Yes…BMW Honors Their Battery Warranty

Happy to report that BMW honors the 100k warranty on our batteries.

Car: 2014 i3 Rex 60ah
Mileage: 96k
Dealer: BMW Buena Park (CA)
Service Advisor: Wesam
My Claim: Battery was not holding charge based upon calculations from Trip Computer data (Miles/Efficiency/Percent Battery Used). Calculated capacity was under 13kwh (actual between 12.5-13.3 depending on the day)

For those interested, the parts list for the warranty claim came out to over $30k. They also put me in a rental for $4.6k (Oct-Feb waiting for battery) All in probably over $40k for warranty claim (more than twice the amount I paid in 2017 for CPO). Told the service advisor that I’d take the cash had I known…but that’s not how it works Lol.

No they did not upgrade the battery, but I’m getting 20kwh based upon the Trip Computer calculations I used for the claim. Batteries are newly manufactured as they were back ordered…just hoping they use battery chemistry from the newer 94ah and 120ah batteries as they seem to hold up better.

Hope this helps someone that is upset about a car with less than 50mi electric range. I took a risk to perform the $400 capacity test, but it definitely paid off.

Congratulations! Yours is one of the first battery pack capacity warranty replacements that I know of.

Was a system software update performed prior to the capacity test? Either the software update or the capacity test almost always adds enough capacity to pass the test which means no new battery pack.

Service Advisor only said that my car failed the capacity test. Some dealers welcome the warranty work...others don't. I heard about this dealer from a guy selling his i3 on Craigslist with battery replaced under warranty (I know...sounds shady). Gave him a call and he gave me the info on the dealer...they have apparently done quite a few warranty replacements.

rcyyan said:

They also put me in a rental for $4.6k (Oct-Feb waiting for battery).

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If the only problem was a failed capacity test, why weren't you able to continue driving your i3 until the replacement battery pack arrived? The capacity test doesn't do anything that would prevent an i3 from being driven afterward.

This very long waiting period in the U.S. for i3 parts has been a problem since the i3 was introduced. This doesn't bode well for the future of current i3's now that i3 production is about to cease.

Didn't request getting my car back after they offered to pay for a rental. Better to put mileage on someone else's dime. Also got an SUV for the duration which helped for moving my daughter to school and multiple IKEA trips...our other car is a 2 series.

As far as parts go...dealer told me it's not just the i3 this time as they have several customers waiting months for parts.

Thanks for reporting your experience. You probably have the only $90k i3 out there at $40k warranty claim on top of the approximate 50k MSRP for i3s

A few follow up questions if you don't mind:
How long did you own the car?
Did you notice the capacity decline at a consistent rate or was it faster when the car was new then more gradual in later years (or vice versa)?

rcyyan said:

Battery was not holding charge based upon calculations from Trip Computer data (Miles/Efficiency/Percent Battery Used). Calculated capacity was under 13kwh (actual between 12.5-13.3 depending on the day)

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Finally, when you reference "actual" capacity, what do you mean by that-- the Batt. Kapa Max value in the service menu?

I bought the car Dec 2017 with 33k mi as a CPO. I believe the original in service date was April 2015, based upon Connected Drive expiry dates.

The car always had lower capacity a starting in the 15-16kwh range during my 1st year of ownership. (based upon trip compute calculations)

During the first year I used DC fast charging everyday...free EVgo from the CPO program (didn't understand that this was bad for our batteries at the time). Needed juice for 100 mi round trip commute.

After 1st year, capacity was at the 14-15kwh range....no more fast charging and battery declined at a more consistent rate until my calculated "actual" range was at the 12.5-13.3kwh range.

I don't think BMW did early adapters of there EVs by giving them free fast charging without explaining the potential issues with battery degradation....I can only speculate that the 1st owner fast charged frequently as well to get 20% degradation after 2.5 years and 33k mi. Maybe the 1st owner didn't care about maintaining the battery on a leased vehicle. I plan to keep mine as long as possible and may look into 3rd party sold state battery replacement in the future when they become available...figure I've got another solid 5 years with the new battery.

Interesting, thanks!

Hi, I've got a 2015 Rex with 98k miles on it. Have another 2 months left on battery warranty.
On a full charge it tells me I can cover 45-60 miles in eco+ mode. It definitely doesn't cover this much, this is without any use of heaters etc..

Where do I start with checking the battery? I will do the Kappa test and post results. What else can I check to check if the battery has degraded more than expected?
Thanks

Zedraz said:

Hi, I've got a 2015 Rex with 98k miles on it. Have another 2 months left on battery warranty.
On a full charge it tells me I can cover 45-60 miles in eco+ mode. It definitely doesn't cover this much, this is without any use of heaters etc..

Where do I start with checking the battery? I will do the Kappa test and post results. What else can I check to check if the battery has degraded more than expected?
Thanks

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After BATT.KAPPA. you have to take it to a Dealer and pay them to do the Battery Capacity Test. If it passes or they are able to reset some modules you will have to pay for the test. Price varies by Dealer $350-$600 -ish. If the battery fails (below 70%) you won't have to pay for the test but they will keep your car for possibly a few months while they get a new battery and replace it.

There really is nothing much else you can do on your own other than completely discharge the car in a secure location, then fully charge it and see how many kWh were put back in. Even that is not totally accurate. but it is something.

I know this is an old thread, but we i3 owners in UK are quite clear that Max Kappa isn't to be relied on, the figure you see there depends on many things.

Hi Gonville, 'tis me!
I wasn't too surprised to see you appear.
John Baddeley

John O'Malvern said:

Hi Gonville, 'tis me!
I wasn't too surprised to see you appear.
John Baddeley

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Been here since April 2014 after first test drive. Long before the UK FB group. Just not often contributing these days.