My BMW i3 doesn't have charging setting option!

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EVmax

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2017
Messages
5
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Hi,

I got a 2014 i3 Rex. Recently I bought a 40 amp level 2 charger ("EVSE" to be technically correct!). The charger is hooked up to a dryer outlet with 30 Amp breaker. But my i3 is only charging at the max rate of 3.7 kw per hour. That is 240 V and 15 Amp Current. So the car is only accepting half of the power. I understand there should to be a charging setting option in my i3 iDrive menu where I could change the charging rates and toggle from Low to Reduced to Max. But the problem is my i3 does not have this option!! Anybody knows why my i3 doesn't have this setting? and what is the solution to get the car to charge at max rate without this setting?

Cheers,
 
In what market was your i3 originally sold? In some markets, 3.7 kW was the standard charging power. In some markets, an additional 3.7 kW on-board charger (a.k.a., the KLE - rough English translation being "Comfort Charging Electronics") was an option while in other markets, it was not. All U.S. i3's include the KLE as standard for a total maximum charging power of 7.4 kW.

KLE's in early 2014 i3's were defective and could fail. In the U.S., BMW replaced the defective KLE's under warranty, but any i3 that did not have the KLE replaced could have a failed KLE resulting in a maximum charging power of 3.7 kW.

I don't know whether i3's sold in all markets include the ability to change the charging power within iDrive.

So we need to know more about your i3. Adding your location to your profile would be helpful.
 
According to the title, It is a U.S. car. I purchased it in U.S and then imported it to Canada where I live. Based on your information it should be equipped with KLE, thus capable of 7.4kW charging rate. But even if the KLE is defective, shouldn't I still have the charging setting option on the iDrive menu?

Below are some related data from my i3 VIN check:

Market: USA
Type Code: 1Z43
E Series: I01 ()

Vehicle options
- S4U7A Rapid charging, direct current
- S4U8A Rapid charging, alternating current
- S570A Reinforced power supply

P.S. Updated the profile! thanks for the tip :)
 
EVmax said:
even if the KLE is defective, shouldn't I still have the charging setting option on the iDrive menu?
The KLE was defective when we bought our 2014 BEV new, but I have always been able to set the charging speed in iDrive. I have not read that any U.S. system software version does not include the charging speed adjustment feature, so it's a mystery to me why it's missing from iDrive on your i3.

I assume that you have looked in all iDrive nooks and crannies. iDrive reminds me of old feature phone menus which I don't find easy to navigate.
 
I don't think there is a setting to change the L2 charge rate, it is controlled by the EVSE. It is very likely your EVSE signals that it can supply only 15A.
 
alohart said:
EVmax said:
I assume that you have looked in all iDrive nooks and crannies. iDrive reminds me of old feature phone menus which I don't find easy to navigate.

Yes I have looked everywhere in the iDrive menu but couldn't find it! I am taking it to a BMW dealer today. I will post their findings!
 
gt1 said:
I don't think there is a setting to change the L2 charge rate, it is controlled by the EVSE. It is very likely your EVSE signals that it can supply only 15A.
iDrive in U.S. i3's supports setting the maximum charging power for both AC Levels 1 and 2. In markets where there is no equivalent to AC Level 1 (i.e., the supply voltage is ~230 V), I would expect iDrive to allow setting the maximum charging power for only 230 V charging.
 
So I took my i3 to the dealer and they said this particular i3 has a modified idrive version installed and in this version some of the regular features are unavailable. This i3 apparently was part of a fleet of a BMW sister company called "Car Sharing" and for some reason they disabled bunch of features in the iDrive!!!
The dealer said they flush the system and reinstalled a fresh iDrive but apparently there is a piece of hardware installed in this car that overrides the new idrive program!!! they are going to call BMW Car Sharing to find out how to remove the hardware and reinstall the idrive again.
 
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