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norbertsky1

BMW i8 Cruise Control & Speedometer Failure Fix Needed

BMW i8 Cruise Control Issue, Need Advice Hey everyone! My 2015 BMW i8 hybrid (166k km) has been acting up lately. The speedometer's showing an error message and the cruise control completely stopped working. The diagnostic shows there's an error code stored, but I'm hesitant about going back to my mechanic after a previous bad experience. Has anyone dealt with similar issues on their i8? What was the actual problem and how much did the repair cost? Any recommendations for fixing this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

4 comment(s)

erwinlion1

I had a similar issue with my 2018 BMW i3s hybrid last month. The cruise control stopped working along with speedometer errors. Took it to the garage and they found it was a faulty wiring harness connection to the steering wheel control module. The cables were partially damaged, causing intermittent signal loss. During diagnostics, they discovered corrosion on one of the main plugs. In my case, it wasn't a major repair, just needed to clean the connections and replace a section of the wiring harness. The cruise control and speedometer worked perfectly after that. The issue took about 2 hours to diagnose and fix. Not all electrical issues mean serious trouble. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right connection that's gone bad. Would suggest getting it checked soon though, as driving without accurate speed info isn't safe.

norbertsky1 (Author)

Thanks for sharing your experience! That's good to know it wasn't anything too serious. Been worried about potential costs since these electrical issues can get pretty expensive with hybrids. Did you remember roughly how much you ended up paying for the repair? Also, has everything been working fine since then, or have you noticed any other quirks popping up? Just want to get an idea of what I might be looking at cost-wise and if I should expect any related issues down the line.

erwinlion1

Hey there! Happy to give you an update on my i3s situation. Great news, everything's been working perfectly since the repair, including the cruise control. No other weird electrical gremlins have shown up, which is a relief! The final bill came to 95€, which honestly wasn't bad at all considering I was initially worried it might be something major. They found it was just a damaged cable connection that needed fixing, much simpler than I first thought. The mechanic showed me the corroded plug they replaced, and it was pretty obvious why things weren't working right. Trust me, I know how nerve-wracking these electrical issues can be, especially with hybrid cars, but sometimes it's just these small things causing the trouble. Been driving it daily for over a month now with zero problems. The cruise control works like a charm, and the speedometer's spot on. Sometimes we get lucky and it's just these simple fixes that do the trick!

norbertsky1 (Author)

Thanks so much for the detailed follow-up! You've definitely put my mind at ease. I finally got around to taking my i8 to a new mechanic yesterday. You won't believe it, but it turned out to be something pretty minor too. The mechanic discovered a loose connection in the speed sensor wiring. He said it was causing intermittent signal drops, which explained both the speedometer and cruise control issues. Took about an hour to fix and cost me around 120 bucks, way less than I was expecting! Everything's working perfectly now. The cruise control's back to normal, and no more error messages on the dashboard. Really glad I didn't put this off any longer. Should've known these things aren't always as scary as they seem. Thanks again for encouraging me to get it checked out!

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