BMW I3 -Most Dangerious Steering Of Any Car I've Owned!

Idleup · Jul 7, 2015

I was not going to post this problem but I know its not just me there are hundreds of owners who hate the steering on the I3 - I'm posting this in hopes of warning other drivers that the I3 can and will be very dangerous at highway speeds.

Just the other day while my wife was driving at 60 mph, a dog ran our from the shoulder and while it was no real threat to us, she nearly lost control of the car by the over-reactive steering - the steering is 100% too sensitive expessially on a narrow wheelbase car that is on the top-heavy side.

The steering requires 100% of attention all the time, even the normal gesturescause the car to move out of its track and lane. The other day I just leaned over to remove my phone from my pocket to lay it on the seat and the car was all over the road. Every friend wants to drive our I3 and without us saying a word, everyone loved the car but felt uncomfortable with the steering,

I know the steering is electric therefore both the sensitivity and effort can be changed by coding - so I'm asking if anyone knows of any coding for the steering is available - if not, as much as I love the car, I'm dumping it before the steering causes and accident.

Just so you know we're not a couple of idiots with regard to our driving abilities, I've built and owned race cars all my life and our present "other" vehicles are a BMW I8 and a C7 Corvette. My I8 has perfect steering and no sensitivity issues what-so ever.

spinball · Jul 7, 2015

While I don't find the steering to be nearly worth dumping the car I do agree reduced sensitivity, especially at speed, would be appreciated.

Idleup · Jul 7, 2015

Thanks for the reply it's almost as if the steering is not speed sensitive to decrease sensitivity as the vehicles speed increase.

marcus1701 · Jul 8, 2015

The steering is light but hardly uncontrollable. You make it sound like a death trap lol. I like it as it is, and while it may be too light for many people...Lexus makes their steering even lighter. Maybe you should have taken it for a test drive before buying?

drb · Jul 8, 2015

I have just the opposite point of view from the person who started this thread. I like the quick, responsive steering on the i3 and would not want to see it changed. The steering is a little like the regenerative braking--you need to get used to it. But once you do, at least for me, I never want to go back to a vehicle without it. I am coming on my first anniversary with the i3 REx and am counting 10,000 miles.

MikeS · Jul 8, 2015

drb said:
I have just the opposite point of view from the person who started this thread. I like the quick, responsive steering on the i3 and would not want to see it changed. The steering is a little like the regenerative braking--you need to get used to it. But once you do, at least for me, I never want to go back to a vehicle without it. I am coming on my first anniversary with the i3 REx and am counting 10,000 miles.

I and my wife both like the steering on our i3. It is more responsive than our X1 but we both got used to it really quickly and now love its responsiveness. It is certainly not dangerous!

i34me · Jul 8, 2015

We have over 10,000 miles (7 months) on our i3 and the two things we dislike the most are "steering sensitivity" and "harsh ride". We determined this after our 3 day test drive, but the cars range fit our driving habits, was otherwise fun to drive, and with the flexibility of the Rex was a near perfect solution for us. (replacing both a Leaf and a Prius) After more than 10k miles we have adjusted somewhat but new passengers/drivers always comment about the harsh ride and quirky steering.

We were told after our test drive that all BMWs have tighter steering and harsher ride because they are built to handle and feel more like a sports car, but that is simply not true, as we now have a 328i loaner and the steering is not overly sensitive nor is the ride harsh. In fact, the car is so much more comfortable to drive I pondered the idea of buying one.

Overall we really do like the i3 with many more likes than dislikes, but I do think BMW got the steering sensitivity and ride quality wrong on this car.

DarrenG · Jul 8, 2015

And the i3 is bottom heavy not top heavy! Those batteries ensure that

alohart · Jul 8, 2015

Our i3 is our only car at our Honolulu apartment, so for the half year that we're there, it's the only car we drive. Maybe that makes getting accustomed to the way the i3 drives easier than those who frequently drive other cars as well. After driving our Honda Insight for half a year, it will be interesting to see whether driving our i3 again after not doing so for 6 months will make its steering seem too sensitive or its ride too harsh. I doubt this will happen because I've never been bothered by our i3's steering or ride.

Idleup · Jul 8, 2015

MikeS said:
drb said:

I have just the opposite point of view from the person who started this thread. I like the quick, responsive steering on the i3 and would not want to see it changed. The steering is a little like the regenerative braking--you need to get used to it. But once you do, at least for me, I never want to go back to a vehicle without it. I am coming on my first anniversary with the i3 REx and am counting 10,000 miles.

Click to expand...

I and my wife both like the steering on our i3. It is more responsive than our X1 but we both got used to it really quickly and now love its responsiveness. It is certainly not dangerous!

OK I think the problem is you're not really aware what the problem is so you can't feel it - there is hundreds of complaints nation wide with this problem. The car is absolutely dangerous at speeds above 60 mph.

Idleup · Jul 8, 2015

DarrenG said:
And the i3 is bottom heavy not top heavy! Those batteries ensure that

Wrong - while the batteries are low - the car's height , range extender, seating, and occupants are not - when you compare the height (for comfort seating) to the cars width, the I3 is very top heavy compared to other cars of this nature.

alohart · Jul 8, 2015

Idleup said:
DarrenG said:

And the i3 is bottom heavy not top heavy! Those batteries ensure that

Click to expand...

Wrong - while the batteries are low - the car's height , range extender, seating, and occupants are not - when you compare the height (for comfort seating) to the cars width, the I3 is very top heavy compared to other cars of this nature.

The center of gravity height is a measure of how top heavy a car is (excerpted from a post on Bimmerpost):

The center of gravity figures are published in official BMW press releases:

i3: 18.5"
3-series sedan: 20.0"
4-series coupe: 19.6"

Other cars:

Toyota FT-86 / Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S: 18.1"
Tesla S: 17.5"
Lexus LFA: 17.7"
Porsche 911 GT3: 17.9"

So your statement that an i3 "is very top heavy compared to other cars of this nature" just isn't supported by facts (unless you can provide some evidence to the contrary).

While it's true that the i3's height places some of its weight high up, the CFRP cabin structure means that this high weight is significantly less than a steel car of a similar height. Passenger weight is a relatively low percentage of a car's total weight, so even with 4 200-pounders in the car, I doubt that the height of the center of gravity would be significantly higher than most other non-sports cars. If you know how passengers affect the height of the center of gravity, please let us know.

I33t · Jul 8, 2015

Idleup said:
MikeS said:

drb said:

I have just the opposite point of view from the person who started this thread. I like the quick, responsive steering on the i3 and would not want to see it changed. The steering is a little like the regenerative braking--you need to get used to it. But once you do, at least for me, I never want to go back to a vehicle without it. I am coming on my first anniversary with the i3 REx and am counting 10,000 miles.

Click to expand...

I and my wife both like the steering on our i3. It is more responsive than our X1 but we both got used to it really quickly and now love its responsiveness. It is certainly not dangerous!

Click to expand...

OK I think the problem is you're not really aware what the problem is so you can't feel it - there is hundreds of complaints nation wide with this problem. The car is absolutely dangerous at speeds above 60 mph.

Ok, where are all these complaints?

I drive my i3 at over 60mph every trip. At no time has the car felt or reacted dangerously to steering inputs at these speeds. The steering is light compared to my other vehicles, but so is the car.

Have you checked your wheel alignment and tyre pressures?

spinball · Jul 8, 2015

I understand the design targets of the i3 were for a mega city car but that doesn't mean low city speeds only. I think the strongest argument is that high speeds should have reduced sensitivity because in that particular scenario I agree that the quick steering is a negative and not a positive.

It sounds like not everyone agrees, so why can't this be an iDrive preference? The steering is electrically powered right? There's the argument you can't have settings for every little thing but steering feel is a major trait probably second after acceleration curve (which we already have) and at least with traditional BMWs, can be a primary selling point for the entire car! My E46 had amazing steering and was indeed easier to drive at high speeds--Though again, not for me a big enough negative to override the other things about the i3 that I love.

Best of all worlds IMO would be an i3 has that the same quick/light steering for low speed (under 40 mph) but more in line with traditional BMWs at speeds beyond that.

Also the replies advising "maybe you should have test driven the car?" are not helpful. Test drives aren't enough to discover everything and some things take a good while to form an solid opinion on.

DarrenG · Jul 8, 2015

Idleup said:
Wrong - while the batteries are low - the car's height , range extender, seating, and occupants are not - when you compare the height (for comfort seating) to the cars width, the I3 is very top heavy compared to other cars of this nature.

The cars height as little to do with it, the shell is very light in comparison to other cars and the electric motor and range extender are both low as well. The i3 has a lower CoG than many other cars in this category.

NoMoreGas · Jul 8, 2015

The COG of this car is not an issue. BMW's have FIRM rides but to my behind the i3 is not excessively harsh. The small contact patch provided by the skinny little tires can make the car just a little more squirrelly but I routinely drive at 80 mph and have had to avoid debris and potholes and the occasional fellow driver with an evasive maneuver and would not call the handling in any way dangerous. I have also found that running the tire pressure 36 up front and 44 in the rear makes for a remarkably comfortable ride as compared with the recommended inflation pressures. If anything I would think my higher pressure would make all the above (squirrelly, harshness) worse but in fact it makes the car smoother over the ridiculous roads that I drive on (NYC, Westside Highway and Lower Manhattan). I do not find the steering light though it is somewhat devoid of feel.

DarrenG · Jul 8, 2015

I think the key here is that the i3's steering is 'quick' i.e. fewer turns lock to lock which means small inputs can have unexpected results if unfamiliar?

jadnashuanh · Jul 8, 2015

The tire patch may be long and narrow, but it's surface area is similar to many cars of its size. It is the surface area that determines grip. It is the tread design that affects how sensitive it is to things like grooves in the pavement. Being long and narrow means less drag, which increases range. While the i3's steering is quick, I don't find it anywhere near dangerous. It takes a light hand to guide it anywhere I deem necessary which great accuracy. It may be an issue if you regularly drive another car that does not have similar steering feel, just like switching to something that coasts without the regen...stopping smoothly is harder.

Driving an i3 to its fullest capacity is a learned skill, it is a different car, if you can't embrace that, maybe it's not the best choice. Buy another EV that was hacked from an ICE to try to retain that look and feel. The i3 is not for everyone.

mrsmith · Jul 8, 2015

I think the negative responses might be due to the sweeping statements that were clearly incorrect to the many people, like myself (Absolutely DANGEROUS!, CoG), who totally nerded out on the engineering detail of the i3 prior to order and delivery. I do find it a little annoying when buyers remorse is wrapped up in half baked theories and touted around as fact.

It is NOT a 'normal' car in any way, and that was obvious to me immediatly on the test drive

The steering was one of the main selling points for me! I LOVE its quickness, combined with the huge amount of lock you can get when manoeuvring, the perfect combo for me that is rarely found these days. The lock reminds me of my old Triumph Spitfire and the speed reminds me of a TVR Cerebra/Tuscan/Lotus. When I get in other cars now the steering wheel feels so slow I wondered if its disconnected from the wheels!

I definitely takes a little acclimatisation, especially if you are used the the usual fuzzy slow steering of cars set up for motorways. However I'd say 80mph plus doesn't feel unsafe, never mind 60mph, that's a gentle cruise.

I do though agree that it's NOT a motorway/freeway cruiser, its not optimised for this kinds of driving, and that is why I chose it, first test drive really impressed me with its darty urgency, would not like to see that changed.

Genuinely think VW eGolf or a Leaf might be a better bet for the OP?

epirali · Jul 8, 2015

Idleup said:
I was not going to post this problem but I know its not just me there are hundreds of owners who hate the steering on the I3 - I'm posting this in hopes of warning other drivers that the I3 can and will be very dangerous at highway speeds.

Just the other day while my wife was driving at 60 mph, a dog ran our from the shoulder and while it was no real threat to us, she nearly lost control of the car by the over-reactive steering - the steering is 100% too sensitive expessially on a narrow wheelbase car that is on the top-heavy side.

The steering requires 100% of attention all the time, even the normal gesturescause the car to move out of its track and lane. The other day I just leaned over to remove my phone from my pocket to lay it on the seat and the car was all over the road. Every friend wants to drive our I3 and without us saying a word, everyone loved the car but felt uncomfortable with the steering,

I know the steering is electric therefore both the sensitivity and effort can be changed by coding - so I'm asking if anyone knows of any coding for the steering is available - if not, as much as I love the car, I'm dumping it before the steering causes and accident.

Just so you know we're not a couple of idiots with regard to our driving abilities, I've built and owned race cars all my life and our present "other" vehicles are a BMW I8 and a C7 Corvette. My I8 has perfect steering and no sensitivity issues what-so ever.

I wouldn't go as far as saying its dangerous, but otherwise I completely agree. But beware you will be killed for saying this. I find the steering way to jittery and over-responsive for no real reason other than pretend it is "sporty." It needs constant input to keep going on a simple road, is way too responsive at fast speed (although it is nice at slow turning/parking speeds). I just don't think it was thought out so much as "marketed." To me it is the equivalent of hyping the high end of an average speaker to make it sound "high fidelity."

BMW I3 -Most Dangerious Steering Of Any Car I've Owned!

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