60ah GOM vs Real world

I just picked up a well optioned '14 i3 (60ah BEV) for $13.8k. It's in immaculate condition allowed me to forgive the battery degradation.. Before purchasing the hidden menu battery test revealed 15.2kw @ full charge (vs 18.8). The GOM said 62 miles. My trip home from the dealer was ~190 miles, with a DC at the half way point. I ended up getting 80 miles of range on the first leg going 50-55 mph with fairly flat terrain in 70 degree weather.

After driving about 40 miles, I topped off at an L2 station next door to a fantastic Italian restaurant. The last leg was colder with more hills, but I still got 72-73 miles going 60 mph with 12 miles left over when I got home. I made the trip only having to charge twice, which surprised me, considering the 20% degradation.

Everything I read said I should expect 70-75 miles in town and 60 miles of highway driving. This makes me wonder how accurate the hidden menu battery test is. The range seems spot on with my '13 Ford Focus Electric with the exact sized batter, which the i3 replaced.

Thoughts?

121gwats said:

This makes me wonder how accurate the hidden menu battery test is.

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Batt. Kapa. max is a calculated usable capacity value. I haven't read how Batt. Kapa. max is calculated, so I don't understand what might affect its value. In our 2014 BEV with only 9k miles, Batt. Kapa. max was 18.9 kWh in November, 2015, 16.5 kWh in October, 2016, 20.9 kWh in November, 2016, after a software update, 19.7 kWh in October, 2017, 18.9 kWh in February, 2018, and is now 16.2 kWh. So Batt. Kapa. max has varied up and down over the years for reasons I don't understand.

Recently, some European 60 Ah i3 owners have found evidence that the battery management system is increasing the unusable capacity over time, possible to reduce the battery cell degradation rate and thus BMW's battery warranty replacement rate which would mask any actual cell degradation this making Batt. Kapa. max fairly useless in determining actual cell degradation.

If your range is acceptable, be happy and enjoy your recent purchase.

I believe one factor for the value of Batt.Max.Kapa is the battery temperature . I think it is real as well . A colder battery will not hold as much charge .

I need to reframe my question, I was vague.

How many real world miles did the i3 get when new, going ~55mph on relatively flat ground with ~70 degree weather? How about highway miles? Obviously I'm not asking for hard numbers, just ballpark figures from memory. I left the dealership expecting to get 60 miles per charge and was pleasantly surprised getting 75-80 miles.

Yesterday I got 64.3 miles going 50-55mph on a series of steep hills at 39 degrees in Eco Pro+ (no charging options, and I forgot to bring the travel charger :? )

My Volt always got above the EPA number when driven halfway carefully, and now its settling into its EPA figures.. Wondering if thats whats happening now.

It's been a long time now, but I think the original window sticker called for 84-miles in comfort mode, and about 10% more in steps as you went up the Eco modes.

The community average is about 4-miles/KW, so that would put it around 80-miles, give or take.

Cold inhibits the chemical reaction and prevents the battery from being able to discharge its full capacity. Those electrons prefer things warmer so they can move freely to the outlet through the battery. They're still there chemically, just won't move. As an example, I had mine in a relatively warm garage. Swapped positions with my other vehicle, and overnight, 'lost' about 15% in predicted range as the battery cooled off. The colder it is, the more significant the effect.

121gwats said:

How many real world miles did the i3 get when new, going ~55mph on relatively flat ground with ~70 degree weather?

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When we wanted to replace our Mitsubishi i-MiEV when we needed more than its ~80 mile range, the i3 BEV was the only compact hatchback EV alternative. I told our BMW dealer that if we could circumnavigate Oahu without stopping to charge, ~100 miles, we would be interested in buying an i3 BEV. He gave me a 2014 Mega BEV demo with a square 155R19 setup on pizza slice wheels, probably the lightest, most efficient i3 that has been sold in the U.S. With the A/C off, we drove around the island with 5 miles of estimated range to spare; i.e., ~105 miles actual range. The route included a 65 mph 1k foot ascent followed by a 50 mph 1k foot descent. The remainder was ideal EV driving at ~45 mph with little elevation change. The early November temperature was probably ~80º F.

Art,

Thanks for the data! I know the drive well, I used to work for the Star-Bulletin in the late 2000's, and drove all over creation, mostly stuck in traffic if I recall.