Search results

Any engineers or techies out there that can explain why the i3 doesn't do better? Check my analysis & 'splain, if you're into structures at all. As many of you know, the i3 has carbon fiber composites making up just about all the upper parts of the chassis. Aluminum & a little steel are used...

I'd change the Reduction Gearbox / Differential fluid early, then never again. This is to get out break-in metal as the gear surfaces polish down a bit when new. About 1,000 miles or so, whenever you can. .... You don't really have to touch it, only if you plan on keeping an i3 past 100,000...

Guess what: Right lanes and multiple lanes aren't always available. This, apparently, needs to be pointed out to you. Next time, gather clues before typing, please.

Then the i3 would violate the CARB rule that says the BEV range must be greater than the gasoline range Rex mode portion. I suppose BMW could just pay the CARB fines Rex-equipped i3's sold in the past as one solution. I'd agree that turning on the Rex engine at, say, about 40% of battery...

Conversation during the next freeway traffic jam at noon: "Why are we jammed up? Crash ahead maybe?" "Nope, just BMW i3's in Rex mode trying to go up a shallow hill into a light headwind breeze." ---- And 3,000 car drivers behind the moving i3 roadblock hope the lawsuit suceeds.----- Kind of...

Very typical scenario for the lawsuit. Maybe you should have pulled over and parked for a while on a side road and let the Rex engine recharge the battery (until the Rex shut off automatically when done). I understand why you didn't, except when you had to for gas, since you weren't going to...

BMW i3 owners were never warned about this before they bought their i3. There may be some compensation coming to remedy BMW's deception. See http://insideevs.com/class-action-lawsuit-filed-bmw-unsafe-i3-rex-reduced-power-operation/ "The lawsuit seeks to have the vehicles redesigned and...

Better explained, the lawsuit will focus on the i3's behavior below about 2% of charge, which can happen: (If it can happen, it WILL happen, especially if a driver isn't tech-savvy and tactically-clever enough to change the fate to an extent.): One strategy is to stop once in a while and let...

My apologies, I meant to type in "charging station" and for some reason typed in "gas station", electricity vs. gasoline. Meaning to say you can't usually stop for a charge when you get all those warnings. So a driver typically continues on trying to get home etc., and then thats when trouble...

Does BMW warn buyers of this possible scenario before purchase?

The fatal flaw in your logic is that you don't usually have a gas station nearby when you get the "warning", and it won't matter how much "paying attention" or being "aware" the fallible human pilot is doing if you can't magically get gasoline all of a sudden to remedy the situation. You are...

Good luck with that. The real world won't be as kind as you wish for. I'd suggest a reality check. You say the Consumer Reports account I cited never happened? OK.... They would be surprised to learn they just dreamed it. So you have to alter your speeds based on the pathetic 34 hp engine...

I agree, he could make it work. It wouldn't be great to be on the 405, lanes away from the "slow" lane (if such a thing even exists on CA freeways), and have the battery depleted due to use of steady throttle in rex-mode, only to have the tiny 34-hp motor to maneuver the car through traffic...

Bottom Line: Don't do it. You need a charger at home, or there is a lot of wasted time & inconvenience in your future. Chargers outside your home cannot be relied on. Reality. Pick a Chevy Volt, recently updated, lots of electric range (50 miles), and something much better than a weak BMW i3...

Corrected link: http://insideevs.com/2017-bmw-i3-to-enter-production-this-july-epa-range-of-125-miles-expected/ Comparing what Tesla is doing (taking money and generating emotion & the "cool" factor), to the Chevy Bolt, is interesting. I think the Bolt will beat the Model3 by 2 years, not the...

Wondered about this myself. With a 5-gallon jerry can (like they strap to the back of jeeps and Land Rovers), you could get 210 miles without stopping at a gas (petrol) station. You would pull over every 55 miles and top off your on-board tank. Another person posted the following, & it would...

Ski trips in an i3? RWD, in snow/ice, up mountains, with 70 miles range. Backup power is 30 hp at the wheels, so not much for going up mountains. Plus, who wants to drill into a leased car's roof?

Doesn't appear to have wide appeal. BMW wants to sell you the latest cars whole. BMW would need to upgrade the software on board as well for you. And, each new battery pack would cost $15,000 and add a thousand more in labor to install. Old battery trade-in could be worth 6,000 though...

Tesla does own its own dealerships (not legal in all states to do that!), and that changes things a bit. Of course, independent owners & car makers alike know bad service reduces new car sales. BMW has been pressuring some dealerships to clean up their act where disinterested dealership owners...

You're right. Re-figuring, $27.5k is the best I could do on a new 2016 i3 selling for $41k. I might get a leftover off-the-lot new 2015 i3 for $25k though. I was previously figuring $40k for the i3, which was $10k more than my Ford Focus Electric (MSRP), yet I forgot to figure in the $3.5k...