Upgrade battery.

[Clanduncan]

A 53 kwhr battery would be super news, please do keep us posted also on your plans for the other foreign 'branches' of your company.

When recoding a car to accept an increased capacity, do you keep the BMW depletion & charge limits to protect the battery, e.g. users will see around 45 out of the 53 kwhrs proposed above?

 

[PacificNorthwest]

Does anyone know of a company that will upgrade batteries for the i3 in Canada or US (preferably in the North west)?

 

[colin123]

We can do that in Europe.
In Europe this year we will have 53kWh in the original BMW design.How are you?
View attachment 369

Hold on, you replace the entire battery pack with an alternative battery pack, which ads 30kg but gives us 53kwh usable??? wow! will the cars software reflect this with correct percentage & mileage ?? what is the predicted milage on that ?

 

[Clanduncan]

Based on my average miles/kwhr, I'd get something over 200 miles before the Rex cut in, assuming about 45kwhr usable. Which is similar safety buffers on my 33kwhr battery (27.5 usable).
This really would make me rethink replacing my i3 for a higher range car in the future. I'd much rather upgrade an existing known car to me anyday. Plus I love the driving style of this one. Not many other cars I've test driven have the same 'one-pedal' feel, and overall quality.

 

[JamesInLondon]

Based on my average miles/kwhr, I'd get something over 200 miles before the Rex cut in, assuming about 45kwhr usable. Which is similar safety buffers on my 33kwhr battery (27.5 usable).
This really would make me rethink replacing my i3 for a higher range car in the future. I'd much rather upgrade an existing known car to me anyday. Plus I love the driving style of this one. Not many other cars I've test driven have the same 'one-pedal' feel, and overall quality.

You mirror my thoughts exactly, if I could have a 400km range in MrPorter then I would probably keep it for the rest of my life, although I haven't yet seen an acceptable alternative to the i3, so just might keep it forever anyway.

 

[BrianM]

Regarding the adoption of CATL batteries, here's a news story. (They have approx 25% of the market, already, apparently.
Tesla supplier CATL unveils battery that can add up to 400km of range in 10 minutes

 

[Thomasi3]

Does anyone know of a company that will upgrade batteries for the i3 in Canada or US (preferably in the North west)?

I am up in Vancouver too I would buy a 53 kWh also for my 2015 i3 . We have to find a shop who is willing to do the swop
Also have a 2020 i3s

 

[Clanduncan]

JamesinLondon. You're so right, I'll be keeping mine for the forseeable..

 

[Ultraligero]

Hold on, you replace the entire battery pack with an alternative battery pack, which ads 30kg but gives us 53kwh usable??? wow! will the cars software reflect this with correct percentage & mileage ?? what is the predicted milage on that ?

I'd be tempted to own longer term and upgrade Battery if it wasn't for the poor front struts with there limited life, & no alternative but to replace with same defective struts. The strut protective boots also not fit for purpose. Also it wouldn't make so much sense to keep the REX model. Pointless extra maintenance without the full B.E.V. Benefits? Just my opinion.

 

[zhoukeli]

we have a group more than 400 i3 users. we discuss any problem and upgrade things . if you are interested in us , you can download an App "Wechat", my wechat number is 252675586. after adding me as your friend ,i will invite you to our group. you may are not abe to read chinese ,but we can speat to you in english once you have some problems. a week ago , i had my PTC repaired and spent merely 100 us dollars--- the common cost at a dealer shop may need 1500 us dollars in my country. That the motherboard of electronic system inside the PTC refuse to work well is the reason.

 

[Zwerius]

Last week the underside of my i3 got damaged by steel parts falling of a tractor driving in front of me.
Probably my (2019) i3 is considered as totall loss by the insurance company.
But I would consider that as a petty. I would like to keep on driving it.
If it's considered as a totall loss, I will get payed the present value of the car and if I want, I can buy the destructed car back (if I'm the highest bidder).
But, what would it cost to take the battery off and replace one or two of the battery modules and put the battery back.
Does anyone have an idea about these prices?
For info: The bottom plate of the battery is a little damaged, but there are no big dents or openings in it.

 

[flyinglizards]

Last week the underside of my i3 got damaged by steel parts falling of a tractor driving in front of me.
Probably my (2019) i3 is considered as totall loss by the insurance company.
But I would consider that as a petty. I would like to keep on driving it.
If it's considered as a totall loss, I will get payed the present value of the car and if I want, I can buy the destructed car back (if I'm the highest bidder).
But, what would it cost to take the battery off and replace one or two of the battery modules and put the battery back.
Does anyone have an idea about these prices?
For info: The bottom plate of the battery is a little damaged, but there are no big dents or openings in it.

Not clear why you think modules are damaged if the case is not.

 

[mojo]

I suspect that the biggest issue is that BMW have very strict rules about how much damage is permissible before the component (or car) must be scrapped. The definition for the HV battery stated in BMW's product presentation (which dates from 2013 and may have been update since) is:

"Dents in the housing, deformations, changes (scratch marks
up to 0.5 mm deep or 5 cm long are allowed) to the high-
voltage battery unit"

Steel parts from a tractor are probably going to cause marks deeper than 0.5mm (unless they were very small parts!).

 

[Zwerius]

Not clear why you think modules are damaged if the case is not.

There are scratches, but no permanent dents.
However, if you hit a metal part, it can be deformed and go back to its original position. As long it is in the flexible part of deformation.
If the deformation is larger, you'll be getting remaining deformation.
So if it was deformed in the flexible part of deformation, it could spring back.
But during the deformation that occured (only temporary) the battery cells could have been hit and damaged.

 

[Zwerius]

I suspect that the biggest issue is that BMW have very strict rules about how much damage is permissible before the component (or car) must be scrapped. The definition for the HV battery stated in BMW's product presentation (which dates from 2013 and may have been update since) is:

"Dents in the housing, deformations, changes (scratch marks
up to 0.5 mm deep or 5 cm long are allowed) to the high-
voltage battery unit"

Steel parts from a tractor are probably going to cause marks deeper than 0.5mm (unless they were very small parts!).

Thank you!
Could you give me an idea of where to find this definition for the HV battery in BMW's product presentation? On the web?

 

[Simoni3]

There are scratches, but no permanent dents.
However, if you hit a metal part, it can be deformed and go back to its original position. As long it is in the flexible part of deformation.
If the deformation is larger, you'll be getting remaining deformation.
So if it was deformed in the flexible part of deformation, it could spring back.
But during the deformation that occured (only temporary) the battery cells could have been hit and damaged.

Bet you can get the pack inspected / repaired by secondary EV garage
just no BMW warranty
take some pics and find a local EV specialist
i’d def try to have that fixed

 

[mojo]

Could you give me an idea of where to find this definition for the HV battery in BMW's product presentation? On the web?

It's quite widely available - I ~think~ it has to be available as a legal requirement in some US states. I got a copy via the UK i3 FB group.

As Simoni3 says, if you don't intend to use a BMW dealer to repair the vehicle, I guess their "rules" on what is repairable are academic.

I suspect that your issue with getting it repaired may be the problem of liability on the part of the repairer. With physical damage to the battery, they may not want to certify that it is safe to use in future. So they may take the view that it is only usable as a source of parts for other battery packs.

 

[havrla]

Regarding the adoption of CATL batteries, here's a news story. (They have approx 25% of the market, already, apparently.
Tesla supplier CATL unveils battery that can add up to 400km of range in 10 minutes

But here we are not only talking about the battery cell, but also about the module design, that is also very important!!!

 

[havrla]

you read : Phorum about Chinnese battery

The battery modules have structural strength removed. The battery in the I3 car is not structurally strong without the module, the modules are stiffeners.

 

[havrla]

Hi, this summer we made a video in the Czech Republic describing the technology of the BMW i3.
I managed to create subtitles for the video (in English, German, French, and Spanish).
By the way, the video explains why people who tried to replace the motor bearings were unsuccessful. If you have any meaningful insights or ideas, feel free to write to me.

Thank you, Havrla.
Video