Drivetrain malfunction

Fayt349 said:

I just went into the dealership to speak with them.

1) He told me to contact my insurance for the damage done by towing company. Luckily I did take a photo of the dude damaging it while it was being towed so I have solid proof.

2) Regarding the shifter, they thought I removed the ENTIRE MODULEEEE, no. I ONLY removed the knob. I brought my original knob and showed them exactly what I did. They will try to fix it and they will also open a case for me with BMW to reduce the price significantly.


While I was there I told him you can take your time, take up to a year if you want, but I'm not paying that kind of money. He said he wouldn't either if he was in my situation.

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That's interesting (not in a good way) that they are making you deal with the BMW roadside. Perhaps I was just very fortunate with my situation and my SA, because they literally handled everything with the insurance when the BMW roadside chosen towing company damaged my vehicle dropping it off at the BMW dealership for service.

Fayt349 said:

I just went into the dealership to speak with them.

1) He told me to contact my insurance for the damage done by towing company. Luckily I did take a photo of the dude damaging it while it was being towed so I have solid proof.

2) Regarding the shifter, they thought I removed the ENTIRE MODULEEEE, no. I ONLY removed the knob. I brought my original knob and showed them exactly what I did. They will try to fix it and they will also open a case for me with BMW to reduce the price significantly.


While I was there I told him you can take your time, take up to a year if you want, but I'm not paying that kind of money. He said he wouldn't either if he was in my situation.

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But.... the entire shifter module is no way near 5k ??? What did they spend time on, since they come up with 5K ?

linerjoe said:

That's interesting (not in a good way) that they are making you deal with the BMW roadside. Perhaps I was just very fortunate with my situation and my SA, because they literally handled everything with the insurance when the BMW roadside chosen towing company damaged my vehicle dropping it off at the BMW dealership for service.

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Agree with this 100%. I might still think about going with a different dealership for service/warranty work from now on. It appears they had a very accusatory tone towards you instead of wanting to work WITH you. No matter whose fault it was I would be upset if they treated me with an accusatory tone. Then the having you deal with BMW Road Side on your own is the cherry on top. I'm just not impressed with the service.

Any updates, @Fayt349 ?

I had the same issue with an EA charging station this past winter. Kind of scary but not the end of the world.

Here is my suggestion to fix. Push the volume knob for at least 2 min. To reset the car. Wait for 2 min and then restart the car. Go to a different charging station and avoid that station in the future.

Also, when terminating or ending the charge, make sure you turn off the charging station first. Either on the toch screen or the little round button. Ensure it says charging has stopped and the light on the car goes to white before disconnecting the cable from the car. Following this process and I have not had this situation come up since.

linerjoe said:

Any updates, @Fayt349 ?

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NOPE.

Still don't have my car. They don't ever contact me, I've been sending messages with zero replies.

Will call tomorrow.

Fayt349 said:

NOPE.

Still don't have my car. They don't ever contact me, I've been sending messages with zero replies.

Will call tomorrow.

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Hope you’re enjoying that 5 series loaner in the meantime 🙂

Fayt349 said:

NOPE.

Still don't have my car. They don't ever contact me, I've been sending messages with zero replies.

Will call tomorrow.

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I’d be visiting them every day.

Fayt349 said:

NOPE.

Still don't have my car. They don't ever contact me, I've been sending messages with zero replies.

Will call tomorrow.

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After feeling optimistic last week, it is looking about as bleak for me. BMW NA’s field rep approved the repair to my car last Wednesday, my dealership ordered the part last Thursday, then today I found out BMW (not sure if it was NA or AG) “rejected” the part order. No reason given. No timeline for getting my car back.

ssh said:

I’d be visiting them every day.

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Yeah I'd make their lives miserable until i got my answers, that's insane.

Dc fast charged for the first time and a drivetrain error popped up. Can still drive the car. Service tech says its a cooling pump issue. Dang. Ill update with what happens.

Purify said:

Dc fast charged for the first time and a drivetrain error popped up. Can still drive the car. Service tech says its a cooling pump issue. Dang. Ill update with what happens.

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They said that even before seeing the car or... ?

cruzer666 said:

They said that even before seeing the car or... ?

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That is what the master technician said remotely. I will drop off the car tomorrow at dealer to confirm.

So I spoke on the phone today. It was narrowed to two options

1) They will try to put the original shifter back on, but regardless if it works or not, they have to charge me 600 bucks to try.

2) They say the car is hard stuck on a catastrophic error for the shifter. the entire shifter module not the top knob. Even though I never touched that part. They spoke with BMW but BMW refuses to chip in for the cost at all. Usually they will go 50 50 but in this case apparently they are not paying a dime since they determined "outside influence". The entire replacement will be 6 thousand dollars. My option here would be to call corporate myself and try to get them to replace it for free or with a heavy discount.


This is insane, a single shifter knob. One screw and one ribbon cable.

Fayt349 said:

So I spoke on the phone today. It was narrowed to two options

1) They will try to put the original shifter back on, but regardless if it works or not, they have to charge me 600 bucks to try.

2) They say the car is hard stuck on a catastrophic error for the shifter. the entire shifter module not the top knob. Even though I never touched that part. They spoke with BMW but BMW refuses to chip in for the cost at all. Usually they will go 50 50 but in this case apparently they are not paying a dime since they determined "outside influence". The entire replacement will be 6 thousand dollars. My option here would be to call corporate myself and try to get them to replace it for free or with a heavy discount.


This is insane, a single shifter knob. One screw and one ribbon cable.

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Craziness. I bet if you talk to BMW of NA and plead your case, they will split or maybe pay entirely. If not, you might want to ask them and/or the dealership what they’d pay you for the car.

And btw, the knob you chose was really nice! Maybe if you express your enthusiasm for the car and brand, they will be more inclined to help.

dbs2022i4 said:

Today while pulling out of an automated car wash my i4m50 starting peppering me with errors. First was "High-voltage system - You can continue to driving. Please have the system checked by your nearest service center to prevent malfunction ...." followed immediately by "Drivetrain - You can continue driving. Have the problem checked bv your service center" and then by "Reduced parking assistance"

Has anyone else experienced any or all of these messages? The iconceirge says nothwithstanding the messages that I should have the vechicle towed to the dealership (but of course the dealer doesn't have any loaner vehicles until the middle of next month). I'm trying to gauge how serious the error might be and see if I can make it until the weekend before getting the car in.

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I have the exactly same issue as yours today. How did you sort it out on the end?

Fayt349 said:

The time has come. This is instant karma for me saying when that error happens I’ll just ignore it lol. Maybe some of you remember that post I made lol.

I did multiple mods to my car, I changed the gear selector to the one with the M logo and Alcantara feeling cover.I had to disconnect the HVB and 12v battery, but I put it back together like normal.
First I kept getting gear selector not working messages, then drive train malfunctions.
The gear selector messages went away but it wouldn’t work and I couldn’t drive or put it in neutral

It’s at the dealership now but they won’t work on it till Monday. That’s my story

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You pay your money and you take your chance what more can you say . These cars know what you do to them if you get flagged must understand you were taking that chance messing with stuff

stryker said:

You pay your money and you take your chance what more can you say . These cars know what you do to them if you get flagged must understand you were taking that chance messing with stuff

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All he changed was the knob itself for a slight cosmetic change. It’s true there can be risks with pretty much anything, but this was a rather small mod. If he tinted the windows and the car turned into a brick, would that be reasonable to expect? I don’t think so.

BMW USA customer relations said if I pay the money FIRST, then they can open a case to see if they can do any reimbursement.

I think this might be my first and last BMW. It's just a small shifter knob change. I know the car isn't broken. I know the car didn't shit itself. I think this is just BMW being greedy and not working with me. The dealership won't even try to put the old shifter back on unless I give them 600 bucks. It's a 5 minute job.