I think your best bet is some sort of goodwill from BMW. You should also explore if any warranty left on the car battery.

I think a motorcycle repair shop that has experience with 650 scooters could determine the problem. But I understand your predicament, you could spend a lot of money and don't get a resolution.

The REX in the i3 is more like an emergency generator than an engine in a car. It could sit unused for months or years at a time. If you look at user manual for any generator, they recommend oil changes every 6 or 12 months and 100 hours, whichever first. For full synthetic oil I think you can go lo...

The REX could be still under warranty. Depends on which states the car is registered.

It is cheaper to stuff more batteries in a car than a range extender. Manufacturers have moved on from REX due to cost and unfavorable regulation. It is not about what makes sense (a 6000 lbs SUV doesn't make sense), but what people think they want and what policies promote.

There is no hard limit, but my personal opinion is that the REX works pretty hard in the i3. In its original purpose in the 650 scooter it has much easier life and can do high mileage. But in the i3 it is probably designed for something like 20 thousand miles. That is still plenty of use as a range ...

One of the issues with i3 suspension is lack of rear sway bar. There is no space for that.

Still much more fun than 90% of EVs on the market, even after 10 years.

If it is their first time, I would ask them to watch a youtube video first. Just promise the tech some tip and ask him to watch the video, rather than trying to find out about i3 quirks on his own.

I doubt run of the mill dealership have people to change a windshield. They will probably source it out, similar to body shop/paint work. I remember in facebook group a year or so ago there was someone who mentioned windshield replacement company (I think it was safelit, but I am not sure) wants to ...

Thanks for the heads up. I hope eventually they will fix the issue, but for now I would stick with CCS chargers.