Heated windscreen washers?

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nowtta60

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 3, 2014
Messages
182
Location
Staffordshire, UK
Does the i3 have them?

I've ordered the winter pack, but don't recall any heated jets mentioned. Likewise it's not mentioned on the standard UK spec I just looked up.

My current ICE is the first car I've had in a while that doesn't have them and temps were -2C / 28F this morning . On my 60 mile drive to work I ended up having to stop and get a bottle of water and resort to manually washing the salt off the windscreen. As I’m in an ICE car, (and an icy one) sitting still for a few minutes managed to thaw out the jets whilst I was in the shop . Well for another 10 minutes after which they promptly froze again once I got up some speed. Had to pull in and do a manual wash again as I was driving east directly into the rising sun :-(

If they aren't included what do you do to thaw them out – considering there’s no rumbling heat generator of an engine to act as a defroster.

Anyone fitted a set of heated jets themselves?

Or have I just got to stick 50:50 anti-freeze in the reservoir?
 
My last job was 150 but only down on a Monday back Friday. Hence why a rex. Just in the range but plenty of gas stations. Thankfully the trains are pretty good so i don't drive every day. Trouble is when i get the i3 I'm thinking do i pay £19 for a train ticket and have a sleep or use the i3 and pay £3 for electric. I wonder if the drive assist will notice if i have my eyes shut. Lol

Good to know there's a more than a chance Ill have heated jets when mine arrives. Just heard it's in the boat coming to uk :). I'm pretty sure most BMWs do have them. My last one did (a 330ci i had a few years back). 1 advantage of a luxury brand. I'd certainly describe getting out of the car when its minus 2 and standing with your fingers on the jets hoping to thaw them the opposite of luxury, especially when trucks were passing within 3 feet of my backside. But then my current car is a Nissan.
 
Nowtta, you raise a good point there, which I hadn't until now considered, hopefully it will be a standard feature on all vehicles, it should certainly have been included in a 'Winter pack' which is now standard for 2015 builds. Hopefully I'm in/on the same boat as you ! I have elected to wait until March 1st though, might as well make it a 15 plate now.
 
nowtta60 said:
Does the i3 have them?

I've ordered the winter pack, but don't recall any heated jets mentioned. Likewise it's not mentioned on the standard UK spec I just looked up.

My current ICE is the first car I've had in a while that doesn't have them and temps were -2C / 28F this morning . On my 60 mile drive to work I ended up having to stop and get a bottle of water and resort to manually washing the salt off the windscreen. As I’m in an ICE car, (and an icy one) sitting still for a few minutes managed to thaw out the jets whilst I was in the shop . Well for another 10 minutes after which they promptly froze again once I got up some speed. Had to pull in and do a manual wash again as I was driving east directly into the rising sun :-(

If they aren't included what do you do to thaw them out – considering there’s no rumbling heat generator of an engine to act as a defroster.

Anyone fitted a set of heated jets themselves?

Or have I just got to stick 50:50 anti-freeze in the reservoir?

BMW screen wash is rated down to -12 at a 1 part screen wash 2 parts water dilution so there shouldn't be an issue even when using it at the maximum dilution. I just got in from work and it was -3 and my screen wash worked fine (1:2 here) with no rear demister working

Bill
 
PluviaPlumbum said:
Nowtta, you raise a good point there, which I hadn't until now considered, hopefully it will be a standard feature on all vehicles, it should certainly have been included in a 'Winter pack' which is now standard for 2015 builds. Hopefully I'm in/on the same boat as you ! I have elected to wait until March 1st though, might as well make it a 15 plate now.
Don't wait till march to get a 15 plate. In that time you could have saved enough fuel to buy a £150 dateless plate. That's my theory anyway. No one will know my initials aren't really something like A3 XDG. LOL Or you can get a 13 plate for £399. And make up such nonsense as takes your fancy. EV 13 xxx are available.

I think it's best to delink the date from the plate anyway... makes people look at the ACTUAL age and condition of the car, not what the letters say.
 
I just bought a plate with my initials in the first two spots, then 00 and then my surname. I am fortunate in that my surname is only 3-characters.
 
It's getting a dateless Private plate with my initials anyway ! I don't anticipate doing much mileage in February as I have a Ski Holiday planned so I just went with what seemed a plan. In truth I'm itching to get my hands on the car and booked another demo loaner; this time of the BEV which I pick up on Thursday just to reacquaint myself with the on board tech.

I just hope that the dealership preps my car in Feb rather than rushing the job as they get quite busy on the initial week of a new Reg.
 
PluviaPlumbum said:
I have elected to wait until March 1st though, might as well make it a 15 plate now.

Yes, same here. My given delivery week was late Feb, so will probably wait until March 1st, too.
 
I was looking at Used i3 prices on the Auto Trader website and at one trader lists Heated washer jets in the spec. Early days yet of course but residuals look ok at the moment! :eek:
 
PluviaPlumbum said:
I was looking at Used i3 prices on the Auto Trader website and at one trader lists Heated washer jets in the spec. Early days yet of course but residuals look ok at the moment! :eek:

Chap on the German forum is trying to sell his at the moment, mind, but struggling.

http://www.goingelectric.de/forum/bmw-i3-allgemeines/bmw-i3-zu-verkaufen-ist-schwer-t8742.html

Having said that, it seems to me they're a bunch of whingers over there anyway ! ;)
 
I was looking at Ampera's the other day - they seem to be doing ok - I guess having an engine isn't that bad after all. Seems to give 2nd hand buyers a bit o confidence that even if the battery range drops a bit they'll still be able to get from A to B.

It will be interesting to compare the residuals on BEV vs REX over time. Still I'm glad I went for a PCP rather than outright purchase or a lease. Now I get the option to choose to pay the balance or hand it back in 3 years time. Was going to stick on a max deposit initially and then reality made me think.. er, a minimum deposit would be best rather than tying capital up in the car.
 
Handed back the BEV loaner this morning and found the time to read the manual that came with it, Heated washer Jets are indeed a standard feature.
Couple of things I found lacking was the Interior Rear light is linked to the Front so a rear passenger can't have the light on independently. Finding the door handle in the dark was harder as there was no detail lighting and unless you have the Driver assistance pack then the standard Cruise control doesn't brake the car except for downhill grades.

Car is on the boat according to my iexpert - not long now. :cool:
 
PluviaPlumbum said:
The standard Cruise control doesn't brake the car except for downhill grades.

Not quite sure why it would brake except going downhill, since this is the only time you'll speed up and need slowing. It does use regenerative braking to slow the car down on a downhill section.
 
The brochure Price list itemises cruise control with braking function as standard.
In the thicker product brochure the wording is very similar to the short paragraph on Active cruise control, I mistakenly took the two be one and the same thing and did not option the Driver assistance pack. Not really going to inconvenience me that much as I tend not to drive that much in heavy traffic.
 
The adaptive cruise control will maintain a set spacing and stop, which is what I have. But, I do find that it can be quite abrupt on the stop part if you weren't following someone and drive up to cars that are stopped at say a light. So, it might actually stop if you got closer - probably closer than you'd want to. While pretty good in stop and go, or if you're following someone, it's not as smooth as an awake driver if you come upon something as it will surprise you.
 
i just found out from the i3 FB page there's an owners manual app for ios and android. BMW Drivers guide for BMW i. You need the last 7 digits of your vin and it will download the right manual for your car. I got mine about 2 months before build date. .. So it will give you something to read whilst waiting. :) Shane I've only got 2 days left to wait now.

The app is quite good, not only do you get the manual but vidoes and you can add bookmarks.

And indeed heated jets are included. Well done BMW!
 
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