BMW i3. A very unhappy customer

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emver

Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Messages
8
I bought an i3 in December 2016, 2 days after its 3 yr warranty expired, with 15.000 miles on the clock. Initial impressions were favourable.

After a week the home charger, supplied as standard with the car, emitted a loud buzzing noise after charging. The next time I used it, it was fine. In January however, when we plugged it in the car wouldn't charge. 30 minutes later I tried again and it was back to normal. The next time that happened I booked it in to BMW Sytner in Coventry. They tested it today and said the charger had stopped working altogether. A new one from BMW is £633.

Since the fault first showed within days of the warranty expiry, I assumed that BMW would replace it without charge (excuse the pun), but they refused. In fact I bought the car with a Premium Guarantee from Autogard, but they are refusing to honour it on the grounds that the charger is classed as part of the wiring system. BMW refuse to make any goodwill payment on the grounds that the car has a 3rd Party warranty, even though the warranty doesn't cover the fault.

I am appalled, frankly, by both Autogard and by BMW. This car cost over £40,000 new and has covered just 1500 miles yet BMW refuses to honour a claim for a fault which came to light just days after the warranty expired. Will I ever buy another one? - have a guess!
 
Whilst I sympathise to a certain extent, you were aware that the warranty was ending and that you would be on your own unless you made alternative arrangements. You benefited from a reduced price due to its age, and it sounds as if the casual charger was used as the primary source of charging for your car and is/was life expired. Expecting BMW to swap it for free is a stretch - for what it is, the price is typically BMW, so why not seek an alternative? Indeed in my last car, I never used the home charger... ever! When I sold it on I couldn't even tell you if it worked, as I never took it out its storage bag.

Buy a replacement with the money you saved on the purchase price - you're still ahead of the game. As for the secondary warranty - I knew they wouldn't cover the brick, it isn't even part of the car (but an accessory). I'm sure there will be lots of other things they'll not cover, but that's not BMW's fault, they cover very little and the game is to find out what they WILL cover!
 
Buzby. I'm obviously not blaming BMW for the inadequacy of a 3rd party warranty, but I do condemn them for their pathetic excuse for not considering a goodwill contribution after a vital component failed within days of the expiry of the BMW warranty. Their excuse was that they wouldn't consider it because the car was covered by a 3rd party warranty, even though that warranty excludes the charging lead.

You also seem to suggest that the standard charger is somehow inadequate and can't be expected to last beyond the warranty period. Well nobody at BMW suggested that when I was considering buying a new i3 from them! In fact the standard charger is fine for my requirements (or it would be if it still actually worked) because it suits me to charge at home and will easily charge the vehicle completely overnight.
 
The plug in Charger is for occasional use, all the documentation clearly states this - and if the previous owner used this as the sole method of charging for the period they had it, rather than a proper home charger (tethered or otherwise) it would need to be built to almost industrial standards - but that's not what it's for.

If it was BMW CS who said it wasn't covered because there's another warranty in force, is so wrong on so many levels I'm surprised you didn't ask if there was any other outrageous terms they haven't told you about! The only relevant issue is the original warranty ending date, which they must abide by - and it appears they are. You've already saved a fortune, and as the OEM Box is grossly overpriced, you circumvent this by getting an alternative which will come with its own warranty - even if BMW agreed to your request, no warranty would apply on the replacement.

No point beating yourself up over it - enjoy the car and stick two fingers up at them if you feel aggrieved. I don't think many owners would expect a free replacement- it would be nice, but that would be a bonus. Where would it end, a grace period of a week, month.... a year perhaps?

Some idiot may well put theirs up for sale on eBay as they never need to use it - all adding to your other options.
 
There are numerous aftermarket EVSE's out there that cost far less than the OEM one. I don't know who makes them for your market, but they do use a different brand in the US, and may use different ones based on the country of sale. The advantage of using a standard is that you don't have to buy one from BMW. As long as the plug design is the same, and you have a socket in your home that can accept it, it will work. Since it's dead, you might just open the case and see if you can tell who made it, then check with that company if you want an exact replacement, probably at a big discount. By no means, is that necessary though...with the subsidies available in the UK, you can get a unit installed in your home for much less than that. While maybe having the portable unit would come into play once in awhile, most of the time, you'd end up using a public unit when you're away from home rather than using your own, portable unit.
 
Buzby said:
The plug in Charger is for occasional use, all the documentation clearly states this - and if the previous owner used this as the sole method of charging for the period they had it, rather than a proper home charger (tethered or otherwise) it would need to be built to almost industrial standards - but that's not what it's for.

Buzby. With respect, what you have written there is complete nonsense. The standard BMW charging cable for domestic AC sockets is intended for regular use as a home charger. It is the only cable supplied as standard with a new i3 in the UK. Mine has been used around once per week on average, at home, and the most arduous condition it has ever encountered is uk rain. It does not need to be "built to industrial standards", although at £663 for a replacement I would certainly expect it to be. I've re-read the chapter on charging in the BMW i3 Owner's Handbook which was bought as an extra for £42 (these used to be supplied free with every new car, even a £5000 one, let alone a £40,000 one).
Nowhere in the handbook does it describe the cable as an occasional use charger.
 
Sounds like you should get on Autoguard to get you a new charger, although they are probably right that in their contract it's not considered part of the car. BMW is under no obligation to replace the charger for free. Why don't you purchase a cheap L1 charger off of ebay? I use my Chevy Volt L1 charger to charge my i3 and it works just fine.
 
emver said:
Buzby said:
The plug in Charger is for occasional use, all the documentation clearly states this - and if the previous owner used this as the sole method of charging for the period they had it, rather than a proper home charger (tethered or otherwise) it would need to be built to almost industrial standards - but that's not what it's for.

Buzby. With respect, what you have written there is complete nonsense. The standard BMW charging cable for domestic AC sockets is intended for regular use as a home charger. It is the only cable supplied as standard with a new i3 in the UK. Mine has been used around once per week on average, at home, and the most arduous condition it has ever encountered is uk rain. It does not need to be "built to industrial standards", although at £663 for a replacement I would certainly expect it to be. I've re-read the chapter on charging in the BMW i3 Owner's Handbook which was bought as an extra for £42 (these used to be supplied free with every new car, even a £5000 one, let alone a £40,000 one).
Nowhere in the handbook does it describe the cable as an occasional use charger.

No more nonsensical than your assertion that it is 'the only cable supplied as standard with a new i3 in the UK'. As you've not bought one, what would you know about it? You are provided with the OUC Brick, and a Type 2 3-Phase chargepoint cable, as standard in a new i3. There are some reports of owners being given a single phase version in error, but this is easily rectified.

As for the OUC (Occasional Use Charger) the usage type is concealed in the title - users are expected to use installed high capacity outlets that can charge at 16-32a, not be a joke at 10a and take forever. Your next complaint for BMW is you weren't advised how to use the OUC adequately.... but then, as you weren't their original customer and cannot prove their mistreatment of the Granny lead (so called because you would use it on those odd trips where a proper chargepoint was unavailable). Every EV I have owned, and I have had 3) all explain how the OUC should be used. Funny how you've missed it on yours.

Bottom line is still the same, you're up a creek without a paddle or BMW support. Perhaps you should complain to the original owner? Your problem is easily and cheaply surmountable (but not by BMW) so rectify and move on, unless you feel complaining might get you somewhere.
 
Buzby. More complete nonsense! If you can't make helpful or factually accurate contributions please don't bother.

In the UK, the i3 comes as standard only with the standard charge cable which fits a 3 pin 13A socket. BMW describe it as Type2 / Mode2 charging. They do not call it an Occasional Use Charger. The car does not come as standard with any other charge cables. There is an optional BMW Public Charging Cable priced at £165 which is necessary for connecting to most public AC charge points. Public DC charge points have tethered cables of course.
 
I'm sorry Emver but you are wrong on this. All I3's bought new now come with both the level 1 (13 amp) cable which was described as a OUC to me in the dealership and all over the web by owners and also now come with a level 2 charging cable which you can use for faster 32amp charging.

Now as long as your home wiring is up to it you should be able to use just the 13 amp cable without problems but all i3s now come with both and have for some months according to the dealer I ordered from.

Instead of spending money on manuals in future you may find it easier and cheaper to download the BMW Drivers Guide app and enter your registration and get an electronic guide customised to your spec. The full manual is also online at i3Guide.
 
ColH.
I wonder if you are confusing this with the N American market where I believe that the domestic supply is around 110V? In the UK we have 240V and the standard BMW charge lead is described as Type2 / Level2. According to their latest price list (I've just downloaded it again to check) this is still the only lead included as standard. The Public Charging Leads are between £165 and £237 extra. See page 17 of the Jan 2017 Price List.

Thanks for your suggestions re the Owner's Manual. I'll download the one for my 5 Series Touring. The on-screen manual always annoys me when I'm trying to work out how to use the stupid I-drive system! Luckily my 3 Series Touring is pre I-drive and has a proper paper handbook in the glove compartment.

PS. In case anybody thinks I'm anti-BMW, I'm certainly not. I've had dozens over the years and loved nearly all of them. I still own 4 of them - the i3, the 320d Touring, the 520d Touring and a Z3 2.8 which I bought new in 1997. That's why I'm disappointed by what I regard as poor customer service over the i3 issue.
 
Definitely UK. I think the confusion is that the 13amp charger is standard equipment and the extra cable is a FOC dealer promotion. I have the order in front of me with it listed as such. But it seems this has been given out on all UK orders for many months. It didn't used to happen. It may stop at any time. But you get two cables now.
 
emver said:
Buzby. More complete nonsense! If you can't make helpful or factually accurate contributions please don't bother.

In the UK, the i3 comes as standard only with the standard charge cable which fits a 3 pin 13A socket. BMW describe it as Type2 / Mode2 charging. They do not call it an Occasional Use Charger. The car does not come as standard with any other charge cables. There is an optional BMW Public Charging Cable priced at £165 which is necessary for connecting to most public AC charge points. Public DC charge points have tethered cables of course.

Oh please - keep it up and show more forum members your complete and utter ignorance/. You've never bought a car new - what do you know? If you have to be offensive, keep it up. I've been an EV user for a lot longer than you and your ignorance is stunning - even when it's pointed out your wrong, no hint of an apology, just more nonsense to somehow sustain your ongoing tirades.

Go back to an ICE as clearly you expect folk to agree with your position whether you're right or not. Rather than enjoy your car and the savings you made, not one member has remotely supported your position, and is unlikely to do so. Take a telling.
 
Well I'll ignore the pathetic ramblings of the Buzby character who is unwilling to actually check the facts before making his false assertions.

But thank you for the constructive comments from wilcovh and others, they were gratefully received.

In fact the story has a happy ending because today I took the BMW Standard Charge cable apart and found traces of moisture inside the box with the pcb inside. Presumably a little rain water had found its way past the seals on the inlet cable. After allowing it to dry out I reassembled it and it is now working perfectly. In the meantime I had ordered a 32A home charging point with tethered cable from Rolec which seems like the best value at £175 including the government grant. I might continue to use the standard charge cable for daytime charging because we have solar PV panels with a maximum 4kW output.
 
You can limit how high the current the i3 will use via the I-Drive menu, so rather than choosing to rely on an EVSE that has limited output, tell the car to not pull as much from a bigger one.

FWIW, all EVSE's have what amounts to internal GFCI logic in them, so some moisture (especially if it is slightly polluted - pure water isn't that great of a conductor!), could provide a low enough path for enough current to trigger the device to stop. Given that pretty reliable, robust safety, it still seems weird that they choose the more expensive plug with the internal shutters...with all of the logic, there's no high current on any of the pins until it's inserted and the car tells the EVSE it's ready, and you turn it off when you press in the latch which breaks the interlock circuit, so why the extra expense and complexity? Anyway, it works...glad it was something you could repair.
 
Thanks for making those interesting points Jadnashuanh. I had suspected that the input could be controlled via the I-drive menus, but it's nice to have it confirmed.
 
emver said:
In the meantime I had ordered a 32A home charging point with tethered cable from Rolec which seems like the best value at £175 including the government grant.

I was going to suggest that, but obviously not sure whether you would have the space around your house for one.

You might also find these helpful, which come at a lower price: https://evconnectors.com/ev-plug-bmw-i3-cable

I managed to negotiate a Type2 cable with my recently purchased 225xe. This is on top of the standard charger. :)

Enjoy the i3 now - I am sure you got it at a good price!
 
Hi psquare. Thanks, I did look at the evconnectors website but the price of their 32A home charging point seems at lot higher than the £179 unit from Rolec, so perhaps I missed something? Anyway It is due to be installed next Friday probably so a little too late to change now.

I did seriously consider buying a new i3 but a few things put me off:-

1. The price. By the time I had added on Rex, the larger satnav screen, reverse camera, a trim package to suit me and a few other toys, the price was nudging £40k which is a lot of money for a little car.
2. Depreciation. I know this applies to any new car, but electric vehicles are probably more susceptible because improvements in range and battery life tend to mean they become outdated quicker which makes them lose value.
3. I know that a new model is due later this year. Depending on how much the styling is changed, this could affect the resale value of the current model considerably. Personally I like the styling because it makes it stand out as being a purpose built EV rather than just another model variant (as with the electric Golf for example). But I'm aware that the styling is not to everybody's taste and a more conventional looking facelift model would be popular. I really hope that doesn't happen but who knows?

So a used one seemed like a safer bet at the moment, and I found a 3 year old ReX with just 15k miles and lots of toys for well under half its original price of over £40k. I might well buy a new EV when one comes along with a significantly improved range to allow an occasional full day's driving without the need for a top up charge or the back up of a petrol engine. The occasional new cars I've bought in the past have always been complete new models and have usually held their value very well.
 
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