Annoying Things I Hate After 3 Weeks With My New i3 ReX

[jadnashuanh]

While this may have changed, in Germany, you are considered to be driving if the key is in the ignition, even if the car isn't running. NOw, with the keyless start, that could get a but fuzzy. Way back, a friend of mine had had a few too many, was sitting in a parking area with the engine off, but the key in the ignition...he got a ticket for drunk driving while sleeping in the car. So, seatbelt use and timing in Germany (and thus, their cars) may have some different rules than other places.

It used to be that speedometers in Germany were required to be quite accurate...that seems to have been trumped by the EU spec which forces in a fudge factor.

 

[MikeS]

Am I the only one with an i3 which sticks with whatever the ventilation was last set to?

Bill

Nope...my seems to remember the setting also.

+1

 

[noakey]

Am I the only one with an i3 which sticks with whatever the ventilation was last set to?

Bill

Nope.. Mine remembers too..

 

[noakey]

Well I find the seats some of the most comfortable I have ever had so it just goes to show how much we all differ!

As for the ‘design defect’ in the ‘cardboard piece….’ - I regularly fold the rear seats down and have had no problem so maybe yours has a specific defect.

For some of your access problems I guess you should have got the comfort access option! :twisted:

I find thecsears real comfortable, but my annoyance is that the head rest is not adjustable...

 

[uktechie]

:lol: :lol: WTF did you not check all features if it was going to annoy you so much especially seats. All trivial for me had lots of test drives and air con remembers last setting here. :lol: :lol:

 

[noakey]

:lol: :lol: WTF did you not check all features if it was going to annoy you so much especially seats. All trivial for me had lots of test drives and air con remembers last setting here. :lol: :lol:

Lol... but that's my only niggle. .. A lil stiff headrest was never gonna put me off this awesome machine...

 

[DeafSoundGuy]

Hello all, as a new member to BMW and a new i3 owner.

It pains me to see someone so unhappy with the seats in their new i3. Didn't you test drive one out first? I fell off the roof and broke my back some years ago :shock: so driving in a car is always painful after about 15 minutes. I've owned LOTS of cars, including several high end Jags and Acuras, my newest was a Buick 2011 LaCrosse (awesome car and highly underrated), and all of those would hurt my back after 15 minutes. The i3 has the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in for a car. I can't actually believe it since they are so spartan of build and lacking any adjustment to lumbar. You must have some weird body geometry! I would have not bought the car if the seats were uncomfortable. The only seats that come close are the seats in my wifes Cad SRX.

I have not experienced the cardboard piece coming out you speak of.

Regarding the Frunk, I thought it was just for storing your charging apparatus so never gave it thought as far as stowing anything else in there. Regarding the rear hatch, every car I have ever owned has a trunk that locks when you close it and must be unlocked by a button in the car or the FOB. Even in my Jag, you couldn't even unlock the trunk from the inside of the car, you had to use the key FOB to do it. The only car I have ever seen that you could leave the trunk unlocked was my wifes Toyota. So she forgets to lock it and of course someone came by, unlatched the trunk and stole everything inside. That's a good reason to have trunks or hatches that automatically lock.

I don't think it's possible to buy a car that's going to be perfect for everyone. I absolutely hate the Kenaf dash and door panels but it wasn't a deal killer because I like the car so much, especially after the test drive! I KNEW IT HAD TO BE MINE!

It sucks being able to only afford the mega because you don't get the proximity door opener but mostly I really wanted the wood and a black interior. But not a deal killer. I was lucky because I found a Laurel Gray one with the premium 20" 5 spoke wheels and Rex, so that was the deal maker!

It's way too bad that BMW does not give you the option of buying the wood glove compartment separately or the bigger screen by itself. Oh well.

Love my i3. I had to drop alot of luxury features that I love in all my high end cars I've owned but driving such a efficient machine is the BOMB. All my buddies who I've let drive it go WWWOOOWWW!

 

[jadnashuanh]

There's one thread on here where someone ordered the wood parts, and replaced them in the base vehicle, so it is possible. The bigger screen would be a much more complex issue and probably not worth the investment.

 

[Devin]

It pains me slightly to bellyache about my I3 because overall I love it. But I still feel compelled to add a few thoughts about improvements in the secret hope that someone at BMW would read the comments and maybe make the next version even a little bit better. I've had my I3 about 3 months and gone a little over 2000 miles.
1) I know this is a personal preference but I hate the plastic dashboard. It looks sturdy and durable and practical and utilitarian. But to my eyes it also looks cheap. This is a BMW after all - a plastic dashboard? geeezz naugahyde would have been better. I'm hoping that someday someone will market some type of a cover that I can put over the plastic to hide it.
2) I appreciate the explanation about why the car turns itself off whenever the driver's door is opened. My introductory experience to this phenomena happened the first day I had the car. I have the habit of picking up my morning newspaper at the end of my driveway by slowing down my car to a crawl while opening the door and leaning out to scoop up the paper. This maybe sounds a little risky but I've never had any problem until the first time I tried it with my new I3. With the car going about a walking pace I opened the door and started my lean out the opening. It caught me off guard when the car slammed on the brakes causing the door to fully swing open giving me a good jerk towards the opening. Fortunately, no harm was done, and now I'm sure to come to a complete stop before opening the door to lean out for the paper. And, if I have my seat belt fastened, the car doesn't shut even itself off.
Since the car is totally quiet at a standstill I can see how it would be quite possible to accidentally exit the car and forget it's still on, so having it shut down automatically whenever the driver's belt is unfastened and the door is opened makes some sense. Still, it would be nice to be able to jump out and get the mail, for example, without completely shutting down the car. I'll leave this up to the designers at BMW to consider if there isn't a better way.
3) The left foot rest is too close. This is a common problem for me since I'm 6'4" It frustrating knowing that my leg would've had plenty of room if they had just left out the foot rest altogether. How about this BMW ( and all other car manufacturers for that matter) Why not design the footrest to fit a taller person and then at a low cost (or no cost) have optional risers that could be bolted onto the footrest so that it could be adjusted to fit any size person. How about it?
4) Too much of a good thing? I'm talking about the steering which is "very precise", and the "excellent road feel". These features sound good in print and are very desirable in a sports car, but the I3 looks like a small SUV and I bet most people use it more like a family car. The steering is almost too precise meaning that at highway speeds even moving the steering wheel a centimeter causes the car to jerk to the side, and all of the road bumps and textures come right through and are easily felt by everyone in the car. I would have preferred a little more of a "floating on a cloud" driving experience. Again, this is just my personal preference.
But overall I love the car. I love that when the light turns green it will, without any apparent effort or noise, pull away from the crowd and leaves everyone else behind. It's really amazing just how effortlessly the car accelerates and how much fun it is to drive. I find myself thinking up reasons to go to the store just so I can drive the car.

 

[i3Alan]

3) The left foot rest is too close. This is a common problem for me since I'm 6'4" It frustrating knowing that my leg would've had plenty of room if they had just left out the foot rest altogether. How about this BMW ( and all other car manufacturers for that matter) Why not design the footrest to fit a taller person and then at a low cost (or no cost) have optional risers that could be bolted onto the footrest so that it could be adjusted to fit any size person. How about it?

The left foot rest is at the same position as the go pedal, so that both of your legs/knees are similarly positioned. It makes no difference how tall one is or how long one's legs are, unless one has different length legs. I would suggest that you are sitting crooked in the seat if you find the foot rest is too close or too far, and your back may appreciate you finding a seating posture where both the pedals and the foot rest feel they are equidistance from you.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Everything discussed here is either a matter of a one-off fault (the cargo area piece coming loose), lack of optional equipment (comfort access and plastic dash), or personal preference. I'm very happy with my i3. None of the issues raised bother me. Yes, some could be addressed by offering programming options but where do you stop? The i3 interface already offers so many options that I lose track of where to set which function.

 

[drb]

I now have just over 2,000 miles on my i3 REx Tera trim and am enjoying driving it more each day. Sooner or later I will find this or that which displeases me, but so far the enjoyment trumps any faults--with the exception of one. I've had trouble buckling the seat belts of the front seats. When I drive, I like to keep my chair straight up as it gives me the greatest support for my back. I did have it on a very slight incline and that make it possible with a little effort to buckle my seat belt. But when I put the seat entirely straight up yesterday I could not buckle the belt. Ugh. After examining the matter, I saw that the leather seat protrudes over the opening of the buckle when the seat is all the way up. I will call the dealership tomorrow and ask them to address this issue as the belt should buckle regardless of the angle of the seat. Sometimes its the small matters that are most annoying. Otherwise, what a great driving experience.

 

[TMSsilent]

kevinb61 wrote:
Bunter wrote:
Am I the only one with an i3 which sticks with whatever the ventilation was last set to?

Bill

Perhaps I wasn't clear. My i3 does indeed remember the thermostat setting (i.e. 76 degrees). But the only way to shut off the HVAC completely is to set the fan speed to zero. This is what the car doesn't remember. No matter how many times you set the fan speed to zero, turning the car off and then back on turns the HVAC system back on. So if the weather is nice (requiring neither AC nor heat) or you simply prefer driving around with the windows down and do not want AC or heat putting a load on the battery, you must set the fan speed to zero every single time you turn the car on.

This is exacerbated by another poor choice (or bug) in the software, the one which switches the car off when you get out, even if the driver hasn't explicitly turned the car off. So, for example, when you turn the car on in the garage, you must set the fan to zero to turn off the HVAC. Then you drive 50 meters to the mailbox on your way out, and when you get out to check your mailbox the car turns itself off. So you must then AGAIN start the car and must AGAIN set the fan to zero.

It's not the type of bug that we C++ programmers would call "a showstopper" but when combined with all of the other similar software defects, it gets old pretty fast. It would no doubt be less so if I lived in a place like Minneapolis or Winnipeg, where 6 months might pass between days when you'd want to drive with the windows down. But living in a place where the weather is just about perfect 350+ days a year, it's something that must be dealt with literally every time you get into the car, and this is the only car BMW (or probably anybody else) makes with this type of software defect.

 

[kevinb61]

kevinb61 wrote:
Bunter wrote:
Am I the only one with an i3 which sticks with whatever the ventilation was last set to?

Bill

Perhaps I wasn't clear. My i3 does indeed remember the thermostat setting (i.e. 76 degrees). But the only way to shut off the HVAC completely is to set the fan speed to zero. This is what the car doesn't remember. No matter how many times you set the fan speed to zero, turning the car off and then back on turns the HVAC system back on. So if the weather is nice (requiring neither AC nor heat) or you simply prefer driving around with the windows down and do not want AC or heat putting a load on the battery, you must set the fan speed to zero every single time you turn the car on.

This is exacerbated by another poor choice (or bug) in the software, the one which switches the car off when you get out, even if the driver hasn't explicitly turned the car off. So, for example, when you turn the car on in the garage, you must set the fan to zero to turn off the HVAC. Then you drive 50 meters to the mailbox on your way out, and when you get out to check your mailbox the car turns itself off. So you must then AGAIN start the car and must AGAIN set the fan to zero.

It's not the type of bug that we C++ programmers would call "a showstopper" but when combined with all of the other similar software defects, it gets old pretty fast. It would no doubt be less so if I lived in a place like Minneapolis or Winnipeg, where 6 months might pass between days when you'd want to drive with the windows down. But living in a place where the weather is just about perfect 350+ days a year, it's something that must be dealt with literally every time you get into the car, and this is the only car BMW (or probably anybody else) makes with this type of software defect.

LOL..you were very clear....If mine was off..it stays off....if it was on with A/C at 68 with fan speed middle - it stays that way. Now, my '11 Z4, that's another
story - it does that trick.

 

[Bunter]

Perhaps I wasn't clear. My i3 does indeed remember the thermostat setting (i.e. 76 degrees). But the only way to shut off the HVAC completely is to set the fan speed to zero. This is what the car doesn't remember. No matter how many times you set the fan speed to zero, turning the car off and then back on turns the HVAC system back on. So if the weather is nice (requiring neither AC nor heat) or you simply prefer driving around with the windows down and do not want AC or heat putting a load on the battery, you must set the fan speed to zero every single time you turn the car on.

Thanks for clarifying, mine stays to whatever it was set to unless you turn the fan speed all the way down so that the HVAC is completely off. Then it does come back on in AUTO with the A/C on. But anything else, and it stays whatever it's set to. LOL I have never tried switching it completely off.

Some of your other issues are region specific, which doesn't help...

Bill

 

[dlass0123]

with all those major complaints I am guessing you wish you never purchased the i3: and never purchased an all electric vehicle. Would the Chevy Volt be much better and cheaper if
you only drive 40 miles or less per day:
If you could use the lemon law, would you return the vehicle and start over

 

[WoodlandHills]

The drive train on this car is an engineering tour de force, but the software and usability is just atrocious. Here are ten things I hate so far (Note - some of these have been previously mentioned by others in other threads):

9. There is a design defect in the cardboard piece that covers the rear floor just in back of the rear seats. Every time I fold the rear seats down, the entire piece pops out. I must shove it back down into its crack THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE CAR, every time - EVERY TIME - I fold the rear seats down.

This happens on my car too and it is really annoying...... :evil:

 

[i3Alan]

The drive train on this car is an engineering tour de force, but the software and usability is just atrocious. Here are ten things I hate so far (Note - some of these have been previously mentioned by others in other threads):

9. There is a design defect in the cardboard piece that covers the rear floor just in back of the rear seats. Every time I fold the rear seats down, the entire piece pops out. I must shove it back down into its crack THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE CAR, every time - EVERY TIME - I fold the rear seats down.

This happens on my car too and it is really annoying...... :evil:

Since this does not happen on other i3s, it is not necessarily a design defect, and is probably an assembly error. Tell your dealer to fix it.

 

[jadnashuanh]

There are a few vehicles out there with movable pedals, but they are few and far between.

 

[I3inHI]

JeffJ -

Maybe this is only a Giga thing, as that's what I had.

I researched this and it turns out you are correct. I've got a "Mega". Don't I feel (a) like an idiot and (b) somewhat duped. I looked at the build pages on the BMW web site and there is nothing about Comfort Access. But buried in the trim level information on another part of the web site is info about this - "keyless entry" they call it. I called BMW iConcierge and asked them why there is nothing about this on the build pages, nothing on the feature lists or on the bullet points for any of the levels concerning keyless or Comfort Access, and they had no answer. The dealer never discussed this with me, they just said "go to the build page, build what you want, and we'll place the order".

So I'm S.O.L. on keyless entry. Caveat emptor, I guess.

Surge-

Also, do you really need a REx in Hawaii?! Can you drive whatever island you're on, on a single charge?!

Round trip to Hana from my house is 100 miles, and there is no charging infrastructure in Hana (given the remoteness of Hana, it's remarkable they even have electricity at all there :roll: ). Round trip to Lahaina is about 80-ish miles. There are also large swaths of the island with no cellular coverage, should the car run out of juice. So, yes, ReX is nice insurance to have.

Same thing for me on Big Island, except there are chargers in Hilo and Waikoloa ( I live in Kailua Kona). However I am a little gun shy about trying the Saddle Road which is 66 miles and you are on your own there. (I do not have a REX)