[SteveiX40]

Hi
The 12V battery is indeed under the hood.
It is extremely easy to open the hood - but for some dumb reason BMW did not include a hood stay or gas struts on he hood - so you need to hold it up yourself!
The dealer has two special pins that are put into holes on the hood brackets - that them stops it from closing.
I opened mine the other day - it was very dusty under there and i removed the dead leaves that were blocking the air intake vents just beneath the front of the windscreen.
Picture of the dogs dinner layout beneath the hood below - no wonder they are embarrassed to let owners open it using the normal methods!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Paladin1]

You might want to invest in a set of these (Part #: 83305A3CD29) if you plan on opening the hood frequently:

Or just a set of #2 Phillips screwdrivers or a prop bar. BMW made it difficult to open the hood because of all the pretty orange wires criss-crossing everything, and because you need to know what you're doing when you connect the low-voltage battery to anything, but it is user-accessible. The main thing to avoid other than being electrocuted is not to damage the paint on the A pillars with the (very) sharp corners of the hood when closing.

 

[Barry123]

And I thought it was because they were embarrassed about the haphazard layout.

 

[Paladin1]

That, and I expect their extreme corporate aversion to liability...

 

[redhot47fla]

So....can someone share this extremely easy way to open the hood?

 

[bmwix1]

There are two pins under the dashboard on each side of the car. If two people pull them simultaneously, it will unlock the hood. No recommended by BMW. The dealer also told me what Paladin1 mentioned, it's difficult to close the hood without damage the seal and paint.
One of those days someone needs to change and re-program the 12v battery when it dies. Hopefully by then, there will be some DIY step by step guides.

 

[VikasMG]

There are two pins under the dashboard on each side of the car. If two people pull them simultaneously, it will unlock the hood. No recommended by BMW. The dealer also told me what Paladin1 mentioned, it's difficult to close the hood without damage the seal and paint.
One of those days someone needs to change and re-program the 12v battery when it dies. Hopefully by then, there will be some DIY step by step guides.

Actually you can pull the loop on one side and walk over and do the same on the other side and you can then open the hood. I’ve done it a couple of times out of curiosity with no negative consequences. On the other hand you can’t do much under the hood so it’s I don’t think I’ll be trying it again soon.

 

[WilJorge23IX]

So....can someone share this extremely easy way to open the hood?

Here you go: Opening BMW IX Hood

It is simple. Just have something to slide in the hole so it stays open.

 

[Croddlebopper]

It’s a lot easier to fill the screen wash with the hood up😉

 

[mkaguilar56]

Hi, I’m at a bit of a loss here - searching for any similar experiences to help me figure out what could be going on. New to these forums, apologies if I’m breaking any rules. For what it’s worth, I did try searching for similar posts before starting a new thread. —- Following the new July incentives, I traded in my Model Y and leased a new 2023 iX M60 on saturday. Drove it home without issue, charged it to 80%, and took it out this morning for my commute to work. About 5 minutes into the drive, I accelerated from a red light, the car lurched, almost all drive power went away (on a 60mph road), and every warning sound you could imagine started blaring. A dozen errors popped up on the screen (pictured), power steering seemed to fail as the car was very difficult to turn, the accelerator pedal barely responded, and just taking my foot off the brake made the car accelerate quite rapidly. To be honest, it was pretty scary. I pulled to the side of the road, put on my emergency lights, and tried turning the car off and on again. Nothing changed. I limped back home and my car was towed to the dealership about an hour later. I’m waiting to hear back from the service department, but I’m curious if anyone has experienced anything like this? I’m pretty upset at the general inconvenience, but a bit more so at my brand new, very expensive car trying to kill me on my second drive. Thanks in advance, appreciate any guidance/thoughts. View attachment 4481 View attachment 4482 View attachment 4483

Wow! That must have been super scary. I purchased an M60 IX 2023 it has been in the shop over 5x now. My warning is always high voltage issue and drive train issues. We took it on a road trip in June to Houston we are in San Antonio. Stopped to charge it on DC and would not charge. Made it back home with 16 miles to spare. Road side services stated it was the vehicle and not the charging station. Back to shop they said it was a coolant pump that had went out. It is currently back in the shop over 2 weeks now with the same high voltage failure and drive train issues. Very frustrated. So much I am trading it in for an IX M50. I hope they can get your issues solved and keep your vehicle out of the service department. Best of luck.

 

[joelo]

Ok, I have just had a real life 12 v issue with my iX50. Owned about 10 months about 8000 miles. Went to my car, would not wake up, could not get in. BMW tow service took 2 hours to figure out how to get in and tow the car. It was locked like a brick. Car was at dealer for the week. They say it was how the 12 v was talking to the car. 12v was dead and car was impenetrable. Everything seems to be fine since they replaced certain electronics re th 12 v.

 

[Paladin1]

Ok, I have just had a real life 12 v issue with my iX50. Owned about 10 months about 8000 miles. Went to my car, would not wake up, could not get in. BMW tow service took 2 hours to figure out how to get in and tow the car. It was locked like a brick. Car was at dealer for the week. They say it was how the 12 v was talking to the car. 12v was dead and car was impenetrable. Everything seems to be fine since they replaced certain electronics re th 12 v.

^This. That's why a working, charged 12v battery is important for the operation of your EV. No, it's not just an "accessory," and no, it's not just for starting the drive battery. It is not like just firing up the starter motor in an ICE. It probably didn't escape your notice that without the 12v battery operational, you can't get in the car to open the hood (easily - mechanical key). To recharge the 12v battery. Without the 12v correctly hooked up to an off or running car, your car won't operate - correctly or at all. Period. BMW is mute about what specifically the 12v battery actually drives in their iX, but the answer is - lots of stuff. Important stuff. 12-volt stuff.

 

[joelo]

^This. That's why a working, charged 12v battery is important for the operation of your EV. No, it's not just an "accessory," and no, it's not just for starting the drive battery. It is not like just firing up the starter motor in an ICE. Without the 12v your car won't operate - correctly or at all. Period. BMW is mute about what specifically the 12v battery actually drives in their iX, but the answer is - lots of stuff. Important stuff. 12-volt stuff.

I was lucky, the tow driver was knowledgeable enough to access the hood and get to the 12 v battery. This allowed us to access the car, that, however, was just the beginning of the difficulties. Thank goodness this was in my garage and not on the road.

 

[exxxviii]

^This. That's why a working, charged 12v battery is important for the operation of your EV. No, it's not just an "accessory," and no, it's not just for starting the drive battery. It is not like just firing up the starter motor in an ICE. Without the 12v correctly hooked up to an off or running car, your car won't operate - correctly or at all. Period. BMW is mute about what specifically the 12v battery actually drives in their iX, but the answer is - lots of stuff. Important stuff. 12-volt stuff.

Are you sure? In most EVs, once the 12V switches on the HV's contactors and the HV-to-LV DC power converter takes over, the car will operate fine with a dead LV battery.

Or did BMW just do it weird? Lots of stuff is powered by low voltage, but not explicitly the LV battery itself.

For example, Tesla has error messages that say the car may not restart when running but the LV battery has failed.

 

[Paladin1]

Yes, BMW did it weird, but they won't say how weird. The flurry of error codes (like the above) can result from a wonky and seemingly completely unrelated low voltage on the lead-acid battery. That's why it would be really nice if they someday decided a Li-ion battery would be a good idea, that would at least last through the warranty period.

 

[joelo]

Are you sure? In most EVs, once the 12V switches on the HV's contactors and the HV-to-LV DC power converter takes over, the car will operate fine with a dead LV battery.

Or did BMW just do it weird? Lots of stuff is powered by low voltage, but not explicitly the LV battery itself.

For example, Tesla has error messages that say the car may not restart when running but the LV battery has failed.

This isn't my opinion. This is what I was told by BMW service after they had the car for a week. It was successfully repaired. Car will not (did not) operate if 12 V is dead.

 

[exxxviii]

Yes, BMW did it weird, but they won't say how weird. The flurry of error codes (like the above) can result from a wonky and seemingly completely unrelated low voltage on the lead-acid battery. That's why it would be really nice if they someday decided a Li-ion battery would be a good idea, that would at least last through the warranty period.

This isn't my opinion. This is what I was told by BMW service after they had the car for a week. It was successfully repaired. Car will not (did not) operate if 12 V is dead.

Ooof. Well, I had poor maintenance experiences with my prior BMWs and dealt with stuff that was simply designed by morons. Thus, the reason for a lease - I don't think I would consider another outside of warranty and lease.

I am going into this assuming that an EV in general is more reliable than gas. But, if anything happens, its a flatbed.

This is not a problem in Teslas, Hyundais, Fords (I think). It is a problem in Lyriq, but I suspect there is a design failure there.

 

[bmwix1]

I always carry key fob. If 12v battery is dead on the road, I can use the physical key to open the door mechanically and pull the double lever to open the hood and jump start the battery like old ICE car.

 

[joelo]

Did all that and got in.. The car was still dead. He jumped the 12 v but unless the hood is secured car wwon't operate. It took two hours to get it (on Dollies) out of my garage. If 12 v is dead, car will not operate, wheels will not turn.

 

[bmwix1]

There must be sensors somewhere in the hood because myBMW app has a hood open indicator. Maybe locate that and tape it up. Many new computer cases and electronics have intrusion detector. Congress ought to pass the laws that allow consumers to fix their own stuffs. These corporations have gone too far to leverage IP laws to control our freedom.