Expecting delivery of 2015 i3 REx - Preparing ?

[AlanfromBigEasy]

I have bought a used 2015 BMW i3 REx Giga in Texas and I am awaiting delivery.

I live in New Orleans and I will be driving just a few thousand miles/year (replacing my 1982 MB 240D 4 speed with manual window winders - the rubber is deteriorating). The REx is for hurricane evacuation. I hope to wear out before the car does.

So far, ordered a spare tire & wheel from Tire Rack (keep spare at home and Lyft it if I get a flat. I do NOT want to gum things up with Fix-a-Flat). Also, no one stocks 20" i3 tires in town.

Four circular pads so a regular floor jack can lift the car.

A fitted car cover.

A 10 liter NATO spec gas can, just for hurricane evacuations.

I plan to change REx engine oil & antifreeze when I get car. Can BMW motorcycle dealer do this ? Local BMW auto dealer has poor reputation.
Also, is BMW brake fluid Dot 3 or Dot 4 ? If DOT 3, I will change brake fluid as well.

To prolong battery life, keep it at about 60% charge. Try and see if I can get by with 110 V charging till I can build my home.

I have Bimmercode on my iPhone to change gas tank to 10 liters.

On my Mercedes, I replaced most incandescent lights with LEDs. Phillips makes the best IMHO.

What lights on the 2015 i3 Giga are incandescent ? Do I need to add a resistor to keep the "light burned out" warning off ?

The high beam headights are halogen ? Any recommendations on changing them ?

Any suggestions on preparing for my new car ?

Glad to come on board !

 

[alohart]

To prolong battery life, keep it at about 60% charge. Try and see if I can get by with 110 V charging till I can build my home.

60% is probably lower than necessary to prolong battery life noticeably. Although you do have a REx to extend your range, you won't have much electric range if you start at 60%. With only Level 1 charging, you won't be able to quickly increase your charge level if you might need longer electric range.

Many battery experts recommend maintaining a Li-ion battery cell's charge level in the actual 20% - 80% charge level range for best longevity and usability. Because of the i3's ~10% unusable lower charge level buffer and ~5% unusable upper charge level buffer, ~12% - 82% would be the displayed charge level range that would correspond to an actual 20% - 80% charge level range.

Battery cell charge level balancing occurs more rapidly at higher charge levels, so keeping the charge level at 60% would likely eventually result in enough cell charge level imbalance to reduce the battery pack's usable range. So it's probably best to charge and allow to remain at a higher charge level for a significant period of time because charge level balancing is a very slow process. Unfortunately, BMW doesn't provide any tools to allow charge level imbalance to be measured, so how to maintain an i3 battery pack optimally is a guessing game.

BMW punts by suggesting that charging whenever possible to full is ideal. Doing so is certainly the most convenient. However, its priority is avoiding more than a 30% battery pack capacity degradation during the battery pack warranty period which always charging to full would be likely to achieve. Many of us who plan to keep our i3's past the battery pack warranty expiration want to minimize pack capacity loss, so following BMW's suggestions might not be the best approach.

 

[graememwl]

Both the high beams and front turn signals are incandescent.

As soon as I got my 2015 in January this year, I replaced my high beams with these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LA5URGA/ref=psdc_15736451_t1_B01IAC8QI2

and my turn signals with these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amber-Error-Free-PWY24W-LED-Bulbs-For-Audi-VW-Front-Turn-Signal-Lights-DRL-Lamp/131202763664?hash=item1e8c4b4b90:g:-XcAAOSwL~Fbgh86:sc:USPSFirstClass!95117!US!-1&vxp=mtr

Both were easy plug'n play. No warnings, no issues.

Congrats on your "new" car. Drive it in good health and keep the shiny side up!

 

[i3Houston]

The battery degradation is not a huge concern with Rex.

Also, the i3 has battery warranty until 2023/100K miles.

 

[tjburbach]

The service manual lists DOT4 for the brake fluid. Here is the section on brake service. I am not completely sure how similar the i3 would be to the motorcycle engine layout, they appear to have worked to compress things into the small area in the back. These are the oil change instructions.

I liked reading through these training documents they had quite a few interesting details about the i3.

Your daily use will really determine if the level 1 charger will work for you. Assuming you don't completely drain the battery and can plug in for approximately 10-12 hours each night it should work. Ideally you would want to use a 120v outlet on a dedicated 15A breaker. Several people have had the charger cord overheat at the wall outlet. It might be a good idea to install an industrial/commercial grade outlet where you plan on using the OUC.

Installed the PlugShare app so that you can look at the available charging infrastructure nearby?

I am assuming when you used BimmerCode to adjust the fuel tank capacity you will also "enable the hold state of charge" feature?

The i3 Facebook group has had a few people complain again about having the windows rolled down on accident by the long press of the remote unlock button. There appears to be a coding option to disable this, I have not tested it yet myself.