X5 Mild Hybrid Owners Beware!!

[Monkey Boy]

Hi

Posted a little while ago about charging problems with my 2021 X5 (Mild Hybrid).

Have limited the problem to now either the 48V Hybrid Battery or the Alternator/Generator/Starter. Can't get the 48V battery to charge beyond 1 of the 5 bars.

Been in touch with BMW UK as I had read that the hybrid system is covered by an extended warranty beyond the standard 3 years. My car is 2021 and is 4 months out of warranty, done 69,000 miles.

Told by BMW that not covered by warranty and I will have to pay for repairs. Battery is circa £1,100, generator/alternator would be probably double that. Advised will need to replace the battery 1st and if that doesn't fix it, then the generator/alternator.

Totally fed up with the attitude of BMW, fancy new technology (or was in 2021), but rubbish reliability it appears. 

Have read on various forums in relation to owners concerns over longevity of vehicles with this technology, the response to which is generally "don't worry, by the time the battery needs replacing the cost will have dropped massively and the batteries are good for 10-12 years, Clearly Not!! Beware..............

Has anybody else experienced similar problems with the Mild Hybrids and/or has anybody got details of persons/departments to whom I can elevate the issue?

[Monkey 9]

Hi all, just an update to my previous post. Finally resolved my problem, with no help from BMW……

Had to replace the generator/starter/alternator unit to sort the problem, having 1st replaced the 48v battery to eliminate that from being the problem, which it wasn’t. 
So just over 3 years old, less than 70k on the clock and the MHEV system started breaking down. As time went on the issue got worse and resulted in numerous unexpected ‘shut downs’ whilst driving and on one occasion a complete electrical failure due to a flat 12v battery which wasn’t being charged. Lesson from that episode was that I constantly charged the battery when not in use to avoid a si,liar situation…. Hearing more and more people with the same problem and BMW parts confirming they are getting numerous enquiries every week for the component, so clearly BMW have a longevity issue with the system. Going to be a lot of unhappy customers.

BMW of course denied there was an issue , weren’t willing to resolve the problem and instead said ‘take it to a main dealer have them identify the problem and if clearly a BMW design or manufacturing problem, they might consider a contribution to the cost’. I could see running up a huge bill at main dealer rates and then getting a minor contribution from BMW if I was lucky so opted to get it fixed by my local independent who was excellent with it.

Fortunately, the vehicle was fixed and drove like a dream again, I forgot how good it was! 
 

But as the title says MHEV owners beware!1