[SonzofGod]

Was there an update from the dealer on this??

We had a similar issue with our 2016 BMW XDrive 40e Hybrid. Our son was at a stop sign, in electric mode i'm assuming since it was stopped, then he accelerated normally maybe up to 15-20mph and turned on Sport Mode. The vehicle immediately had a Drivetrain Malfunction and jolted and shuddered. He was able to get home on the Electric only. We had to have it towed to BMW and after waiting for 3 months (they ordered a new engine as they thought it was seized - we did too after researching our engines models class action lawsuit about premature engine chain guide failure) they finally pulled the engine and found major damage to the transmission and parts. The Torsional Vibration Damper was destroyed and bowed out. BMW said they had never seen anything like it before. The also had to replace the Crankshaft as well as a bunch of little connecting parts. Total was over $6000.

My question is why did this happen? Was it because sport mode was pressed while driving in E-mode?? I know you can press sport mode while driving but what about on the Hybrids?

Thx

[biterror]

I have been changing driving modes back and forth on my 45e all the time without any problems.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by biterror

I have been changing driving modes back and forth on my 45e all the time without any problems.

same (mainly between Electric and Sport)

[amphiprion]

Originally Posted by SonzofGod

Was there an update from the dealer on this??

We had a similar issue with our 2016 BMW XDrive 40e Hybrid. Our son was at a stop sign, in electric mode i'm assuming since it was stopped, then he accelerated normally maybe up to 15-20mph and turned on Sport Mode. The vehicle immediately had a Drivetrain Malfunction and jolted and shuddered. He was able to get home on the Electric only. We had to have it towed to BMW and after waiting for 3 months (they ordered a new engine as they thought it was seized - we did too after researching our engines models class action lawsuit about premature engine chain guide failure) they finally pulled the engine and found major damage to the transmission and parts. The Torsional Vibration Damper was destroyed and bowed out. BMW said they had never seen anything like it before. The also had to replace the Crankshaft as well as a bunch of little connecting parts. Total was over $6000.

My question is why did this happen? Was it because sport mode was pressed while driving in E-mode?? I know you can press sport mode while driving but what about on the Hybrids?

Thx

Did your son discover launch control? Discovered it repeatedly perhaps?

[Szupreme]

Same thing happened to me.

Brand new, less than 50 miles on odometer.

First drivetrain malfunction, then a few days later: check engine.

Then while headed to service, engine overheated warning on highway, car refuses to accelerate.

Car limped at 10 mph, had to pull over in shoulder on busy highway way to let engine cool. After 15 mins, tried to exit highway, still overheated, then got towed.

Did anyone find out cause of their issue? Hardware vs software?

[eazymac]

Literally just had this happen to me, on the way home. didn't get the chance to charge the battery last night, so it was near empty. Zero driving issues, however, and it came on during ICE running, a few miles from home. 9000 miles on the car, and have had zero issues with the car, though it recently did a SW update, so I'm a bit curious. I was planning on taking it on a roadtrip in three weeks from the PNW to Southern California, but I might be rethinking that plan.
Any updates on root causes? I saw the bad battery sensor issue someone posted earlier.

Originally Posted by Szupreme

Same thing happened to me.

Brand new, less than 50 miles on odometer.

First drivetrain malfunction, then a few days later: check engine.

Then while headed to service, engine overheated warning on highway, car refuses to accelerate.

Car limped at 10 mph, had to pull over in shoulder on busy highway way to let engine cool. After 15 mins, tried to exit highway, still overheated, then got towed.

Did anyone find out cause of their issue? Hardware vs software?

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by eazymac

Literally just had this happen to me, on the way home. didn't get the chance to charge the battery last night, so it was near empty. Zero driving issues, however, and it came on during ICE running, a few miles from home. 9000 miles on the car, and have had zero issues with the car, though it recently did a SW update, so I'm a bit curious. I was planning on taking it on a roadtrip in three weeks from the PNW to Southern California, but I might be rethinking that plan.
Any updates on root causes? I saw the bad battery sensor issue someone posted earlier.

did you see the check control messages shortly after the software update? if so, that's normal

[eazymac]

Sorry, which check control messages?

I brought it home, charged it for maybe 30 mins (was out of juice), then was able to find one of the local dealers with a little bit of time this afternoon. Ran it over there (was totally fine -- error cleared itself and wasn't even there when I started the car to leave). Drove completely fine, etc. Service manager used the key fob and pulled a report from it (super cool!), using a key fob scanner, and we saw the errors, but said that sometimes happens when the battery is empty. Said ok to drive, so I drove it home, and the car acted normally again, with no other errors.

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

did you see the check control messages shortly after the software update? if so, that's normal

[-JLT-]

why is OP MIA?

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by eazymac

Sorry, which check control messages?

I brought it home, charged it for maybe 30 mins (was out of juice), then was able to find one of the local dealers with a little bit of time this afternoon. Ran it over there (was totally fine -- error cleared itself and wasn't even there when I started the car to leave). Drove completely fine, etc. Service manager used the key fob and pulled a report from it (super cool!), using a key fob scanner, and we saw the errors, but said that sometimes happens when the battery is empty. Said ok to drive, so I drove it home, and the car acted normally again, with no other errors.

Check Control messages are the Notifications like Drivetrain Error and Battery sensor issue, etc. that you saw

as I mentioned earlier, they are known to appear after a software update and usually clear by themselves (you likely didn't have to take it the dealer so soon). FYI, it's even mentioned in the release notes of the software update that check control messages may appear

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by -JLT-

why is OP MIA?

Because this post is a year old, he joined specifically to post about this and then left.

IMO, I just read the initial post and there was way too much drama. If the dealer says "car is safe to drive" and you attempt to drive and the car is "gasping for breath" and not driving normally....don't f***ing keep driving until it dies! Pull over while it's still safe and call for a tow. WTF.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Because this post is a year old, he joined specifically to post about this and then left.

IMO, I just read the initial post and there was way too much drama. If the dealer says "car is safe to drive" and you attempt to drive and the car is "gasping for breath" and not driving normally....don't f***ing keep driving until it dies! Pull over while it's still safe and call for a tow. WTF.

Especially since BMW includes free towing and have a dedicated button in the car to call for a tow

[55JWB]

I took delivery of my 45e here in the UK on 1st March last week. Had only driven it twice and 120 mile in total, then get "Drivetrain Error" and "Unable to Charge Error" it was recovered to the Dealership who confirm it was a Battery "Safety Box" issue which needs replacing. only feedback being "parts ordered and should be here by the end of the month"

Dont suppose any other UK owners have had the same, any idea on realistic ETA of parts??

[michwrigh]

Originally Posted by Twags

I have a 22 45e with 500 miles, and the same problem occurred to me today. Drove home on electric with no problems. Plugged it in, and 2hrs later got a My BMW app message that the car wasn't charging. I got in the car to try turning on the ignition to see if that cleared the fault, and I then got the drivetrain malfunction message, as well as the cannot charge message. When I turned on the ignition there was a loud noise that I'd never heard before. Hard to explain. Tried two more times, heard the noise a second time, but then not the third. Car started in hybrid, though I have it set to start in electric. Haven't tried to drive it. Dealer is 90 minutes away. Seems I should have it towed there. Will call the dealer tomorrow and see…

UPDATE: I checked the car again this morning, and there was no drivetrain malfunction warning. I plugged it in and it charged normally. I drove it this afternoon, and the check engine light was on, but there were no messages. When I turned the car off after driving a short distance and then resumed my drive a few minutes later, the check engine light was off. So whatever the problem, it appears to have cleared, but I am going to have the dealer pick the car up and go over it anyway.

UPDATE #2: I took the car to the dealer to have it checked. They found numerous error codes and took the entire car apart. and after 2 1/2 weeks of constant back-and-forth with BMW in Germany, they discovered that two sensors in the battery cells were bad. It's all back together now and seems to be running just fine.

This happened to my 2022 45e today with 395 miles on it. Any update on the cause or the repair?

MW

[BMW_Bubblehead]

Originally Posted by 55JWB

I took delivery of my 45e here in the UK on 1st March last week. Had only driven it twice and 120 mile in total, then get "Drivetrain Error" and "Unable to Charge Error" it was recovered to the Dealership who confirm it was a Battery "Safety Box" issue which needs replacing. only feedback being "parts ordered and should be here by the end of the month"

Dont suppose any other UK owners have had the same, any idea on realistic ETA of parts??

I have a 2021 X5 45e, now with about 24,000 miles. Very similar issues back at end of May:
- Several days worth of "Unable to Charge" errors. In most cases I could pull the plug out, wait a second, plug back in, and charge would start
- Driving to work one morning and started getting Drivetrain errors. Everything shifted to ICE, and I was able to continue driving and make it all the way to dealer shop.
- Dealer took 3 days to diagnose the problem, with delays due to having to contact BMW engineering and get guidance on what to do about certain error codes (unfortunately I don't have any details on that part)
- Told me they needed to replace Safety Box, and some of the associated connectors that connect it to the high voltage battery.

Initial estimate (after I pushed on dealer) was 3 weeks to get the parts. At the end of the 3 weeks I pushed again, and was told it would take ANOTHER 6 weeks - 'til the middle of August. Actual delivery was middle of July - and about another day to install everything and do some test driving. I got car back from dealer on July 15 - almost 7 weeks after I first took it in.

Dealer complained every time I talked to them about parts delivery from BMW and the whole litany of supply chain problems you hear about in the news these days. They said I was not only one stuck waiting for parts.

I'm happy to have my car back now, but that was a long 7 weeks. Everything seems fine now - I haven't had any problems for past 2 days, and I've driven enough to go through full discharge and re-charge cycle now. I gotta say - I'm a little concerned at the number of other reports I'm seeing for similar problems with these electric drivetrain parts. It leaves me wondering if it's going to make it another year without having another similar problem.

That said - I otherwise love the car. Great ride, great fuel mileage (averaging about 60 mpg over past year). Great small SUV type of car that let's me do all the things I want with it.

[Adro117]

Originally Posted by BMW_Bubblehead

I have a 2021 X5 45e, now with about 24,000 miles. Very similar issues back at end of May:
- Several days worth of "Unable to Charge" errors. In most cases I could pull the plug out, wait a second, plug back in, and charge would start
- Driving to work one morning and started getting Drivetrain errors. Everything shifted to ICE, and I was able to continue driving and make it all the way to dealer shop.
- Dealer took 3 days to diagnose the problem, with delays due to having to contact BMW engineering and get guidance on what to do about certain error codes (unfortunately I don't have any details on that part)
- Told me they needed to replace Safety Box, and some of the associated connectors that connect it to the high voltage battery.

Initial estimate (after I pushed on dealer) was 3 weeks to get the parts. At the end of the 3 weeks I pushed again, and was told it would take ANOTHER 6 weeks - 'til the middle of August. Actual delivery was middle of July - and about another day to install everything and do some test driving. I got car back from dealer on July 15 - almost 7 weeks after I first took it in.

Dealer complained every time I talked to them about parts delivery from BMW and the whole litany of supply chain problems you hear about in the news these days. They said I was not only one stuck waiting for parts.

I'm happy to have my car back now, but that was a long 7 weeks. Everything seems fine now - I haven't had any problems for past 2 days, and I've driven enough to go through full discharge and re-charge cycle now. I gotta say - I'm a little concerned at the number of other reports I'm seeing for similar problems with these electric drivetrain parts. It leaves me wondering if it's going to make it another year without having another similar problem.

That said - I otherwise love the car. Great ride, great fuel mileage (averaging about 60 mpg over past year). Great small SUV type of car that let's me do all the things I want with it.

Just out of curiosity, did BMW warranty cover all the cost of repairs? Did you get a rental covered too?

[leightos]

Just last night at 10pm driving into the grocery store I got the first yellow message, Drivetrain Malfunction, which said I could continue driving. Then I got the red error Power Supply (stop carefully, contact roadside assistance).
I called BMW Roadside assistance which were helpful. But I'm surprised it took 2 hours for a tow truck. I am under the assumption the local BMW will accept it after hours as a drop off.
Then we'll see. This is my 3rd Warranty error. First was a dead car after an OTA update. Then the battery pack recall. Now this...
AFter reading the thread, I'm worried this will be weeks

If that's the case, I'll be calling a lawyer and checking the Lemon Laws for Nevada (although I bought this in CA.)

Not happy.
cheers

UPDATE: today I got a call from the BMW SA, he said they got lots of battery related codes. They are calling in a battery expert to look at this tomorrow, and he said it looks like it could the computer that controls the battery, which I guess he means the Safety Box everyone is talking about. We'll see.

[kpatrone]

Reading posts re: 2021 X5 45e Drive Train Malfunction. This too happened to me. My car has 36,000 miles. 100 degree day, after driving 5 minutes, Car begins to accelerate on own. I start braking, and upon incline up hill, car stops accelerating. I push gas and it does not accelerate. Triangle in red color appears in dash: Drive Train Malfunction. Car is not safe to drive. Pull over. Turn ignition off. Press emergency brake. Dash says air shutting down. Car completely shuts down. Windows are down. Car will not allow you to start at all. Each time you put foot on brake to start, pedal kicks back. Towed to BMW dealership. They state that it is a faulty battery. 3 days exactly after getting car back from dealer . . . 100 degree day, car display states Drive Train Malfunction. I pull over, turn car off- tow it to dealership again. It’s been there since 8/2/22 this time. BMW of America involved. Not confident at all with this situation. P.S. both times were very dangerous traffic situations, rush hour and no pull offs. Crazy! I see other posts similar and really hope this gets resolved. I drive way too much to have these breakdown issues.

[leightos]

Originally Posted by leightos

Just last night at 10pm driving into the grocery store I got the first yellow message, Drivetrain Malfunction, which said I could continue driving. Then I got the red error Power Supply (stop carefully, contact roadside assistance).
I called BMW Roadside assistance which were helpful. But I'm surprised it took 2 hours for a tow truck. I am under the assumption the local BMW will accept it after hours as a drop off.
Then we'll see. This is my 3rd Warranty error. First was a dead car after an OTA update. Then the battery pack recall. Now this...
AFter reading the thread, I'm worried this will be weeks

If that's the case, I'll be calling a lawyer and checking the Lemon Laws for Nevada (although I bought this in CA.)


Not happy.
cheers

UPDATE: today I got a call from the BMW SA, he said they got lots of battery related codes. They are calling in a battery expert to look at this tomorrow, and he said it looks like it could the computer that controls the battery, which I guess he means the Safety Box everyone is talking about. We'll see.

My update is that they said it will take another est 4 weeks to fix. (ordering circuit boards from Germany) That's if I'm lucky. Car has been in the shop already almost 30 days in a year on various issues including repair to recalled HV battery modules.
SA here said no one has seen this type of serious error from a 45e. That gives me hope, but I might swap it for a M50i if they let me. We'll see because I noticed there are NO 45e's or M50i here in Vegas, and very few in Cali. None avail w/ my high spec car.

[Brian S]

I too just had a drivetrain error message while in hybrid on my '22 X5 45e that I received in April and have 2,000 miles. Drove to dealership the next day. After a few days the dealer, after conferring with Germany , decided to "drop" the battery and investigate.

BMW needs to replace the high voltage accumulator wiring harness and high voltage accumulator control unit and "about 100 other small parts, nuts and bolts". Not at all what I wanted to hear, or have my new car torn apart. Will have to wait 10-15 biz days for the parts to arrive, and who know how long the replacement will take.

Other annoying issue is the lack of a wireless charging pad in a $70k car. Thought it was a standard feature as this was not an option when I ordered the car. Seems due to the chip shortage earlier this year, the option was not available as it is now. I have asked BMW to add and I will pay the option fee. First world problems I know...but come on.

[leightos]

Originally Posted by Brian S

I too just had a drivetrain error message while in hybrid on my '22 X5 45e that I received in April and have 2,000 miles. Drove to dealership the next day. After a few days the dealer, after conferring with Germany , decided to "drop" the battery and investigate.

BMW needs to replace the high voltage accumulator wiring harness and high voltage accumulator control unit and "about 100 other small parts, nuts and bolts". Not at all what I wanted to hear, or have my new car torn apart. Will have to wait 10-15 biz days for the parts to arrive, and who know how long the replacement will take.

Other annoying issue is the lack of a wireless charging pad in a $70k car. Thought it was a standard feature as this was not an option when I ordered the car. Seems due to the chip shortage earlier this year, the option was not available as it is now. I have asked BMW to add and I will pay the option fee. First world problems I know...but come on.

Yeah update on my issue is that the service center did order a wiring harness as well, and circuit boards. Mine were ordered about a week ago, so I'm just ahead of you and we'lll see how long this takes. They said same exact thing, 2-3 weeks to arrive. Of course I've said my car was a 'recall' 2021 45e, so I honestly think there are leftover issues. I want a replacement and I put that in writing to BMWNA. My car has been in the shop way too much. I'm working w/ BMWNA and they've been pretty good.

I would strongly recommend calling the BMWNA Customer Service line and get them to assign a Representative to your case and follow the progress. This is a major repair, and I'm not saying your repair will go wonky, but I'd want to make sure it is fully documented w/ a set of eyes at BMWNA. They will most likely review the case, the troubleshooting and the solution.

cheers.. good luck and I'll post again when my parts arrive.

[Brian S]

Originally Posted by Brian S

I too just had a drivetrain error message while in hybrid on my '22 X5 45e that I received in April and have 2,000 miles. Drove to dealership the next day. After a few days the dealer, after conferring with Germany , decided to "drop" the battery and investigate.

BMW needs to replace the high voltage accumulator wiring harness and high voltage accumulator control unit and "about 100 other small parts, nuts and bolts". Not at all what I wanted to hear, or have my new car torn apart. Will have to wait 10-15 biz days for the parts to arrive, and who know how long the replacement will take.

Other annoying issue is the lack of a wireless charging pad in a $70k car. Thought it was a standard feature as this was not an option when I ordered the car. Seems due to the chip shortage earlier this year, the option was not available as it is now. I have asked BMW to add and I will pay the option fee. First world problems I know...but come on.

Update...parts did not fix the problem. Now BMW ordered the #2 module section and harness section B (connecting the blocks of cells). These won't be in for 30 days. Service tech said the car is basically taken apart and occupying the entire service bay. As this repair will be part of the car's service history, there has to be a loss of value. Despite the fact my 4 month old car with 2,700 miles is torn apart at the dealership.

Going to ask for a replacement car. Curious what others have experienced with BMA North America. Thanks.