Battery Capacity Test at dealership for 2014 i3 BEV

[keepgoing]

My 2014 i3 BEV with 65,000miles is up for the 8 years battery warranty expiration on coming December. So I brought it in for a battery test and see if it qualified for warranty repair in the same dealership where car was purchased new on Dec of 2014. I used the hidden manual to check Batt. Kappa. max at 12.6 kWh 2 months ago. The GOM range is about 45 in comfort mode (temp 60F). And of course during drop off, they tried to up-sale me for $115 cabin filter replacement, $250 brake fluid change, $250 100pts inspection, which I pushed it off till the result of the battery warranty check result comes back.
Diagnostic fee is $215 if warranty repair was not warranted, which I agreed. Two days later (Monday morning), dealer text me a video titled Vehicle health report, and the video shows a technician walk under the car and visually inspect 4 tires and its related components (suspension, control arm, etc) and reported everything is fine except a little bent at the inside rim on one of the wheel. (He did not catch both the shock absorber guards were totally disintegrated). So I called the service advisor and asked what does that mean, specifically is my vehicle ready and what is the verdict.
Now here comes the typical dealership nightmare and incompetency. She said my car is ready to be picked up BUT:
1) She said my 12v battery is reporting fault and drained. It was fine when I dropped off, and I saw them parked my car with the blinker on, so I don't know if they left it on for the whole weekend. I told them the battery was only one year old. They said it is not OEM. I bought it from Remy Battery last year and change it myself, so it is as good as OEM. They asked me to replace the battery and I declined. I said I will claim warranty from where I bought the battery.
2) So now move to the HV battery, she claims the drive battery is fine and there is no fault. I told her it is less then 70% of original capacity, she then said if you drive the car to 30% capacity, you can charge it back to 100%. At long as there is no fault reported, the battery is fine. I was completely out of word for a moment! Then I explained to her I was not talking about not able to charge to 100%, but about the amount of charge it can hold, then using her phone as example, a new phone can hold charge for 1 full day, after a couple years, the phone can only last a couple hours even after you charge it to full,....... Then I asked what is the result of my capacity test (if I am paying $215 diagnostic fee, I expect to see its result). Then she went to ask the tech, and came back with the answer "they don't know either". She then said they will have the warranty guy run another test tomorrow and let me know result.

It's not that I want to be a mechanic and works on my car, changing oil, brake etc. It is the incompetency of dealership (even with they are charging you an arm and a leg, completely opposite of you get what you pay) that scare me putting my car into their care. It is a big dealership as well, they own multiple brands in different part of New Jesey Tri-state area.

 

[alohart]

Don't be surprised if your dealer requires a system software update before running the capacity test. That's what my dealer told me, and other dealers have told others. The system software update might actually increase the usable capacity enough to pass the capacity test. So I would prefer no software update before running the test, but that's not an option at my dealer. My dealer charges ~$450 for the software update and capacity test, so $215 is reasonable if they actually perform the test which takes at least a day to slowly discharge and recharge the battery pack to measure its capacity.

Good luck!

 

[3pete]

It seems like many dealers are unfamiliar with the i3 and specifically the HV battery capacity check that us early model i3 owners are interested in. As 2014s start to age out of the warranty, BMW might be wise to notify dealers how to do the test to streamline the process.

I was met with similar confusion when I asked about a check but eventually got traction when I mentioned the 8yr/100k miles warranty which guarantees 70% capacity and showed the screenshot of the Electrified App which indicated my car was at 68% SOH. I don't think the dealer rep knew what that meant but it was enough to indicate to him he needed to find someone who did.

He did come back to ask if I had the warranty documented anywhere, so I wish I had brought in my manual to point to it but they eventually found the warranty and whatever BMW's test procedure is. He was very friendly about the whole thing and because of the confusion I didn't have to pay for the test when my car magically gained enough capacity to "pass". (Full saga here: http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17409)

It's a shame that a common theme with EVs is that people love the cars and hate dealing with the dealers.

Please let us know what the outcome of your test is when you get the car back. Hopefully your story will help someone else out in a similar situation.

PS - Last time I had my car inspected by BMW, they missed the shredded shock absorber guards too.

 

[keepgoing]

2014 i3 BEV w/67285miles. After back and forth with dealership, they finished capacity test of the i3 (took over 7 days) and will pick up the car tomorrow because they are 110v charging it (the 1 year old new construction huge dealership does not have a single 220v 32amp charger). They email me the bill ahead of time. And their test indicates battery cap is at 76% capacity. I will check the new Batt kappa Max reading tomorrow. The old reading I took 2 months ago was 12.6kWh. My 8 years warranty is expiring in Dec, and I will see how long this extended newly found battery capacity last. Here is the only job in the work order (total is $240): Dealership is Open Road BMW of Edison, NJ.
Job # 2 Labor Total: $ 215.00
C/S BATTERY ONLY GETTING ABOUT 40 MILES PER CHARGE,
USED TO GET ABOUT 80. PLEASE CHECK BATTERY
Cause: HV BATT HEALTH CAPACITY PASSED WITH 76%.
Correction: CONNECT CHARGER ISTA TEST,NO FAULTS FOUND.CONTACT TSARA #1708933
AND ADVISED TO RUN HIGH VOLAGE BATTERY EVALUATION AND CAPASITY DETERMINATION.AS
PER TEST PLAN WAS NESSASSERY TO PROGRAM CONTROL UNITS FIRST TO CONTINIUE TEST
PLAN.PRO- GRAM CONTROL UNITS AND THEN START HV BATTERY EVALUATION TEST PLAN.AFTE
8 HOURS TESTING HV BATT HEALTH PASSED WITH 76% BATT CAPACITY.DIAG CODE#D6125-
000000000-01-901.

 

[keepgoing]

Picked up my car today. Here is the stat:

Before the battery capacity test and software update:
Batt. Kapa. max 12.6 kWh
GOM: 50 miles

After dealer service and test:
Batt. Kapa. max 16.1 kWh
GOM: 73 miles
Ambient Temp: 60 degrees

Software version now: I001-22-03-526 (got from saving a profile to USB)

I assume that version meant 2022 March software update. Please correct if I am wrong. Dealership definitely updated the software because I have not visited them since 2018 after my last free service maintenance. I am in NJ without prolong intense heat like in the south. So I don't think my battery will deplete to less than 70% (from current report of 76%) in 7 months.

 

[alohart]

Before the battery capacity test and software update:
Batt. Kapa. max 12.6 kWh
GOM: 50 miles

After dealer service and test:
Batt. Kapa. max 16.1 kWh
GOM: 73 miles
Ambient Temp: 60 degrees

Software version now: I001-22-03-526 (got from saving a profile to USB)

I assume that version meant 2022 March software update.

Yes, the system software version on your i3 was released in March, 2022, so it's the current version. In the past, i3 software has been released in March, July, and November of each year.

This is yet more evidence that reduced actual range and low Batt. Kapa. max values of 60 Ah battery packs aren't due exclusively to actual battery cell degradation; the BMS is also artificially increasing the size of one or both unusable capacity buffers over time or distance driven. This also means that BMW would replace few battery packs under warranty because the system software update preceding the capacity test almost always increases the usable capacity above 70% of the nominal new usable capacity.

For those of us whose 60 Ah battery packs have lost significant usable capacity, paying for just a system software update might restore usable range enough to make the cost worthwhile. However, maybe it's the capacity test itself that increases the usable capacity, but if so, why would BMW insist on a system software update prior to a capacity test? Because the next system software version will be released in July, it might be worth first paying for just a system software update. Then, if that didn't increase the usable capacity noticeably, request a capacity test before July so that another system software update wouldn't be necessary.

 

[keepgoing]

Just one day after picked up the i3, I took a new reading of stat (upon recharging the car to full after using one and 1/2 bar of energy, about 20 miles after dealership returned car).

Batt. Kapa. Max : 14.8 kWh <-- 16.1kWh read yesterday
GOM : 63 miles

So it seems like the software update or the battery capacity test only elevated the Batt Kapa Max temporarily. If the Kapa Max reading of 16.1 kWh equivalent to 76% (right after taking delivery from Dealer service), then the current reading of 14.8 kWh becomes 69.88%. I am going to use it for another month to see if it dropped further.

 

[alohart]

Just one day after picked up the i3, I took a new reading of stat (upon recharging the car to full after using one and 1/2 bar of energy, about 20 miles after dealership returned car).

Batt. Kapa. Max : 14.8 kWh <-- 16.1kWh read yesterday
GOM : 63 miles

So it seems like the software update or the battery capacity test only elevated the Batt Kapa Max temporarily. If the Kapa Max reading of 16.1 kWh equivalent to 76% (right after taking delivery from Dealer service), then the current reading of 14.8 kWh becomes 69.88%. I am going to use it for another month to see if it dropped further.

Thanks for your follow-up. It's disappointing that Batt. Kapa. max has decreased so quickly, but as many have observed, a single Batt. Kapa. max reading isn't necessarily definitive.

Was your 63 mile GOM range estimate in Comfort mode?

If you have BimmerCode or BimmerLink, then you have an OBD adapter that would allow a smartphone app to provide more data about your battery pack. The free mi3 (iOS) or electrified (Android) app display minimum and maximum voltages, capacities, temperatures, etc., among all 96 battery cells which would indicate whether your battery pack contains at least one weaker cell, especially if these data are displayed both at a full charge and at as low a charge as you're comfortable with. The BMS' battery pack state of health is also displayed which is the current percentage of the nominal new usable capacity. I don't know whether this is any better than Batt. Kapa. max, but knowing minimum and maximum data could be helpful.

 

[3pete]

Thanks for posting the update. First off, I agree with all that Art said. Second off, I am baffled that BMW makes people pay for an update and test in this type of situation. If your car had 50 miles of range in typical conditions, that's pretty clearly below the warranty threshold. They fixed it, but why should you have to pay for that???

So it seems like the software update or the battery capacity test only elevated the Batt Kapa Max temporarily. If the Kapa Max reading of 16.1 kWh equivalent to 76% (right after taking delivery from Dealer service), then the current reading of 14.8 kWh becomes 69.88%.

I would calculate capacity by taking Batt Kapa Max / 18.8 (the advertised usable battery capacity when new). From that formula, a Batt Kapa Max of 14.3 would correspond to 76% so you're in the right ballpark. Batt Kapa Max bounces around a bit but seems to be consistent to +/- 1kwh in my experience. It's tough to explain why Batt Kapa Max on your car would have been 16.1 right after the test but already dropped "that much" in one day.

In the tracking I've done, I still haven't figured out why Batt Kapa Max moves around so much more than the SOH% value that is displayed in apps like mi3 or Electrified. That value never really wavered so I basically stopped checking it. Still it does change because I had SOH of 80% and Batt Kapa Max of 15.4kWh last July after I got my test done (passed the test with a 73% allegedly) and it's crept down to 74% SOH and 14.1kWh now. I bet if I got another test I'd be between 70 and 73% still.

So, in summary, I hope you're enjoying the little bit of extra range you got.

 

[keepgoing]

63 miles GOM range estimate is indeed in Comfort mode. Switching to EcoPro+ becomes 67 miles. I only use EcoPro (when needing heated seat in winter or A/C in summer) and EcoPro+. Never driven in Comfort mode.

When I picked up the car from service, which GOM read 73 miles. After one full charge became 63 miles prompted me to take that Kapa Max reading again.

I will install electrified (Android) to take those data reading from the battery pack and post back.

Thanks Art and 3pete for the insight and advice.

 

[Joff]

My 2014 i3 BEV with 65,000miles is up for the 8 years battery warranty expiration on coming December. So I brought it in for a battery test and see if it qualified for warranty repair in the same dealership where car was purchased new on Dec of 2014. I used the hidden manual to check Batt. Kappa. max at 12.6 kWh 2 months ago. The GOM range is about 45 in comfort mode (temp 60F). And of course during drop off, they tried to up-sale me for $115 cabin filter replacement, $250 brake fluid change, $250 100pts inspection, which I pushed it off till the result of the battery warranty check result comes back.
Diagnostic fee is $215 if warranty repair was not warranted, which I agreed. Two days later (Monday morning), dealer text me a video titled Vehicle health report, and the video shows a technician walk under the car and visually inspect 4 tires and its related components (suspension, control arm, etc) and reported everything is fine except a little bent at the inside rim on one of the wheel. (He did not catch both the shock absorber guards were totally disintegrated). So I called the service advisor and asked what does that mean, specifically is my vehicle ready and what is the verdict.
Now here comes the typical dealership nightmare and incompetency. She said my car is ready to be picked up BUT:
1) She said my 12v battery is reporting fault and drained. It was fine when I dropped off, and I saw them parked my car with the blinker on, so I don't know if they left it on for the whole weekend. I told them the battery was only one year old. They said it is not OEM. I bought it from Remy Battery last year and change it myself, so it is as good as OEM. They asked me to replace the battery and I declined. I said I will claim warranty from where I bought the battery.
2) So now move to the HV battery, she claims the drive battery is fine and there is no fault. I told her it is less then 70% of original capacity, she then said if you drive the car to 30% capacity, you can charge it back to 100%. At long as there is no fault reported, the battery is fine. I was completely out of word for a moment! Then I explained to her I was not talking about not able to charge to 100%, but about the amount of charge it can hold, then using her phone as example, a new phone can hold charge for 1 full day, after a couple years, the phone can only last a couple hours even after you charge it to full,....... Then I asked what is the result of my capacity test (if I am paying $215 diagnostic fee, I expect to see its result). Then she went to ask the tech, and came back with the answer "they don't know either". She then said they will have the warranty guy run another test tomorrow and let me know result.

It's not that I want to be a mechanic and works on my car, changing oil, brake etc. It is the incompetency of dealership (even with they are charging you an arm and a leg, completely opposite of you get what you pay) that scare me putting my car into their care. It is a big dealership as well, they own multiple brands in different part of New Jesey Tri-state area.

Same thing happened to me. I pay them to do a capacity test, which I know takes a while to do, they finish way too quick and say it is fine. They provided no certificate that showed how much capacity the battery had. I have the ISTA software and was able to run the test myself...ran it 3 times and couldnt get it to pass. I go back the following week and explain this, and then they admit they didn't run the test. They just pluged ISTA in and didn't see the error that would warrant running the test, so they didn't. Then they ran the test, it failed and I had a new battery in a week.