6 Months And I’m Going to Sell it

2017 Rex, 3500 km. Silver with tan leather patches and cloth. I bought it May this year with some end-of-year discounts. I was really excited to drive and explore the i3 but I’m done. The car should never have been allowed to go this many years with so many flaws.

The cruise control is dangerous, it quits when it sees...anything. Fence posts, shadows, strong light, then it stops. Doesn’t matter if there is the Hounds of Hell following, it thinks it needs to stop.

The computer said it had 225 km range when I got it, it now says 180 with a full charge. Where did my battery go?

The steering capriciously gets stiff, will not centre and generally feels like a front tire has failed. No code, no record, “could not replicate.”

You cannot wear even the oldest, cleanest jeans in this car, the leather grabs any pigment left in the cloth and makes the leather look grubby. I have to clean the seats as often as I have to clean the windows; which is another issue, only a gorilla can reach the forward inside of the windshield, it’s too far away unless you are really good at certain positions in yoga.

The “A” pillar is so wide you can hide a semi behind it. You need to drive it like a bird at a feeder, constantly peering around the pillar in traffic.

It’s been back twice for service for that scooter motor and it’s only been 3500 km. I have used it once.

The dealer is a piece of work, they had the car for two weeks and “couldn’t replicate” so when I took a bus and ferry to go pick it up, it had a check engine light when I started it. Are you kidding me?

Why are the charging plug covers too crappy to have a place to put them? They will not stay on the Mickey Mouse hooks provided, which reminds me, no cover to protect theharging port from the weather?

My frunk is full of leaves and crap, why isn’t it waterproof? Doesn’t it rain in Munich?

The high beam lights are halogen and have as much power as a pumpkin. Same colour too. I tried replacing the bulbs with leds but the pattern is awful. They changed that this year but why are mine so crappy?

Why did they design the cockpit so the steering wheel hides the wipers? There must be a good reason for that one. Maybe their designers all live in cubicles, but didn’t somebody drive the prototype?

What about that beautiful black strip of (plastic?) along the top of the bumper that you cannot avoid touching with luggage? Really?

Why doesn’t the “automatic” trip reset reset the trip?

Have to tried getting over a speed bump without the car sounding like it’s been rear-ended? Or been accelerating and hit a crack in the road?

The computer gives me a nanny lecture about driving every time I start the car.

Why does the remote software, all the BMW stuff, only work half the time?

The tiny rear passenger side windows should open or more air should be directed back there, its a claustrophobic weird space meant only for cargo.

I can’t prove it but after the last service it feels like the regenerative braking has been dumbed down, its not as aggressive as it was, I’m having to use the brakes much more. Why would they do that? I really liked the fact it would stop going down a hill, if you let it?

The brakes are noisy too, sounds like it was driven on the beach and they are full of sand. They are nice and shiny so go figure.

I am intensely disappointed. I really wanted to embrace the new technology and be part of a smallish electric car revolution, but this car is not even a good car. The technology and the materials (except for that weird scratchy material they used on the dashboard, can hardly wait until that gets dusty) was interesting and innovative but the car is a poor car, guaranteed to forever prevent me from buying another BMW if this is typical of the stuff they produce.

Xsbank said:

The cruise control is dangerous, it quits when it sees...anything. Fence posts, shadows, strong light, then it stops. Doesn’t matter if there is the Hounds of Hell following, it thinks it needs to stop.

Click to expand...

I've been driving for 4 years with ACC on at all times as a backup safety system should I not see something ahead myself. Being a camera-based system, it can be blinded by the sun just as one's eyes can be. Very dark shadows near very bright surfaces can confuse it as well. This doesn't happen often where I drive, but I'm always prepared to press the power pedal when ACC shuts off to prevent regen braking from occurring. I believe that ACC makes my driving safer, not more dangerous, but it is merely an assisting technology not intended to drive on its own without close monitoring.

Xsbank said:

The computer said it had 225 km range when I got it, it now says 180 with a full charge. Where did my battery go?

Click to expand...

Probably nowhere. The range numbers are computed estimates that depend on how an i3 has been driven in the past 30 km. and also depends on ambient temperature. This is no different from range estimates on ICE vehicles.

Xsbank said:

The steering capriciously gets stiff, will not centre and generally feels like a front tire has failed. No code, no record, “could not replicate.”

Click to expand...

That is a serious problem that BMW must fix. Reports of this problem have appeared only in the past several months, and exiting and re-entering drive readiness state seems to temporarily fix the problem, so I'm guessing that this is a software problem introduced in a fairly recent system software version. Our 2014 BEV with old July, 2016, system software hasn't had this problem.

Xsbank said:

You cannot wear even the oldest, cleanest jeans in this car, the leather grabs any pigment left in the cloth and makes the leather look grubby. I have to clean the seats as often as I have to clean the windows; which is another issue, only a gorilla can reach the forward inside of the windshield, it’s too far away unless you are really good at certain positions in yoga.

Click to expand...

Our i3 has the same interior as yours, but our seats look like new after 4 years and never having been cleaned. I have read about the blue dye in some blue jeans transferring to the wool upholstery, but this is the first I have read about dye affecting the leather. I haven't bought any new jeans since owning our i3, so maybe all the "loose" dye in my jeans had gone before I wore them in our i3.

The inside of the huge windshield is a pain to clean, no doubt about it.

Xsbank said:

The “A” pillar is so wide you can hide a semi behind it. You need to drive it like a bird at a feeder, constantly peering around the pillar in traffic.

Click to expand...

This bothered me when I first bought our i3, but I have compensated for it automatically and rock side to side a bit to avoid the blind spot. The i3 certainly isn't the only car with a wide A pillar, but the A pillar needs to be strong enough to provide the roof strength necessary to meet current roof strength requirements.

Xsbank said:

It’s been back twice for service for that scooter motor and it’s only been 3500 km. I have used it once.

Click to expand...

The REx system is a clever workaround for the lack of high energy density battery cells, but it has been a fairly troublesome system. Fortunately, ours is a BEV.

Xsbank said:

Why are the charging plug covers too crappy to have a place to put them? They will not stay on the Mickey Mouse hooks provided, which reminds me, no cover to protect theharging port from the weather?

Click to expand...

Maybe you're not using the hooks as I do because I have never had a problem with the J1772 cover falling off the hook, and the DCFC cover will stack on top of the J1772 cover when fast charging.

Living in Honolulu, I don't need charging port snow protection, and rain hasn't been a problem. Some i3 owners living in snow country have fashioned a protector out of a common inexpensive cover of some sort available at many hardware stores.

Xsbank said:

My frunk is full of leaves and crap, why isn’t it waterproof? Doesn’t it rain in Munich?

Click to expand...

I agree. One theory is that BMW designed the frunk box to have flow-through ventilation to dry the occasional use cable (OUC) should it be stored in the frunk when wet. Because I never store the OUC in the frunk, I would prefer it to be water and air tight. BMW sells a waterproof bag for the frunk (overly expensive IMHO) and others have written about various waterproof containers that fit well, so this problem does have several solutions.

Xsbank said:

The high beam lights are halogen and have as much power as a pumpkin. Same colour too. I tried replacing the bulbs with leds but the pattern is awful. They changed that this year but why are mine so crappy?

Click to expand...

BMW's answer might be that the i3 is designed for the city where high-beam headlights aren't used much.

As you learned, fitting LED bulbs in enclosures whose reflector and lens are designed for a halogen bulb isn't usually a satisfactory solution.

Xsbank said:

Why did they design the cockpit so the steering wheel hides the wipers? There must be a good reason for that one. Maybe their designers all live in cubicles, but didn’t somebody drive the prototype?

Click to expand...

I assume you mean the wiper control stalk rather than the wipers themselves. I operate the wipers by touch. I just press the button at the end of the stalk to turn on automatic operation and occasional move the stalk up or down for manual operation. For this, I don't need to see the control stalk.

Xsbank said:

What about that beautiful black strip of (plastic?) along the top of the bumper that you cannot avoid touching with luggage? Really?

Click to expand...

A poor design that can be easily fixed with an inexpensive ribbed rubber protector that Amazon sells.

Xsbank said:

Why doesn’t the “automatic” trip reset reset the trip?

Click to expand...

The automatic reset resets the trip computer. The trip computer keeps track of more than just distance driven.

The trip odometer visible along the right edge of the instrument panel can be reset only manually by pressing the button on the left edge of the panel.

Both can be used as independent trip odometers.

Xsbank said:

Have to tried getting over a speed bump without the car sounding like it’s been rear-ended? Or been accelerating and hit a crack in the road?

Click to expand...

Doesn't seem normal in my experience. Maybe something is loose.

Xsbank said:

The computer gives me a nanny lecture about driving every time I start the car.

Click to expand...

Could be some country-specific regulation. In any event, this and other warnings can be turned off and other behaviors changed using the BimmerCode smartphone app.

Xsbank said:

Why does the remote software, all the BMW stuff, only work half the time?

Click to expand...

BMW's Web services expertise seems to be lacking with relatively frequent server outages (this is country-dependent). However, this remote software depends on an i3's cellular data connection as well. If an i3 is parked where the cellular signal is weak, problems occur. I haven't experienced many outages in 4 years.

Xsbank said:

The tiny rear passenger side windows should open or more air should be directed back there, its a claustrophobic weird space meant only for cargo.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Climate control airways should extend to the rear as well.

That said, we rarely have rear passengers. We use the rear of our i3 almost exclusively for cargo and keep the rear seats folded down.

Xsbank said:

I can’t prove it but after the last service it feels like the regenerative braking has been dumbed down, its not as aggressive as it was, I’m having to use the brakes much more. Why would they do that? I really liked the fact it would stop going down a hill, if you let it?

Click to expand...

Others have reported similar observations. The system software in our i3 will be updated on 1 November to make the driver's airbag operation safer. I hope the regenerative braking isn't reduced with this update.

Xsbank said:

The brakes are noisy too, sounds like it was driven on the beach and they are full of sand. They are nice and shiny so go figure.

Click to expand...

The brakes on our i3 are noisy as well, but I can see surface rust on the disks which would explain the noise. BMW might have reduced the regenerative braking strength to force the friction brakes to be used enough to keep the disks polished and rust-free. I would prefer stainless steel brake disks rather than weaker regenerative braking strength.

Xsbank said:

I am intensely disappointed. I really wanted to embrace the new technology and be part of a smallish electric car revolution, but this car is not even a good car. The technology and the materials (except for that weird scratchy material they used on the dashboard, can hardly wait until that gets dusty) was interesting and innovative but the car is a poor car, guaranteed to forever prevent me from buying another BMW if this is typical of the stuff they produce.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry that you are so disappointed. Our experience has been completely different from yours. However, I am not impressed by BMW's software expertise. It is primitive compare with Tesla's, but Tesla doesn't make a light, compact, corrosion-resistant hatchback. If our i3 remains reliable, and no equivalent EV is available when BMW stops making the i3, I would consider buying the final version.

We have had ours for about 3 months now. Ours was imported from Cali with about 20k kms on it. So far it has been issue and trouble free.

I have done some coding to adjust a few things that I found strange in the public release version. It has been getting better or just more to my liking.

I haven't used the high beams yet but I might have to switch them out for LED's when that time comes.

I think it is a really cool car with some much forward thinking and R&D put into it.

I am a big fan of carbon fibre as well from my cycling experience.

Perhaps there are a few things that can be coded/modified to make your experience better.

Getting help from a dealership is pretty much a crap shoot. It is hard to find anyone there who is really knowledgeable about the inner workings of these cars.

I am working on getting mine on an extended warranty with Langley BMW as we have a Mini that we bought from them a few years back and they seem pretty good with that car.

The recharging caps work just fine on the hook, flip the thing over and look, there's a molded in small recess that fits very well on that hook. There's a diagram in the owner's manual.

BMW says that on the i3, opening window(s) above 25mph the drag requires more power than running the a/c. When the system is in AUTO mode, use the fan control. In AUTO mode, it actually adjusts the aggressiveness of the HVAC system, that helps to keep the whole cabin more comfortable. The fan will still adjust itself based on needs, but you'll find it does make a difference. So, whether you agree (obviously not) or not, there's both a weight and functional reason why it is as it is. Same reasoning on the 'lack' of power seat and/or steering wheel adjustment motors...they add to the power use and weight, two things that hurt maximum range. Power external mirrors is a safety thing, so they're there.

As was discussed on the range to empty...a simple thing like the ambient temperature can cause the calculation to differ, even if you've not actually driven the car. I moved my i3 from my heated garage to outside, let it sit for a few hours, and the estimated range dropped considerably when it got in it again. I've driven like 12-miles, and had my range to empty increase because I was now on secondary, slower speed roads verses high-speed highways. The number it does give you is really based on the last 18-miles (30Km) of driving. It assumes you'll drive it exactly the same for the rest of the battery capacity. The logic on an ICE is the same. Unless you put a destination into the nav system, the car does not know the road conditions, terrain, and speed limits of where you may drive, so uses your past history. If you do use the nav with a destination set into it, the range estimate gets better. WHen the software is updated, it erases the learning it did on how you drove...it takes it awhile to regenerate a profile for your current use.

The i3 is not perfect, but it's a lot better than you think it is.

ACC is unreliable, period! Rain triggered the warning, luckily car did not brake, ever since, I use it only below 20 miles/hr in bumper to bumper traffic.

Other than that car has been problem free.

Xsbank said:

The computer said it had 225 km range when I got it, it now says 180 with a full charge. Where did my battery go?

Click to expand...

You drive your car hard is what that means. Just like how in an ICE car, if it claims to get 35 MPG, but you drive it hard, you'll probably only get 30 MPG. My 2004 Prius in theory could get 500 miles per tank. I never got more than 350. (Between the combination of worse mileage than the official estimate and a tank that declares itself "empty" when there was still 1-2 gallons left in it.)

Xsbank said:

The “A” pillar is so wide you can hide a semi behind it. You need to drive it like a bird at a feeder, constantly peering around the pillar in traffic.

Click to expand...

That is extremely common now, with airbags in the pillar. Hell, my 2004 car had a huge A-pillar to fit airbags in it. Combined with thickening/strengthening for rollover protection, there are extraordinarily few new cars with "skinny" A-pillars any more.

I've only had my i3 6 days so I can't really comment on all your "items of frustration and whats seems to be anger" but as a long time BMW owner I'd like to say that for the most part, BMW cars are well built and thought out cars for drivers.

Now having said that, I will agree that they sometimes (or more often lol) they forget about the driver's needs when it comes to actual interaction with the car which leads to many a frustrating drive.

To me, your list reads like you were looking for the perfect car and the i3 fell well short? I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my i3 and so far the only complaint I have is that the range estimate (guesstimate?) is a bit all over the place. Granted mine is a used vehicle, so perhaps it will take time to learn my driving style??

I've coded some features on & off and also updated the maps to 2019-1 which helps with some of the annoyances and expectations. As a BMW enthusiast and previous BMW Car Club member and all around petrol head I'm really sorry to see BMW lose another driver.

sounds like this car isn't for you. I suspect that the little things aren't so big for you but having issue after issue wears on you and you end up going nuts and need a change.

I agree, sounds like the car really isn't for the OP. I disagree with almost all the points though.

Great visibility, high beams are fine, much more pleasing color quality than the low beam LED, though they do clash, it is really a 3 door car with access doors so comes along with features you would expect in a 3 door (no roll down rear windows, etc), I haul people in the back all the time and they like how big the window is back there, automatic trip resets only after a period of time (which might be adjustable), brake shield can catch rocks sometimes, happened to me once, tera interior is dark (why I avoided other light interiors), battery capacity range guess is tied to how you drive.

I did have power steering glitch once in 8000 miles and the online service reliability is annoying.

Alright, OP posted one technical help post, then this, then left. I'd say this thread should probably just be considered a "troll" at this point and shut down.

CharonPDX said:

Alright, OP posted one technical help post, then this, then left. I'd say this thread should probably just be considered a "troll" at this point and shut down.

Click to expand...

Good observation.

Some people will NEVER be happy

Interesting insight into any grumble ever possible, and great responses.

I pick up mine tomorrow so very excited. Although I might not sleep well worrying about that strip of black plastic !!!!

Cheers, Finchie

Actually, I have not left, I am still an owner and I am still annoyed, especially after having paid huge dollars for this thing. I watched the official BMW build video and I was impressed, but the flaws are too numerous for me to ever be thrilled now. Dumbing down the regen braking has me quite choked and the dealer has to answer for changing the car into something I didn’t buy.

Thanks for the support.

Bad design outlives those of us who are pioneering these cars, you can see where they cut corners. I hope you are happy with your choice.

Xsbank said:

Dumbing down the regen braking has me quite choked and the dealer has to answer for changing the car into something I didn’t buy.

Click to expand...

To be clear, the dealer didn't change the regen braking power. If the dealer installed a system software update during your most recent service visit (you should be able to find out), the software update might have changed the regenerative braking power. If the regen braking power was reduced, it could have been to reduce stress on the motor mounts, to increase stability in low-traction situations, or for some other reason that BMW doesn't explain to i3 owners. I won't be happy if regen braking is reduced when the driver airbag fix is implemented by a software update, but an i3 owner can't choose which changes to include and which to exclude.

Xsbank said:

I hope you are happy with your choice.

Click to expand...

When I consider other EV's that would meet our needs as well as our i3, nothing else comes to mind. So until a real alternative exists, I will remain happy enough with our choice to keep it. Selling it now would make its cost of ownership very high due to its high depreciation rate. The longer we keep it (assuming no expensive repair costs), the less expensive its cost of ownership becomes.

I bought the 2015 i3 Rex as a CPO for $18K with 26K miles on it with everything except ACC and in my 5 months of usage, the only issues I had was the recall on the gas cap pressure thnigy which was fixed and I used their fix a flat to fix my tire and it screwed the sensor which they also fixed at no cost to me.

I now drive the car in Bimmer mode i.e. "Comfort" mode only and have come to love it. I get anywhere from 65 to 75 miles and the regeneration is perfect in traffic. The Rex easily gives me 70 miles more so I haven't had any range anxiety. Yes there was a learning curve and yes I have to charge it every couple of days but it's an easy price to pay.

I could sell it in a couple of years and get a 2017 i3 Rex and I am OK taking a hit because I didn't pay much to begin with. Bottom line is this has been trouble free for me and I feel sorry that the OP had issues.
I hope the OP works through these issues as the resale on these are taking a huge hit if you paid full price. At least here in the US of A it is a big hit.

Xsbank said:

Actually, I have not left, I am still an owner and I am still annoyed, especially after having paid huge dollars for this thing. I watched the official BMW build video and I was impressed, but the flaws are too numerous for me to ever be thrilled now. Dumbing down the regen braking has me quite choked and the dealer has to answer for changing the car into something I didn’t buy.

Thanks for the support.

Bad design outlives those of us who are pioneering these cars, you can see where they cut corners. I hope you are happy with your choice.

Click to expand...

I think most of the folks who buy BEV are climate cautious, reducing CO2 foot print is likely sits top on their list. Secondly, for many i3 is the only choice, Leaf being second(lack of TMS is dealbraker for a lot) or Tesla, that i think is just too big(too much for my needs). i3 is terrible car in so many ways but it still better that any ICE car. So bar is pretty low for i3 and current owners are pretty forgiving!

And early adopters always pay more, in next 4-5 years i3s would be go for $8K if not less(in US).

i3Houston said:

And early adopters always pay more, in next 4-5 years i3s would be go for $8K if not less(in US).

Click to expand...

The i3's high salvage value should put a floor on its used price. I doubt that the U.S. salvage value will drop as low as $8k, but we won't know for a few more years.

Well in 4 years the battery pack will be out of warranty and will offer a range of ~60 miles. But also there are indications that BMW will discontinue i3 altogether in next couple years.

i3Houston said:

Well in 4 years the battery pack will be out of warranty and will offer a range of ~60 miles. But also there are indications that BMW will discontinue i3 altogether in next couple years.

Click to expand...

It's not possible to predict what the range of our battery pack will be in 4 years. After 4 years, I am still able to drive ~100 miles around the perimeter of Oʻahu if I don't use A/C. However, that's pretty ideal EV driving conditions other than a 1k ft. elevation gain and loss and a few miles of 65 mph freeway driving.

Recent comments by a BMW board member or executive suggest that the i3 will be one of BMW's 5 2021 model year BEV's. There's also a suggestion that another battery capacity update using 140 Ah cells (~51 kWh battery pack capacity) is possible for the 2021 model. So there might be more remaining life in the i3 than many expect.

I was specifically talking about ones with smallest battery packs.