i3 light configurations and options

[racc]

Hi,
I have been wondering what all kind of light configurations i3 has been equipped with during years, but not been able to find clear information about this.

I'm meaning here basically all lights: driving lights, daytime running lights (="bumper lights"?), high and low beams. Whatever you call it.. And further, was it standard or option (especially in European market). Of course all information is welcome.

From realoem.com and other sources my impression is simply that initially i3 was available with (rather poor) halogens, with LED option. LCI cars were then only available with LED. Is this correct? Confusingly BMW dealers seem to list a lot LCI cars without "LED lights" mentioned though.

Here are few more specific light-related things I have been wondering:
Are pre-LCI round "bumper lights" halogen and narrow LCI ones in LEDs?
Are pre-LCI and LCI LED lights same?
With LED lights, are both high and low beam both LED? (I presume so, but...)
If I got it right, there is a matrix LED option. Does it work both on low and high beams?
Is the automation to switch low/high beams available only with matrix LEDs?
Was there a Xenon option? Many local ads list i3s with Xenon lights, but I can not find a source confirming i3 was actually available with those. Aftermarket Xenons are basically illegal here, so that can't be the case.
In cabin, is there switches or any other signs to help identifying which lights car has?

 

[eNate]

I'm in the US, so am not sure about the matrix option since that technology hasn't been approved for use here.

The original LED option was low beams only. On those cars, the high beams are halogen, and project from the round lenses low on the bumper (which are shared with the front turn indicators).

There was no auto high beam option offered on those cars.

The LCi LEDs are entirely different.

For starters, the tech has been improved and whereas the original LEDs caused a bit of a pink halo on reflectorized signs, the new light is very white without much color shift.

The high beams have been integrated into the headlamp housing, along with cornering lamps.

The narrow lenses on the bumper that replaced the round lenses now are only turn indicators, no combined function.

I'm not sure when exactly the auto high beams showed up — it may have been a year or two later than the LCI — but as far as I can see, it's the only indication in the cockpit that something has charged: the auto button had resulted in a split button on the end of the (left hand) turn signal stalk, where without ditto high beams there is only a larger single button (for cycling through options on the driver display).

 

[racc]

Thanks for information! That is very interesting.

Good tip about turn signal stalk split button too! I had never noticed that before, but it wasn't hard to find some pictures with it.

 

[gt1]

i3 never had Xenon lights. Maybe the advertisers don't know LEDs from Xenon.
My US market 2018 doesn't have the auto high beams.

 

[racc]

Thank you for confirming this. Simply confusing LEDs to Xenons sounds likely then.

 

[SSi3]

For the North American market the front lighting went like this:

2014 - 2017 - LED low beam / separate halogen high beam and incandescent front signal in lower fascia

LCI 2018 - 2021 - LED low and high beam in single projector housing / static LED cornering light in headlight housing / LED front signal in lower fascia

High Beam Assistant (5AC) - became available as an option for 2019MY

 

[alohart]

For the North American market the front lighting went like this:

2014 - 2017 - LED low beam / separate halogen high beam and incandescent front signal in lower fascia

LCI 2018 - 2021 - LED low and high beam in single projector housing / static LED cornering light in headlight housing / LED front signal in lower fascia

High Beam Assistant (5AC) - became available as an option for 2019MY

Hopefully, someone will post when U.S. Value Package i3's were sold because these had halogen rather than LED low beams IIRC.

 

[SSi3]

Hopefully, someone will post when U.S. Value Package i3's were sold because these had halogen rather than LED low beams IIRC.

Oh right I forgot about that... found it in my resource, it was available only in the US and only in 2016MY, option code was ZIR.

thanks alohart!