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      10-09-2020, 04:59 AM   #1
patsgarageonline
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Service manual online CLOSED by BMW

The service manual that we use in order to DIY maintain the BMW i8 has been closed by BMW AG. https://www.newtis.info/ indicates:

---
Site Closed
This site is closed per demands of BMW AG.
BMW recommends the official and up-to-date BMW TIS which can be accessed at www.bmwtis.com.

* However, we believe that BMW violates the right to repair by effectively locking out individual consumers from basic repair information through unreasonably high access fees.
---

Why did BMW do this? They do have their own tis web site but it costs $30USD for 24 hours of access, or $2500USD for a year's worth of access.
How many people wrench on their cars without knowing what torque setting should be used to retighten it and have no quick way to freely look it up? Would I pay $30 to find the tightening torque of a lug bolt? No. And no sane person would feel that this information is worth that. How many people assume they can just disconnect the 12v battery and swap out an electronic part that may still has power coming from the high voltage battery, resulting in a very expensive problem? Simple maintenance work like this is now devoid of any free safety information necessary to maintain the BMW i8.

But, I see a bigger problem. How many people are going to hurt themselves or do things that result in death by high voltage because they didn't have free access to the service manual? Is this really worth $30USD, BMW? The service manual clearly outlines exactly what the DIY'er must do in order to protect themselves from injury or death. No one should take a chance working on this car when it comes to being in close contact with high voltage lines, and the manual is very clear about what you should or shouldn't do on the car in order to safely service it. This information was hugely valuable to me when I started working on this car and for others who were asking me for advice about the car. I could point them to the service manual rather than just giving them my opinion. The service manual is the Bible for the i8 and we're not severely limited in our efforts to safely work on the car without additional cost measures forced on us by BMW.
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I daily drive my BMW i8 and enjoy doing my own service. If you're interested, please follow along on my journey to maintain and improve my i8. http://patsgarageonline.com

Last edited by patsgarageonline; 10-09-2020 at 05:06 AM..
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      10-09-2020, 05:03 AM   #2
patsgarageonline
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I daily drive my BMW i8 and enjoy doing my own service. If you're interested, please follow along on my journey to maintain and improve my i8. http://patsgarageonline.com
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      10-09-2020, 05:50 AM   #3
patsgarageonline
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I reached out to the NEWTIS web site owner and received this explanation:

"According to the BMW representative, the technical write-ups are property of BMW AG and/or BMW LLC and our use was outside the «fair use» policy. Since we’re just home mechanics like you, we are not in the position to fight it out legally, and decided to comply with their demands."
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      10-09-2020, 07:34 AM   #4
Leto1701
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I think people forget the responsibility of the manufacturers if they allow such sites. Manuals change. It is a constant effort to keep that information up to date and it needs to be paid for. The same consumers that complain one day about the price of such a service will sue the next day if they took a wrong information from a third-party site and claim that BMW should have ensured that information is accurate wherever they look it up.

Nothing but death is free and that will cost your life.
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      10-09-2020, 12:12 PM   #5
Coastali8
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2015 BMW i8  [10.00]
1970 Porsche 914-6  [0.00]
2018 BMW i3s REx  [0.00]
Really disappointing

Quote:
Originally Posted by patsgarageonline View Post
I reached out to the NEWTIS web site owner and received this explanation:

"According to the BMW representative, the technical write-ups are property of BMW AG and/or BMW LLC and our use was outside the «fair use» policy. Since we’re just home mechanics like you, we are not in the position to fight it out legally, and decided to comply with their demands."
That’s really too bad. A lot of useful information for maintaining and just understanding the i8 is now hidden from the owners. Even useful information for determining if the BMW dealer was telling the truth or correctly diagnosing any repairs needed.
Ruined my day.

YouTube is all that’s remaining.
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      10-09-2020, 02:41 PM   #6
Maxxsirrah
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Leto1701 View Post
I think people forget the responsibility of the manufacturers if they allow such sites. Manuals change. It is a constant effort to keep that information up to date and it needs to be paid for. The same consumers that complain one day about the price of such a service will sue the next day if they took a wrong information from a third-party site and claim that BMW should have ensured that information is accurate wherever they look it up.

Nothing but death is free and that will cost your life.
Eloquently, but frustratingly put!
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