[BMWMico]

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As of today- there is a nationwide stop sale on all i3's at BMW dealerships, new and used. Owners will be notified separately about the recall, as well as the fix.

The voluntary safety recall is due to a concern about a possibility of injury to a small person in front seat in a front collision without a seatbelt.

[Rekla]

Originally Posted by BMWMico

As of today- there is a nationwide stop sale on all i3's at BMW dealerships, new and used. Owners will be notified separately about the recall, as well as the fix.

The voluntary safety recall is due to a concern about a possibility of injury to a small person in front seat in a front collision without a seatbelt.

Year end no-sales event.

[jandref321]

Yep...I sold my wife's car, drove to the dealer, ran numbers, ready to sign, told can't buy i3 till probably summer 2018. I called BMWUSA and they said people under 5'2" and 110lbs will receive marginally more physical damage when not wearing a seatbelt in the i3 than in other vehicles. They are apparently working a fix in Germany which may include replacing either the steering wheel or the entire steering column. They expect parts to start manufacturing in January.

Meanwhile here I am needing a car and the wife only sold hers to buy i3...wtf.

[Rekla]

With the new 2018 MY coming in, I wonder how aggressive they are going to push 2017s once the stop sale has been lifted. I'm in the market as well. On top of that, the $7500 federal rebate may no longer be available in January. It will definitely hurt the 'i3 sales and BMWs push for selling 100k electric cars (incl hybrids) in 2017.

[JasH]

Is it not a legal requirement to wear seat belts in USA?

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Rekla

With the new 2018 MY coming in, I wonder how aggressive they are going to push 2017s once the stop sale has been lifted. I'm in the market as well. On top of that, the $7500 federal rebate may no longer be available in January. It will definitely hurt the 'i3 sales and BMWs push for selling 100k electric cars (incl hybrids) in 2017.

I hope BMW bites the bullet and offers the rebate themselves just to compete. It's a long shot, but sales aren't going to get any better without the fed rebate.

[jandref321]

Originally Posted by JasH

Is it not a legal requirement to wear seat belts in USA?

I said the exact same thing...and yes it is illegal not to wear your seatbelt. They said that NHSTA has a specific threshold for non belted accidents also. We ended up leasing a 330e since the wife needed a car...still good rebates on those...though 14 mile EV range is much less than 114 mile range. M-sport 3 series looks better though

[DRTMGRT]

Originally Posted by jandref321

I said the exact same thing...and yes it is illegal not to wear your seatbelt. They said that NHSTA has a specific threshold for non belted accidents also. We ended up leasing a 330e since the wife needed a car...still good rebates on those...though 14 mile EV range is much less than 114 mile range. M-sport 3 series looks better though

What kind of deal did you get on your 330e PM the details if that's ok. Don't want to thread jack

[krskrewz]

Wow once they have the new parts how long would it probably take to have everything installed? Sounds like a long term loaner? If it’s voluntary and since we always wear our seatbelts maybe we just pass.

[reductase]

Does anyone have a link to the recall notice? I searched through the nthsa website and bmwusa, no search results in google other than previous recall issues.
Is it all i3 models affected?

[tooshay]

Wonder if BMW would let me turn my lease in early because of this recall.

[krskrewz]

Originally Posted by reductase

Does anyone have a link to the recall notice? I searched through the nthsa website and bmwusa, no search results in google other than previous recall issues.
Is it all i3 models affected?

[paulo_f80m3]

This is a joke right..

[reductase]

The love hate relationship with my i3 continues to spiral downward.
The steering on mine has already been repaired multiple times under warranty, plenty of room for safety and durability improvements.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by reductase

The love hate relationship with my i3 continues to spiral downward.
The steering on mine has already been repaired multiple times under warranty, plenty of room for safety and durability improvements.

What happened to your steering? Still under warranty?

[drjoe66]

Originally Posted by JasH

Is it not a legal requirement to wear seat belts in USA?

Originally Posted by JasH

Is it not a legal requirement to wear seat belts in USA?

New Hampshire, believe it or not, has no seatbelt law. And even worse, the cars still need to be designed for people not wearing seatbelts. Why anybody would not wear a seatbelt is beyond my comprehension. And why those idiots not wearing a belt need to be protected makes even less sense....

[reductase]

Slow creaking / groaning noise of metal on metal. It was more noticeable at low speed. Typical stages of grieving. At first the dealership was in denial... then.... then..... then the replacement failed and they replaced it again. I gather that's par for the course for bmw. Thankfully CPO with extra warranty to 100k miles and I'm only at 39k with 4 years to go.

I haven't had too much noise from the steering since the second replacement but I've noticed it again occasionally (not as bad as previous) on tight slow turns.

Love the car when it works without errors and failures.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by reductase

Slow creaking / groaning noise of metal on metal. It was more noticeable at low speed. Typical stages of grieving. At first the dealership was in denial... then.... then..... then the replacement failed and they replaced it again. I gather that's par for the course for bmw. Thankfully CPO with extra warranty to 100k miles and I'm only at 39k with 4 years to go.

I haven't had too much noise from the steering since the second replacement but I've noticed it again occasionally (not as bad as previous) on tight slow turns.

Love the car when it works without errors and failures.

Ahhh.. I've noticed creaking at low speed too. Since the car was so quiet I though maybe I'm just hearing the suspension doing it's normal thing. I wonder if I should bring it in?

[JasH]

Originally Posted by drjoe66

And why those idiots not wearing a belt need to be protected makes even less sense....

True

[jandref321]

Originally Posted by reductase

Does anyone have a link to the recall notice? I searched through the nthsa website and bmwusa, no search results in google other than previous recall issues.
Is it all i3 models affected?

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by JasH

Is it not a legal requirement to wear seat belts in USA?

Originally Posted by drjoe66

And why those idiots not wearing a belt need to be protected makes even less sense....

That's not the point.

Regulations, whatever they may be, are well known and well publicized.
Failing to pass them is a HUGE egg on the face of BMW AG engineers, and a reputation hit to the brand in the US.

Attempting to marginalize the issue by questioning the need to protect un-belted drivers, or focusing that the failed tests apply only to 5th percentile females, or that tests were failed only "marginally" - it's all weak and pathetic.

BMW knew what the test limits were.
BMW failed to engineer a solution to pass them.
They got caught 3+ years into production run, with 30+K vehicles on the road.





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[bailyhill]

Originally Posted by drjoe66

New Hampshire, believe it or not, has no seatbelt law. And even worse, the cars still need to be designed for people not wearing seatbelts. Why anybody would not wear a seatbelt is beyond my comprehension. And why those idiots not wearing a belt need to be protected makes even less sense....

Not only this, but you do not need a helmet to ride a motorcycle. It has something to do with the mantra "Live Free or Die". Which is pretty much what those who do not wear seatbelts or helmets get when they are in a serious accident.

Bailyhill