[401FlaGATOR]

Originally Posted by glansberry

Shut off car for 30 minutes. Return to dead car.

Doors are locked, and won't open with key, or with Fob, or with BMW assist.

Climbed in trough trunk, and the can't get doors open from the inside either. The start button does nothing, no interior lights.

Car has a new battery, and the battery voltage is measuring fine, so it isn't a dead battery. New battery was a result of a more minor problem a fw weeks ago

I'm perplexed. What if I was inside the car - I would not be able to get out! This seems to be a serious safety problem with the design of this car.

I will search more about the IBS. This may be a clue. Car is under extended warranty, and will be towed to the dealer. I want to understand better, so I can decide whether to get rid of the car.

You are absolutely correct in your assertion that this is a safety issue..I
have experienced this same issue twice in the past and have written to the NHTSA about it, suggest you do the same, to my knowledge no one has died yet from having this happen but there are lots of instances of it mentioned on the NHTSA complaints board.

[MrDummy]

Thanks FD, please keep us in the loop on your situation.

[MrDummy]

I just found out my service manager is not at my dealership anymore and either is the general manager..

So now I need to build up a repore with new peeps...which sucks cause I had a special deal going on with any service issues...


Ps any news FD?

[loobie]

Mine is in for this exact fix right now. Covered under cpo. New fuse box and wiring

[MrDummy]

Man that's good it should be covered, this is some bullshit with our bimmers....

I need to still find out if it was fixed back to a screw in 2010 models...

Anyone know if it was?
Thanks

MrD

[LuxeFilms]

I have an 07 335 and just had the majority of my main electrical system replaced due to a bunch of anomalies I was having. They replaced my 07 battery, both positive & ground terminals, the entire main electrical trunk line that runs from the trunk to the hood, the main power distro box, and the grounding rod. It was at the dealer for 2 whole weeks. I first replaced my 07 battery with a new one and was still having a lot power anomalies which led to finding all these other issues above. The main reason it lost power was because the main electrical line literally melted the electrical distribution box due to a short. I'd recommend asking them to check for that on your car, as its a known issue. BMW covered everything under cpo. Hope this helps!

[MrDummy]

It helped me I'm going to put that in my list of issues for them to fix/look at.

[jzxi]

Hi everybody, My '07 with 62k on the clock just did this. I found the problem easy enough. 2.8 volts at the fuse box, 12.6 volts at the battery. Before I pulled the fuse box I took a screw driver and pushed on the large gauge red wire going to the back of the fuse box. All my lights came on....subsequently pulled the fuse box and examined the main power lead. Mine is not melted, but the contacts were dirty. I cleaned them up and re-installed everything.

It works fine now, but this is a stupid and dangerous design. I called the dealer and the "fix" would be covered under warranty(CPO). Mine is CPO until july, If it happens again by then, I'll have roadside assistance tow it the 250 miles to the nearest dealer.

This should be a recall as any number of dangerous outcomes are possible, fire, collision, etc..

cheers
jz

[sebaNYC]

That problem happened to me, while I was driving the car turned off!!!

Just replace the fusebox (is gonna b melted where the b+ cable is connected) and the cable (is the red cable that goes from the battery in the truck to the fusebox on the glovebox)

[Bullitt1841]

Update on my car:

I took it into the dealer. They had it for a week and couldn't duplicate the problem again. They inspected everything and said it was fine, nothing they could see. So, they sent me on my way.

Well, drove the car home, went to go drive the very next day and guess what. Now, wiggling the cable does nothing so I have now duplicated the problem for them! I had it towed to the dealer just before they closed, so I should know more tomorrow hopefully.

I really worry about the danger of the malfunction while driving. I'm sure more than a few of us are 'spirited drivers.' And some of us even take them to the track. Boy would that be interesting.

Has anybody else contacted BMWNA or NHTSA about this?

[jzxi]

Originally Posted by Feshdogg

Update on my car:


Has anybody else contacted BMWNA or NHTSA about this?

Yes I did, while the repairing this fault is easy enough, BMW has not updated the part(I called the dealer parts department). Frequency of failure and any incident(s) of fire and collision should be investigated, even the dealer I called said it was a relatively common issue.

cheers
jz

[Bullitt1841]

Originally Posted by jzxi

Yes I did, while the repairing this fault is easy enough, BMW has not updated the part(I called the dealer parts department). Frequency of failure and any incident(s) of fire and collision should be investigated, even the dealer I called said it was a relatively common issue.

cheers
jz

I have a problem both with 'cleaning everything up' and replacing faulty components with the same faulty components. To me this is not a fix and there ARE going to be serious repercussions for the public, eventually. There is no doubt in my mind.

I am seriously considering getting rid of the car and never buying another BMW, or any other make that is this prone to electrical failure.

[Bullitt1841]

Dealer had the car for 4 weeks. What a joke. Ended up replacing a bunch of parts under warranty for a total of almost $3,000 including labor. Hope it holds up.

[LACKY330iBMW]

There is recall for this

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91I0TZ20130219

[LACKY330iBMW]

You can get your money back hopefully you have reicipt.

[Bullitt1841]

Thank god they have wised up to this. I am just really glad that my electrical was lost BEFORE I started my car. Driving while it happening would be VERY scary!

My 3rd party extended warranty covered it all. I wonder if BMW would reimburse them???

[Rollo`]

Originally Posted by Feshdogg

Thank god they have wised up to this. I am just really glad that my electrical was lost BEFORE I started my car. Driving while it happening would be VERY scary!

My 3rd party extended warranty covered it all. I wonder if BMW would reimburse them???

Who do you have your warranty with?

[Bullitt1841]

Originally Posted by Rollo`

Who do you have your warranty with?

Millennium. Why do you ask?

[nlphe]

I parked my car for 5 minutes, put the keyfob in and power went out with keyfob stuck in the dash. Power was completely out. I entered the trunk with the key and gave a gentle push on the Battery Safety Terminal (or Power Distribution Box on the positive battery terminal), heard a few sparks and power came back on.
After 2 miles, the ABS and DSC lights came on on the dash indicating a power problem. The car kept running on alternator power, but as soon as I shut down the engine it went dead again. Same resolution worked again. I disconnected the battery for safety and have yet to investigate the problem with the unreliable BST connection. My BST is the 2006 type and is black.
This is the sudden power loss as described above. My can is a 2006 and not covered under the recall. Any other 2006 owners with the same problem?

[dassub]

This stuff sounds scary, especially while owning a 2006.. hopefully I don't run into this issue.

[manutdas11]

Anybody experience a knocking noise coming from around the passenger side and the backlighting of the headlight switch and gear lever flickering when the car was completely dead?

[335DieselPower]

Originally Posted by jyhash

Hi folks,

My 2007 328i sedan has a problem: Yesterday, I took her to lunch with no issu at around noon. When I left work, 5 hours later that day, I tried to unlock her with the Keyfob, but whenever I pressed unlock, she wouldn't. Not only would she not unlock, but her interior lighting would not activate (as it normally does, when she is unlocked). The only thing that occurred was her alarm would begin to sound for about a minute, and would continue to do so every time I hit the lock or unlock button. Eventually she stopped even responding to button pushes. I took out the emergency key, and unlocked the driver's side door, and put in the keyfob and pushed the start button. Nothing happened. Her dash wouldn't light up, the START button had no effect.

I thought at first, it might be the Keyfob. Perhaps it lost its charge, or was time to order a new one if it lost its signaling capabilities. So I got a friend to take me home so I could get my wife's Keyfob. Once we returned and tried it, it had no effect.

I then thought, perhaps something had drained her battery, so I attempted to get a jumpstart from my colleague, but it had no effect. Car was completely dead. I then called a tow truck. He came out tried it with one of those jumper packs, and when that had no effect, tried connecting it in a normal jumpstart way, which also had no effect. He ohm tested the battery in the trunk, and it said that it had a charge. He was stumped, as I continued to be for the past 3 hours I had tried to get her started.

Eventually, I had to take it to a mechanic, and being as this had occurred at 6PM on a Friday and didn't get towed until 9PM, I won't be able to get her looked at until monday. Which is aggravating in and of itself.

Does anyone here know what it might be? I did some searching online whilst waiting for the Tow Truck, and found that someone had a similar problem that was related to the IBS (internal battery sensor) on the car, but I'm not sure if my car utilizes such a sensor. I'd like to know if anyone has any clues, and the general cost, just so I can prepare for the wallop I'm going to receive from the Mechanics once they look at it.

Thanks for all you help.

~JYH

I recently had the exact same issue above and have just made a thread on it. Any idea if this has/could be recalled by BMW? Thanks