We found the following complaints for BMW I3 (2014)
Read complaints for BMW I3 (2014)
The contact owns a 2014 bmw i3. While driving at approximately 35 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed and remained stuck causing the vehicle to crash into a brick wall.the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained chest and neck injuries, which required medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000.
Takata recall. The contact owned a 2014 bmw i3. The contact stated that another vehicle driving at a high rate of speed, crashed into the rear of the contacts vehicle which then caused the contacts vehicle to crash into the vehicle that was in front. A police report was filed. The driver sustained minor bruises and requiredmedical attention. The vehicle was towed and deemed destroyed. The insurance company was not able to determine what caused the air bags not to deploy. The contact was not included in nhtsa campaign numbers: 14v422000 (air bags) and 15v628000 (air bags). The contact was to determine if the manufacturer could further investigate the air bag failure. The failure mileage was not available.
The warning message (shown in the photo provided) appeared last night around 8:00 pm.
Unbelted small adult can increase neck injury. Front air bag must be updated
Passenger seat sensor would fail to detect a passenger after drive lasting 20 minutes or more. The passenger air bag will not deploy in this state because no fault codes are registered in the seat sensor or anywhere else. Bmw claims that this caused by "cell phone interference" and it "can never be fixed" but has replaced my seat sensor with a totally redesigned seat sensor. No one can explain why the "cell phone interference" line was used or why the seat sensor was redesigned.i presume my car is fixed with the new redesigned mat but other 2014 i3s may not be.this issue would occur in motion or while stationary, on city or highway streets. This issue would also occur *without* cell phones in the car. Once the issue occurs, the airbag would not come on again unless the car was left alone for an extended period of time (turning the car off and then back on within 5 minutes would not fix the issue.)
The contact owns a 2014 bmw i3. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph, the cruise control warning light illuminated. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,000.
Two issues:1. Driving at highway speed of 65 mph, with battery power drained, the rex (reserve engine) turns on.suddenly, speed drops from 65 mph to 40 mph while on a 2-lane ca freeway, almost causing me to be rear-ended by traffic.one month later, same situation, same problem.2. Manufacturer states a combined mileage range of 80 miles on battery, 60 miles on rex (reserve engine),for a combined range of 140 miles. I have never had more than 60 miles on battery and 40 miles on rex for a combined mileage of 100 miles, 40% less than bmw states, even though i use a professionally installed level 2 charger.brought the car to the dealer to check these issues.the bmw dealer?s written findings: "car performed as designed; vehicle is epa rated to go 72 miles per charge in ideal conditions.this range will vary drastically based on vehicle usage as well as weather conditions.this is normal operation.road tested vehicle and was easily able to travel 75 miles on a charge.range extender is intended to be used as a failsafe to get the vehicle to a charging station and should not be considered for regular use, especially at freeway speeds, as the engine is not designed for this.power reduction and reduced vehicle speed will result.updated complete vehicle software.vehicle now has a battery percentage display available to help gauge when power reduction is taking place. These are the only measures available to address customer complaint as the complaint is regarding a design parameter of the vehicle and not an actual issue.? i disagree.my safety has been compromised, and the car does not function as advertised.neither of these issues is addressed in any material from the manufacturer, dealer, other websites or other industry or web-based sources.bmw na sent an engineer to check the car, he said this is the design of the bmw, nothing more can be done.
The contact owns a 2014 bmw i3. The contact stated while driving 10 mph, the vehicle loss motive power. The vehicle was unable to be restarted. The contact stated malfunction in power train warning message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then towed to service center at bmw of fort lauderdale (2601 s. Andrews ave, fort lauderdale, fl 33316, (877) 853-3109) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the elements of mechanical engineering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign number: 19v599000 (hybrid propulsion system, electrical system) however, the vin was not included. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
Charged my car overnight in my climate controlled garage and went out the next morning to run errands. Turned it on, put it in drive, heard a pop or clunk from the rear and then got a drive train not available - do not move vehicle error. Couldn't even put the car in neutral for towing - bmw roadside had to send a tow truck with skates to prop up the back end and push it out of my garage. It's been at the dealer almost 2 weeks now - the local mechanics have had calls with bmw back in germany and they can't seem to figure out what the problem is.
I've had to replace the engine motor mount bolts twice in 3 years
Charged my car overnight in my climate controlled garage and went out the next morning to run errands. Turned it on, put it in drive, heard a pop or clunk from the rear and then got a drive train not available - do not move vehicle error. Couldn't even put the car in neutral for towing - bmw roadside had to send a tow truck with skates to prop up the back end and push it out of my garage. It's been at the dealer almost 2 weeks now - the local mechanics have had calls with bmw back in germany and they can't seem to figure out what the problem is.
While driving the vehicle suddenly jerked and lost all power while in motion on a city street. I can't imagine what would have happened if i was on the freeway with traffic. The message on the screenin my car stated drivetrain malfunction stop and turn off engine do not continue to drive call roadside assistance.
While driving the car and at a stop light the car made some jerky noise and got the "drivetrain malfunction - stop and turn off engine. Do not continue driving. Call roadside assistance" message. This has happened about 6 months ago and had the car towed to the service and they never found any problem. Now in the span of a day it has happened 3 times. When i turn off engine, wait a minute or so and start again, i was able to drive the car again. I am not sure why this is happening and i have looked through all bmw forums and facebook pages and nobody seems to have an answer. I am worried about driving the car and having it completely halt in the middle of driving on the freeway. This needs to be addressed by bmw and i have yet to get an answer.
I was stopped at a stop sign and when i accelerated the rear of the car felt like it got rear ended. I walked around the car, nothing was wrong. It drove fine up to 40 mph, then on the highway, it made a rrrr sound. The next day i found out that the engine mount bolt snapped.
The contact owns a 2014 bmw i3. The contact purchased the vehicle used in june of 2019. In early august, a loud grinding noise was heard when the air conditioning was activated. While braking, the contact released the accelerator pedal and heard a thumping sound and the drive train malfunction indicator illuminated. The warning indicator instructed the contact to bring the vehicle to the dealer for service. The vehicle was taken to bmw seattle (1002 airport way s, seattle, wa 98134, (206) 829-5004) where it was diagnosed that the engine mount bracket fractured. The engine fell and pinched the high voltage cable, which caused the drive train malfunction warning message to appear. Since the vehicle was not under warranty, it would cost over $5,000 to repair. The failure mileage was 13,015.
Two issues:1. Driving at highway speed of 65 mph, with battery power drained, the rex (reserve engine) turns on.suddenly, speed drops from 65 mph to 40 mph while on a 2-lane ca freeway, almost causing me to be rear-ended by traffic.one month later, same situation, same problem.2. Manufacturer states a combined mileage range of 80 miles on battery, 60 miles on rex (reserve engine),for a combined range of 140 miles. I have never had more than 60 miles on battery and 40 miles on rex for a combined mileage of 100 miles, 40% less than bmw states, even though i use a professionally installed level 2 charger.brought the car to the dealer to check these issues.the bmw dealer?s written findings: "car performed as designed; vehicle is epa rated to go 72 miles per charge in ideal conditions.this range will vary drastically based on vehicle usage as well as weather conditions.this is normal operation.road tested vehicle and was easily able to travel 75 miles on a charge.range extender is intended to be used as a failsafe to get the vehicle to a charging station and should not be considered for regular use, especially at freeway speeds, as the engine is not designed for this.power reduction and reduced vehicle speed will result.updated complete vehicle software.vehicle now has a battery percentage display available to help gauge when power reduction is taking place. These are the only measures available to address customer complaint as the complaint is regarding a design parameter of the vehicle and not an actual issue.? i disagree.my safety has been compromised, and the car does not function as advertised.neither of these issues is addressed in any material from the manufacturer, dealer, other websites or other industry or web-based sources.bmw na sent an engineer to check the car, he said this is the design of the bmw, nothing more can be done.
Near crash (crash avoided by manual emergency braking intervention)the adaptive cruise control was following a black suv at 8:30am southbound on ca101 (vehicle present indicator illuminated). The adaptive cruise control failed so notice that the vehicle was slowing down. The adaptive cruise control kept pace and would have collided into the vehicle if i had not taken over. Only about two yards from the vehicle, the system noticed the suv had slowed down, but this was after i already hit the brakes.conditions were good. No adverse conditions. Well illuminated, no glare..
After a recent software update, the computer is unable to indicate the accurate state of charge, causing unexpected power loss.my range extender was not able to engage before power loss, and the car indicated 50+ miles of range remaining.i was driving on a freeway when the power loss occurred, which took me from 65 mph to a dead stop in a manner of seconds.
The i3 requires functional hv battery cooling to operate properly and safely.the car uses a heat pump system to condition the hv batteries.on my car, the a/c system (battery conditioning) failed with no message or warning to the driver.when i took the car to a dealership, i was given a quote for $24,038.21 to fix the car.the invoice also states "note: vehicle unsafe to drive."how i discovered this problemthis vehicle is an early i3 with the fast-charge system included.in july, 2018, the fast-charge failed to work.i tried several chargers and they all failed to communicate with the vehicle.while this was irritating, i did not take the car for service because fast-charging is not a requirement to drive the car and i don't use it often.i am speculating that the a/c system began to fail at this time, but i was given no warning or message.in the fall of 2018, the car began making a much louder motor noise during pre-conditioning in my garage.when i took the car for service in feb., 2019, a bmw dealership could not duplicate the problem (the problem happened every day during pre-conditioning and driving).in april, 2019, i turned on the a/c and discovered the cabin a/c did not work.i took the car to a different dealership.they diagnosed the problem as a/c valve faults, gray metallic debris, insufficient refrigerant (877g vs. Required 970g), and zero (vs. Required 300g) refrigerant oil.according to bmw literature ( bmw technical training, heating and a/c systems, p.43), "these quantities are crucial to the operation of the system........"this quote refers to the quantity of refrigerant in the system of the bev or rex.i have attached the invoice from bmw-rochester hills on june 1 with the diagnostic information and the quotation for repairing the system.the training manual is a large file.i can send it as required.
In several occasion, a drive train malfunction while i was driving in the city. A "drive train malfunction" lights up and car stops and will not shift into gear again. I turned off the car for a minute then on again, the light disappeared.this happened twice.the third time i started up my car and the light appeared again and this time the light remained and the car is immobilized.it is very odd that a drive train is malfunctioned after only 39,000 miles.i have learned that most of the drive train on the i3 are often malfunction and is expensive to repair.i have a 2014 base model and was told that it has gone out of warranty because the 5 years came before the 50,000 miles.
The left bracket for the electric engine is cracked and the dealer wants substantially more for a replacement one which happens to be completely redesigned from a cheap plastic part which equips my car to a more study and improved one for the latest models of the same make. As i did some research the same issue was subjected to a formal safety recall in europe. Here my warranty expired so the dealer wants to charge me a hefty fee for what is basically a repair to a manufacturer's recognized design flaw. This issue needs to be investigated as many owners of this car will not repair this issue which can be failed to be identified or will balk at the price tag of the change. If the bracket fails the whole engine and driveshaft will drop and interfere with rear wheel alignment resulting in a possible catastrophic loss of control.the replacement bracket is aluminium vs the original one in plastic so they are trying to quickly sweep this design flaw under the rug. There might have been catastrophic crashes of this type of car in the past due to it but crossing my fingers it didn't happen.the pictures i include show where the replacement needs to happen. #3 is where the crack is and i also have a video i can submit if needed.
While driving the vehicle suddenly jerked and lost all power while in motion on a city street. I can't imagine what would have happened if i was on the freeway with traffic. The message on the screenin my car stated drivetrain malfunction stop and turn off engine do not continue to drive call roadside assistance.
When the vehicle enters a 'fault' mode, such as drive motor malfunction, the cars discontinues power to the drive motor, allows the vehicle to roll to a stop, then electronically puts the transmission in park. As long as the fault code exists the vehicle cannot be pushed or towed out of harms way.i was about to turn on to a very busy 3-lane [no shoulder] highway when it shut down. Not even the police could assist me in pushing it out of the intersection. Has i turned and started down that road and the vehicle then gone into fault mode, i would have been hit with a matter of minutes.no other vehicle i know of does not let the owner put it in neutral and push it off to the side our out of harms way.this is an all electric car so the dealer should be able to make a simple programming change.i have called the dealer, he referred me to bmw north america. I talked to them at length on the phone and they have no way of passing on my concerns to the manufacturer (bmw germany).
Charged my car overnight in my climate controlled garage and went out the next morning to run errands. Turned it on, put it in drive, heard a pop or clunk from the rear and then got a drive train not available - do not move vehicle error. Couldn't even put the car in neutral for towing - bmw roadside had to send a tow truck with skates to prop up the back end and push it out of my garage. It's been at the dealer almost 2 weeks now - the local mechanics have had calls with bmw back in germany and they can't seem to figure out what the problem is.
I believe this is a safety issue and can happen at any time without warning to me or other owners of similar vehicles putting my safety and other's safety at great risk. On may 20, 2020, i was stopped on a red light at neckel rd to cross highway 86 in imperial ca. When it turned green, i released the break pedal and normally accelerated. Suddenly my vehicle stopped in the middle of highway 86 and put itself in the park position showing "drive train fault" alarm. It stopped in the middle of the car's traffic and i was not able to shift it to neutral position to move it out of the way. With vehicles traffic moving around me, i turn my car off and on three times, with about ten seconds in between off an on, before the alarm would reset. Once the alarm cleared, i aborted my short trip and was able to drive it back home safely but i am concern this may happen again at any time at higher speeds putting my safety and others' safety at risk.i would like to know if other have reported similar issues / complains with this vehicles and what is bmw doing about it. Thank you very much.
While driving the car and at a stop light the car made some jerky noise and got the "drivetrain malfunction - stop and turn off engine. Do not continue driving. Call roadside assistance" message. This has happened about 6 months ago and had the car towed to the service and they never found any problem. Now in the span of a day it has happened 3 times. When i turn off engine, wait a minute or so and start again, i was able to drive the car again. I am not sure why this is happening and i have looked through all bmw forums and facebook pages and nobody seems to have an answer. I am worried about driving the car and having it completely halt in the middle of driving on the freeway. This needs to be addressed by bmw and i have yet to get an answer.
When the drivetrain failure light comes on, the motor fails, then locks up in park. You connot then put it in neutral to get it off the road. Even the towtruck needs dollies to get rear wheels off the ground. This happened twice while stationary, and several times on the road. If i had not been able to roll to shoulder, it could have created an accident. There should be a way to get to zneutral.
The bmw i3 electric vehicle that comes with a range extender has a critical hazardous design flaw. It cannot consistently power thevehicle to maintain a safe speed when driving on a moderate incline for a reasonable period.in other words, you may be driving on a california freeway and run out of electric charge and the range extender will kick in.everythingis fine until you approach a hilly area. As the car ascends the incline it starts to reduce speed. So before you were going the same safe speed as the surrounding traffic now you start toslow down. 70, 65, 60, things start getting scary as cars start passingyou on both sides, 55, 50 45, now it's really scary and very dangerousas cars are passing you going 70+ mph.bythis time you are desperately trying to get to the slow lane, sometimes crossing multiple lanes of traffic going 25+mph over your speed. You put your 4 way blinkers on and now the car is going 39 mph, well belowthe minimum speed limit on the ca highway, and you are praying that someone does not slam into you going 80 mph.i hope this gives you a clearer picture of my serious safety concerns.i had my car in for service at the bmw dealership a few months ago and the head i3 technician explained that that i would be getting an electronics update/upgrade and thought that maybe it would fix the problem that i was experiencing. After the service was performed the only difference that inoticed was the warning of potential loss of power alert appear on the display as i started up a hill.the loss of power was exactly the same as before.this experience that i described to you has happened to me several times in the past and continues to happen every time i run out of electricity and have to run on the extender and climb a hill that is not necessarily steep but extends some distance at an incline.the car is unsafe.
The warning message (shown in the photo provided) appeared last night around 8:00 pm.
I believe this is a safety issue and can happen at any time without warning to me or other owners of similar vehicles putting my safety and other's safety at great risk. On may 20, 2020, i was stopped on a red light at neckel rd to cross highway 86 in imperial ca. When it turned green, i released the break pedal and normally accelerated. Suddenly my vehicle stopped in the middle of highway 86 and put itself in the park position showing "drive train fault" alarm. It stopped in the middle of the car's traffic and i was not able to shift it to neutral position to move it out of the way. With vehicles traffic moving around me, i turn my car off and on three times, with about ten seconds in between off an on, before the alarm would reset. Once the alarm cleared, i aborted my short trip and was able to drive it back home safely but i am concern this may happen again at any time at higher speeds putting my safety and others' safety at risk.i would like to know if other have reported similar issues / complains with this vehicles and what is bmw doing about it. Thank you very much.
Sometimes while driving highway speeds steering feels hard to turn. Seems like steering want to remain centered or overly turns suddenly at low speed. Very random. I looked online and many people reported the same issue. I believe it needs a software update. No warning lights or codes stored in vehicle.
I was driving the car and the steering suddenly became heavy - no longer self-centering.the car would still go where i pointed it, but the wheel wouldn't return to center like usual.it felt very stiff.after shutting the car off for a few minutes, it returned to normal.
Intermittently, the power steering does not come on when the car is turned on. Steering is heavy and slow.turning the car off and back on generally corrects this fault. It has happened several times over the past year. I documented below approximately the date of the first event.
While pulling onto the road my car started pulling strongly towards the left and was very hard to steer. It had very heavy difficult steering. It felt absolutely different than anything i've felt in the two years of ownership. I pulled into a parking lot and 'googled' i3 difficult steering and came across multiple forum posts and discussion of this issue. It appears the i3 power steering can randomly stop working and then returns with an ignition cycle. I locked the car, went in a store for 5 minutes, and normal steering resumed when i drove away. One becomes used to the way their car drives when they drive it every day. When all of a sudden the steering changes drastically it seems it can be an alarming and potentially dangerous situation.
Temporary loss of power assist. From a stop, the assist will function correctly until 30mph. From then on, there will be no power assist until coming to a full stop. The pattern repeats itself for the remainder of the trip. Once the vehicle is turned off, it could take days or months for this to happen again. Bmw states they "can not reproduce". This situation makes the vehicle very unstable and dangerous.
The driver's door does not close or does not latch. There are times when it unlatches/opens while i am driving as well. Bmw dealership states that it required oil on the latch but that has not fixed the issue. The problem happens when i try to close the door and drive and while driving. This has happened multiple times.
I went to leave work.upon turning the car on i noticed 3 warnings appear which required me to read them and acknowledge them.they were all related to the auto braking/pedestrian warning system.driving home the vehicle was driving strange.i noticed that the steering wheel was turned slightly counterclockwise versus normal when driving straight.the car was responding strange when the drivers side hit a dip or rise in the road.the rear end felt "looser" than normal.when i got home i parked it and called the local bmw dealer.they arranged for a tow.once the car got there they put it up on a lift, they called and informed me that the left rear "control arm" (caster link) was broken into 2 pieces.the car was bmw inspected and certified pre-owned, with only 9k miles and a clean carfax.there are no signs of any damage or of anything ever touching the caster link.original wheels, original tires.
The left bracket for the electric engine is cracked and the dealer wants substantially more for a replacement one which happens to be completely redesigned from a cheap plastic part which equips my car to a more study and improved one for the latest models of the same make. As i did some research the same issue was subjected to a formal safety recall in europe. Here my warranty expired so the dealer wants to charge me a hefty fee for what is basically a repair to a manufacturer's recognized design flaw. This issue needs to be investigated as many owners of this car will not repair this issue which can be failed to be identified or will balk at the price tag of the change. If the bracket fails the whole engine and driveshaft will drop and interfere with rear wheel alignment resulting in a possible catastrophic loss of control.the replacement bracket is aluminium vs the original one in plastic so they are trying to quickly sweep this design flaw under the rug. There might have been catastrophic crashes of this type of car in the past due to it but crossing my fingers it didn't happen.the pictures i include show where the replacement needs to happen. #3 is where the crack is and i also have a video i can submit if needed.
Bmw are manufacturing newer model tires for their i3 . These tires are very narrow compared to other cars that get easily worn out . The tire tread readings show that they are below safety level, within 12k miles of driving. They are very unstable and can be a risk factor while driving on the roads.
Unbelted small adult can increase neck injury. Front air bag must be updated
December 6th, 0650, i drove down the ready ave nw in fort walton beach fl. I was driving normal - speed limit 35 - when i drove over a huge cutout on the road because there were nowarning signs, no cones - nothing. Just a big hole in the middle of the street. Front right tire got severe damage from that cutout on a road and my car needed alignment after replacement because it was pulling to the right.my child was in a hospital and i had to go couple days after to take a picture.the cutoutwas covered and filled.i took pictures of evidences. I am looking to find out who is responsible for this cut out and cost of my tire damage/replacement and alignment. Receipts show all 4 tires with discounts.the cost from that for one tire is $270.76 and i want to be reimbursed at least for that. Thank you.
I turned right into a parking spot in front ofa commercial buidling. I remember slowing down as i approached the parking space. As the car slowed, it suddenly jerked and then accelerated causing it to go over the concrete parking header and collide into building exterior and metal gate. The car was in slow speed as i entered the space.the sudden unexpected acceleration caught me by surprised as i could see my foot was not on the accelerator pedal.by the time i could apply the breaks, the car had already hit the building which cause the car to stop moving. The distance traveled was approximately 12-15 feet.
While driving the vehicle suddenly jerked and lost all power while in motion on a city street. I can't imagine what would have happened if i was on the freeway with traffic. The message on the screenin my car stated drivetrain malfunction stop and turn off engine do not continue to drive call roadside assistance.
The contact owns a 2014 bmw i3. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph, the cruise control warning light illuminated. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,000.
Near crash (crash avoided by manual emergency braking intervention)the adaptive cruise control was following a black suv at 8:30am southbound on ca101 (vehicle present indicator illuminated). The adaptive cruise control failed so notice that the vehicle was slowing down. The adaptive cruise control kept pace and would have collided into the vehicle if i had not taken over. Only about two yards from the vehicle, the system noticed the suv had slowed down, but this was after i already hit the brakes.conditions were good. No adverse conditions. Well illuminated, no glare..
When the drivetrain failure light comes on, the motor fails, then locks up in park. You connot then put it in neutral to get it off the road. Even the towtruck needs dollies to get rear wheels off the ground. This happened twice while stationary, and several times on the road. If i had not been able to roll to shoulder, it could have created an accident. There should be a way to get to zneutral.
A small piece of plastic easily punctured the tire and made it flat.the tires on the bmw i3 are prone to flats and easily get punctured.these are new tires by bridgestone that have never been tested in other vehicles and there are lots of flats by owners on this specific car.
Getting out of a parking lot at very low speed of 2-3 miles per hour touched a curb and the tire went flat immediately that had to be replaced.5 days later, a piece of plastic punctured another tire.other tires would have deflected this plastic piece but the new bmw i3 tires are easy to get punctured and have flats.manufacturer does not include spare or jack.
The left bracket for the electric engine is cracked and the dealer wants substantially more for a replacement one which happens to be completely redesigned from a cheap plastic part which equips my car to a more study and improved one for the latest models of the same make. As i did some research the same issue was subjected to a formal safety recall in europe. Here my warranty expired so the dealer wants to charge me a hefty fee for what is basically a repair to a manufacturer's recognized design flaw. This issue needs to be investigated as many owners of this car will not repair this issue which can be failed to be identified or will balk at the price tag of the change. If the bracket fails the whole engine and driveshaft will drop and interfere with rear wheel alignment resulting in a possible catastrophic loss of control.the replacement bracket is aluminium vs the original one in plastic so they are trying to quickly sweep this design flaw under the rug. There might have been catastrophic crashes of this type of car in the past due to it but crossing my fingers it didn't happen.the pictures i include show where the replacement needs to happen. #3 is where the crack is and i also have a video i can submit if needed.
Bmw are manufacturing newer model tires for their i3 . These tires are very narrow compared to other cars that get easily worn out . The tire tread readings show that they are below safety level, within 12k miles of driving. They are very unstable and can be a risk factor while driving on the roads.
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