Is my new i3 buggy?

After several months of looking and kicking tires, I picked up my new i3 Tera fully loaded on Friday. I was hoping to report that I love my new car, but the learning curve is a steep one for me.

Several questions please for those of you who have had their cars for a while. My "information" system has problems storing data and dealing with satellite radio. Although XM radio has sent reset signals several times, I only get about 7 XM stations (none of which I am interested in listening to), and it refuses to hold XM or FM radio presets. Other preferences, such as charging level and tone controls also get reset. The TPMS does not seem to show the tire pressure, even after being reset.

Can someone please explain to me how the city collision system is supposed to work? The dealer said that it is automatic with no settings necessary. I was told that the car will brake for someone walking in front or behind the car. Am I also supposed to get an audible warning? Mine does nothing at all.

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The "issue" with presets not staying is likely due to the car switching between keys. Each key has its own settings - move one key far away from the car, program the presets, and they should remain as you set them.

FYI, you can name the profiles under the settings menu to make it easier to determine which one is in use and switch between them.

Also, are you trying to view tire pressures while parked? They will not display unless you've driven the car a short distance - you can't view them with it sitting in the garage unless you've just returned from a trip.

The TPMS reset does two things: it allows the vehicle to learn each sender's data so it can properly read out the data, and it uses the value of the pressure when you reset it as the 'normal' point to determine if the pressure has dropped too much. So, DO NOT reset them unless you're sure the pressures are correct, and you haven't driven the vehicle more than a mile or so which will heat them and change the pressure. To get the car to relearn the sensors, you have to drive a bit. And, as stated, you have to drive a bit to wake up the TPMS senders to get a current value. If they were transmitting all of the time, their battery wouldn't last very long. They have a motion sensor in them, and only report about once every 30-seconds or so once awakened by that motion.

There's a button on the dash that must be turned on to gain the maximum safety functionality of the safety features. Once you turn it on, it will stay on, at least with the same fob.

From the I3 manuel ( ipad version in canada )
there is no TPMS sensor in the tires and it does not measure the tire pressure
The system detect a tire pressure change by comparing the rotation speed of the tires
when pressure is lost, tire diameter change.

lturcotte said:

From the I3 manuel ( ipad version in canada )
there is no TPMS sensor in the tires and it does not measure the tire pressure
The system detect a tire pressure change by comparing the rotation speed of the tires
when pressure is lost, tire diameter change.

Click to expand...

Yes, they use the older system in Canada. US cars have a sensor in each wheel.

The display on the car with the TPMS also shows the actual pressure in each tire, where on many, it only shows green, yellow, red for the status. So, you can monitor and refill if you notice one tire getting a little low way before the logic issues a warning. I wish my other car had that!

Regarding tire issues, BMW gives us bolt belts and suspenders - two separate, completely independent systems.

Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM) system
The system monitors the tire pressure in the four fitted tires. The system warns if the inflation pressure in one or more tires has fallen considerably. To do this, the sensors in the tire valves measure the tire pressure and tire temperatures.

Click to expand...

A note follows that "No warning can be given of extreme, serious sudden tire failure caused by external factors", so BMW also gives us:

Run Flat Indicator
The system identifies a loss of pressure by comparing the speeds of rotation of the individual wheels while the vehicle is in motion. If a tire loses pressure, its diameter changes. This in turn alters the rotational speed of the corresponding wheel. This is detected and reported as a flat tire. The system does not measure the tire pressures as such.

Click to expand...

A comforting level of redundancy, in my opinion.

ultraturtle said:

Regarding tire issues, BMW gives us bolt belts and suspenders - two separate, completely independent systems.

Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM) system
The system monitors the tire pressure in the four fitted tires. The system warns if the inflation pressure in one or more tires has fallen considerably. To do this, the sensors in the tire valves measure the tire pressure and tire temperatures.

Click to expand...

A note follows that "No warning can be given of extreme, serious sudden tire failure caused by external factors", so BMW also gives us:

Run Flat Indicator
The system identifies a loss of pressure by comparing the speeds of rotation of the individual wheels while the vehicle is in motion. If a tire loses pressure, its diameter changes. This in turn alters the rotational speed of the corresponding wheel. This is detected and reported as a flat tire. The system does not measure the tire pressures as such.

Click to expand...

A comforting level of redundancy, in my opinion.

Click to expand...

Where did you find this info?

i3atl said:

Where did you find this info?

Click to expand...

BMW i3 Owners Manual pages 91 and 94 in the USA version, or pages 89 and 91 in the UK version.

ultraturtle said:

i3atl said:

Where did you find this info?

Click to expand...

BMW i3 Owners Manual pages 91 and 94 in the USA version, or pages 89 and 91 in the UK version.

Click to expand...

Thanks. The FTM is the system that is provided on cars that don't have the sensor-based TPMS - the technical docs suggest that the car has one or the other, not both (although the US cars are likely equipped with everything needed for FTM, but for whatever reason it's not enabled).

See the note at the start of the Safety chapter you're referencing - all equipment is described in that chapter, but different markets include different standard and optional features. Also note that the "Status Display" under the Vehicle Status menu, referenced in the FTM section of the manual, isn't present on cars equipped with TPMS.

i3atl said:

...the technical docs suggest that the car has one or the other, not both...

Click to expand...

I stand corrected. My i3 has TPMS, but FTM appears to be disabled:

• - TPM is listed under "Instrumentation and Controls" on the window sticker, and FTM is not.
  - There is no FTM reset in the car's menu system.

Thanks.

Shrink13 said:

Can someone please explain to me how the city collision system is supposed to work? The dealer said that it is automatic with no settings necessary. I was told that the car will brake for someone walking in front or behind the car. Am I also supposed to get an audible warning? Mine does nothing at all.

Click to expand...

The Intelligent Safety system has two separate but related functions:
-Front-end collision warning with City Braking
-Pedestrian warning with City Braking

The Intelligent Safety button between the air vents in the center stack indicates the system status. Lighted green ring means all functions are on. Lighted orange ring means one function has been manually disabled. No light ring means the system is off.

When a front collision is possible, a red vehicle symbol shows steady at the top center of the instrument cluster. When a collision is imminent, the symbol flashes and an alarm sounds. If the driver ignores the warnings, automatic emergency braking will take place.

When a pedestrian is detected in the vehicle's path similar warning sequences occur though the pedestrian symbol is a much larger human figure on the side of the instrument display.

The system is largely automatic. However there are on/off and pre-warning time settings in the iDrive menu so your dealer might have simplified the explanation a bit too much.

In normal operation, you'll see no evidence of the system at work. The warning are generated based upon your speed and the distance to the object in front of you. If you approach other vehicles in a controlled manner, you'll never see a warning. When I first got my i3, I also questioned if mine was working.

That end after two weeks. We were in a long line at a traffic light. The car in front of me set off and I followed suit but a gap opened enough for a bicyclist who had been riding parallel in the right lane to dart diagonally across my path and make a left at the intersection. I guess the cyclist had enough of a person-shape that the system read him as a pedestrian. In a split second, the instrument panel flashed the big red person symbol, the alarm sounded and the brakes engaged with a force I've never experienced. The car halted immediately while the cyclist flew around the corner probably unaware of the accident he almost blundered into.