i3 Subtleties (not mentioned in the owner's manual)

[i3atl]

I can't even figure out how to turn off the freakin' radio, so I just mute it! How does one turn off the radio?

Press the volume control knob.

On my i3, pressing the volume control knob merely mutes the radio (at least, that's what the display shows). This volume control knob has a tiny power icon next to it, so I assumed that pressing it would turn the radio off. Maybe the display is incorrect, or maybe the German word for "mute" and "off" are the same. The display icon is a speaker with a diagonal line through it which is a typical "mute" icon, not an "off" icon.

Maybe it's academic because both an off and mute radio make no sound, but a mute radio still uses power whereas an off radio doesn't.

Pressing it turns it off to the extent that it can be "turned off". The energy required for the radio isn't significant from a range perspective.

 

[paule23]

as I am a professional button pusher

What a great job, sounds a little dull but must be pretty stress free.

 

[Ruffles]

Do the speakers output white noise? If they do, I'm puzzled why.

I was sitting in the driver seat tonight for nearly an hour, inside a closed garage, with the car at READY and the speakers off and heard what I think is white noise. I was working on some computer coding, and noticed that when I turned off the car, the noise stopped. It was low, unfocused and didn't seem like a mechanical whirring or HVAC fan. Turning the volume knob didn't change the sound level.

On a nightstand, I have a white noise app on my phone, and the noise in the car sounded like that. I've read of artificial audio in the cabin of the new M3, so perhaps I'm not hearing things?

I noticed the same thing. I don't think it a purposeful white noise. I think it might be signal processing / electronics stuff on the car. Maybe the speed controller or something. It's definitely noticeable though.

 

[nowtta60]

Or push the start/stop button twice. The first push turns off the engine, the second tap the radio, as long as your foot is OFF the brake.

As part of the user interface that button should surely be renamed on / off. There's no ICE that needs starting up, even on the REX.

In fact does there even need to be a button? I guess if you left the kids in the car then maybe. But they'll press it anyway.

 

[WoodlandHills]

It is an annoyance and perhaps a safety issue to have the car be so complicated to shut off. All this button pushing in the correct sequence at the correct cadence with your feet in the correct position is silly. Just put a two position switch in the car: On and Off with no interface with the rest of the car. No shutting off when you open the door and other stupidity. If the driver wants the car off she puts the switch in off and the car shuts off. Why do they have to make it so complicated? Because they can....?

 

[i3Pooshd]

It is an annoyance and perhaps a safety issue to have the car be so complicated to shut off. All this button pushing in the correct sequence at the correct cadence with your feet in the correct position is silly. Just put a two position switch in the car: On and Off with no interface with the rest of the car. No shutting off when you open the door and other stupidity. If the driver wants the car off she puts the switch in off and the car shuts off. Why do they have to make it so complicated? Because they can....?

I agree 100%

 

[websterize]

This might be in the owner's manual, but I've noticed on the inbound, after I've stopped, if I forget to tap "P" on the selector level, and instead hit the stop button and parking brake, the car automatically goes into park.

On the outbound, if I've forgotten to disengage the parking brake, it will release automatically after I press the stop/go pedal. Fairly sure that is in the book.

This is a complicated car that requires practice — I actually like that.

 

[WoodlandHills]

This is a complicated car that requires practice — I actually like that.

My Life Goal is to simplify my life, not add another layer of complexity to be mastered. I stopped taking pleasure in learning unnecessary but mandatory skills a long time ago.....
All I want to do is turn the damn car on and off, what is accomplished by making it so complicated?

What possible benefit is there to anyone in preventing my car from shutting off when my foot is on the brake? Why is this "Feature" even there? Why does the car shut off if I open my door, but does not if I have my foot on the brake when I push the button to turn it off?

Is it BMWs intent to train us to use the drivers door as the On-Off switch and not the one on the steering column? Why?

 

[DeafSoundGuy]

as I am a professional button pusher

What a great job, sounds a little dull but must be pretty stress free.

Great job? Depends... Dull? uhh - NO... Stress free? uh - NO!!! trying being inbetween 20 thousand fans and the band and the "button" not working... AUUGHH! But, when it DOES work the job can be really one of the best jobs in the world - as long as you like that kind of music, in which you thank your lucky stars you're pushing buttons and not the french fry machine. I've got to work with everyone from Taylor Swift to Toto, so that's pretty cool. And BTW, you think Taylor Swift is good looking? Try being face to face with her - DYNO-MITE!!! Pictures don't do her justice..

Anyway, it's all about the i3, not sound, so would just have to add the by the time you get to be a deaf sound guy by all those cool loud-ass bands, you can afford a way cooler i3, unlike the light guys, who can only afford the next fifth of Jack Daniels

Enter maniacal laughter here... :twisted:

As far as "Off" it seems like the last few cars I've had were the same way, you cannot turn off the radio, it's always on and you can only mute it. The same with the CD player, it goes into pause mode and as long as the CD is still in the player, it would be paused and take right back off where you stopped it. WIth the LaCrosse I turned in off lease, once you turn the center electronics "on", Nav, CD, radio is ALL on. No power drain really, unless you had the radio-a-blastin'.

- Deaf

 

[websterize]

My Life Goal is to simplify my life, not add another layer of complexity to be mastered. I stopped taking pleasure in learning unnecessary but mandatory skills a long time ago.....

I prefer the growth mindset to the fixed mindset.

All I want to do is turn the damn car on and off, what is accomplished by making it so complicated?

Germans, complicated? Whatever do you mean?

What possible benefit is there to anyone in preventing my car from shutting off when my foot is on the brake?

The answer to your question is to turn it around: Why do you even need your foot on the brake to start the car? The answer is that it's a fail-safe. Imagine a curious 4-year-old hanging out with Dad in the garage who manages to start the i3 by pressing an easy-to-reach button, moving an easy-to-reach gear lever in "R" and runs over Pop's foot, or worse. And it's not only BMW. VW requires the brake pedal push with its keyless start. I'm sure most OEMs do. It's lawsuit mitigator, especially in the litigation nation of the U.S.

Why does the car shut off if I open my door … ?

Probably another fail-safe. Because of the car's silent operation at READY state, you could accidentally leave it running and come back from the 3-hour movie without enough range to get home.

You know, you can turn off a lot of this back-stopping through coding.

 

[WoodlandHills]

I get your point about having ones foot on the brake when "shifting" into Drive and it makes perfect sense. What does that have to do with the car not turning OFF with a foot on the brake?

 

[jadnashuanh]

All modern BMW's require you to press the start button twice if you want to bypass the standby timer when stopping...the i3 is not unique in this. If you lock the car when getting out, it also shuts things down, but I don't lock mine when parked in my locked garage, so to prevent that extra bit of battery drain, I do the double-tap. I quickly became a habit, and I don't think about it any more.

Many cars require you to be pressing the brake to shift into gear, and some require it to start the car (think about a manual transmission vehicle...you'd want things set so that it couldn't roll once you engage the starter). Some do that by putting an interlock on the clutch pedal, but that can be problematic, too.

There are reasons why BMW did things the way they did...you may not like them, but there are logical reasons for them. Some of them can be tweaked if you want to try programming the car.

 

[websterize]

I get your point about having ones foot on the brake when "shifting" into Drive and it makes perfect sense. What does that have to do with the car not turning OFF with a foot on the brake?

I think I understand your aggravation at the end of a trip. You pull in to the garage, apply the brake pedal, tap the start/stop button to turn off the engine, then tap the start/stop button again — with your foot still depressing the brake pedal because you don’t want it to roll — and the god#*@%^ engine starts again. You then open the door, and everything turns off? If I were new to keyless, I'd question the complexity, too.

This is really a case of they all do that, and by they, I mean keyless start vehicles, at least BMWs and VWs and Audis. Again, if you’re new to keyless, I empathize with your frustration.

You’ve probably got two options. If you’re not intimidated by the notion of coding, you can tweak the car's software to disable some of these start-stop, brake pedal-to-start requirements. I’m not comfortable monkeying with mission-critical components of the car, as I view the brake pedal and ignition, so I’ve gotten pretty good at option 2.

What I do when pulling in to park is after the car stops, I keep my foot on the brake, then tap the start/stop button, which turns off the engine. This also automatically puts the car in park. You could tap the P button on the selector lever, but it’s superfluous when tapping the start/stop button does the same thing. With my foot still on the foot brake, I pull up on the parking-brake lever behind the iDriver controller. Then take my foot off the brake. You’ll feel the foot brake push away slightly as the parking brake engages. No roll. I remove my foot from the brake pedal, and now tapping the start/stop button a second time will turn everything off, or, as Jim notes, locking the car from the outside will do the same.

It’s a little dance you just have to practice.

 

[mindmachine]

It is absolutely stupid in my opinion that you have to turn off the car twice.

 

[i3atl]

It is absolutely stupid in my opinion that you have to turn off the car twice.

You don't have to, you can shut it off once and let it turn off the audio system a few minutes later on its own.

 

[mindmachine]

It is absolutely stupid in my opinion that you have to turn off the car twice.

You don't have to, you can shut it off once and let it turn off the audio system a few minutes later on its own.

Which doesn't make much sense when we are told to minimize use of the 12 volt battery. Why does BMW have it set up to drain more juice from the 12 volt by leaving systems on so long?

No other car I have ever owned stayed on passed the first press of the off button, just plain stupid.

 

[Sparky]

My BMW 335d keeps certain outlets on plus some systems for several minutes after I turn it off. I learned long ago to just lock it even in my garage so all the energized stuff turns off.

 

[websterize]

On the commute home tonight, I mistakenly held in the talk button on the steering wheel too long when what should come through the car's speaker but none other than the Siri prompt. :shock:

So, on the talk button, short push, i3 voice commands; long push, Siri prompts. Pretty cool.

 

[websterize]

My BMW 335d keeps certain outlets on plus some systems for several minutes after I turn it off. I learned long ago to just lock it even in my garage so all the energized stuff turns off.

I drove a 2009 335d. What a beast!

 

[jadnashuanh]

Why does BMW have it set up to drain more juice from the 12 volt by leaving systems on so long?

No other car I have ever owned stayed on passed the first press of the off button, just plain stupid.

This obviously is your first BMW...so, the hundreds of thousands of them sold every year, people are in the same boat...they aren't complaining. I've owned one for nearly 4-years, and after the first couple of days, it became a habit...it, too, will automatically put the car into park if you shut things off, just like the i3...they are using a common software routine so drivers from one of their vehicles will not have an issue.

How often do you sit in the car for a moment or two to finish listening to that news story...it's easy with the BMW technique (which is not unique), and it DOES shut off, either immediately if you force it, or after a short delay, or immediately IF you lock it when getting out. Sitting there with the engine running IS a waste. The amount of energy required to continue to run the radio for a few minutes is almost insignificant.

There are lots of things in life that could justify a rant...this is not one of them, at least in my mind.