pics?

 

And pics of the curb!

what was it made of? Did it have a cutting edge?

did you bump it forwards or clip it sideways?

 

Astonishing that a curb could total a brand new car like yours. Very sorry to hear it.

 

I would also like to see a picture of the curb and the damage. At 5 miles per hour, I would think anything above the ground clearance of the i4 would be visible, especially when thinking about the way I drove my car when it was only three weeks old. Of course, any car with an expensive battery in the floor could be severely damaged by dragging it across a protruding sharp object.

 

If the curb could rip the side of the battery, I wouldn't really call that a low curb.

Can definitely commiserate that some curbs are all but invisible due to coloration matching a sidewalk and the driving surface.

 

This is the second post about running over something causing damage to the I4. I've now ran into a curb, a different post on that, and ran over a curb with the i4. Both were late night extremely tired and just wanted to get home scenarios. I ran over a standard 4" high curb that divided two different parking areas. I heard a loud thump and jerked the car, no mistaking I hit something, when I went over it with the front wheels, then again with the back. At the time I didn't realize was I was going over. This was the first week I owned the car, driven it 5,600 miles since and never looked underneath. I guess I should now!!!

My only initial concern was...o crap, I'm going to need an alignment soon.

 

Same, I hate to admit this but I hopped a curb while leaving a parking spot as I had forgotten it was surrounded by curb on three sides. Immediately reversed down, checked the front for damage, and didn't see a thing which was shocking considering how low the car seems to sit.

 

Let them total it and buy it back. The batteries are so well protected it's hard to imagine you're at any risk.

 

"only a 2 inch rip in the side of the battery casing." Seams hard to believe a body shop cannot remove casing and weld it. Looks like an aluminum casing on the bottom of mine. It would be very easy to weld on. Need EV body shops.

 

Let them total it and buy it back. The batteries are so well protected it's hard to imagine you're at any risk.

I just went through this a month ago when my older car got totaled due to a minor rear-end accident. You have to buy back at salvage rates, for an I4 that probably at least $25K. On my 2009 Honda accord it was $3K for a car that had blue book value of $8K. Then you have to fix it and prove to the state that it is rebuilt to be able to drive it again. Every state is different, I was amazed on how hard it was in Florida which generally doesn't care about anything. The inspector wanted new condition, it wasn't just about safety. I probably would do it but I'm not a normal BMW owner. I'd take it to a special EV repair place which would probably be cross country for me.

 

Wow! I'm really sorry this happened to you, OP. Please post pictures of the curb and damage to the car!

 

^ Agreed. Would be good to see examples of what damage curbs can cause to the underside of our cars.

 

No. As I started to go up, I backed up. No body, rim, tire damage and no outwardly apparent damage to bottom of. Car. Just a 2 inch slit on the side casing with no damage to metal seen through the slit

 

I went through this back in March. Fortunately no battery damage, but the repair came out to $21k

https://www.i4talk.com/threads/be-careful-of-curbs-y%E2%80%99all.7301/#post-147172

 

I don't think we are alone. I doubt I had battery damage but the insurance company insisted on totaling it my understanding is that at least the Audi EV have more of a protective barrier under their batteries. It's just too low a car and the battery extends too close the the tires not to to have better protection

 

Wow that's crazy s*** here.
I watched the video of the curb incident, it looks like almost nothing.

One small mistake, one small moment of unawareness and your car is completely totaled.
There is no margin at all, that's crazy

 

Drive SOBER and don’t go over curbs!
Don’t go off-roading with the i4 except in Forza Horizon 5.😁
The i4 is meant for driving on roads…

 

Well of course. I have no doubt that anyone here is aware about that.
But still, the road might not be clean, or slightly damaged at some point or with pothole filled by water or whatever.

I mean, it's hard that you and the road to be in perfect condition everytime you pick the car.
Having some damage is understandable, but that much, geez

Well, range anxiety is nothing compared to this

 

This is a real messed up situation, and I do feel for the OP. Sorry that it happened to you!

For reference, i4 battery is encased in aluminum and is designed to take a hit, it is by no means fragile.

 

This is a real messed up situation, and I do feel for the OP. Sorry that it happened to you!

For reference, i4 battery is encased in aluminum and is designed to take a hit, it is by no means fragile.
View attachment 35879
View attachment 35880

Right, scraping on a speed bump will be okay, regardless if you’re driving an i4 or Tesla 3.
Driving over a curb/a motor vehicle accident is another story and that is what insurance is for.

That’s why I’d like to see photos from the OP

Moderator:

I have edited your post. Lets keep the discussion friendly please.

 

Moderator: In terms of validity of this thread, we have verified (within reason while at the same time respecting privacy) with the OP that their insurance in fact totaled the M50.

 

I hope the OP will post some pictures of the damage done to the car or at least the curb in question so we know what it took to cause the damage. I know more than a handful of us asked for them 🙂

 

That sucks, and yea I came very close to hitting a curb while making a (tight) u-turn.....
it seems more common nowdays for insurance Co. to total loss even slight damage to vehicles due to astronomical repair costs and liability risks of non-oem repairs
According to vehicle warranty in theory the battery is NOT explicitly mentioned from curb damage, so some room for lawsuit (but who would bother)

 

Yeah the turning radius is the worst I’ve had of all 6 cars I’ve owned. Someone thought/mentioned on the forum that it was poor to accommodate large 20” wheels without rubbing while turning.
I guess we suffer for the large wheel crazed…

Anyway, thanks for posting this. Now we know BMW doesn’t want us driving over curbs. 🙂

Do you think verbiage about curbs is also listed for say a real off roader like a Jeep Wrangler 4XE? I saw a range rover drive right over a curb to get into a left turn lane because they didn’t want to wait for traffic to move. 🤮💩🤮 And I thought off roading was driving on dirt straddling over rocks. My mistake

 

@cruzer666 I assume these are stock photos you found. Your top photo looks like a press car, they've removed the side skirts. The bottom picture has the side skirts on and with Jack stands along the side??? Is that a valid way of using jack stands?

Most professional lifts have built in safety, but I always like the manual stand, less to go wrong. But looking at the two pictures, looks like that is the incorrect way to use the jack stand or am I missing something? The aluminum side in the top photo doesn't look strong enough to support the weight of the car!

Really wish BMW put double wide jackpads so I can get a jack and jack stand in each corner like all the other non luxury cars in the world, but I guess they want you to visit workshop only.

 

@cruzer666 I assume these are stock photos you found. Your top photo looks like a press car, they've removed the side skirts. The bottom picture has the side skirts on and with Jack stands along the side??? Is that a valid way of using jack stands?

That 2nd picture, I'm pretty sure the car is on a lift, you can see the yellow arms supporting the car... the stands are support stands... maybe holding something up - maybe the rockers or maybe the battery?

I also have had the back wheels go over a curb in a parking lot scenario the 2nd week I had the car.... luckily other than a loud bang, no damage. I think the car landed on the rear subframe.

In my defense, the parking lot was crowded, and it was the 1st time I was there, and the sight angles were not good.

 

Top photo was actually a user here, I’ll let them comment if they’d like. The battery pack was replaced on that one.

Bottom photo is a screen grab from this YouTube:

 

@cruzer666 Thanks! I conculded they put those stands for a o-crap case for extra safety. Most of the weight is still probably on the lift. Unfortunitely very differnet in a home garage with a floor jack. With a floor jack you want to put the weight on the jack stands and have the jack as the o-crap. Although I probably won't do my own work on the I4, looking at buying jack and jackstands so I can inspect underneath, I need a friend with a real lift. I don't like taking the car into the dealer without checking things out myself. Plus I'm a tool nut.

 

I'm going to have to use two pictures to tell this story, Googe Street view dates don't work well.

In this photo, notice the brick wall sits on an island. There used to be an ATM there. They pulled the ATM, the brick walls and the white posts, but crucially, did not grind down or remove the concrete curb of the island. There's some parking on the right side that will be important in the second picture due to the date change.

In the second picture, you can see that an EA charging station has been installed in the parking spots I mentioned in the first picture. If you look between the power transformers for the charge station and the white van, you can make out that island is still there...

The curb is concrete, on concrete driveway. While trying to back and fill to get into that last space (the others had cars in them, an ICE an ID4 and one Tesla) I went over that thing with my front right.

Fun times.

Luckily no damage but my pride, but curbs suck.

 

I'm going to have to use two pictures to tell this story, Googe Street view dates don't work well.

In this photo, notice the brick wall sits on an island. There used to be an ATM there. They pulled the ATM, the brick walls and the white posts, but crucially, did not grind down or remove the concrete curb of the island. There's some parking on the right side that will be important in the second picture due to the date change.

View attachment 35891

In the second picture, you can see that an EA charging station has been installed in the parking spots I mentioned in the first picture. If you look between the power transformers for the charge station and the white van, you can make out that island is still there...

View attachment 35892

The curb is concrete, on concrete driveway. While trying to back and fill to get into that last space (the others had cars in them, an ICE an ID4 and one Tesla) I went over that thing with my front right.

Fun times.

Luckily no damage but my pride, but curbs suck.

Believe it or not, the same identical thing happened to me. That curb should be illegal.

 

I had to go look for the 4 jackpads on my i4. Found it installed. Sometimes a dealer forgets to put it in. On the other bimmer subforums we occassionally have owners asking what're these 4 blocks they found in a plastic bag in the trunk. The dealer is supposed to install it after the vehicle arrives at the dealership. It's when they peel the plastic protective sheets off the body panels and interior during the final prep before putting the car out on the lot.

 

Here is the picture of the curb I hopped, first week I owned my car. Probably going about 8 mph too at night in a poorly lit area. Tired and wanting to go home. I was looking to the right to see if there were cars coming, turning left and bam out of nowhere it jumped out at me. Big jerk, I assumed I hit a pot hole or whatever I hit was over, then kept driving and bam again on the back wheels. Got out then said o-crap. Hit to the ego, looking back, I wish I was drinking heavily so I'd have a excuse. Unfortunately no excuse, just a mental breakdown I guess. 5,600 miles later, I've never had the car checked out. I guess I should based on these cases of things breaking. I parked it outside for two week, just in case battery fire concerns, and took a quick look underneath, but really low car and hard to see anything without lifting. The yellow parking lines look clear it isn't a lane in daytime, they are more faded now than in this picture, still stupid. In person you can clearly see the curb has been hit multiple times by others, need a bush or something to make it more visible.