What Car? BMW i3 long-termer

[SanSerif]

Plug,

I'll also be able to explain how an i3 can end up on 0.0% battery charge, and what happens when it ends up like that. And that's through experience. Already. As in, Monday morning just gone!

Regards to all,

John

I know you have a magasine to sell - but, go on, what happens?!

 

[johnmcilroy]

AIUI, the REx will automatically fire up at around 5% - there's a little triangle mark on the "battery bar" on the instrument cluster that indicates the point. There's nothing I can find in the settings to change that auto-start point.

It does. You can see the little triangle on the picture I posted earlier. And no, you can't change the auto-start point.

What you can do is, at any point below 75%, manually fire up the REx and it will "hold charge" at whatever level you've started it at. I've noticed the electric range going up and down by a couple of miles around that point but it remains broadly steady. I've set programmable button 8 to start/stop the REx. If I have a long trip I try to use the REx early and arrive at my destination with minimal electricity and recharge there. Ideally, I'll have timed it so I can refuel the petrol at some point - thus always leaving home with two full "tanks".

When you say programmable button 8, do you mean that this actually just turns it on and off? Our car has it set to button 7 but that just opens the range-extender menu; you then have to press the main iDrive controller to check and uncheck the hold charge button.

I have two worries about the 5% (or it maybe less) auto-start point. Firstly just the "will it work" worry! As it's a brand new car, crafted by Bavarian robots, and the manual start always works, this is probably an unnecessary worry. The second worry is whether the minimal electric charge is sufficient a "buffer" between power generated and power demanded. As I said, with the REx running, the electric range does fluctuate by +/- a couple of miles. With a tiny buffer, *minus* a couple of miles could well be zero. Or less! What happens then?

It doesn't start. Believe me, I've 'fired it up' with 0.0% battery charge. The petrol motor did cut in almost immediately after pressing the on/off button, but then it realised that since it can only maintain charge instead of recharging, and there was, er, zero charge, there was little point in it even trying, so it just turned itself off. I had to plug in to my kitchen socket for an hour to get enough juice (around 8%, I think it was) before I could go anywhere.

By the way, I wasn't trying to be cryptic about it; very happy to share information here (since I will, I'm sure, be looking for opinions that I could use in editorial). It's just that I haven't quite worked out how it ended up at 0.0%; I suspect it's just my fault and that I, er, just left it 'on'.

Regards,

John

 

[Atommad]

When you say programmable button 8, do you mean that this actually just turns it on and off? Our car has it set to button 7 but that just opens the range-extender menu; you then have to press the main iDrive controller to check and uncheck the hold charge button.

[

You can program button 8, or any of the programmable buttons to turn on/off the Rex directly. For some reason I find it a little worrying that you weren't told / didn't know this given that you will report your findings in what many believe to be an authoritative magazine? Am I barking up the wrong tree?

 

[SanSerif]

It doesn't start. Believe me, I've 'fired it up' with 0.0% battery charge. The petrol motor did cut in almost immediately after pressing the on/off button, but then it realised that since it can only maintain charge instead of recharging, and there was, er, zero charge, there was little point in it even trying, so it just turned itself off. I had to plug in to my kitchen socket for an hour to get enough juice (around 8%, I think it was) before I could go anywhere.

By the way, I wasn't trying to be cryptic about it; very happy to share information here (since I will, I'm sure, be looking for opinions that I could use in editorial). It's just that I haven't quite worked out how it ended up at 0.0%; I suspect it's just my fault and that I, er, just left it 'on'.

Regards,

John

Interesting - so it wasn't a matter of you gliding home on the last of your electrons. I hope there's no "vampire drain" on a switched off car a la Tesla. I don't think there is - I've left it for 24 hours and not seen a single mile of range loss.

 

[mrsmith]

A little ironic that the first reported flat battery situation (I've seen anyway) was with a REX ;-)

Yours frustratedly waiting for a delivery date,

Mr Smith

 

[johnmcilroy]

When you say programmable button 8, do you mean that this actually just turns it on and off? Our car has it set to button 7 but that just opens the range-extender menu; you then have to press the main iDrive controller to check and uncheck the hold charge button.

[

You can program button 8, or any of the programmable buttons to turn on/off the Rex directly. For some reason I find it a little worrying that you weren't told / didn't know this given that you will report your findings in what many believe to be an authoritative magazine? Am I barking up the wrong tree?

I'm aware of the programmable buttons. It's just interesting that BMW has chosen to program one to access the menu, rather than to active or deactivate 'hold charge' directly. In fact, this appears to be a common setting to UK press vehicles, since an earlier range extender that I tried had precisely the same set-up.

As for your concern, not sure what I can say to that. I've come here to engage with an owners' community on issues and experiences. I'm sure there will be times when i3 owners provide me with information I either haven't been told by BMW, or experiences and processes that I haven't encountered myself. I see that as beneficial, for everyone; isn't that the point of a forum like this?

Regards to all,

John

 

[SanSerif]

It's interesting how print media and the social forums are starting to interact. It's useful. On forums we toss around lots of ideas, observations and thoughts - but rarely reach conclusions. Having a journo tie together some of those strands along with his own findings and privileged OEM briefings adds an awful lot to the process. And being able to draw on so much real world experience is a reality check for the print media - magasines used to read rather like press releases in the old days.

That said, I haven't read let alone bought a hardcopy newspaper or magasine in over a decade.

 

[johnmcilroy]

It's interesting how print media and the social forums are starting to interact. It's useful. On forums we toss around lots of ideas, observations and thoughts - but rarely reach conclusions. Having a journo tie together some of those strands along with his own findings and privileged OEM briefings adds an awful lot to the process. And being able to draw on so much real world experience is a reality check for the print media - magasines used to read rather like press releases in the old days.

That said, I haven't read let alone bought a hardcopy newspaper or magasine in over a decade.

Just as well we'll be doing weekly updates online then, huh?!

Actually, we're well known within the industry for being a bit closer to the public than many other titles. Our Reader Test Teams, for example, often get potential buyers alongside new vehicles before even the hacks have driven them. The i3, in fact, is the blue riband of those events; we held it in the same London venue as the global reveal and had more than 60 readers present, along with BMW reps on hand to answer questions etc.

Kind regards to all,

John

 

[Atommad]

[[/quote][/quote]

You can program button 8, or any of the programmable buttons to turn on/off the Rex directly. For some reason I find it a little worrying that you weren't told / didn't know this given that you will report your findings in what many believe to be an authoritative magazine? Am I barking up the wrong tree?[/quote]

I'm aware of the programmable buttons. It's just interesting that BMW has chosen to program one to access the menu, rather than to active or deactivate 'hold charge' directly. In fact, this appears to be a common setting to UK press vehicles, since an earlier range extender that I tried had precisely the same set-up.

As for your concern, not sure what I can say to that. I've come here to engage with an owners' community on issues and experiences. I'm sure there will be times when i3 owners provide me with information I either haven't been told by BMW, or experiences and processes that I haven't encountered myself. I see that as beneficial, for everyone; isn't that the point of a forum like this?

Regards to all,

John[/quote]

John, I am sure you will get some excellent information, fact, and opinion from the forum and that's a good thing. What struck me in your post was that one of the basic features of the car which was explained to me by the salesman in a 10 minute briefing on the cars features wasn't explained to a guy who will report on the car to a large audience of potential buyers.

Who knows, if you knew you could turn on the Rex by simply pushing a button as you drove then you may not have ended up with a dead car, a situation which when reported will no doubt reinforce many peoples worries about EVs.

Surely it was in BMWs interest to make sure you were well informed about the car to avoid this situation.

 

[Stevei3]

Hi John,

interesting fact about the 0% battery in combination with the REx. I'm not going to try that one out.
What I have to contribute is that in our i3, the programmed button (a very unoriginal 8) does start the REx immediately (if batt<75%). No menus. No iDrive click...

Steven

 

[johnmcilroy]

Atommad,

The programmable button wouldn't have made any difference to the 0.0% charge incident. That was, I suspect, my fault - mucking around with it on the driveway during its first weekend here and, I am ashamed to admit, probably just left it 'on'. (Although I am investigating further). It didn't die 'en route'; it simply ran flat while sitting there for a day and a half.

I haven't had the i genius talk-round yet; that will be part of a subsequent story (along with an in-depth look at the connectivity and the app).

BMW have been pretty keen for key media to see plenty of behind-the-scenes stuff on the car - and somehow, I've attended almost all of those events for What Car? - which is one of the reasons I've ended up running it. Perhaps someday I'll upload the picture of the inside of the turbine hall at the hydro-electric plant that provides the power for the Moses Lake factory that produces the carbon 'weave' that ultimately produces the life cell...

Incidentally, if you're wondering why BMW makes that material in Moses Lake and then ships it to Germany for further processing, the hydro power coming in to the plant costs around a sixth of what it would in Germany. And since the fabric production process involves a polymer going through 14 ovens, I guess pennies saved on the energy bill very quickly turn into lots and lots of pounds!

Regards to all,

John

 

[johnmcilroy]

Hi John,

interesting fact about the 0% battery in combination with the REx. I'm not going to try that one out.
What I have to contribute is that in our i3, the programmed button (a very unoriginal 8) does start the REx immediately (if batt<75%). No menus. No iDrive click...

Steven

Thanks Steven. I'll investigate this tomorrow.

Kind regards,

John

 

[fdl1409]

I am waiting for my i3 REx, expect delivery in June. Will use that programmable button 8 to start / stop the REx on the few occasions I will need it. Believe it is much better using the REx wisely instead of leaving it to hold charge below a certain SOC. Efficiency must be best if the REx is working full load, so I will start it manually whenever driving uphill, switch it off when power demand is low. This way, I can boost efficiency twice - REx working with maximum efficency and the battery working with lower amps, which improves battery efficiency. So if for example I plan to drive 240km without recharge, I will start using the REx early, but will also try to arrive with nearly empty battery.

Pleased to read that it is possible to drive the battery to nearly zero without the REx forcing itself in.

PS: somebody reported in the German i3 forum today that he drove 127km without climate and heating ( 17° outside temperature ) with 33% SOC left.

Frank
Germany

 

[calibanjon]

Hi John,

Ref. your comments on Ecotricity you are correct that the rapid chargers are not currently compatible with the i3 but they plan to introduce it on selected sites over the next twelve months (quote from their website). I guess this will largely depend on vehicle sales and how many manufacturers use the CCS standard. I am taking a gamble that a couple of key points on the motorway network will provide me with a much more flexible vehicle. For me it's about options, if I needed to cover lots of miles up and down the country then this wouldn't be the car for me, but having the flexibility to do the odd longer journey with a 30 minute pit stop en route could be a useful feature. I was also a little worried that if the CCS rapid charger network really develops and I didn't have it, it may hurt the future residuals.

I am really not sure how this car will fit my needs but really wanted to give myself as much flexibility as possible, I actually added it after I originally specified the vehicle and in the end concluded it was the right mix for me but obviously it's not for everyone.

Regards

Jon

 

[Paul1886]

Hi John,

Looking forward to reading the long term tests .

I am awaiting delivery of mine (2-3 weeks), a REx, Laurus Grey, 20" and Loft and then I just ticked every single box!

As part of your test/review are you going to touch on the cost of recharging at public points?...... I'm sure it's not my imagination but it seems it's cheaper to run on petrol (REx) than use the Chargemaster network in the UK!..... seems a bit bizarre....?

Paul

 

[i3cam]

Great idea Paul, I would love to know about the practicality of public charging. If you can charge at your destination for 3hrs (and the charge point is actually working and free!) it seems ok

In terms of longer journeys, >80 miles, it seems possible to have a quick pit stop en route for 30mins (coffee say) and get a few extra miles of range, but I can't see anyone waiting around for 2.5-3hrs. It's a shame BMW aren't offering a 3 phase charger option as supported by the current ecotricity points (and also widespread in Europe) and even a 21KW charge would be 3x faster than 7KW

 

[Paul1886]

Hi,

Yes the lack of 3 Phase charging option seems to be an opportunity missed by BMW, I have added the Rapid DC charge option in the hope of a network appearing but what frightens me is this:

http://www.chargemasterplc.com/index.php/polar_online/

My main purpose for ordering the i3 is just for my daily commute but I was rather hoping over the next couple of years I might be able to do more and more long journeys on electric as the network grew but at these prices I may as well just fill with petrol quickly (it doesn't take long to add 9 litres or take my other vehicle.

Just have to hope Ecotricity can keep their business model working (free charge points) and have the money to extend the network.

Paul

 

[johnmcilroy]

Hi all,

I am planning to have a chat with Chargemaster about the fees and will report back on what their view is on it. Our long-termer now has ChargeNow, Ecotricity and SourceLondon cards in its netting pouch under the dashboard; let's see how useful they are over the weeks and months ahead.

The first report is now live on our website, by the way; it'll be added to on a weekly basis.

Not sure if I'm going to be banned for posting a link to it here, but here goes!

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/march/1284421

 

[johnmcilroy]

Oh, and here's another pic of our car, taken this lunchtime during a quick run to the What Car? greasy spoon.

We had several i3s in our car park last night, actually - BMW i8 customer evening and Reader Test Team in the studio downstairs.

 

[I33t]

Looking forward to further reviews John!

I see the white carpets are already looking shabby at the driver's seat. You should get a set of black carpets from the dealer.