BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

Post by torginus » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 10:39 AM UTC

lazide wrote: post #228

jacquesm wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is insane. It's a fuse. They must have some stats on how often those things need replacing and it should have been accessible. The customer has - when they buy the car - absolutely no way of knowing what kind of surprises like this there are hidden in the vehicle and besides, it kills the second hand market so you can only trade your vehicle to a BMW dealership where they can absorb those costs for a fraction…

Fuses are not items that should be replaced normally - they are self-destroying emergency protections for the electrical system. If it is protecting that end users can plug arbitrary loads into, that is one thing - but this doesn’t sound like that? Why did that fuse blow? Because if that is not addressed, it’s likely to just blow again.

Post by torginus » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 10:44 AM UTC

bluescrn wrote: post #202

jinzo wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it insane? I'm working in this field, and I know how quickly you can come up with such a number if you are BMW and you are deathly afraid that someone will get electrocuted while working on your car, driving it or rescuing someone in a crash. It's a safety and liability issue, where they go to great lengths to actually re-certify a battery after crash. The whole thing is setup so, that even the dummy electricians…

Many people drive older cars worth less than £4000. Sticking to old/cheap cars seems like an increasingly good option with so many scare stories about the pain and extreme expense of getting modern cars, particularly EVs, repaired. And the impending ban on new ICE vehicles seems likely to lead to more older cars being kept on the road for a lot longer.

Post by rjsw » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 10:47 AM UTC

beAbU wrote: post #215

julieturner99 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by dzhiurgis » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 10:53 AM UTC

moogly wrote: post #214

aetherspawn wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by dzhiurgis » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 10:56 AM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #113

And this is one of the reasons I won't be replacing my gas-powered Lexus any time soon. Then there is the spyware issue: most modern cars (and especially Tesla-like electric cars) are a privacy nightmare.