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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

#531

Post by watersb »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #506
watersb wrote: post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm about to change the transmission fluid in my i3. It's at 100k miles and there's no user-facing documentation for the procedure, as the oil lasts "for the lifetime of the vehicle". Turns out, this particular procedure is simple. (Other common wear items, like the suspension damper boots, or the engine mount, or the AC compressor, or a set of tires every 12000 miles ... it adds up. The i3 was a cheap acquisition. D…

I heard that the i3 has some horror stories if you got the hybrid (basically a diesel engine that can produce electricity to charge your battery) or your battery had issues out of warranty. Not really sure though, everyone I've met who owns one really likes it still in 2025.

Some i3 models, like mine, lack the internal-combustion engine and its fuel tank, and i3 enthusiasts call it the "BEV", for Battery Electric Vehicle. The one with the gasoline engine is the "REx", for Range Extender.

The REx models use an engine design based on one of BMW's motorcycle engines; as such, I'm pretty sure that it's not a diesel. The gas tank is only about two gallons; to qualify for EV tax credits in some markets, the battery capacity needed to exceed the energy available from fossil fuel.

That battery capacity for initial models is woeful by today's standards. The design started with 17 kWh, upgraded batteries in later model years doubled that figure. Mine is a degraded original with about 12 kWh available. Freezing temperatures can cut that by half.

I drive it like grandma and get more than 4 miles per kWh. But it was less $$ than a golf cart. (I learned about EV tire expenses after purchase.)

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#532

Post by jacquesm »

tengwar2 wrote: post #529
seec wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, he buys them for the same reason people buy Apple products: very performant, look good, and carry a lot of social status. Otherwise, they make some very questionable engineering decisions for sure. On their motorbikes, you often have to disassemble half the bodywork just to change the battery; that's just beyond stupid. But like Apple, their products are kind of unique, so people deal with it.

BMW bikes have improved. It used to be with the last of the dry clutch flat twins that when the clutch failed (and it would fail), you had to remove the back half of the bike. Literally. As in not figuratively, to avoid doubt. The front half would be left standing, like some bisected cow artwork. Apparently it was a two day job.

Funny, I posted a pic to exactly that further down in the thread.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#533

Post by 20after4 »

jinzo wrote: post #266
bradfa wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This fuse blows because a crash was detected and it is to protect the people inside the car and rescuers. The article argument is that it can blow even for small crashes where no damage to the battery occurs but rehabilitating the vehicle still incurs an outrageous cost. This is not a simple over current protection fuse. $1000 for the module with the fuse seems ok to me. Another $3000 to link the module to the vehicl…

They are not only linking it to the vehicle, they are doing a LOT of other checks on the battery - that it's not damaged in non-obvious ways. For that you need trained people (it's really high voltage and amperage stuff), tooling AND you really need to be sure you guarantee everything is OK. Even the basic mechanical disconnect and lowering of the battery is far from simple (and requires A LOT more expensive tools th…

The lift costs about as much as one of their repair bills. That can hardly justify the cost.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#534

Post by petre »

dotancohen wrote: post #530
petre wrote: post #527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's quite different now after being in the EU for nearly two decades. What you recall is regular roads, that cannot be called highways, but those got fixed as well. The highway infra is still not countinous, but it exists. And Romanian drivers do >90 kph on normal roads as well. Romania and Bulgaria have the highest road fatalities per capita in the EU.

> Romanian drivers do >90 kph on normal roads as well. Romania and Bulgaria have the highest road fatalities per capita in the EU. It sounds like you are confirming my memories of the country. I did mention that exceeding 90 could not be done safely.

It's not an infrastructure issue, but a cultural one that took off because of lacking infra. Those roads were designed for doing a maximum of 90 kph on them. Drivers were out of options, needlessly wasing time on thd road, so they started driving recklessly.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#535

Post by cjrp »

jinzo wrote: post #278
cjrp wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You can replace the fuse (not that easly) but for approximately the same price in a BMW. You do have to put in more work but the problem is with re-certifying the battery. Tesla does not care if the battery was damaged in the crash, they will (more or less) happily re-enable it. BMW decided that the only safe way is to re-certify the whole battery. I'm not saying it's the right decision, I think they over did it and…

Ah that's interesting, IIRC in the video I'm thinking of they did get a 3rd party engineer to come out with a laptop and re-enable the battery in Tesla Toolbox, so that fits with what you're saying.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#537

Post by potato3732842 »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #467
potato3732842 wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty much every major safety feature is an order of magnitude less meaningful than the last. If you wear a seatbelt and eschew the most risky driving behaviors your chances of getting in a crash where the difference between 2005 and 2025 matters are very, very, very, small.

I wouldn't buy a car without ESC, that's just batshit crazy, esp. if you live where there's a chance of icy roads.

Nothing I own has ESC. It's not even close to an issue. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had something with a ton of power but I don't.

None of these technologies prevent you from coming into a turn or stop or other situation too hot which is far and away the biggest problem in snow and is easily doable independent of vehicle equipment.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#538

Post by seec »

tengwar2 wrote: post #529
seec wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, he buys them for the same reason people buy Apple products: very performant, look good, and carry a lot of social status. Otherwise, they make some very questionable engineering decisions for sure. On their motorbikes, you often have to disassemble half the bodywork just to change the battery; that's just beyond stupid. But like Apple, their products are kind of unique, so people deal with it.

BMW bikes have improved. It used to be with the last of the dry clutch flat twins that when the clutch failed (and it would fail), you had to remove the back half of the bike. Literally. As in not figuratively, to avoid doubt. The front half would be left standing, like some bisected cow artwork. Apparently it was a two day job.

I mean, they are generally excellent motorcycles. Their monocylinders are super smooth with great handling.

But often you have to deal with those weird engineering decisions that make repairs annoying. My local garage is a BMW car specialist, and it appears that it's basically the same deal.

Funnily enough, in my youth I visited the BMW factory in Munich, and I was amazed back then. But the maintenance fails to amaze as much, haha.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#539

Post by rswail »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #262
rswail wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Australia managed to destroy its car industry on its own. The latest BYD Atto 1 is AUD27K including all on-road costs. Tesla 3 base model is AUD60K, BYD Seal base model is AUD50K. You guys are missing out big time by not allowing Chinese cars.

Atto1 is like half size of model 3 tho.

Which is why I also included the comparable BYD model and its price compared to the Tesla Model 3.

The Atto1 is the cheapest EVs available in AU market right now.

Re: BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive

#540

Post by p0w3n3d »

Archelaos wrote: post #25

The article misses to explain why this is an EU problem, not just a BMW problem. Is the problem described caused by a specific EU regulation (which?) or is mentioning the EU just click bait? (Honest question.)

Maybe because EU forces everyone to switch to EV? They already want to forbid buying of professional ICE cars by 2030
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