Avoiding a Total Loss with Accident Prevention Technologies

As far as I have researched, the i3 is one of the safest cars on the road since it has technology that can prevent an accident altogether. The only car that may be better in this regard is the Tesla lineup, especially as I have not seen any examples of the i3's frontal collision system working anywhere as spot-on as Tesla's system -- Tesla's frontal collision system works extremely well to prevent accidents that a human driver's reaction time wouldn't have avoided.

Since I am expecting to love my i3 when I pick it up next week to the point I wouldn't want any other car besides another BMW i vehicle or a Tesla, I do have a concern about the inconsiderate, distracted drivers I have to deal with. My previous car was deemed a total loss after a red light runner T-boned it, so I will go from being a defensive driver to a hyper-defensive driver that could get honked at :lol:. I managed to lease the exact i3 configuration (20" tires notwithstanding -- would prefer the all-season 19") from a dealer 100+ miles away and pay the exact price I wanted to pay, almost miraculously so. I would absolutely hate for this car to ever be deemed a total loss, or get into an accident in it at all but we all know the road is full of threats out of our control. As it is a lease and there is no coverage that I'm aware of that would replace the car with a similar i3 if it were to get totaled, I really doubt I'd be able to have lightning strike twice and purchase another perfect i3 at a price that's almost twice as good as other dealers that I've negotiated with. A total loss accident would be a big blow to me, especially as there is no feasible option for me afterward as I have a Tesla Model 3 reservation -- although I would certainly lease a 2017-2018 i3 instead if I found a similar deal, which is doubtable at best.

I have read some conflicting information regarding the parking sensors providing both a rear end collision warning and sideswipe warning to try to prevent them before they occur. So, the vehicle has frontal collision prevention as well as rear end collision and sideswipe warnings. It seems traffic jam assist, which keeps the vehicle in its lane, isn't available in the U.S. market -- a shame as this would make the i3 even more comparable to a Tesla.

I know I'm being a bit irrational and that the only way to truly prevent an accident is to not drive this beautiful work of art, but I want to utilize all the technologies in the car to prevent a total loss accident. Maybe some users with experience can speak to this, but I do wish BMW made the vehicle entirely repairable even if it were to get T-boned or (heaven forbid) an accident at highway speeds.

The front and rear of the i3 are designed to where, if the CFRP is damaged, it can be cut out at predetermined points, and a new section bonded in place. I don't think there is any way to repair the main cage beyond those points.

jadnashuanh said:

The front and rear of the i3 are designed to where, if the CFRP is damaged, it can be cut out at predetermined points, and a new section bonded in place. I don't think there is any way to repair the main cage beyond those points.

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So, what is the extent that an i3 can be damaged and still be repaired? As I understand it at the least the i3 is designed to not dent if hit at parking lot speeds (under 3.5mph).

The body panels are plastic, so things like door dings might damage paint, but not dent things...most of the time, it just bounces back.

The front and rear of the i3 life module has 'arms' projecting outwards. Those can be cut off at 3 specific points, and the appropriate replacement 'arm' can be bonded back in place if they are damaged depending on how far back the damage occurs. If the CFRP life module behind those points is damaged, the car would likely be totaled.

Have you driven an i3 yet? I don't know what you mean by rear collision avoidance or sideswipe avoidance, how could a car avoid a rear collision? It has parking sensors, if equipped with the parking assistance package, which would help you avoid hitting something while parking, but if someone hits you from behind at 100mph, there is no way for the car to be able to do anything about that. I believe the Tesla Model S and X can avoid being side-swiped but I am not aware of the i3 having this capability either, in fact I've almost been side-swiped before in my i3. The frontal collision avoidance technology only comes with certain packages, so be sure you have the package before you try it. A member/owner on FB found out the hard way that he did not have it, which was really sad because he paid cash for the car and did not have full coverage because he claimed he had not been in a wreck in 20 years and thought full coverage was not needed, so he got to pay to have the car fixed out of his own pocket. That all said, I've only had mine brake for me once in 13 months and 10,700 miles. Once is all it takes for it to be worth it but what I'm trying to get at is that you have to be really distracted to get to that point, it is very late and I don't believe BMW guarantee's you will avoid a collision, just that the effects of the potential collision (if not avoided all together) will be minimized by the car self-braking before impact, again, if you have that package on your i3.

imolazhp said:

Have you driven an i3 yet? I don't know what you mean by rear collision avoidance or sideswipe avoidance, how could a car avoid a rear collision? It has parking sensors, if equipped with the parking assistance package, which would help you avoid hitting something while parking, but if someone hits you from behind at 100mph, there is no way for the car to be able to do anything about that. I believe the Tesla Model S and X can avoid being side-swiped but I am not aware of the i3 having this capability either, in fact I've almost been side-swiped before in my i3. The frontal collision avoidance technology only comes with certain packages, so be sure you have the package before you try it. A member/owner on FB found out the hard way that he did not have it, which was really sad because he paid cash for the car and did not have full coverage because he claimed he had not been in a wreck in 20 years and thought full coverage was not needed, so he got to pay to have the car fixed out of his own pocket. That all said, I've only had mine brake for me once in 13 months and 10,700 miles. Once is all it takes for it to be worth it but what I'm trying to get at is that you have to be really distracted to get to that point, it is very late and I don't believe BMW guarantee's you will avoid a collision, just that the effects of the potential collision (if not avoided all together) will be minimized by the car self-braking before impact, again, if you have that package on your i3.

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Of course I'll be sure to double check the settings to ensure it does have the frontal collision prevention system, but it has the technology package so it should. Although BMW should really make safety features like this standard for the good of all like Tesla does. To clarify, I had read that the i3 can alert you if someone is getting too close to the car so if possible you get a second or two to prevent being rear ended (by honking or moving out of the way, space permitting). Same with the sideswipe warning -- the sensors would pick up if someone were to get too close. Tesla's system does indeed move out of the way if it determines it has enough room to do so to avoid being sideswiped, so it is on the whole more advanced.

What was the situation where the i3 braked for you? There are many videos of Tesla's Autopilot preventing serious accidents before a driver can even notice so I'm curious how drastic of a situation the i3 can get you out of.

Such as this infamous example of Tesla's auto braking saving the day:
http://youtu.be/9X-5fKzmy38

thefuturenow said:

Of course I'll be sure to double check the settings to ensure it does have the frontal collision prevention system, but it has the technology package so it should. Although BMW should really make safety features like this standard for the good of all like Tesla does. To clarify, I had read that the i3 can alert you if someone is getting too close to the car so if possible you get a second or two to prevent being rear ended (by honking or moving out of the way, space permitting). Same with the sideswipe warning -- the sensors would pick up if someone were to get too close. Tesla's system does indeed move out of the way if it determines it has enough room to do so to avoid being sideswiped, so it is on the whole more advanced.

What was the situation where the i3 braked for you? There are many videos of Tesla's Autopilot preventing serious accidents before a driver can even notice so I'm curious how drastic of a situation the i3 can get you out of.

Such as this infamous example of Tesla's auto braking saving the day:
http://youtu.be/9X-5fKzmy38

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Someone mentioned their rear camera automatically coming up when someone got close to them at a stop light, but again, if they are moving faster than 5mph, I don't think you will have time to react to someone rear-ending you. The only sensors on the side of the car are the parking sensors at the front and back bumpers (on the sides) again, unless they were very slowly moving over on you, and you happened to not be alert would it beep at you, but I think only if you are going under 15mph. I don't think the parking sensors do any sensing once you get up to speed. Someone correct me if I am wrong, or check the manual.

imolazhp said:

I don't think the parking sensors do any sensing once you get up to speed. Someone correct me if I am wrong, or check the manual.

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I think that's correct. Ultrasonic sensors apparently have a very short range, so they would not be very effective preventing an accident at anything but a very slow speed. Our i3 beeped and automatically braked because it thought I was about to collide with the car in front while traveling less than 5 mph.

The i3's ACC camera is apparently a low resolution (VGA) black and white camera. It has trouble detecting obstacles more than 100 m. ahead, so it would not work well for collision avoidance at highway speeds. But it apparently will "pre-pressurize" the hydraulic brake circuit should it decide that the driver might collide with something ahead which supposedly helps reduce the braking distance and could thus reduce the severity of any resulting collision.