[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

2014-2017 BMW i3 REx Recall for Potential Fuel Vapor Leak

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NHTSA Bulletin:

Safety Issue Type: Recalls
February 09 2017 NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V088000

Fuel Vent Line may Chafe and Leak Fuel Vapor
A fuel vapor leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a re.

NHTSA Campaign Number 17V088000

Manufacturer BMW of North America, LLC

Components FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

Potential Number of Units Affected 19130

Summary
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2014-2017 i3 REx hybrid electric vehicles. The fuel tank vent line may rub against the ribbed wire protection sleeve of the battery positive (B+) cable, creating a hole in the vent line and causing a fuel vapor leak.

Remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuel vent line, replacing it as necessary, and install a clip to prevent it from cha ng, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin April 3, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traf c Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.


Associated Documents (2)

Defect Notice 573 Report -- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...7V088-5114.PDF

Recall Acknowledgement -- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...7V088-2813.pdf

[DCG]

The i3 in Alpine White looks nice.

[Bols]

Originally Posted by Jason;21308143

[B

Fuel Vent Line may Chafe and Leak Fuel Vapor[/B]
A fuel vapor leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a re.

The risk of a what? Did someone's i3 just explode while typing this?

[PRUVEIT]

Well... happy they found it. I wonder how long this will ultimately take to resolve across the fleet?

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by PRUVEIT

Well... happy they found it. I wonder how long this will ultimately take to resolve across the fleet?

Not long at all.
There were only 24,741 i3s sold in the US, in total, over 3 years:
2014: 6,092 (first year, 8 months of sales)
2015: 11,024
2016: 7,625

Assuming 2/3rd were REX's, that's ~16.5K cars to inspect by 339 car dealers in the US. That's 49 cars per dealer, on average, probably 3x that on the coasts, and 1/3 that in heartland.

Either way, even if it took a day per car, and only 1 car was worked per dealer, they will be done in ~1.5 months, on average.

In reality, fewer than 100% of the customers will partake.

I certainly will not.
My car will be lease-returned soon, and I don't find this alert credible enough to worry about it.
Certainly not enough to let a dealer touch the car unnecessarily and over-write my custom configuration settings on the i3

YMMV,
a

[-c-]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Not long at all.
There were only 24,741 i3s sold in the US, in total, over 3 years:
2014: 6,092 (first year, 8 months of sales)
2015: 11,024
2016: 7,625

Assuming 2/3rd were REX's, that's ~16.5K cars to inspect by 339 car dealers in the US. That's 49 cars per dealer, on average, probably 3x that on the coasts, and 1/3 that in heartland.

Either way, even if it took a day per car, and only 1 car was worked per dealer, they will be done in ~1.5 months, on average.

In reality, fewer than 100% of the customers will partake.

I certainly will not.
My car will be lease-returned soon, and I don't find this alert credible enough to worry about it.
Certainly not enough to let a dealer touch the car unnecessarily and over-write my custom configuration settings on the i3

YMMV,
a

And not all of those sold where Rex models. So the number would be fewer.

Unless you just quoted Rex numbers and not i3 sales total.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by -c-

And not all of those sold where Rex models. So the number would be fewer.

Unless you just quoted Rex numbers and not i3 sales total.

#s quoted were all i3's, with the assumption that 2/3 of those were REX's.

a

[raysspl]

Another one

[Pyrat 2]

Kind of ironic that their ecar has a recall for a vapor leak.

[ehonda]

Originally Posted by Bols

The risk of a what? Did someone's i3 just explode while typing this?

My friend's i3 Rex spontaneously caught on fire. She noticed smoke coming from the rear, pulled over, got out, and it caught on fire right after. The Rex maintenance was just completed a month earlier. I would definitely get the recall done.

[tooshay]

I went to the dealer for service and they told me there are to recalls on my REX. The SA told me it will take up to 5 days to do the 2 recalls. Didn't think it would take that long.

[bailyhill]

Originally Posted by ehonda

My friend's i3 Rex spontaneously caught on fire. She noticed smoke coming from the rear, pulled over, got out, and it caught on fire right after. The Rex maintenance was just completed a month earlier. I would definitely get the recall done.

Well we will never know, but its pretty suspicious that the REX maintenance was must done and the vehicle bursts into flames within the month. I wonder if any of the REX maintenance involves removing the gas line? Of course the recall is for vapor, and that's a little ways from the gas. Now the gasoline as a liquid will not catch fire at room temp without vapor being formed first, which happens with natural evaporation.

Just Speculating
Bailyhill