40% LOSS OF BATTERY RANGE

[MikeS]

I gave my REX to the dealer because of a range loss problem and they have been told by BMW to change the KLE. Should get the car back tomorrow.

Will be real interested in hearing the results of the new KLE, just don't quite see how the battery charger would impact range since it just takes longer to charge and you still should be getting a full charge.

I agree - but at least they have accepted there is a problem

 

[noakey]

There are important data missing:
What speed are you driving at?
70miles/h on cruise control.

What mode, Comfort, EcoPro?
Ecopro

Do you precondition the car?
I did not as I do not have access to charging away from home.

The reason that your car dropped speed is that the battery level was too low to support the rex. The rex itself cannot supply enough power to drive the engine at full speed, especially when climbing hills. Your dealer should know that. BMW says that it is working on this problem.

To start with the SOC was 15kw/h when I started.
That slowly dropped down to 0 with in 15mts of driving at 70miles/h in cruise control.

Wow.. 70mph is not a good speed... wind resistance is huge and you should only expect a max range of 50-60 miles max at 70mph. With no pre-conditioning knock another from that each way (ie 4v miles each time) and your down to 42-52 miles.

 

[TomMoloughney]

I gave my REX to the dealer because of a range loss problem and they have been told by BMW to change the KLE. Should get the car back tomorrow.

Will be real interested in hearing the results of the new KLE, just don't quite see how the battery charger would impact range since it just takes longer to charge and you still should be getting a full charge.

The new, revised KLE's are now in stock at most dealers. I've had the new one in my i3 REx for about four months now and it works perfectly (as it should). Once you have the new KLE the charge rate will be restored back to the full 7.2kW.

You're correct the KLE doesn't have any impact on battery performance or range, they are completely different things here. I'm getting only about 50 miles per charge here in NJ with temperatures in the 20's and that's about what everyone should expect, The BEV i3's will do a bit better, but the main issue here is the cold weather. Even with reconditioning, and the heat pump your range will be significantly less in the cold weather. Of course there could be a car here and there that does develop a bad battery module so it's good to have your dealer check out the battery if you suspect something is amiss, but the truth is, the range will be much less in the colder weather than when it's warmer, all EV's are effected like this. I had a Model S owner stop by my restaurant last week to charge because they couldn't make the Supercharger they planned to stop at. They were "only" able to manage about 180 miles on a full charge with their 85kW Model S. They were used to 250 miles or so only a couple months ago. The range really drops significantly once November and December hit.

I'm going to do a blog post not his very soon, as I have had over a dozen i3 owners email me wondering what is wrong with their car and having their dealer tell them they inspected it and it was fine.

 

[WoodlandHills]

I think that BMW messed up by using the summertime maximum range figure in their promotional literature. By not publicizing the MINIMUM range a lot of people have gotten unrealistic expectations and are now disappointed. Even having separate winter and summer range numbers would be a great improvement over a single number that misleads.

A range number that is achievable under ANY AND ALL conditions is far more useful as a guide to purchase than some pie in the sky figure that cannot be attained for much of the year. I understand that BMW are just following in the industry tradition established for MPG figures of gaming the test and promoting phoney numbers in order to bump sales and avoid gas guzzler penalties, but for EVs this is exactly backwards.

Had people been aware that the true range of an i3 is somewhere below 60 miles in winter, they might have lost a few sales but would have avoided screwing over those who really needed an EV with an 80 mile range.....

I guess BMW knew what they were about when they designed their EV with a range extender: it is the only way to make the car useable year-round for many who live in a cold climate and have a long commute.

 

[mindmachine]

I understand that BMW are just following in the industry tradition established for MPG figures of gaming the test and promoting phoney numbers in order to bump sales and avoid gas guzzler penalties, but for EVs this is exactly backwards.

Had people been aware that the true range of an i3 is somewhere below 60 miles in winter, they might have lost a few sales but would have avoided screwing over those who really needed an EV with an 80 mile range.....

I guess BMW knew what they were about when they designed their EV with a range extender: it is the only way to make the car useable year-round for many who live in a cold climate and have a long commute.

Tom's quote:
" I had a Model S owner stop by my restaurant last week to charge because they couldn't make the Supercharger they planned to stop at. They were "only" able to manage about 180 miles on a full charge with their 85kW Model S. They were used to 250 miles or so only a couple months ago. The range really drops significantly once November and December hit."

Man O man, look at the Tesla, how would feel loosing 70 miles range out of a normal or quoted range of 250 miles.

I think it is the fault of the government the way they report MPG and MPGe on the car sticker and not the car companies. I really do not hold BMW responsible on this one!

 

[Pixelpro]

I'm only showing 65 miles on a full charge at 3k miles on the odometer. It doesn't make any difference if I precondition. I think my battery has already degraded significantly as well. I accelerate really slowly on flat land, with no accessories on and drive in Eco pro plus. It's been in the 60s here in the Dallas area. I get the same Max rabge indicated at 35 degrees and my car is garaged.

I take it you have a REX?

Yes, I have the Rex. It hasn't warmed up much and the indicated range has gone back into the 90 mile range. I have been calculating the electric range using the trip odometer afree the first bar is depleted. I've come to accept that the mileage estimate indicated by the computer is way off at best. I'm getting around 80 or more miles per charge based on my best estimate.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Guys I am negotiating a lease n a Rex model, it's been on the dealer lot a good while , April production date. I charged it several times at the dealers chargepoint unit which does has a power readout. The most I have seen is 5 kw charge rate. Should I ask for the kle to be done before delivery?
Seems like the car prob Ned's some software updates too. I can tell the car had been sitting a lot as it did a maintenance run on the Rex during my test drive.


Kevin

Note, not all, even those installed at the dealers, can provide the full 7.2Kw that the i3 can use. See if the thing has a data plate on it. The EVSE may be limited to what you saw. While in April, they hadn't identified the KLE issue, it is possible that the dealer could have changed it prior to delivery to you. Also note that the charging limit only applies when things get above a certain temperature. Mine, also built in April, has the s/w limit, but I regularly see the max of my EVSE, or about 7Kw going in when charging at my local temperatures (now around freezing).

 

[i3atl]

Note, not all, even those installed at the dealers, can provide the full 7.2Kw that the i3 can use. See if the thing has a data plate on it. The EVSE may be limited to what you saw. While in April, they hadn't identified the KLE issue, it is possible that the dealer could have changed it prior to delivery to you. Also note that the charging limit only applies when things get above a certain temperature. Mine, also built in April, has the s/w limit, but I regularly see the max of my EVSE, or about 7Kw going in when charging at my local temperatures (now around freezing).

What software version are you running? It sounds as if your car is not limited, as those with the limit in place only see a max around 5.6kW.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Note, not all, even those installed at the dealers, can provide the full 7.2Kw that the i3 can use. See if the thing has a data plate on it. The EVSE may be limited to what you saw. While in April, they hadn't identified the KLE issue, it is possible that the dealer could have changed it prior to delivery to you. Also note that the charging limit only applies when things get above a certain temperature. Mine, also built in April, has the s/w limit, but I regularly see the max of my EVSE, or about 7Kw going in when charging at my local temperatures (now around freezing).

What software version are you running? It sounds as if your car is not limited, as those with the limit in place only see a max around 5.6kW.

According to BMW, I have the latest released software. Believe me, the issue with the KLE is heat, and if you believe BMW, they said the software adjusts based on the temperature. So, you may or may not ever see the lower rate during the winter. It's not only the ambient temp, but the temp of the battery pack, so if you just returned from a high speed run, your battery could be hot enough to limit the charging rate, even if it is cold out. Most of my driving is less than 10-miles, and usually in the city, so it rarely gets all that hot, and I'm seeing just under 7Kw based on the volt/amp meter I installed (245vac * 29A). Now, I do not know how long it stays at that level, since the meter doesn't record anything, and I haven't sat there and watched. But shortly after plugging in, that's a typical reading for me.

There are a lot of EVSE's out there that cannot provide enough power to recharge the i3 at it's maximum capacity, so you need to look at the EVSE's data plate. Around me, there are a lot of them that can only provide about 3.7Kw, or about 1/2 what the i3 needs to recharge at full capacity. 20A units are more common, and on the original Leaf, were about all they could use. Keep in mind the charging unit is IN the car, but the EVSE announces how much power it can provide, and the i3 adjusts so it never overloads the EVSE. If it's bigger or smaller, doesn't matter, the i3 can only pull its max, OR the EVSE's max while never exceeding what the car can use.

 

[i3atl]

Yes, the KLE issue is heat related, but no one with the reduced rate software has seen a charge rate higher than 6kW - low temps or not. The software does adjust based on temp, but based on evidence from many different owners is capped at ~5.8kW and goes down from there as needed.

You could verify the actual (vs instant) rate by using the hidden menu (in the instrument cluster) to verify how many kWh are added in exactly an hour while charging in the middle of the pack (before the charging speed slows down). It would be best to do the test from a low SoC over a couple of hours, but one would do.

 

[jadnashuanh]

My volt/amp meter regularly shows in the 28-29A range with 245vac in...equating to just under 7Kw and well over the 5.8Kw.

 

[i3atl]

My volt/amp meter regularly shows in the 28-29A range with 245vac in...equating to just under 7Kw and well over the 5.8Kw.

In that case I think you're one of the lucky ones running on software that lets the car charge at full speed.

 

[GranTourer]

So there's a redesigned KLE, but will there be a software update so that there is no charging bottleneck (on the car's end)?

 

[mindmachine]

So there's a redesigned KLE, but will there be a software update so that there is no charging bottleneck (on the car's end)?

Yes there is a software update due out this cumming spring or early 1st quarter possibly. The update is also supposed to address the Rex engagement issue, reestablish full charging capability,provide % SOC information and reconfigure the algorithms that calculate range.

 

[nick]

Hi, im similarly affected. I had aircon issue, had software update, now cannot get more than 60 miles range from full charge, any weather.

Pro plus does not work, range is same with everything off. Bmw assures me a fix, I think its just ****ed! Very unimpressed! I think its bev cars mainly affected. Im not alone, they are trying to keep it quiet.

I am pushing for a fix or full refund. Only 7k miles covered and I cannot even reach the dealership and back!

Goodluck everyone for all our broken cars!

Oh. Ive had the propsed fix. Latest software...no luck! Dont Get your hopes up..