Things I Dislike About My i3

[Fisher99]

Ok, after 8 months of ownership I was going to post the things that I LIKE about the i3, but the list was too long. I'm absolutely loving this car, and this short, and mostly trivial, list of dislikes, pretty much tells it all.

• Non-opening rear windows. I wish that they would open even just a couple of inches. In nice weather I like driving with the driver's door window open, but it develops a nasty "booming" in the car because the incoming air needs a place to exit. Yes, I know that they say that running the A/C is more efficient than having the windows open, but I like having the window open. I have found that if I rest my arm on the window sill and place my hand at just the right angle, just back from the mirror, that I can deflect enough air to quite the booming, but still, if the rear windows would only open a couple of inches...

• I wish that the outside temperature displayed on the center screen rather than on the gauge screen. I like having the remaining battery percentage displayed on the gauge screen but my wife always wants to know the outside temperature, so I end up switching back and forth a lot, since both readouts occupy the same place on the same screen. Trivial, I know, but a pain in the neck.

• The lack of tire options for the 20" wheels. Really, what were they thinking? If you're only going to make one tire compound available, why would you pick a summer-only compound as opposed to an all season compound??? Yes, I'm aware that the 19" wheels have all season options. And probably they positioned the 20" wheels as a "sport" option, but still, it's possible to have a plenty sporty all season compound. At least sporty enough for a car like the i3.

So that's my list. All but the tire issue are fairly trivial, which speaks volumes for how much I love this car! And I know that I can resolve the tire issue by buying different wheels, but I'm too cheap to shell out a grand on wheels.

 

[eNate]

Hmmm...

• Lack of roof rack hardpoints. Sucks I'm stuck sticking suction cups to my roof.
  
• Lack of volume un-mute I've complained about previously. If I'm muted, and I select an audio source, unmute my dang audio!
  
• Lack of seat bolstering. Just a little. Please?
  
• Lack of sun visors. I mean, fer reelz BMW?
  
• Lack of a fully-implemented Radio Data System (RDS tags). I don't know exactly how this system works, but compared to other vehicles I use, the i3 is missing some features. And also not making full use of the display screen. But who listens to FM radio anymore, anyway?
  

But don't get me wrong, I really dig this car. Every car has its shortcomings, and the "major" ones (roof rack, tires) I knew about going in, and decided I could make do.

 

[Fisher99]

Nate: Your i3 doesn't have sun visors??? My 2014 does.

 

[i3Alan]

I agree that the sun visors are terrible and inexcusable. Ditto the pathetic horn, for it's low volume, cheap sound, and horrible delay that virtually prevents any horn taps. The climate control with 2 degree settings and fan setting dependency for comfort is pretty poor, but that is hardly the worst thing about the AC.

BMW doesn't seem to mind prioritizing a nice design look of an all glass tailgate over having a rather fragile tailgate that is horribly expensive to repair. But I think the worst inexcusable potential repair threat is an AC compressor that can self destruct and take out both heat pumps with it causing over $20K in damages, for which BMW will not take responsibility. It's stuff like this that makes me think BMW actually competes against Mercedes to make cars that are too much of an unaffordable repair risk to own past the warranty.

 

[gt1]

My main complaint about i3 is no option for a heated steering wheel- this is unheard of in mainstream EVs. Also no power seats (not buying the "saving weight" excuse) and the base radio without the rear speakers- even cheapest cars have them.

 

[Obioban]

My main complaint about i3 is no option for a heated steering wheel- this is unheard of in mainstream EVs. Also no power seats (not buying the "saving weight" excuse) and the base radio without the rear speakers- even cheapest cars have them.

Meanwhile I retrofitted manual seats in my M3 :lol:

 

[gt1]

Meanwhile I retrofitted manual seats in my M3 :lol:

To save weight?

 

[Deutsch100]

I found the A/C in my 2019 i3S to be outstanding and the heat and heated seats were near instant.

My dislikes:

-No power seats! For almost $60k, this is unacceptable.
-Dash and Door material! I know how environmental the material is, but I had to explain it to everyone who saw it. Looks cheap and unfinished.
-Sun visors are not great, but not that bad either.
-Rattles, squeaks and thumps over uneven rode was the worst I have had in a car in over 25 years!
-Upon startup, the menu on the main Infotainment screen was random. Not a big deal, but annoying. Sometimes it was my presets for radio and sometimes a main menu screen or something else. I have had several BMWs do this though.

 

[Obioban]

Meanwhile I retrofitted manual seats in my M3 :lol:

To save weight?

Yep.

 

[eNate]

BMW doesn't seem to mind prioritizing a nice design look of an all glass tailgate over having a rather fragile tailgate that is horribly expensive to repair.

I suppose my counter to this can apply to a bunch of items in this list, but here goes.

How many other cars do you know that have a glass tailgate as an aesthetic element? Or put another way, you could have chosen any other car and you'd have a non-glass tailgate.

I figure, we've got a slab of glass on the rear of just about every car on the road -- what's the harm in adding a second? I can't be down on it; I like the look.

 

[Deutsch100]

Btw, I LOVED, LOVED the glass rear on my i3. It's really cool and easy to clean...Windex. LOL I thought it was a genius design!!

 

[vreihen]

One of my pet peeves with the i3 is the confusing labels on the two defrost buttons. It is not obvious which is the front defrost and which is the rear defrost from just looking at the similar icons.

Another pet peeve is that I have not figured out what turns the outside heated mirrors on yet. They don't appear to be triggered by either defrost button. I'm starting to wonder if this is the first car that I've owned since the 1980's that didn't come from the factory with heated mirrors, since there is no warning symbol on the mirror glass.....

 

[Obioban]

Btw, I LOVED, LOVED the glass rear on my i3. It's really cool and easy to clean...Windex. LOL I thought it was a genius design!!

You should never use windex are car windows. They have coatings on them that the windex will destroy.

 

[Deutsch100]

One should not use ammonia Windex (or any ammonia glass cleaner) on tinted windows, but using Windex or similar window cleaners on exterior glass is fine. It's also safe for non-tinted interior glass as well.

What do you think the dealer uses? Car washes? Car detailers? If not actually the Windex brand, then a similar ammonia free glass cleaner.

Of course Windex cannot be used on paint, but it is made for glass

 

[i3Alan]

How many other cars do you know that have a glass tailgate as an aesthetic element? Or put another way, you could have chosen any other car and you'd have a non-glass tailgate.

I figure, we've got a slab of glass on the rear of just about every car on the road -- what's the harm in adding a second? I can't be down on it; I like the look.

I like the look, too. However, I didn't buy the i3 for its looks! I kind of like it, but it is an odd looking car with some strange visual attributes. The tailgate is one of the nicest looking tailgates on the market. However, hatchbacks are all that aesthetic to begin with! But this was not my point at all.

BMW made some tradeoffs in designing the rear hatch for the i3. On the one hand, it looks great, and that is a big plus. On the other hand, this is a non-serviceable unit of very significant cost (thousands), AND with very high vulnerability. Beautiful, but very easy to break, impossible to fix, and very expensive to replace. This was a poor choice of tradeoffs that is disrespectful of owner's maintenance liabilities.

A broken piece of glass should be replaceable at reasonable cost. Any failed tail light, brake light, or back-up light should be repairable at a reasonable cost. This is not the case for the i3. At least the spring struts which necessarily have a limited life can be replaced at a reasonable cost, like every other (non-Mercedes) hatchback.

 

[Fisher99]

Perhaps a mitigating factor might be that since all i3 hatches are exactly the same you can find one at a salvage yard and just pop it on. No expensive paint matching required...

 

[Obioban]

One should not use ammonia Windex (or any ammonia glass cleaner) on tinted windows, but using Windex or similar window cleaners on exterior glass is fine. It's also safe for non-tinted interior glass as well.

What do you think the dealer uses? Car washes? Car detailers? If not actually the Windex brand, then a similar ammonia free glass cleaner.

Of course Windex cannot be used on paint, but it is made for glass

Car windows all have film on them, so they don't shatter in crashes-- tinted or not.

I think dealers and car detailers use car glass cleaning products

 

[gt1]

Car windows all have film on them, so they don't shatter in crashes-- tinted or not.

I think dealers and car detailers use car glass cleaning products

AFAIK windshields and some windows have internal film between the layers of glass, you can't damage it with Windex. Other windows are tempered glass and will shatter into cubes on impact.

 

[jfran2]

You should never use windex are car windows. They have coatings on them that the windex will destroy.

I've never heard that. Do you have some documentation?

 

[vreihen]

You should never use windex are car windows. They have coatings on them that the windex will destroy.

I've never heard that. Do you have some documentation?

Is there a warning printed on a Windex bottle? Given the litigious society that we live in today where even coffee cups have warnings on them, that's where I would start my search.....