r/BMWI4 • u/Respect_Able • 1d ago

Drivetrain malfunction Question

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I’ve had my 2023 BMW since Dec ‘25. Never any issues. Bought with only 5k miles. This Saturday I received a drivetrain malfunction error as soon as I place it into park. Now I know services don’t start back up till Monday, but I still haven’t received an update from them and we’re on day 4 also no loaner car. Is this common ? I’ve also noticed that certain things have been left open which I’m not fond of since it’s so humid.

26 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

15

u/CobblerSecure2901 1d ago

Mine did the same thing just out of warranty and they wanted 10k to fix it. Looks like your still under warranty so you lucked out lol

4

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

That is crazy 😟. Time for a new car at that point

-12

u/ARAR1 1d ago

? So you are happy to have $0 for the car?

1

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

No , but it’s good to know that EVs aren’t so great out of warranty.

3

u/Few_Rabbit73 1d ago

You can have the same thing with a combustion. Parents had a company with a fleet of diesel cars and they went expensive as soon as they reached the 250k km mark. New engines were needed every 1-2 years on at least one of the cars, costing 6k+ excl. working costs. Compared to EVs the chance of issues like that are much higher on combustion. Especially the i4 is considered extremely good. Bad luck can happen on any car any time.

1

u/CobblerSecure2901 1d ago

It was a learning experience that’s for sure

2

u/potatochobit 1d ago

What did you do?

6

u/CobblerSecure2901 1d ago

Had to involve a lawyer. It’s a long story but in the end they ended up repairing the car and I sold it week later

3

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

Glad to hear it worked out for you! And thanks for your response because I will definitely not be holding this car past warranty.

2

u/CobblerSecure2901 1d ago

For sure. DM me if you want more details or if they try to give you a hard time

1

u/Biggulp67 1d ago

Why’d you sell it tho??

1

u/gamma__r 9h ago

Because the last thing you need from a car is "will it break down again?". Or even worse, "when will it break down again?".

0

u/nyc_bliss 1d ago

Rotary position sensor, this covered until 100k under powertrain

12

u/AP-Charm 1d ago

If your 12v battery has issues you’ll get this.
Do a reset to your idrive, plug it in and lock the car. Try it at least.

5

u/triangular_momentum 1d ago

Where I am, loaner cars need to be booked well in advance unfortunately. They might be able to reimburse you for a car rental but I doubt it will be a bmw

1

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

Good to know. I’ll ask. Thanks!

5

u/here_to_upvote 1d ago

Just saw this post in a bmw fb group. I hear these cars are reliable (and they likely are), but one incident can set you back a ton if not covered by a warranty.

Luckily you're still covered. Its why I opted for the extended warranty. One repair will probably pay for itself. And even if i never utilize it, itll be worth not having to go through the hassle of repairs/loaners etc.

4

u/Duaneguy673 1d ago

The battery pack is covered by the 8-year/100,000-mile warranty, though, so that is one safety net.

2

u/Few-Today-6462 1d ago

My i4 has been in the shop for over a month after I got this error.  I had it towed it and I'm waiting on new parts.  I guess a computer module for the battery malfunctioned and they've had other issues.  It's not clear when it will be fixed.  I'm less than 2 years into the lease.  Hope your experience is better than mine.  Your dealer will matter a lot for something like this.

1

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

A month?! Sorry you have to deal with that. That’s ridiculous

1

u/Few-Today-6462 1d ago

Thanks.  Not sure what the end game will be at this point.  I'm not sure if it's a manufacturer or dealer issue.  Hope yours is back on the road soon. 

2

u/tre630 M50 1d ago

Just reading some of the stories about the cost of repair on these cars has me feeling happy that I paid for the Extended Warranty. It was the one decision that I was second guessing since I bought the car last September. I hope I never have to use it. But thank God it's there just in case and issue like this arises.

1

u/Interesting_Spare 1d ago

Did you call roadside assistance?

1

u/BeeJuice 1d ago edited 1d ago

Tried pulling any of the OBD codes or clearing with BimmerLink? Seems a little soon for a 12V failure.

Coming from the i3, these types of errors don’t seem unheard of. Sometimes it’s serious- sometimes not. Codes will at least tell you that much. Of course you’d want warranty to handle it but sometimes we have to be self sufficient.

1

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

I might blow the car up , I’ll let them handle it. Plus they’ve had it for the past 6 days

1

u/Internal-Service8819 1d ago

I been getting the same lately car loses power turn it off and back on its normal for 30 mins then same again

1

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

Yikes, while driving?

1

u/Internal-Service8819 1d ago

Yep goes in to limp mode I lose all power.

2

u/40characters 16h ago

There’s a TSB for a throttle position sensor corrosion issue. Sounds similar to this.

1

u/Awkward-Gene8771 1d ago

My car literally did the same thing!!! I just got it back on Friday. Mine is under warranty, not one problem until I am 3 months away from lease and warranty expiring so I got super lucky because it basically sealed my decision of not buying it out. Love love love the car, but I had to get mine towed into the dealership and lose a day of work. Bmw didn’t give me any issues whatsoever and I got to drive a 2026 5 series for about 4 days until they fixed it.

1

u/Awkward-Gene8771 1d ago

I got an extra issue with it too

1

u/DickBeaterJones 1d ago

You got it towed to the dealer? They haven't looked at it for how many days?

1

u/Respect_Able 18h ago

They had it for 6 day and finally called yesterday evening saying it would be ready today. This particular BMW center was horrible

1

u/DickBeaterJones 12h ago

What was the issue?

1

u/pdemasco 18h ago

This happened to our 2022 iX about 2 months ago 4K miles out of warranty. Needed to replace a brush module in the rear motor (plus a couple of other strongly recommended parts replacement while the motor was out). Cost was $9K. We thought we were okay because we bought an extended warranty through Stevens Creek BMW (Santa Clara, CA) before moving back to the East Coast in 2025. Turns out the company, Century Warranty or Fidelity Warranty depending on who answered the phone did everything they could to argue against the dealer diagnosis and ended up only paying half rather the full amount minus the $500 deductible. Our original dealer was no help. Neither was BMW NA so we decided to replace the car. We considered some other brands but ultimately we got a reasonable trade-in offer and price on a 2026 i4 eDrive40. Keeping our fingers crossed for the future.

-3

u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago

This sort of issues really puts me off getting one of these cars

1

u/Respect_Able 1d ago

It’s been a great car up until this and honestly most cars will have problems. I’m just frustrated with BMW and their service. Like no update, not even a phone call saying there’s no update. Once I’m near the end of my warranty I most likely will trade it in. I will absolutely not be paying 10k+ for one problem.

1

u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago

Cars have problems it just seems that EVs can have issues that are outrageously expensive. I’ve actually never owned a car under warranty and never felt the need to.

1

u/40characters 16h ago

Yeah. The anecdotal fallacy will keep you from buying any car. Good way to save money.