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RecallGazette

Vehicle problems, recalls & safety intelligence

BMW i3 2014–2018technical service bulletin

Bulletin B641016 · NHTSA communication 10151378 · issued Jun 1, 2016

Technical service bulletin
communication type
Equipment
component
2014–2018
model years
5
vehicle entries

Official summary

KNOCKING NOISE FROM RF WHEEL AREA WHEN A/C IS ACTIVATED. A knocking noise is heard when entering drive readiness or after driving a short distance with the air conditioning activated. This only affects vehicles with a heat pump (option code 4T9). Note: The noise can only be reproduced once after a restart, then the vehicle must sit for some time before the noise can be heard again. Air Conditioning (A/C) receiver/dryer located near the RF wheel well area.

What a TSB means. Technical service bulletins are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls, and repairs are not automatically free (warranty extensions are an exception worth checking). The full document is available via NHTSA’s vehicle lookup.