[kennethjk]

I wouldn't be surprised. BMW's software has thus far proven to be less than stellar.

I am looking to lease an IX 50, what issues are There that would give me pause to move firward?

 

[Hodog16]

Got car back this week. Was some fault with the high voltage battery. The dealer sent the error info to BMW who sent a patch over. At least that’s what I’ve been told. Fingers crossed.

 

[umesh.metkar]

Its pretty clear that the "drive train error" is a generic error for a number of different underlying situations. Mine was caused by a battery coolant system issue.

Did the coolant system repair fix the issue for good ?Mine ixM60 had the same issue and is in dealership for issue repair

 

[saucybeard]

Experienced a very similar issue with our i4. Only displayed the more serious stop message once in a car park and disappeared after turning on and off. Had the less serious amber message appear a couple of times separate to that - I ignored it at first as I’d read about a buggy software update. Seems like it was a real issue. Never affected driving but read a few stories on the forums about loosing power mid drive and thought I’d better get it sorted.

Disappointed it happened since it was barely two years old but to be fair it was covered by warranty, I got a loan car and the dealership had it fixed within a couple of weeks. Most of that time was apparently spent in contact with BMW and waiting for parts. Here are the service notes for anyone interested in what they found/did:

Description of Goods / Services

fault stored for drive unit module, performed programming, hasn't resolved issue, technical case raised, removed drive module + drive unit, replace the brush module and cleaned the housing, carried EOS test, test passed, refit drive module + carrie refit drive unit, bleed cooling system, ........
........ carried out KDS and road test, all ok
no faults in vehicle.

I guess time will tell if it comes back - will update if it does

 

[micomor]

Experienced a very similar issue with our i4. Only displayed the more serious stop message once in a car park and disappeared after turning on and off. Had the less serious amber message appear a couple of times separate to that - I ignored it at first as I’d read about a buggy software update. Seems like it was a real issue. Never affected driving but read a few stories on the forums about loosing power mid drive and thought I’d better get it sorted.

Disappointed it happened since it was barely two years old but to be fair it was covered by warranty, I got a loan car and the dealership had it fixed within a couple of weeks. Most of that time was apparently spent in contact with BMW and waiting for parts. Here are the service notes for anyone interested in what they found/did:

Description of Goods / Services

fault stored for drive unit module, performed programming, hasn't resolved issue, technical case raised, removed drive module + drive unit, replace the brush module and cleaned the housing, carried EOS test, test passed, refit drive module + carrie refit drive unit, bleed cooling system, ........
........ carried out KDS and road test, all ok
no faults in vehicle.

I guess time will tell if it comes back - will update if it does

Took 1.5 months to turn from orange to red on an iX3. Still no word from the dealer when this will be resolved and so waiting for a loaner. Replacement parts for the motor are already here, but the tools aren’, with mo definitive date. Waiting for loaner. Thinking that those brushed motors aren’t as reliable as permanent magnet motors. Rare earth minerals still rule I suppose.

 

[XDrive]

View attachment 5482

View attachment 5484



Took 1.5 months to turn from orange to red on an iX3. Still no word from the dealer when this will be resolved and so waiting for a loaner. Replacement parts for the motor are already here, but the tools aren’, with mo definitive date. Waiting for loaner. Thinking that those brushed motors aren’t as reliable as permanent magnet motors. Rare earth minerals still rule I suppose.

Welcome to the forum @micomor. Sorry to hear about your iX3. Do they know what the specific issue is that needs to be fixed?

 

[ecobimmer]

@micomor reached out to your local dealer about it yet? Curious to know what they do or say about it. Hopefully the turn around time for a fix isn't long.

 

[micomor]

@micomor reached out to your local dealer about it yet? Curious to know what they do or say about it. Hopefully the turn around time for a fix isn't long.

Well the iX3 is still in the shop. They tried to clean the motor and brushes, but the error message still keeps appearing. They have consulted with BMW Germany and sent all the log files there. Awaiting solution to the problem. Got another iX3 as a loaner so they can take as long as they want in fixing it.

 

[fast400]

I think the way these warnings work regardless of what the problem is: " Yellow....owner didn't respond...I'll give em' a week. Second week...Yellow...Hey, Drive Cautious...take the car in....then three weeks later...RED...continue, and drive directly to BMW dealership!....last warning is basically a tow truck.

 

[Emerald]

My iX had such drive train problem. Bought brand new and 6months and 7500kms later drive train problem. Dealership impounded the car for 2 months, took apart the car including engine, did all sorts of testing on it with BMW Germany, changed a couple of things and now, without stating what was exactly wrong with it, the dealership says it's all fixed and 100% reliable and safe...do you really believe this BS?
In Australia, there is a legislated law called Australian Consumer Law and in it there is the consumer guarantees laws, beyond that of manufacturing warranty. It states simply that if a reasonable consumer, if had prior knowledge of whatever problem that has happened, would not have bought the car, then they are entitled to a replacement or refund. I'm in the process of evoking this law to make a precedent for other consumers in the future. Companies needs to be more responsible for their actions. I will let you know how I go. By the way if you wish to help this cause, I need a show of hands whether you will still buy my iX if you knew that the above problems will occur? This has nothing to do with the iX in general, it is specific for my iX.
No, for "will not buy"
Yes, for "still will buy"
Thanks.

 

[micomor]

My iX had such drive train problem. Bought brand new and 6months and 7500kms later drive train problem. Dealership impounded the car for 2 months, took apart the car including engine, did all sorts of testing on it with BMW Germany, changed a couple of things and now, without stating what was exactly wrong with it, the dealership says it's all fixed and 100% reliable and safe...do you really believe this BS?
In Australia, there is a legislated law called Australian Consumer Law and in it there is the consumer guarantees laws, beyond that of manufacturing warranty. It states simply that if a reasonable consumer, if had prior knowledge of whatever problem that has happened, would not have bought the car, then they are entitled to a replacement or refund. I'm in the process of evoking this law to make a precedent for other consumers in the future. Companies needs to be more responsible for their actions. I will let you know how I go. By the way if you wish to help this cause, I need a show of hands whether you will still buy my iX if you knew that the above problems will occur? This has nothing to do with the iX in general, it is specific for my iX.
No, for "will not buy"
Yes, for "still will buy"
Thanks.

After a couple of months in the shop, they finally replaced the whole Electronic Drive Unit (EDU). That seems to have fixed the problem for now. Asked if the dust from the brushes caused the problem and they think that yes it could have been that. The initial cleaning of the EDU didn’t work, so they decided to replace the whole thing. Whether or not this will last is the question. Going with brushed motors instead of permanent magnets was an odd choice. Brushed motors are cheaper certainly, but that dust is an issue. I ran this iX3 at 180 km/h and soon after that the problem came up. Hard to do that again w/out getting caught. I want to do it just to see if the problem will come out again.

 

[jono987654321]

I ran this iX3 at 180 km/h and soon after that the problem came up. Hard to do that again w/out getting caught. I want to do it just to see if the problem will come out again.

You could always pop up to Germany. Nice road trip through Slovenia and Austria.

 

[Leah]

Can anyone comment on whether the drivetrain or other warranty covered repairs related to the drivetrain issue? Seems like a manufacturer defect or issue that should be covered. Thanks!

 

[NomoTesla]

Can anyone comment on whether the drivetrain or other warranty covered repairs related to the drivetrain issue? Seems like a manufacturer defect or issue that should be covered. Thanks!

In the US the iX motor/drivetrain warranty is 4 years/50k miles. The battery warranty is 8 years/100k miles.

 

[brucechung67]

I had a similar issue and it was covered by BMW warranty

 

[Emerald]

I had a similar issue and it was covered by BMW warranty

This is where people with this "drive train" problem need to exercise their rights for a replacement car if the car is relatively new. Why accept a repair under warranty? This is not a cheap car and should not have any issues for the first 2 years at least. If you buy a rolex and your rolex need to be fully dismantled after 6 months, then you would want a new rolex! Why accept anything less?

 

[NomoTesla]

This is where people with this "drive train" problem need to exercise their rights for a replacement car if the car is relatively new. Why accept a repair under warranty?

Because that's what a warranty is for.

This is not a cheap car and should not have any issues for the first 2 years at least.

Says who? What law or warranty or advertising claim stipulates that a "not cheap" car should not have any issues for the first 2 years? I think that is a very unrealistic expectation. What is the definition of "not cheap", because that can vary quite a bit depending on income level.

If you buy a rolex and your rolex need to be fully dismantled after 6 months, then you would want a new rolex! Why accept anything less?

Replacing a motor under warranty is not equivalent to "fully dismantled". It is more equivalent to replacing a damaged spring or a component in the horology. Equating the replacement of one component in the iX to fully dismantling it is quite hyperbolic.

 

[ed j]

Currently have my iX50 in the shop for going on 4 weeks with the same issue. Was driving and the yellow wrench warning came on and said could continue to drive. Got a few blocks further and it put me in park in traffic. After a few minutes while on hold with roadside assistance, it allowed me to put back in drive. Happened to be close to a dealership so continued on way to get there. Happened 2 more times but eventually let me back into drive each time and was able to get to the dealer about a mile away. They have said they had to drop the motors down and then put it back together. They drove it a day and said they thought it was good but waiting on BMW to confirm with the results. Then they said "BMW engineers got back to us based off the information they received from the sessions, and they would like for us to drop the front electric motor and take it apart so that we can clean it." I thought they had already done that once but waiting for next update and hoping to get it back soon. Have loved the car so far. Had it about 18 months and it's been great other than this and an issue with software updates not updating over the air recently.

 

[NomoTesla]

Currently have my iX50 in the shop for going on 4 weeks with the same issue. Was driving and the yellow wrench warning came on and said could continue to drive. Got a few blocks further and it put me in park in traffic. After a few minutes while on hold with roadside assistance, it allowed me to put back in drive. Happened to be close to a dealership so continued on way to get there. Happened 2 more times but eventually let me back into drive each time and was able to get to the dealer about a mile away. They have said they had to drop the motors down and then put it back together. They drove it a day and said they thought it was good but waiting on BMW to confirm with the results. Then they said "BMW engineers got back to us based off the information they received from the sessions, and they would like for us to drop the front electric motor and take it apart so that we can clean it." I thought they had already done that once but waiting for next update and hoping to get it back soon. Have loved the car so far. Had it about 18 months and it's been great other than this and an issue with software updates not updating over the air recently.

The need to "clean" the motor would be a little concerning to me. Clean it of what? I suspect you have an issue with debris from the brushes infiltrating other parts, or perhaps there is something going on inside the motor that is causing metal shavings to get into the coolant (this issue plauged Tesla for years). Either way, I would get details from the dealership on what actually occurred, what caused it, and whether replacing the motor would not just be a better approach because you don't want to have this problem again.

In my mind, cleaning something doesn't remove the source of the debris. What are they doing to make sure it doesn't get "dirty" again?

 

[Rob Fuchs]

Bought a 2023 CPO BMW iX M60 less than a month ago, drove it for 3 weeks everything great, even took on it on a 3.5 hour drive. 11K miles on it. Then I got the same drivetrain error, drive cautiously which then turned into drivetrain error pull over. But it was still intermittent because by the morning it went back to drive cautiously.

The BMW dealership I go to is awesome, they explain everything to me and even let me go in the shop.


Got some great pictures when they let me in the shop...

They dropped the whole rear drive unit + suspension down from the car.

Took the motor out.

Then the rear drive unit had carbon dust in it which was causing the error (see pic).

The lead technician said the procedure they have to follow is to clean the carbon dust out of the rear drive unit, reassemble the motor, and test it stand alone. If it passes the tests it's good to go.

If it fails the tests, they said they are not allowed to work on the rear drive unit. They will order a new one from Germany and swap it out and return the old one.

The lead tech there told me they currently do not have any procedure for replacing the brushes. That will probably get defined in the future.

This doesn't look like a cheap and easy job, and I imagine at some point won't every iX out there need this procedure, along with maybe replacing brushes?!? Better buy extended warranties!!