[Atiqofsweden]

Hi,

So we have a 2022 i4 40e in our family,

Last week it set up a warning after charging over the night, that it could not start due to problems with the battery and drivetrain.

We had it towed to the nearest dealer and now they have checked it and the response we got is this:

Hi, has been confirmed that there has been an overcurrent in the high-voltage battery. All cell modules in the high-voltage battery, control units and cables have failed and need to be replaced. We do not yet know how this case will be handled in terms of costs. We will apply for warranty replacements and try to fix this under warranty, but since the faults are registered as being overvoltage that affected the battery, it may possibly be difficult to handle as a warranty issue.

Does anyone have any advice how we should handle this?

Also, we’re in Europe so American laws don’t apply here.

[Windshieldfarmer]

Unless you’re located in an area with unreliable electricity…like a third world country, I don’t see this as being a controllable user error. Furthermore it would be negligent of BMW not to provide some type of protection against this type of occurrence. Be prepared to lawyer up…

[motzus]

Were you using an AC charger or a high voltage DC charger? If you are using an AC charger the BMW is doing the voltage conversion from AC to DC on board the car. I have no idea what you could do to cause an over voltage condition that way. If you were using a high voltage DC fast charger then it is possible that there was a miscommunication between the charger and the car and the DC charger sent too much power (voltage and or current) to the car. One would think that the car would have a means of protecting itself from a situation like that.

[freshxdough]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

Hi,

So we have a 2022 i4 40e in our family,

Last week it set up a warning after charging over the night, that it could not start due to problems with the battery and drivetrain.

We had it towed to the nearest dealer and now they have checked it and the response we got is this:

Hi, has been confirmed that there has been an overcurrent in the high-voltage battery. All cell modules in the high-voltage battery, control units and cables have failed and need to be replaced. We do not yet know how this case will be handled in terms of costs. We will apply for warranty replacements and try to fix this under warranty, but since the faults are registered as being overvoltage that affected the battery, it may possibly be difficult to handle as a warranty issue.

Does anyone have any advice how we should handle this?

Also, we’re in Europe so American laws don’t apply here.

Are you still under warranty?
Cost of all new cell modules in USA is about $92,000 (warranty cost) or at least it was when I replaced all the cell modules on an i4 that was under warranty for essentially the same issue. Battery was damaged at a DCFC station caused by charger.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by freshxdough

Are you still under warranty?
Cost of all new cell modules in USA is about $92,000 (warranty cost) or at least it was when I replaced all the cell modules on an i4 that was under warranty for essentially the same issue. Battery was damaged at a DCFC station caused by charger.

Did you misplace a zero.
It can't be $92,000.
You can throw away the car and get a fully loaded i4 M50 for less.

But this should be warranty, if it was on an overnight charge that would indicate 120/240 which means the on onboard charger would have had to fail to regulate if there was an over voltage condition in the cells or battery itself.

[freshxdough]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

Did you misplace a zero.
It can't be $92,000.
You can throw away the car and get a fully loaded i4 M50 for less.

But this should be warranty, if it was on an overnight charge that would indicate 120/240 which means the on onboard charger would have had to fail to regulate if there was an over voltage condition in the cells or battery itself.

Nope. Warranty total came out to $102,000. two SME replaced and one CSC.

[jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69]

What happened before this whole overvoltage situation? DC fast charging? Charging at home? A lightning strike?

Say if lightning struck the car, it would be an insurance issue, not a warranty issue.

[Atiqofsweden]

It was charging at home 16A 400V 3-phase type 2 EV-charger. Car has barely done any fast-charging.

No lightning strikes in the area, they are very rare here during winter aswell.

[jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

It was charging at home 16A 400V 3-phase type 2 EV-charger. Car has barely done any fast-charging.

No lightning strikes in the area, they are very rare here during winter aswell.

Might wanna peak inside your charger and see if it's got any fried parts. Otherwise, I'd blame the car.

[freshxdough]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

I guess I should have asked what part of the world.

From the other post you have 400V 3-Phase which is definitely no in the USA or even North America.

So exactly where are you?

USA.

[jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

I guess I should have asked what part of the world.

From the other post you have 400V 3-Phase which is definitely no in the USA or even North America.

So exactly where are you?

You mixed up the OP, methinks.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69

You mixed up the OP, methinks.

I did.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

It was charging at home 16A 400V 3-phase type 2 EV-charger. Car has barely done any fast-charging.

No lightning strikes in the area, they are very rare here during winter aswell.

I guess I should have asked where you were?

400V 3-Phase doesn't sound like North America.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by freshxdough

Nope. Warranty total came out to $102,000. two SME replaced and one CSC.

My fully loaded M50 with individual leather came to right under $84,000 US.

[freshxdough]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

My fully loaded M50 with individual leather came to right under $84,000 US.

Take it as you will. There is a markup on all parts including warranty parts for dealership parts department to make money off of warranty and customer pay claims. Obviously there isnt $92,000 worth of batteries installed in your vehicle at factory. But for warranty sake to install new cells, this is what they cost. The car that got these cells was an i4 40 at ~$60k.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by freshxdough

Take it as you will. There is a markup on all parts including warranty parts for dealership parts department to make money off of warranty and customer pay claims. Obviously there isnt $92,000 worth of batteries installed in your vehicle at factory. But for warranty sake to install new cells, this is what they cost. The car that got these cells was an i4 40 at ~$60k.

That's the point I was trying to make.
Definitely a car is worth quite a bit if you disassemble and sell off the parts.

I just find it amazing that they can, with a straight face, write a number down that exceeds the cost of a car.

That literally means that an i4 is not repairable if there is a battery issue that does not involve the warranty.

[freshxdough]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

That's the point I was trying to make.
Definitely a car is worth quite a bit if you disassemble and sell off the parts.

I just find it amazing that they can, with a straight face, write a number down that exceeds the cost of a car.

That literally means that an i4 is not repairable if there is a battery issue that does not involve the warranty.

Prices aren’t fixed. These cars are still very new and nobody knows what cells will cost in 1, 5, 10 years. Who knows.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

I guess I should have asked where you were?

400V 3-Phase doesn't sound like North America.

The location under his name shows Sweden, and his name is Atiqofsweden. I am guessing Sweden. :-P

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

The location under his name shows Sweden, and his name is Atiqofsweden. I am guessing Sweden. :-P

Correct, I’m in Sweden!

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69

Might wanna peak inside your charger and see if it's got any fried parts. Otherwise, I'd blame the car.

Yes, have done that and it looks perfectly fine, also charged my Tesla with it today without any issues whatsoever.

[Atiqofsweden]

I’ve been researching a bit and reading a bit about the issue and the only conclusion I have come up with is that there must’ve been an error with the onboard charger or BMS because the AC voltage from the charger is never in the batteries circuit. It gets converted to DC voltage by the onboard charger 🤔

[jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

I’ve been researching a bit and reading a bit about the issue and the only conclusion I have come up with is that there must’ve been an error with the onboard charger or BMS because the AC voltage from the charger is never in the batteries circuit. It gets converted to DC voltage by the onboard charger 🤔

I agree. Dealer is being stupid. Call BMW and complain. They're trying to blame this BMW Vasa incident on you.