We bought a BMW i3 not knowing the vehicle had so many faults, and the company's system could lock up your car, and seize the transmission, so that you are left stranded in the middle of nowhere, on the side of the road, or in traffic, with a £15k brick. We wondered if that was safe? Or, legal? But then found, allegedly, it was company policy, not to tell people what the problem with their car is. And, with the dealer approach of replace everything, also appearing not to know what is wrong with the car, it could soon become a service problem nightmare.

This marred our opinion of what could be the beginning of a great sports car project. Ideal, to show that long life components like the carbon fibre frame and alloy suspension components, could serve for another 10 years, where the running gear, transmission and motor could in theory last a lifetime, with proper maintenance.

For sure, without being allowed to see the computer logs, we will be operating in the dark. All of the BMW components would be scrap metal. Designed to be so expensive to service, and not to allow owners to service the vehicles themselves, that it made a nonsense of designing a car with long life components, if it was in reality, destined for the crusher.

That is hardly sustainable in United Nations terms, where Germany is signatory to the SDGs, as are their target sales countries! And EVs are one way of tackling climate change. But not if they add to global warming, by not supporting the second user market. Surely, such policies run contrary to responsible consumption and production, as per SDG 12?

WHAT IS THE "BLUE OCEAN H3i"? 

The challenge comes in three parts:

1. To unravel the minefield of complex fault finding, where the onboard computer, and internet based communications is more of a problem than a cure. Especially where the so-called diagnostics are anything but a diagnosis for the patient; a sick i3. 

2. Part one of the challenge may include lobbying to change the law, as it may affect the United Nations' SDG objectives.

3. To physically replace the standard bodywork, with a custom design for a two seat sports car, with gull wing doors.

THE UN'S SUSTAINABILITY GOALS

We argue that an electric vehicle that becomes un-repairable because of software lockouts is not a sustainable product, no matter how clean its tailpipe emissions are. When a car like the BMW i3 — built with carbon fibre, aluminium, and a battery pack designed for decades of service — becomes an “expensive brick” because of inaccessible software, it directly contradicts the very principles the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are meant to uphold. And here is why:

1. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
4. SDG 13: Climate Action

The core argument in one sentence: "An EV that becomes unusable due to inaccessible software is not a sustainable product — it is a form of digital obsolescence that increases waste, undermines climate goals, and violates the principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals."


5. How this supports a Right to Repair claim

It can be argued that:

i) BMW’s software restrictions prevent legitimate repair.
ii) The inability to diagnose or fix faults without dealer intervention creates artificial barriers.
iii) These barriers shorten the vehicle’s usable life.
iv) This contradicts national and international sustainability commitments.

Therefore, manufacturers should be required to provide:

a) Diagnostic access
b) Software re‑authorisation tools
c) Module coding rights
d) Long-term support for EV control systems

This is not a “nice to have” — it is essential for climate policy.

The first step could be a letter to BMW, raising these issues, and asking for their help. This might be by way of a formal complaint, to their head office in Germany:

BMW Headquarters (Germany) — Official Address
BMW AG – Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft 
Petuelring 130
80788 München (Munich)
Germany

Telephone: +49 89 382‑0
Website: www.bmwgroup.com

REVERSE ENGINEERING OR REPLACEMENT?

In 2026, specialized independent shops (like Burch Motor Works or Marc’s Garage) have become proficient at bypassing the dealer’s "replace everything" approach. They can often find the single blown fuse or failed heater that triggered the "lockout" and reset the system for a fraction of the cost.

It is said that in the UK, independent specialists can now use tools to "virginize" the EME (Electric Motor Electronics) and clear the "Lethal Fault" flags that BMW uses to brick the car.

Mapping out the CAN-bus communication for a BMW i3 "jailbreak" is a common path for custom EV builders. Because the i3 uses a distributed control architecture, you essentially need to replace the "Brain" (the vehicle’s VCU) with a translator that tells the battery and motor everything is "OK" and they have permission to operate.

If, as we are considering, we are looking at converting the standard i3 to a custom (sports) car, we have two main routes: Reverse Engineering (keeping the BMW controllers) or Replacement (using aftermarket controllers). But first of all, we owe it to the EV market, as a major contributor in the fight against global warming, to investigate why and how, BMW came to design a vehicle that appears to contradict the all important Sustainability Development Goals. By making servicing uneconomical. That is, beyond the pockets of those reliant on the second user market.

1. The CAN-Bus Architecture

The i3 has several CAN networks. For the H3i project, you care about the PT-CAN (Powertrain CAN). This is where the battery (SME), motor controller (EME), and charging unit (KLE) communicate.

Speed: 500 kbps.

Pins: On the OBD2 port, these are usually pins 6 (High) and 14 (Low), but for your build, you will tap directly into the twisted pair wires leading to the motor or battery.

2. Bypassing the "Mothership" (The Handshake)

In a stock i3, the motor and battery won't "wake up" without a digital handshake from the vehicle’s central controller. To bypass this, your custom controller (like an Arduino with a CAN-shield, an ESP32, or a dedicated SIMP-BMS) must spoof the following messages:

A. The "Drive" Command (To the Motor/EME)

The motor controller (EME) is a "slave" device. It sits there waiting for specific messages before it will apply torque.

Heartbeat: You must send a regular "Alive" message (often ID 0x12F or similar in BMW protocols) to let the EME know the car hasn't "crashed."

Torque Request: You’ll need to send a message that translates your new throttle pedal position into a Nm (Newton Meter) request that the EME understands.

B. The "Contactor" Close (To the Battery/SME)

This is the most critical safety step. The battery contains massive internal switches (contactors). It will not close them unless it receives a "Safe to Proceed" message.

The Bypass: You need a controller that can read the cell voltages from the i3's internal slave boards (CSCs) and then send the "Close Contactors" command to the SME.

Pre-charge: You must also manage the "pre-charge" cycle. If you just slam the contactors shut, the huge in-rush of current to the motor’s capacitors will blow the internal HV fuse. Your bypass controller must manage a resistor circuit to "soft start" the system.

3. Hardware Recommendation for Your Build

Rather than coding from scratch, most "DIY" sports car builders use established open-source tools for the i3:

SIMP-BMS: This is a popular "plug and play" board designed specifically to talk to BMW i3 battery modules. It replaces the BMW SME and handles all the CAN-bus safety messages for you.

OpenInverter: If you want to use the BMW motor in a completely custom way, the OpenInverter community has reverse-engineered the EME logic, allowing you to run the motor without any BMW software at all.

SavvyCAN: Use this free software with a cheap "CAN-to-USB" adapter (like a Canable) to "sniff" the messages from your i3 before you finish stripping it. You can see the hex codes change as you press the pedal or brakes.

4. The "Parking" Strategy

Here is a practical starting point for when you get the car into the workshop:

Pull the DBC files: There are open-source "DBC" files (database files that translate CAN hex into human language) for the i3 on GitHub.

Verify the SME: Check if your "lockout" is just a software flag in the SME. If it is, an aftermarket BMS (like the SIMP-BMS) will ignore it entirely, effectively "unlocking" your hardware.

5. Level of Complexity

As you might appreciate from the above, where BMW are alleged to have developed their system for dealers only, a high skill level is required to understand the specialist aftermarket fiixes.

LINKS:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i3

SEAVAX - How can a BMW i3 help the SeaVax crew to clean plastic waste from our oceans? By reducing their fuel bills and providing operational data when operating this practical EV. 

But what of the Right to Repair? Did you know that BMW can lock you out of your vehicle? We didn't, not until it happened. Is that fair or legal? And what about consumer rights? What about their dealers charging for what is essentially a manufactured service charge? And what about Consumer Protections?

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