Man who heard strange noise coming from BMW i3 discovered tiny $1 part had destroyed $4,000 engine

Back in April, a 2014 BMW i3 broke down and the reason was a tiny $1 part that destroyed its $4000 engine.

Tom Otto, a New York-based 54-year-old welding inspector, used his car daily for a 96-mile round-trip commute.

However, on one journey, his car made – as he described it – a ‘horrendous noise coming from the rear of the car, and the engine shut down after about two or three seconds of runtime.’

Once he looked into it, he found the engine totally destroyed all due to a dirt-cheap spring.

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Engine failure

The part that failed turned out to be a cheap tension spring that led to a chain reaction in the engine.

We have seen many engine failures in cars due to human and mechanical errors, but this one truly hurts.

It reminds us of the time when an auction house accidentally damaged a Mercedes-Benz S-Class V12 by just starting the engine.

Otto was also in a similar situation when he started his BMW i3 for his daily commute.

Afterwards, he posted his experience on Facebook as a cautionary tale.

The lesson is – don’t forget to regularly maintain your car, as it might save you a lot of money in the long run.

$1 part that destroyed a BMW i3 engine

After looking into the $4000 engine of his BMW i3, this is what Otto had to say.

“A $0.75 part (estimated) caused the failure of a $4000 unit (estimated).”

Due to a less-than-$1 tension spring failing, the pistons collided with the exhaust valves, causing major damage to the engine.

Fortunately, Otto managed to get a new BMW i3 range extender with a starter/generator built-in.

He used this part and his auto repair knowledge to fix his car for $3,000.

This was significantly cheaper than buying a new engine.

All’s well that ends well, you’d have to say.