Life after warranty

[gt1]

Is replacing the brake fluid every two years really necessary? Very few people replace it that frequently in other cars. It is not in danger of boiling, but not so sure about the potential corrosion.

Can the car be coded to remote start from the fob? My internet searches led me to believe it wouldn't be possible as i3 doesn't have a certain option as identified by a VIN decoder. But want to make sure.
This car is hard to get warm before travel. There are two options-
program it with a charge schedule- need to plan in advance
or
start the car, put it drive, back to park, turn off and check the "climate..." box on the shutdown screen- a long and awkward procedure.

 

[EvanstonI3]

If you are not using the MyBMW app, the car CAN be coded to start Climatization with the FOB.
It is not an official "option" that you select in the car. Instead you have to get the BimmerCODE app and a compatible OBDII dongle to code the car to accept this input from the FOB. Many people do this now for the 2014-2016 models that can no longer use the MyBMW app. Total cost is around $70 for the app and the dongle.

That's as far as I can go because I have not personally coded my FOB to do this.

 

[gt1]

Thanks, I coded several things in the past, but the remote start never worked. I'll try to find more info on how to do it with E-Sys- I don't want to use the app because I don't know how it works. My car is coded for "autopilot", and I don't want to redo it if the app will break that.

 

[3pete]

Re: climate - If you have Bimmercode and the OBDII dongle, I suspect you could do it. As far as I can tell, Bimmercode only overwrites the module (or possibly even just the setting) that you're working with, so it's probably unlikely it'd overwrite your autopilot.

Anyway, in case it helps: the setting you want for climate control from the remote is in Body Domain Controller module (only available in expert mode in Bimmercode) and set 30D0->RC_DEFAULT_IDG_4TH_BUTTON_MID to Wert_07 (Auxiliary Cooling).

Note, it will not work on the 3rd button for some reason, so you must replace the 'alarm' button basically (button 4).

Re: brake fluid - I was 2 months late flushing the brake fluid on my i3 once and it didn't explode. I've only ever done brake flushes on other vehicles when the lines were open for brake work, so it definitely seems BMW is being overzealous here. BUT... the only official answer I think you'll find is that "BMW recommends it every 2 years."

 

[gt1]

Thanks, 3pete! I was about to ask the same question as I couldn't find the coding info on the net. Even downloaded Bimmercode and it wasn't there. The advanced mode explains it.