Funny. I had a 2014 i3 REX and the car had exactly what you describe. Four dealers had the car in to see what the problem was. They changed the complete front suspension to try to find out the problem. In the diagnosing there were many introduced faults that came up on the car by the dealers poking around, which led to many failures. I cannot believe this is a 2019 car with similar problems. I rejected the car in 2018 and got a 2017 REX. Absolutely excellent car with no problems! That is until I started to modify it!
I have not taken mine back to the dealer for exactly the reasons you outline. I think 2014 was a bad manufacturing year for the i3 - read it somewhere. I took the front wheels off mine and checked the front suspension components and subframe bolts myself, I could find nothing wrong. I also thought that BMW has been designing suspensions for decades, and were unlikely to get that side of things wrong. I was relieved to find such a simple fix, and to be able to understand why it sounded like a suspension problem, when it was an EV specific issue - a combustion car would not have hoses in this location. One drawback with any EV is that the quiet drive train makes other noises so noticeable.
@@simonreeves2017 The 2014 i3s (REx) are no different than the current i3s and the only issue I could find in my research is that the 2014 models had less durable bolts holding the motor mounts in place, these bolt would crack/break under stress. BMW replaced the bolts under a recall. Also, BMW replaced the plastic motor mounts with either metal or aluminum in many i3s. Not much has changed from 2014 through 2020, so buying a 2014 is no different than buying a 2020 except for battery size and the charger going from 7kw to 11kw.
Thanks for posting the video. I have a 2017 i3 and recently heard the rattles coming from the same place. I can feel the 2 hoses are loose so am going to try and secure them in place to see if it stops the rattle. Did you find a permanent fix or are the foam inserts still working?
Don’t have the suspension knocking on my 2020 i3s yet but, Do you have problems with rattling noises coming from the passenger door also in the middle off the dashboard? Also with high winds from the side i hear like a fluting sound resulting from high winds like my windows is slightly open but it isnt....
I do occasionally get a rattle from the front doors, this is the glass knocking against the top rear of the door. The i3 has frameless doors, when the door is opened, the glass will drop by an inch, when door is closed, the glass raises. Check that the glass tucks neatly under the rubber seal at the top. Mine did not, I have softened the rubber seal with some silicone spray applied with a cloth, this has helped, but in hot weather the glass can still rattle. I think all cars have small creaks etc. the problem with an EV is that we notice them more because there is no rattling Diesel engine to distract us 🤗. I was very tempted by an i3s, but the extra cost and harder ride put me off, it looks much nicer than the standard i3 I think. I do like my i3 a lot, it's my first EV and when I go in a combustion car now I really notice the noise and the smell of that hot oil and fuel
Simon Reeves thank you, i wil take a look at it. All i can say about the i3s is; My previous car was a 2018 F80 M3, and when i switched over to the i3s i never shed a single tear for the m3. Have driven over a decade with +300hp petrol guzzlers and after a while i got tired of it. I render sportscars useless for driving on public roads. Greets
Xeno Morph - I think the people who experience an EV first hand, the harder it will be for 'big auto' to sell combustion cars. I would not go back to a combustion car as my daily driver now.
Simon Reeves when i just bought my the M3 after a week a small stone chipped my windshield and needed a new windshield. Never had i driven an Ev before nor didn’t i want any part of it. I got an I3 as replacement car while the windshield was being fixed, then the ball just started rolling, took another i3 afterwards to test a bit longer in the weekend and made up my mind😁. The difference between the i3 and the i3s is like you said a tad stiffer but compared to the m3 because that car was even bonehard in comfort mode. The bigger difference in the i3s is the sport mode and makes it very responsive on the gaspedal.
Tip for future reference (1:50) - just turn on the 'flash' for video and you'll have a very nice light source. It's great for filming in dark cavities.
Thanks, I will give it a try, although this guy was quite sure, that he located it as the upper strut mount. This was his video: photos.app.goo.gl/yrSMt2YE3YHjtk9L6 The car will be at service on 30 September and he will report the result later... This is the whole discussion in the German "Going Electric" forum: www.goingelectric.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=15958 (started in 2016...)
yt3dkraft - Thanks for taking the trouble to comment. The video in your link is interesting, I tried rocking the front wheels with suspension loaded and unloaded, but could not detect any play or noise - I expect we are looking at different problems, cars are frustrating things!
Funny. I had a 2014 i3 REX and the car had exactly what you describe. Four dealers had the car in to see what the problem was.
They changed the complete front suspension to try to find out the problem.
In the diagnosing there were many introduced faults that came up on the car by the dealers poking around, which led to many failures.
I cannot believe this is a 2019 car with similar problems.
I rejected the car in 2018 and got a 2017 REX. Absolutely excellent car with no problems! That is until I started to modify it!
I have not taken mine back to the dealer for exactly the reasons you outline. I think 2014 was a bad manufacturing year for the i3 - read it somewhere. I took the front wheels off mine and checked the front suspension components and subframe bolts myself, I could find nothing wrong. I also thought that BMW has been designing suspensions for decades, and were unlikely to get that side of things wrong. I was relieved to find such a simple fix, and to be able to understand why it sounded like a suspension problem, when it was an EV specific issue - a combustion car would not have hoses in this location. One drawback with any EV is that the quiet drive train makes other noises so noticeable.
@@simonreeves2017
The 2014 i3s (REx) are no different than the current i3s and the only issue I could find in my research is that the 2014 models had less durable bolts holding the motor mounts in place, these bolt would crack/break under stress.
BMW replaced the bolts under a recall. Also, BMW replaced the plastic motor mounts with either metal or aluminum in many i3s.
Not much has changed from 2014 through 2020, so buying a 2014 is no different than buying a 2020 except for battery size and the charger going from 7kw to 11kw.
Very informative. Thank you for posting.
what is that tube running down the inside corner of the wheel arch cover?
Pretty sure it’s the air conditioner drain. Condensation forms on the compressor when th air conditioning is running.
Thanks for posting the video. I have a 2017 i3 and recently heard the rattles coming from the same place. I can feel the 2 hoses are loose so am going to try and secure them in place to see if it stops the rattle. Did you find a permanent fix or are the foam inserts still working?
Don’t have the suspension knocking on my 2020 i3s yet but,
Do you have problems with rattling noises coming from the passenger door also in the middle off the dashboard?
Also with high winds from the side i hear like a fluting sound resulting from high winds like my windows is slightly open but it isnt....
I do occasionally get a rattle from the front doors, this is the glass knocking against the top rear of the door. The i3 has frameless doors, when the door is opened, the glass will drop by an inch, when door is closed, the glass raises. Check that the glass tucks neatly under the rubber seal at the top. Mine did not, I have softened the rubber seal with some silicone spray applied with a cloth, this has helped, but in hot weather the glass can still rattle. I think all cars have small creaks etc. the problem with an EV is that we notice them more because there is no rattling Diesel engine to distract us 🤗. I was very tempted by an i3s, but the extra cost and harder ride put me off, it looks much nicer than the standard i3 I think. I do like my i3 a lot, it's my first EV and when I go in a combustion car now I really notice the noise and the smell of that hot oil and fuel
Simon Reeves thank you, i wil take a look at it.
All i can say about the i3s is;
My previous car was a 2018 F80 M3, and when i switched over to the i3s i never shed a single tear for the m3.
Have driven over a decade with +300hp petrol guzzlers and after a while i got tired of it.
I render sportscars useless for driving on public roads.
Greets
Xeno Morph - I think the people who experience an EV first hand, the harder it will be for 'big auto' to sell combustion cars. I would not go back to a combustion car as my daily driver now.
Simon Reeves when i just bought my the M3 after a week a small stone chipped my windshield and needed a new windshield.
Never had i driven an Ev before nor didn’t i want any part of it.
I got an I3 as replacement car while the windshield was being fixed, then the ball just started rolling, took another i3 afterwards to test a bit longer in the weekend and made up my mind😁.
The difference between the i3 and the i3s is like you said a tad stiffer but compared to the m3 because that car was even bonehard in comfort mode.
The bigger difference in the i3s is the sport mode and makes it very responsive on the gaspedal.
Tip for future reference (1:50) - just turn on the 'flash' for video and you'll have a very nice light source. It's great for filming in dark cavities.
I was going to say the same tip.
In the iPhone if you are recording vídeo you cannot turn in the flash light 😅
I hear that, thanks.
Thanks, I will give it a try, although this guy was quite sure, that he located it as the upper strut mount. This was his video: photos.app.goo.gl/yrSMt2YE3YHjtk9L6
The car will be at service on 30 September and he will report the result later...
This is the whole discussion in the German "Going Electric" forum: www.goingelectric.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=15958 (started in 2016...)
yt3dkraft - Thanks for taking the trouble to comment. The video in your link is interesting, I tried rocking the front wheels with suspension loaded and unloaded, but could not detect any play or noise - I expect we are looking at different problems, cars are frustrating things!
Track rod ends.
Yes, if it were older I suspect track rod ends, but at the time I made this video the i3 had less than 10k miles on it.