driving BMW i3 with Petrol for 500 km

I am planning to buy a bmw i3 REX from a dealer in london and have to drive around 512 km in a single day to reach my home. My question is can i keep topping up with petrol and run it till i reach my home without charging in between without stopping over in fast chargers .

thanks

I heard from my salesperson that a couple did this on a long trip. The car died during the trip, and the motor had to be replaced.

All in all, it's not a good idea.

The petrol engine is only meant to charge the batteries, not for long distance drive.

If you have to commute 512km daily, this is simply not the car for you.

I took a round trip from Arizona to California and back which was about 1400km stopping for gas every 120km or so and made the trip with no issues. You already have the Hold Charge on your car so as soon as the car gets to a 75% turn on the engine and you should be able to do this trip with no issues.

I don't know what happened to the car this person above is referencing but I have seen many people on the forums talk about doing long trips like this with no issues. It would be an issue if you were driving at autobahn speeds but as long as you don't have a lead foot you should be fine

These guys have done longer ranges and didn't have much of an issue...besides fueling up every 80-90 minutes...

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2014/12/462-mile-rex-road-trip-new-jersey-to.html

http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4074

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4jS3__Sle0

In a little over a year we have driven 7,000 km on the REx, 14,800 km on battery for a total of 21,800 km. No problems with the REx. We are planning a long trip of several thousand km. We have no concerns using the REx where charging infrastructure is inadequate.

ASUN said:

If you have to commute 512km daily, this is simply not the car for you.

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He didn't say he was commuting - It's a one time trip.
He'll have no problems. Your salesman story is more than likely because of a rare component failure, otherwise we would have heard more than just one case of this among all the others that have thousands of rex miles.

Any thing that is manufactured has the potential of a defective part, but there is no defective design in the i3 that would prevent you from making that trip safely. Just be aware that each time you stop, whatever your state of charge is, is the maximum the car will try to maintain when you start it up again, and if you are using energy faster than the REx can provide...you need to (most likely) slow down, or figure out why and fix it. Otherwise, you could keep going forever when refilling the fuel tank. It's not uncommon in the USA for the dealer to arrange it to be trucked to you when the distance is that great, but the whole franchise for selling the i3 is different in the UK than in the USA.

machuindublin said:

I am planning to buy a bmw i3 REX from a dealer in london and have to drive around 512 km in a single day to reach my home. My question is can i keep topping up with petrol and run it till i reach my home without charging in between without stopping over in fast chargers .

Click to expand...

I bought my BMW i3-REx, end-of-lease, and drove it 463 miles (740 km) home. This included going from 600 ft (182m) over a 2800 ft (853m) pass. Along USA Interstate highways, there typically is a truck stop every 30-40 miles (50-65 km.)

It was an easy trip because dynamic cruise control followed high-balling trucks without a problem. It made driving easy.

BTW, I learned the car would 'charge-pump' at each stop. Regeneration would add a few percent so over time, the car actually accumulated charge which the REx was quite happy to maintain.

We also did a vacation trip, 700 mi (1,120 km) each way without a problem. If you've ever driven a motorcycle cross-country, same idea. Drive an hour or so; refuel quickly, and; back on the road again. Except it is a lot quieter and more comfortable.

Bob Wilson

Thanks for all the replies.

Does the petrol engine become too hot and cause issues ?

My only concern about long distance driving is the lack of a spare tire. In the event of a blow out that can't be patched, you have to find someone with the rare tire size wherever you happen to be.

machuindublin said:

Does the petrol engine become too hot and cause issues ?

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We drove using REx on the highway (110km/hr) on 33C days. No overheating problems. Engine radiator must be located at left rear of car because once stopped hot air continues to be blown out by a fan located behind left tire (for several minutes).