Battery charge indicator range increases 20%

Has anyone noticed this?

We had our BEV serviced for the engine mount issue (Service code 20 80 15) and a required software upgrade.

Since the upgrade, the battery charge indicator shows about a 20% increase in possible mileage range. Nothing we're doing has changed. Similar weather/temperature; same driving patterns; same charger. The increased range is consistent in all three driving modes.

Any ideas what might have caused this increase? Not that we're complaining....

Are you talking about predicted range or actual range driven?

MikeS said:

Are you talking about predicted range or actual range driven?

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I had mine in for service last week and I also noticed an increase in the range. I also had the car re-coded after the service software update and the range of the gas has increase also, coded to allow usage of the full tank.

I was supriced to see that the gas range showed 101 miles and it actually drove for 111 miles on gas, had the electric on hold.

Btw 111 miles on comfort mode with ac running as you can see from pic below it was 87 F.

The REX predicted range is linked to the elec predicted range as it is based on your previous driving style. So if you drive very carefully on elec the predicted ranges for elec and REX will both increase. Normally, when the car has been serviced or software updated then the prediction algorithm is reset and it goes back to its most optimistic prediction.

Yes, with the March 2016 software update there seems to be more range in my car, others are reporting the same on the FB group. Prior to the update my car had a "lifetime" consumption of 3.5mi/kWh, "lifetime" meaning since the last software update which was done in August of 2015. The update was completed about 2 months ago and a few thousand miles ago and since its new "lifetime" consumption is 4.2mi/kWh. My driving style has not changed, I still drive it like it is stolen. The weather has also warmed up considerably, which I know has most likely affected the range as well, but I do believe they have tweaked the software to make the car more efficient in some way. Its great having a coded REx and showing nearly the mileage or more that the Tesla Model 3 fanatics will be getting when they only charge their 215 mile cars to 90% (as Tesla recommends on their S and X unless preparing for a road trip), 215 x 0.9 = 194 miles, I showed 195 this morning on mine. Not full BEV but don't have to wait 2-3 years to have that range available.

I had the engine mount screw recall and reprogramming done a week and a half to go.

I do notice the increased range.

As previous post mentioned, partly it may also be due to the weather warming up.

The car, i3-REx, is still in the shop. They report the traction battery had to be discharged and recharged part of the motor bolt and software updates. Now this is consistent with some literature including Apple recommendations claiming LiON works best with a full-cycle versus sitting around fully charged. I'm OK with this but don't remember seeing it in the Owner's Manual.

The problem is defining the cycle-range, the minimum SOC, remains ill defined. Is 6% OK? Is 2% the target for low? How do we validate that we're accomplishing what is needed?

Not trying to be difficult, just wondering the operational parameters.

Bob Wilson

The s/w logic in the i3 will not let you fully discharge the vehicle...when it reads 0%, there is still a fairly large amount of charge left in the battery, but the car will shut down to protect itself. This is why the actual capacity and the usable capacity differ (22Kw vs 18.9Kw or so). This is done intentionally so as to not damage the battery. There is a large amount of research and logic in the car to maximize the longevity and health of the batteries...you don't need to second-guess what's going on. Much of the 'general' knowledge of how to maximize the life of a battery powered device is done for you, automatically, in the i3.

There is some hysteresis logic built-into the charging circuits, too. It won't turn the charging circuit back on, even when connected, until the charge drops a moderate amount. Under normal circumstances, that could take as much as a week or more of just sitting there, unused.

If you set a departure time, the logic will pre-warm the batteries, so that you'll have optimum operating conditions when you start out, and, you can have the cabin preconditioned as well if you check that box...this means those functions do not have to be done using the batteries themselves, as it will only do that when connected to the EVSE (well, you can precondition the cabin anytime, but not the batteries).

When the batteries are fully charged, and your driving would dictate some regeneration, even that is taken into consideration. Since you can't stuff power into a fully charged battery, the car will apply the brakes proportionally instead of using regen to slow the car. There's a reason why it took them years to get the i3 to market - they did their homework!

Just got my car back from service and software update.

I don't really notice an increase. The first GOM was 101 miles, but it quickly went back to what it was the days before I took it in.

I firmly believe BMW has improved the range since the EPA rated the vehicle as I just drove back from an out-of-state dealer with my new i3 REX and am absolutely in love with the car. The car beat its estimates by quite a lot, with the REX not kicking in until somewhere between 80-90 miles, and netting over 40MPG. Even without coding the i3 REX is very capable of a 170-mile range. This was with a mix of (mostly) Eco Pro and Eco Pro+. The key to a long range is avoiding the freeway, using the Eco Pro option in the navigation, and making liberal use of the regenerative braking.

With an i3 coded just to use the extra half a gallon of gas driving extremely liberally I believe I'd be able to surpass 200 miles if I was to take the car on that type of road trip.

thefuturenow said:

I firmly believe BMW has improved the range since the EPA rated the vehicle as I just drove back from an out-of-state dealer with my new i3 REX and am absolutely in love with the car. The car beat its estimates by quite a lot, with the REX not kicking in until somewhere between 80-90 miles, and netting over 40MPG. Even without coding the i3 REX is very capable of a 170-mile range. This was with a mix of (mostly) Eco Pro and Eco Pro+. The key to a long range is avoiding the freeway, using the Eco Pro option in the navigation, and making liberal use of the regenerative braking.

With an i3 coded just to use the extra half a gallon of gas driving extremely liberally I believe I'd be able to surpass 200 miles if I was to take the car on that type of road trip.

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Congrats on getting your i3!

A coded REx has no range limit so long as you can find a fuel station. You set HSOC at 75% and keep filling up. I've done a 425 mile trip and a 1500 mile trip (broken up into 3 500 mile days) no sweat.

imolazhp said:

thefuturenow said:

I firmly believe BMW has improved the range since the EPA rated the vehicle as I just drove back from an out-of-state dealer with my new i3 REX and am absolutely in love with the car. The car beat its estimates by quite a lot, with the REX not kicking in until somewhere between 80-90 miles, and netting over 40MPG. Even without coding the i3 REX is very capable of a 170-mile range. This was with a mix of (mostly) Eco Pro and Eco Pro+. The key to a long range is avoiding the freeway, using the Eco Pro option in the navigation, and making liberal use of the regenerative braking.

With an i3 coded just to use the extra half a gallon of gas driving extremely liberally I believe I'd be able to surpass 200 miles if I was to take the car on that type of road trip.

Click to expand...

Congrats on getting your i3!

A coded REx has no range limit so long as you can find a fuel station. You set HSOC at 75% and keep filling up. I've done a 425 mile trip and a 1500 mile trip (broken up into 3 500 mile days) no sweat.

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Thank you!

If possible, after using the REX I think the optimal way to use it as an EV is to get to a DC fast charger then a gas station in that order as needed. For the most part a ~ 200-mile range should be enough to reach a DC fast charger as there should be a DC fast charger every 100 miles in certain areas.

At least that's how I look at it. If there aren't DC fast chargers in the area, the HSOC does seem to be the best option to run the tank to 0 and get the full 100+ range at every fill up.

In the US, DC fast chargers are few and far between, and you'll probably lose more than you gain by trying to seek them out, rather than just use the gas tank.

MikeS said:

Are you talking about predicted range or actual range driven?

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It's been a couple of weeks since the software update and the predicted AND actual range are still greater than prior to the update. Something definitely changed.

I'm surprised others haven't also seen an increase???

I coded my new REX and both battery and gas ranges went up immediately after the car rebooted upon the code write. Gas went from 48 to 120 miles and electric from 78 to 102. Both tank and battery were almost, but not completely full.

gt1 said:

I coded my new REX and both battery and gas ranges went up immediately after the car rebooted upon the code write. Gas went from 48 to 120 miles and electric from 78 to 102. Both tank and battery were almost, but not completely full.

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Yes, that is typical. It will return to normal in a few days.

imolazhp said:

gt1 said:

I coded my new REX and both battery and gas ranges went up immediately after the car rebooted upon the code write. Gas went from 48 to 120 miles and electric from 78 to 102. Both tank and battery were almost, but not completely full.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is typical. It will return to normal in a few days.

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Odd actually. My brand new i3 with the latest update actually estimated a much lower range than achieved. Based on experience tracking my miles per kW/h that seems like an accurate estimate for an Eco-conscious driver.

thefuturenow said:

Odd actually. My brand new i3 with the latest update actually estimated a much lower range than achieved. Based on experience tracking my miles per kW/h that seems like an accurate estimate for an Eco-conscious driver.

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The GOM goes off of your last 18 miles, or so, so if you have a little fun in the car GOM will drop, also GOM drops if you use comfort climate and/or Max AC (or heat in the winter). It really is a guess, it has no way of knowing what terrain you might encounter or what ambient temperatures you might encounter. After a few months you will be able to look at it and know how to adjust driving style and/or climate control if you need more range than it says you have.

imolazhp said:

gt1 said:

I coded my new REX and both battery and gas ranges went up immediately after the car rebooted upon the code write. Gas went from 48 to 120 miles and electric from 78 to 102. Both tank and battery were almost, but not completely full.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is typical. It will return to normal in a few days.

Click to expand...

The ranges began to adjust as soon as I started driving and soon were back to believable values.

The GOM is a rolling average, so as you drive, the oldest data is purged, and the new gets added so the average can and often will change, sometimes radically, as you drive. It's fairly accurate on a long trip as long as the driving conditions and style remain the same. Otherwise, it is just that a guessometer. It's the same thing with an ICE that shows miles-to-empty...get off the highway after a long trip, it might say 100-miles left, but now start stop and go in the city, and you may be lucky to get half that...the value will adjust as you drive there, too. It MIGHT be more accurate if you have a route loaded, as the database then knows the speed limits and terrain, so it COULD adjust. Whether it does, right now, I don't think so, but BMW was working on it, especially for the REx, to help potentially adjust when it might turn on the engine so you'd have enough power to continue without issues. They never released that s/w update (yet?, and maybe never).