, I agree they are miserable to work on, especially the electronics. I have a stoplight switch issue in my 86 (from being rear-ended) that I have neglected because it would require pulling out the trunk assembly to fix. The engineering praise comes from the fact that if you are taking care of it, you will probably never have to work on it until it's well into 6-digit mileage. This remains cons…

I occasionally like to see what the highest mileage Toyota Prius I can find for sale is. They are obviously used as taxis and it's common to find one for sale with half a million miles. Usually at that point someone puts in a new hybrid battery and sells it to someone else starting out driving Ubers.

Oh yes, the Prius gets even better lifetime because the hardest strain on the engine components is completely negated by the electric motor. If I ever ditch the little mini sports car, I will most likely replace it with another Prius.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#217
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.

EVs are not complicated. Modern carmakers might make them complicated, and you're well within your right to avoid those, but in general electronic propulsion is pretty simple. The problem is car manufacturing is a very expensive industry that's extremely difficult to disrupt, so incumbents aren't really worried about staying ahead of hungry competitors. Go look at small-scale PEVs - ebikes, scooters, unicycles, etc.…

> electronic propulsion is pretty simple

So simple that it’s usually called electric propulsion.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 2022 BMW X1 my wife drives is the last BMW we will ever own. £395 for an oil change. £180 for brake fluid. £500 a year road tax. Meanwhile my 2011 Prius continues to pass its MOT without fail, needs just the usual very affordable consumables, gets 50% higher MPG and actually has a larger cargo capacity than the X1.

>actually has a larger cargo capacity than the X1 You have just discovered that SUVs are large because some people want their cars to be large. They come with all the downsides of that and not much of the upsides.

They don't come with all the downsides. They externalise the reduced forward visibility for people behind you, the headlights spinning onto other users' cabins, the running over of toddlers, and, my favourite, the driving in the middle of the road rather than risk getting mud on their fucking tyres

No tax rate is too high. Rebates for agricultural workers maybe.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#219
post #198

Not just BMW. I've been watching (and enjoying) Mat Armstrong's youtube videos where he restores crash damaged luxury cars, one of them was a Lamborghini Revuelo. The car's battery was completely intact, but the safety fuse blew up in the BMS and despite replacing the entire module, the car wouldn't talk to the battery and wouldn't even start. Eventually he had to buy an entire 30K battery, and even then, the car wou…

Interestingly I’ve seen YouTubers replace the fuse in a Tesla for about £40 and a few hours of labour (it’s under the rear seats). Maybe something they’re doing right.

Tesla is the DIY's EV enthusiast car for a reason.
Post reply on HN