39miles on full charge

BMW i3 Forum

Help Support BMW i3 Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Newownerjk

New member
Joined
Jan 7, 2022
Messages
3
An i3 I’m considering buying shows 39mi range on a full charge. That seems really low…Has anyone else experienced these numbers. Is it possible to increase that or are the numbers wrong?
 
What year?

My former 2017 was showing 98 miles of range during my test drive but in reality was good for 135 miles.

If yours is a 2016 or earlier there's a chance that between spirited test drives and the presumably cold weather weather where you are, this could be normal.

I suggest driving it sensibly for about 15 to 20 miles, having the dealership top it up to 100% overnight, then see what the estimated range looks like the following day.

You can also access the hidden menu to get a look at the estimated battery capacity. It's by no means a flawless measurement, but it's accurate enough to flag if there's a serious degradation problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELT5b2YWL58
 
It’s a 2014. I’ve read that the mileage can fluctuate depends Gn on recent trips. I will try this out, and report back.
 
What eNate said :)

But be aware that the 2014 and 2015 i3 Samsung battery packs do have a reputation for diminishing range. My 2015, a lease return with only 9K miles on when I bought it, gave me the full 71 'new' mile range for two years. Range then suddenly dropped to 55 -60 in good weather, and into the 40's in colder weather.

There is an 8 year warranty on the battery pack - guaranteed not to fall below 70% of 'new' range. If you think your range is below the 70% you have to pay the Dealer a few hundred $$ to test the battery for warranty replacement (waived if the test shows it fails) - though several people have reported that the testing process, which requires the car's operational software be updated to the latest version first, updates the battery management software - which in-turn seems to increase the car's battery range enough to bring it just above the 70% threshold.

If your commute/daily drive is well under even the car's diminished range, and you can charge the car overnight (or at work) each day, range may not even be an issue.

For me - if I was buying today, a 2016 would be the oldest I'd be interested in because of battery life, and if budget allowed, I'd be looking for a 2018 or above, as with AT&T killing the 3G network at the end of Feb, 2014 - 2017ish i3s will lose all telecom connectivity.
 
Back
Top