Battery swap

[Sprinty]

I have been wondering something recently, when discussing the battery I have heard people say "swapping the battery in 3 years will be a relatively easy thing for BMW to do" does anyone with technological information actually know if this is true? It will be a much more attractive proposition to buy the car after the lease period is up.

 

[Bunter]

I have been wondering something recently, when discussing the battery I have heard people say "swapping the battery in 3 years will be a relatively easy thing for BMW to do" does anyone with technological information actually know if this is true? It will be a much more attractive proposition to buy the car after the lease period is up.

Sprinty

I'm interested to know this too. I've watched the construction videos on YouTube and it doesn't look that feasible to me. But I am not a manufacturing engineer.

Bill

 

[woof]

The battery pack is on the floor of the car and can be inserted and removed via a special lift table that all "i" dealers are required to have. BMW designed the pack to be replaceable by the dealers, and also reparable at some level (like changing out a bad battery brick or computer module) by them as well.

This information was given to the "electronauts" who attended the special i3 sessions in CA or NJ. We got to see the battery pack disassembled. No picture taking was allowed however.

So I would say that when more advanced batteries are available, if BMW desires they could easily upgrade an old i3 (at least at the physical level) to newer technology.

--Woof!

 

[Muhv]

I read from somewhere, that the labor cost to swap the battery is 250€ in Germany. Fairly easy job it has to be.

 

[MikeS]

Why would you or BMW swap the battery after 3 years when it has an 8 year warranty?

 

[AnonymousJohn]

Eight years/100.000 miles. Renault lease the battery for the Zoe and replace it when the range drops to 75% of what it was initially. No idea how they measure that 75% when the range varies so much.

BMW i3 'can be upgraded'
BMW i3 buyers could be offered a future upgrade in battery technology - and the opportunity to use the electric vehicle's current power storage to speed up charging times, according to a senior source.

The all-electric i3, which is due on sale at the end of July, uses a lithium-ion battery pack mounted in the base of its bespoke aluminium chassis. It has a range of between 80 and 100 miles, and takes anywhere from four hours to 10 hours for a full charge, depending on the system in place.

However, a senior project source has told What Car? that the car will be upgradeable to the next generation of batteries - and that BMW is already making plans for the existing units to be used elsewhere. -

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/bmw-i3-can-upgraded/1202063

 

[Sprinty]

Why would you or BMW swap the battery after 3 years when it has an 8 year warranty?

They wouldn't want to of course, how ever if battery tech has come on a lot in 3 years I may want to

 

[Bunter]

The battery pack is on the floor of the car and can be inserted and removed via a special lift table that all "i" dealers are required to have. BMW designed the pack to be replaceable by the dealers, and also reparable at some level (like changing out a bad battery brick or computer module) by them as well.

This information was given to the "electronauts" who attended the special i3 sessions in CA or NJ. We got to see the battery pack disassembled. No picture taking was allowed however.

So I would say that when more advanced batteries are available, if BMW desires they could easily upgrade an old i3 (at least at the physical level) to newer technology.

--Woof!

That's useful to know thanks Woof.

Bill

 

[Sprinty]

The battery pack is on the floor of the car and can be inserted and removed via a special lift table that all "i" dealers are required to have. BMW designed the pack to be replaceable by the dealers, and also reparable at some level (like changing out a bad battery brick or computer module) by them as well.

This information was given to the "electronauts" who attended the special i3 sessions in CA or NJ. We got to see the battery pack disassembled. No picture taking was allowed however.

So I would say that when more advanced batteries are available, if BMW desires they could easily upgrade an old i3 (at least at the physical level) to newer technology.

--Woof!

Thanks woof, very informative and exactly the answer I was after, €250 sounds very cheap (ie easy) to do wonder what the price would be for the battery, I assume that a trade in for the old one might not come out all that expensive.

 

[ronbot]

Yes... old thread, but a more realistic question would (now) be if the 33.2 kWh battery from a salvage 2017 would retrofit into an earlier model... or heck... even the latest 42.2 kWh from the 2019 model.

I just got a job at a distance that my 2015 BEV will only get me there or back, but not both... so I'll have to charge somehow before I can go home... and the employer does not have accessible AC power (or charging stations). I could easily justify spending a couple thousand difference for the upgrade (with selling my old one to offset some of the cost)

To sell my 2015 and buy a 2017 would be a difference of over $5k... where the net price of a battery swap might be half that.

 

[andreis]

Thanks man! this is very helpful and save a lot of money tips.