Range Not As Advertised - Only 129km on full charge

The marketed specifications on the i3 are 160/180/200km on a full charge depending on the driving mode based on the Canadian site: http://www.bmw.ca/ca/en/newvehicles/i/i3/2013/showroom/technical_data.html

And on the US site it shows as 190km with a 160km* mean custoemr value with no explanation of the astrisks: http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/i/i3/2013/showroom/technical_data.html

However, everytime my i3 is fully charged it only shows up to 129km range.

Does anyone else have this issue and is it doing this just to be safe and fool you to not test the actual range?

Thanks,

That's the level of range I get with a full charge in comfort mode, but that's with a REX.

I should have also mentioned that I don't have the REX.

I've sent a message into BMW Toronto and am waiting for an official response as well.

The range estimates are just that—estimates. There are threads on this board that explain the computer is guessing based on your past trips, ambient temp, etc. I've found mine varies by 20+ miles day to day. Typically 70 to 90 something miles. I've seen low 100's even. Of course, it quickly plummets once I start driving. The fact that the US EPA got 81 miles makes me comfortable with BMW's figures.

For comparison, I have a BEV. My driving is 90% on San Francisco city streets. Lots of up and down hills. Lots of hard acceleration to full stop. The i app typically rates me about 20% efficient. My daily commute is 10 miles roundtrip so I see no reason to take it out of Comfort, sacrifice climate control or employ other energy-saving strategies.

daoasis said:

The marketed specifications on the i3 are 160/180/200km on a full charge depending on the driving mode based on the Canadian site: http://www.bmw.ca/ca/en/newvehicles/i/i3/2013/showroom/technical_data.html

And on the US site it shows as 190km with a 160km* mean custoemr value with no explanation of the astrisks: http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/i/i3/2013/showroom/technical_data.html

However, everytime my i3 is fully charged it only shows up to 129km range.

Does anyone else have this issue and is it doing this just to be safe and fool you to not test the actual range?

Thanks,

Click to expand...

Actually 129 km is just about right based on the US EPA tests/window sticker. 81 miles for the BEV or 81/.61= 132 km so you are only short by 3km. Also remember this is only an estimate based on your previous trips in the car averaged out over some time period. Location, driving conditions and temperature conditions.

Just started to charge my i3 REx.
After 134km, I still had 26% SOC left.
Range prediction is always less than real.

Frank

The prediction may be a worst case situation...really hot or cold out, use of the brakes more than regeneration, seat heaters on, and who knows what else. It gets adjusted as you drive to take into account your current driving technique. While I've not had mine all that long, I've noticed that often, I can drive a number of miles and the estimated distance to 'empty' barely goes down.

Surely what matters is whether the actual range lives up to the advertised range, the predicted range is irrelevant.

What range are you getting?

RJSATLBA said:

Surely what matters is whether the actual range lives up to the advertised range, the predicted range is irrelevant.

What range are you getting?

Click to expand...

The advertised range has a big ol' asterisks(*) saying that range depends on ten million variables. Chasing claims against what is advertised is all but fool hardy these days, especially against a company as big as BMW who will pipe every message to the public through a legal team.

The advertised range on the Canadian and US sites does seem out of line with the UK figures. Here they claim 80-100 miles and I get around 90 with our Rex. Some, such as Frank who must be a very smooth driver, get considerably more, some less.

Your 129km seems just about right to me. Though, as Frank says, the real range is almost always more than predicted. Unlike the Leaf we had previously where the guessometer was always optimistic, sometimes ridiculously so.

Charged my REx last night after 134km with 26% remaining in the battery.
Range prediction today: only 130km in EcoPro+!

Frank

I started off the other day with 80 miles predicted. Drove 70 miles and still had 30-something predicted remaining. EcoPro with only gentle aircon and mostly off motorway. It's a REx. I was quite pleased.

Started yesterday with range prediction 130km ( 81 miles ) in EcoPro+

After 112km ( 70 miles ) my range prediction is still 52km, and remaining SOC 37%. I am sure I could drive at least another 40 miles.
Short distance driving, and I climbed at least 1.000m.

Frank

Dear All,

I guess BMW set a limit to be on the safe side. Even if you drove considerably more efficient the other day.
I rely on consumption shown in the trip monitor. On a 100% charged car the maximum range is simply to be calculated:
For me these numbers match very well.
consumption Range
9,5 197,9
9,7 193,8
9,9 189,9
10,1 186,1
10,3 182,5
10,5 179,0
10,7 175,7
10,9 172,5
11,1 169,4
11,3 166,4
11,5 163,5
11,7 160,7
11,9 158,0
12,1 155,4
12,3 152,8
12,5 150,4
12,7 148,0
12,9 145,7
13,1 143,5
13,3 141,4
13,5 139,3
13,7 137,2
13,9 135,3
14,1 133,3
14,3 131,5
14,5 129,7

Wait until the winter!
You will experience a 25% range reduction at 0C… at -20C no one seems to know what the range will be.

I'm still planning to buy one though...

So 2.5 years in and now I need the car to make it at minimum 114km in an Ontario Canada winter. That's the distance from the last charging station to my cottage. Unfortunately, at 4.5 celsius, the car will only make it 100km in eco pro + mode.

I've contact both BMW Toronto and BMW Canada and let them know that they falsely advertised the range on the 2014 i3. When I purchase the vehicle, the website said the following:

When I purchased the vehicle, it was advertised with the following ranges in the different driving modes:
Comfort: 160km
Eco Pro: 180km
Eco Pro +: 200km

Somewhere between Nov 8, 2014 and Dec 10, 2014 BMW updated their marketing material on the same web pages to the following:
Comfort: 130km
Eco Pro: 160km
Eco Pro +: 156km (20% above Comfort Mode)

They acknowledged that their previous material was bogus and that 160km is the top limit in Eco Pro +, which has been my experience. Now with the cold weather, I'm getting less than half of the marketed 200km range when I purchased the car.

It there are any other Canadian 2014 i3 owners that purchased their vehicles prior to Dec 3, 2014 (approximately when their web site was updated) please let me know as I a likely to file a suit against them. I have given them every opportunity to make this right for me but they have both decided to not take any responsibility for their false claims.

Hi All,

Is there anyone out there who is able to get close to 200km on their pure 2014-2016 BMWi3 (with no rex).

daoasis said:

Hi All,

Is there anyone out there who is able to get close to 200km on their pure 2014-2016 BMWi3 (with no rex).

Click to expand...

If I really go until empty, I would estimate it to be around 130km on my 2015 BEV in normal city driving.

200km seems far-fetched even in perfect scenarios.

daoasis said:

Is there anyone out there who is able to get close to 200km on their pure 2014-2016 BMWi3 (with no rex).

Click to expand...

If one drives slowly in warm temperatures on level, dry roads without much wind and with the climate control system off, 200 km is certainly possible. In real-world driving conditions in warm, dry Hawaiian weather in our 2014 BEV, I have driven 160 km with 10 km of estimated remaining range. This included a 300 m ascent and descent and speeds ranging as high as 100 kph but mostly at 70 kph.

I'm guessing that BMW's initial range estimates were based on the unrealistic NEDC standard used in Europe.

The range estimate used on the sticker and in advertising is based on a certain set of circumstances (temperature, speed, terrain), using a certain driving profile (speed and acceleration rates) and there's almost always an * indicating your results may differ. IT's the same thing as on an ICE...how and where you drive the car, your results may differ. If you compare the estimated range on vehicles sold in Europe verses the USA (not sure if Canada uses the same testing criteria as the US), there's a significant difference in the Euro test cycle and predicted range verses the USA CAFE ranges (the estimated range on advertising is lots more in Europe than in the USA because their test parameters are different)...in the case of the i3, it's the same car, same battery, same motor...one would expect the predictions to be the same, but they are not...it is based on that fixed test cycle. Over the years, the US CAFE test cycle has been updated to try to make it more consistent with real life, but it is mandated that the test be done in a particular way in both the USA and the Eurozone. The objective is to try to make comparisons between different makes and models reliable, not to indicate a specific real-world number. I know on my ICE, that I can get a variation of over 10mpg based on where and how I use the vehicle...in some cases, I get more than the stated EPA, and sometimes less.

As has been stated...the computer's ESTIMATE of maximum range is just that, an estimate, and it's based on how YOU drove the vehicle the last 18-miles or so, not taking into account that today it may be warmer or colder, or yesterday you were driving stop and go in town, and today's trip is all highway at speed or you're climbing a mountain. I've often driven leaving the house with the estimated range being one figure...drive 10-miles and have the estimated range to empty either stay the same, or actually go up because of those different driving conditions.

At least on an BEV, there are no engine tweaks that can be fudged. If you were to drive according to the test parameters used to announce the range given by the EPA, one would expect (and probably get) very close to the indicated maximum range within a statistically allowed variance - real world, they are different. One does not always believe the miles to empty on their ICE, either...it's an estimate.