Thinking od another I3

[Idleup]

Hello all - I'm an older member and owned a 2013 I3 years ago. I eventually sold the car because it had a few problems with the worst being over-sensitive steering. Anyhow, I do like the I3's concept. I'm never going to own an all electric car because I won't put myself through this charging thing. Charging a car should only be done at the safety of your home.

Anyhow I'm looking at a new car with the bigger range, Am I correct unlike the old car where you had no control of the generator, I understand you can control when the generator starts - is that correct?

Also have there been any improvements on the steering to avoid the over-sensitive response at high speeds.

Any other infor would be appreciated - Thanks in advance

Mike

 

[alohart]

Anyhow I'm looking at a new car with the bigger range, Am I correct unlike the old car where you had no control of the generator, I understand you can control when the generator starts - is that correct?

Not true for any U.S. REx. However, it's easy to enable driver control of starting the generator when the charge level is < 75% on any REx using a smartphone app (~$30) with an OBD dongle plugged into the OBD port under the dashboard (~$25).

Also have there been any improvements on the steering to avoid the over-sensitive response at high speeds.

Drivers of later i3's, particularly the i3S, have reported improved high-speed stability.

 

[Idleup]

Thanks for the reply’s

On my 2014 I3’ I worked with the prototype USB dongles with a guy in UK however it worked using the controller on the dash. Does the new dongle only work on the phone.

Thanks

 

[Idleup]

I forgot to ask why is it near impossible to find an 18-19 I3 were they just not selling. I’ve been looking for 2 days and only found a handful of cars.

 

[Timjohn]

You are probably having difficulty finding 2018-2019 because they are not "off" their leases.. So you are starting to see 2017's because their 3 year leases are up. Lots of 2014's, 15s and just starting to see more 16's. Thats probably why.

 

[Idleup]

For some reason the dealers are not stocking I3's any longer and only taking orders - here in Atlanta there were hundreds of new I3s a few years ago sittin on lots there is not one anywhere near me now.

Quick question - with the new 120 pack on the 19's I have two questions:

Will they let you start the RX from the console

If not does the RX kick on with a higher SOC now

Thanks

 

[jadnashuanh]

Quick question - with the new 120 pack on the 19's I have two questions:

Will they let you start the RX from the console

If not does the RX kick on with a higher SOC now

Thanks

The REx sold in the USA operates in the same manner as the original - no manual control - it will start automatically when the SOC drops to around 6%. BUT, it's easy to change. If you can't do it, there are others that can, some of them will do it via remote. It's not hard. You need the OBD II adapter that can talk to a computer (could be a cellphone or tablet if you get the BIMMERCODE app), or a laptop, if you run one of the other programs (more capable, but more complex to setup - the app is simple for most things).

WHat is different is that with the larger battery capacity, you get use of the full capacity of the fuel tank. Not that big of a deal, as that only added about 1/2 gallon, but hey, more is better.

If you apply that coding change, you can manually start the REx if the SOC drops below 75%. Since the computer will force it to run long enough on that first call to fully warm up (about 10-minutes), there needs to be enough 'room' in the battery pack to put that energy, thus, the 75% level was chosen.

 

[CanisLupus]

Also have there been any improvements on the steering to avoid the over-sensitive response at high speeds.

I think there are 2 items to regard concerning steering .

1. Yes , the steering in the i3 is more positive , a 1/4 turn of the steering wheel results in a sharper turn than the same 1/4 turn of most other cars . The driver must become accustomed to this .

2. Because of the ride height vs. wheelbase ratio , when travelling over uneven roadways we might feel that the car is being pulled off track but truly it is not . What we might think is a steering correction may not have been needed . The i3 tracks straight with great precision over most any roadway .

When I first got my i3 I had to get used to both of these differences . Initially I thought that a wheel alignment was necessary .

On a particularly bumpy avenue in Vancouver I would be back and forth reacting as in #2 above . Once I figured things out I realized that the i3 will track straight on that avenue with the steering wheel remaining at center .