Born Electric June 21 2014 i3 REX

[frannieM3i3]

Well the sales guys at BMW San Diego called me to see if I wanted to swap my order (due in September) with someone who's car was to be delivered June 21st --- OK Duh

It's a Ironic Silver Tera World with 20" tires (I wanted the 19" tire but hey, didn't want to wait till September)
The sales guys were terrific, finance was all approved ahead of time, insurance setup too so I just had to sign papers.

So here's the first impressions:
I LOVE THIS CAR!!!! It's fun to drive!!!
I have a manual M3 which is very interactive and responsive when I drive it.
The i3 REX is not an M3, but it too is very interactive when driving it, only in a different way.
You can actually drive the car without using the brakes by anticipating the light or stop sign taking your foot off the accelerator - it is really fun to try various distances and inclines to see how long it takes to stop the car by just taking your foot off the accelerator.
It's got great acceleration too!
If you are thinking about getting one, I strongly recommend you read all of the blogs about what to do before purchase and amazing information that Tom has posted - Thank you Tom, it was all so very helpful for me!

I know I will not get any recommended mileage per full charge for the 1st few weeks because I am having too much fun showing it off to friends and driving around with them. I am really, really glad I got the REX because it takes the worry out of driving on a trip you are not sure if you have enough charge to make it (no range anxiety). The first drive I took, I had an opportunity to test out the REX with a drive up some hills on a 60 mile round trip (after already driving it from the dealer with my 2 hour i Genius session). The REX turned on with about 5 miles left on the battery and the REX worked fine!!! It is a low hummm but the faster you drive the louder it gets but in no way is it unbearable to listen to the radio or have conversations. (see Tom's post on he levels of the REX - he explains it really well).
The REX will stay on even after you turn off the car for about 10-15 minutes unless you plug in the battery right away.

Here are a few other things that I have noticed:
1. The ECO Pro Plus mode WILL NOT run the A/C - this is an energy saving feature - your car is not broken.
2. It climbs really well! In Eco Pro Plus mode - it will go a bit slower.
3. The handling is amazing and it turns on a dime - even with the smaller tires (not it doesn't take turns like my M3 but you know I tired!). The steering is the most responsive of any car I have ever driven.
4. I punched the accelerator so hard that a 'Foot with an accelerator' showed up on my speedometer - I am guessing that it didn't like what I tried to do
5. The gas cap only opens from the button inside the car.
6. The charging door hook is pretty much worthless - it doesn't hold the cap very well.
7. BMW FINALLY got a clue that folks from US like their sturdy cup holders - there are 6 in the car - 2 actually in the doors and 2 in the middle console -and 2 in the back seat - they are way more sturdy than the flimsy ones in my M3.
8. Thank Goodness that I already know the I Drive from my M3 - they use many of the features in the newer cars. There are so many more features in my i3 to learn.
9. My IPOD works to play music but the car does not recognize the songs and I need to manage the IPOD by looking at it - annoying! BMW, please do a software upgrade so that it recognizes the IPOD menu of music!
10. The Blink charger network in San Diego charges per hour while your car is connected to their chargers - regardless of whether your car is fully charged or not. I have an Android phone and the BWM phone application does NOT work on Androids yet - this is a bummer because I won't know when my car is fully charged because I can't connect to the car with my phone so I don't know when the car is charged to disconnect the charger so the fees will stop.
11. The trunk/hatch back is annoying, because you can't open it unless the key is in you hand or pocket even when the car is unlocked. The trunk of my M3 opens just fine, without the key when the car is unlocked. Also, there is no button on the remote for the trunk - BMW - please fix this!
12. The door locks and climate controls do not set as explained or advertised or setup on the system - I think a software update is needed to have them work as explained.
13. I just found the e-drive for the Acceleration and Anticipation - don't know what it is telling me yet, but I did get a lot of those little stars.
14. The 220 charging station is a real challenge for folks in Southern California - so many electricians want to install solar panels that there are very few I have found that do car charger installations. And if you happen to live in a Townhouse, Condo or Apartment (multi-family dwelling), expect it to take about a month before you can actually get the charger installed and working. Single family homes, they just come out and do the installation. Multi-family dwelling, the need to come out to do an estimate (wait a week to get scheduled) , then file a Commercial permit with the city to do a charger installation (wait another week) then they may be able to do the installation over a few days, then you need it inspected by the city (wait another week). So count on a month for that whole process.

Overall, I LOVE THIS CAR!!! and it is really fun to drive. I just need to get used to the little sniggly things about this car!!
I will post more as I learn more.
Hope this was helpful!
Seeya, Frannie M3i3

 

[Stevei3]

Hi Frannie,

enjoy !

Regards, Steven

 

[jadnashuanh]

Frannie, dealing with the EVSE install must be a CA thing...I called an electrician on Monday, the EVSE arrived via UPS on Wednesday, and it was installed on Thursday. I'm away at the moment, but I'll call the inspector when I get home, and I expect they'll come the next day. Plugged the car in while the electrician was there to check it out, and it works fine. Now, I do live in a city, but it's 'only' about 90K people. There is nothing special about installing the thing at all. IT has a built-in GFI, so all it needs is a new circuit run to it as if it were a stove or electric dryer (depends on whether you buy one with a plug or hard-wire it). Depending on where your panel is, it could be as quick as an hour or so one-site, maybe less. In my case, he had to move some circuits around to make room in the main panel, so it took longer, but most people will have a larger service panel, and will just need to add the circuit breaker and wire to the unit. My panel was in the garage, so he only needed to run it across to the other side, but still, unless he has to run it a long ways through the building...again, it's not a hard thing to install.

It took longer for me to get permission from my condo board by far (I also wanted an outside 120vac receptacle as a backup, and I wanted a small hatch to get the EVSE chord out in case the car was outside rather than in the garage).

 

[stumbledotcom]

Install difficulties in Northern California also. The caveat is that I do live in a condo complex—multi-level underground garage with post-tension concrete slabs. My spaces are too far (half a city block and three levels) from my residential meter to permit tapping it. But there is plenty of HOA power in the garage itself, including a 240v panel with 75% or more of the breakers unused. Still I've had six contractors do site visits since March and so far have a single written estimate. That one is about $4500 for a stand-alone install. An alternate plan would have the HOA spend $8500 on common infrastructure that could support multiple homeowners, in that case my personal out-of-pocket drops to $2500.

For what it's worth, the BMW-Bosch partnership has referred three separate local contractors. Two did site visits, third never showed. None have come through with written estimates. I've never seen such flakiness among so-called professionals.

Fortunately one of my spaces has a 120v outlet adjacent to it so I was able to get board approval to plug in while we sort out a permanent solution. Metering the power with a kill-a-watt unit so I can reimburse the HOA. It's surprisingly not horrible. As long as I don't let the charge level drop much below 50% I can be fully charged overnight. Starting to question why I'd bother spending multiple thousands for level 2 capabilities.

 

[frannieM3i3]

Thanks for the replies....
The electrician came out on Friday morning to check things out for my installation...
The panel is towards the front of the condo on the 2nd floor and the garage is in the back ground floor.
At first he didn't think it would be easy but when I suggested he try running the new wires thru the attic and down the back bedroom wall on the 2nd floor to the garage below, he took a ladder and went into the attic and said this would be a good idea.
Only thing is that he needs to punch 2 holes in the bedroom wall (1 top and 1 bottom to fish the wires thru) and another one in the garage wall - and I am OK with that as long as he doesn't need to mess up my hardwood floors. Patching drywall is not a huge deal to me especially cause I have the wall paint color and we can texture the patches.
I can't do the electrical work myself but I can help with the drywall and painting.

I bought the charger directly from BMW and I know I could have gotten a less expensive one online but I wanted to be able to return it to them if there was any sort of problem. I also used their Bosch partnership for 2 different electrical companies and I contacted another Electrical Company in town on my own. This has not been the best experience, the 1 company I knew, said that they don't install car chargers. One Bosch recommended company heard I was in a condo and never called me back. The other one, I just needed to wait for an opening for the 1 electrician that does car charges to come out 2 weeks after I called - he is a very nice person and seems to know his stuff so I will stay with this guy. I don't have an official estimate but we discussed the cost to be about $1000 for the installation alone (we are waiting for Bosch to add on their markup - hope it not 30% or something like that

In San Diego, the SDG&E requires a Commercial permit for any multi-family dwelling for any 240 upgrades (even if we already have it in our home for A/C or refrig). The permit is what will take next week for the guy to get. He is scheduled to do the actual installation on July 9th, then I am supposed to wait for an inspector before I use it but......the garage door does close and I just don't think they will be checking on me at midnight when the charging timer kicks in.
I also got approved for the Time of Use electric rates. They said I have a 90 day trial period on this program to see if it does work out for me. If I don't change it back within 90 days, then I need to keep it for 12 months.

The good thing is that the HOA wants nothing to do with this installation because it is all within the inside walls on my condo. They only need to approve anything that goes on the roof or outside walls or patio.

I already have a 110 dedicated circuit in the garage and 1 on the porch, it just takes 18 hours for a full charge. And I have noticed what you said about 50% charge or more left, I can charge it back to full overnight.

I also found 3 Blink Network charges within 1 mile of my house and registered to get the lower rate of $1.00 per hour. Then there is another Blink at the beach in Del Mar, 6 miles away, that I used yesterday to relax and recharge.
The ChargeNow card that BMW gives U.S. folks is pretty much worthless, I understand that it has a better network in Europe.

On another note.....I went to meet with my iGenius guy yesterday for what I called i3 Advanced training.
The session we had when I picked up the car was way more information than I was able to try out in a week - I had the glazed over look in my eyes - so they met with me again yesterday to answer questions.

First, the IPOD Nano I was used was from 2006 and was too old of a version to load or read the music into my i3. So I will put the music on a newer flash drive and load it on the car.
I had another newer iPod shuffle that did load just fine.
The premium stereo now sounds great with my loaded music - it didn't sound very good with the FM stations or the satellite radio - so I considered the source and I like the mp3 music much better.

I am blown away at how this car literally parks itself!
I also got some clarifications on how I was setting up my low cost charging times.

There were several things about the Comfort settings that I don't like and don't work the same way my M3 works....they said they were are setup that way in the i3 and there is no plans to change it. But there is a guy in town that can modify the iDrive software that I can contact. Evidentially this guy has done software updates for several of the other BMW models in the past so I will contact him to see when he would be able to do some i3 software updates. I'll keep you posted on this little project.

There is a YouTube video from a guy in LA area that put cameras on his i3 to see what happens with the brake lights when you release the accelerator - this video is pretty cool. I talked with my iGenius about this and he said there are 2 sets of brake lights - 1 goes on when you release the accelerator or gently step on the brake and another brighter light goes on when you brake more aggressively. The California Rolling Stop is pretty common here and I like the fact that a break light goes on by just releasing the accelerator.

I am having such a blast driving this car and the looks and stars and pointing that I am getting on the road is hilarious!
More updates later,
FrannieM3i3

 

[jadnashuanh]

I live all of about 1/3-mile from the dealership I bought my i3 from and they have (Free) Chargepoint EVSE outside, available to anyone with the card. ANd, within a few miles, there are at least 4 more, also free. Now, if the weather was decent, and I took along a book or something, I may use those more than paying for my own power to recharge, but the convenience to have it charge up overnight or faster during the day without the hassle of the trip made it worth it to me to install my own. There's nothing special about the BMW unit other than the cost and style - for the i3, if it can source 30A (or 32A as the Eurospec treats it (includes the power supply to run the logic board, etc)). it will charge the vehicle at the highest possible rate. As a long-term investment, you might want one that can source more power to accommodate a new vehicle that can accept more, but it will still work fine.

I think over the next year, you'll see a significant expansion of the EVSE locations, and, hopefully, the DC fast charging networks will start to show up (useful, if you bought that option on the vehicle). THe more dense Euro-zone has seen that occur - the UK has EVSE at pretty much all service plazas along their major motorways, and are adding in DC fast charging. The US standard the i3 uses was finalized late last year, and there is a shortage of the bits to make them that will be overcome, probably by the end of the year, and then you'll start to see more of them installed here as well.

 

[noakey]

Thanks for the replies....
The electrician came out on Friday morning to check things out for my installation...
The panel is towards the front of the condo on the 2nd floor and the garage is in the back ground floor.
At first he didn't think it would be easy but when I suggested he try running the new wires thru the attic and down the back bedroom wall on the 2nd floor to the garage below, he took a ladder and went into the attic and said this would be a good idea.
Only thing is that he needs to punch 2 holes in the bedroom wall (1 top and 1 bottom to fish the wires thru) and another one in the garage wall - and I am OK with that as long as he doesn't need to mess up my hardwood floors. Patching drywall is not a huge deal to me especially cause I have the wall paint color and we can texture the patches.
I can't do the electrical work myself but I can help with the drywall and painting.

I bought the charger directly from BMW and I know I could have gotten a less expensive one online but I wanted to be able to return it to them if there was any sort of problem. I also used their Bosch partnership for 2 different electrical companies and I contacted another Electrical Company in town on my own. This has not been the best experience, the 1 company I knew, said that they don't install car chargers. One Bosch recommended company heard I was in a condo and never called me back. The other one, I just needed to wait for an opening for the 1 electrician that does car charges to come out 2 weeks after I called - he is a very nice person and seems to know his stuff so I will stay with this guy. I don't have an official estimate but we discussed the cost to be about $1000 for the installation alone (we are waiting for Bosch to add on their markup - hope it not 30% or something like that

In San Diego, the SDG&E requires a Commercial permit for any multi-family dwelling for any 240 upgrades (even if we already have it in our home for A/C or refrig). The permit is what will take next week for the guy to get. He is scheduled to do the actual installation on July 9th, then I am supposed to wait for an inspector before I use it but......the garage door does close and I just don't think they will be checking on me at midnight when the charging timer kicks in.
I also got approved for the Time of Use electric rates. They said I have a 90 day trial period on this program to see if it does work out for me. If I don't change it back within 90 days, then I need to keep it for 12 months.

The good thing is that the HOA wants nothing to do with this installation because it is all within the inside walls on my condo. They only need to approve anything that goes on the roof or outside walls or patio.

I already have a 110 dedicated circuit in the garage and 1 on the porch, it just takes 18 hours for a full charge. And I have noticed what you said about 50% charge or more left, I can charge it back to full overnight.

I also found 3 Blink Network charges within 1 mile of my house and registered to get the lower rate of $1.00 per hour. Then there is another Blink at the beach in Del Mar, 6 miles away, that I used yesterday to relax and recharge.
The ChargeNow card that BMW gives U.S. folks is pretty much worthless, I understand that it has a better network in Europe.

On another note.....I went to meet with my iGenius guy yesterday for what I called i3 Advanced training.
The session we had when I picked up the car was way more information than I was able to try out in a week - I had the glazed over look in my eyes - so they met with me again yesterday to answer questions.

First, the IPOD Nano I was used was from 2006 and was too old of a version to load or read the music into my i3. So I will put the music on a newer flash drive and load it on the car.
I had another newer iPod shuffle that did load just fine.
The premium stereo now sounds great with my loaded music - it didn't sound very good with the FM stations or the satellite radio - so I considered the source and I like the mp3 music much better.

I am blown away at how this car literally parks itself!
I also got some clarifications on how I was setting up my low cost charging times.

There were several things about the Comfort settings that I don't like and don't work the same way my M3 works....they said they were are setup that way in the i3 and there is no plans to change it. But there is a guy in town that can modify the iDrive software that I can contact. Evidentially this guy has done software updates for several of the other BMW models in the past so I will contact him to see when he would be able to do some i3 software updates. I'll keep you posted on this little project.

There is a YouTube video from a guy in LA area that put cameras on his i3 to see what happens with the brake lights when you release the accelerator - this video is pretty cool. I talked with my iGenius about this and he said there are 2 sets of brake lights - 1 goes on when you release the accelerator or gently step on the brake and another brighter light goes on when you brake more aggressively. The California Rolling Stop is pretty common here and I like the fact that a break light goes on by just releasing the accelerator.

I am having such a blast driving this car and the looks and stars and pointing that I am getting on the road is hilarious!
More updates later,
FrannieM3i3

Hi frannie. .. its great your enjoying this awesome piece of machinery.. me too... Thank you posting this info it's great read.

 

[frannieM3i3]

HI,

I have had my i3 for about 3 weeks now with 740 miles on it so far.
I LOVE THIS CAR - it is so fun to drive and it is doing EXACTLY what I bought it for!!!
1. Fun to Drive
2. Keeping me out of the gas stations with my blue M3
3. Saving money
4. Saving wear and tear on my M3 - now that my warranty was up in March.
5. It's REALLY, REALLY a blast to drive!!!

I used the assisted parking today - what a kick!
The back up cameras are great!
The voice commands are terrific too!
I really like the iDrive touch pad for writing street names - it helps a lot with San Diego weird street names (calle mar de whatever).

I get folks pulling up next to me at a traffic light asking about the car and a lot folks pointing at my car too! It's fun!

A few things that I fully expect - software updates - this car has more computer software than any car I have seen seen or driven. I fully expect to have an update every few months.
Just got my first call from BMW North America on Thursday for the first software update - my car is 21 days old.
I also plan to make a list of stuff I don't like - such as: you must have the key in your possession to open the hatch door even when the car is unlocked and I hate that all the doors lock when I start driving even when I want them open ... just sniggly things that I will contact the software developer that writes updates to the I Drive software to other BMW cars so he can start working on an update for the i3.

I drive in Comfort mode when I am in a hurry to get somewhere.
I use Eco Pro when I'm not so rushed
I use Eco Pro Plus when I am in stop and go traffic or the California Freeway Rush Hour Parking Lot.

I just got my 240 charger installed - yeah this was waaaaay more than I had expected - It took 4 weeks from initial contact to the installer to get it done and it took two 4 hour days to finish the installation.
Part of it I understand, I live in a Condo Complex - No HOA issues because it was all within my walls - But it was the walls that caused the problem.
Fuse box was on the 2nd floor - ran the wires thru the attic (this was the best idea) then down the back bedroom wall to the garage.
Well the installer ran into double think plywood walls and studs which took longer to drill thru - what a mess!!! (but he didn't mess up my wood floors).
Then he needed a helper to come back the next morning with him to help with fishing the wires from the attic down to the garage. Once the wire arrived in the garage - it took only about another 2 hours to patch up the 3 holes in the bedroom and 2 holes in the garage walls and actually put the charger on the wall. (I offered to paint the patches myself this weekend)

I am having a bit of an issue with the amount of miles I am getting on a full change as soon as I started using my new 240 charger - I only get 64 to 68 (30% reduction in mileage - NOT GOOD!) on a full change when I was getting 96 to 110 before on a 120 charges or a Blink System 240. Any thoughts????
I emailed my San Diego BMW Genius to ask about this and he has not heard of it.
I have a service call for the REX Engine Light software update on Thursdays and I will also have them check the battery.

So I will update you on my progress!
Frannie M3i3

 

[jadnashuanh]

I haven't had mine long enough to check (and I've never used the 120vac unit to fully charge the vehicle, just used it enough to verify that it worked), but part of it may be the speed with which it charges, and the heat generated...do you leave the EVSE connected after it says it's fully charged, or do you remove it? If you leave it in place, it may turn back on again and ramp up the energy stored a bit. ANd, the pending s/w update may make a tweak to this, but that was not mentioned (could be a side-effect).

 

[frannieM3i3]

Here is an update on the 2 engine messages that I received.....
I have 789 miles on the car and it is only 25 days old.

There are a few other blog posts that are related to these messages and the information in them are terrific!!!
I need to figure out how to post a link and pictures.

A few days after I got my car, an error showed on the console for "Emission Control". I looked the error up in the manual and it was specific to i3 Rex owners. Then I read the BMW i3 blogs and found that it is an error message that is known, it's not a big deal since the car still runs just fine. The blog said that BMW was working on a software update to fix this erroneous error message.

On Thursday July 10th, I got a call from someone at BMW North America to say that a software update was needed for the Emission Control error and that I should make an appointment right away to bring it in to you guys.
I made my appointment for Thursday July 17th.

I had a terrific weekend driving my car and charging it in my new charger.

Monday morning July 14th I got into the car to go to work. The error message below came up on my console as soon as I started the car. I tried to put the car in reverse and it did go into reverse for just a short second.

Drive Train
Only Electric Possible
Limited Driving Range
Continued driving possible
Consult nearest service center

Then I got the next error message. It was difficult for the car to turn off. After several tries, it finally turned off.

Drive Train Malfunction
Stop and turn off engine. Do not continue driving.
Call Roadside Assistance.

I called the service desk at BMW and couldn't get anyone, then the Sales Manager got on the phone and just said to have the car towed in. I was already late for work so I decided to wait till Tuesday and drove my M3 to work.

On Tuesday morning at 6am, I called BMW Assist to have the car towed. I gave them all the information. The car is stuck in PARK, can't go into NEUTRAL. It is nose-in in the garage and there is room for someone to gain access on all sides of the car.
This is important information for any tow trucks guys so that they bring the correct equipment although at that time, I had no idea that in the next 2 days I would learn more than I ever thought possible about towing equipment.

A flat bed tow truck was ordered. The guy from Eastgate Towing (in San Diego) arrived and it was not pretty scene.
He started arguing with me about his truck's equipment and the location of where my garage was in proximity to the folks across the alley from me.
He said there was nothing he could do and that I needed a short truck to pull the car out of the garage so then he could take it on the flat bed to BMW Service.
I found out the next day (Wednesday) that he was frustrated because he had never seen this i3 car before and he knew nothing about it - that is why he was taking it out on me - poor customer service I must say. I will NEVER use Eastgate towing again.

I called BMW Assist again at 8am and asked to have the 2 trucks ordered for 6am on Wednesday. The lady was very nice and she set the whole thing up for 6:30am on Wednesday.
This morning, Wednesday, at 5:30am, I got a call from the BMW Assist that the trucks were canceled because they were saying that I needed a BMW service person to come out and put in some special code to make the car go into Neutral and then they could tow the car. REALLY!!!???

I told the lady on the phone to cancel Eastgate and never call them again and to find another tow company to come out this morning.
She said he got Star towing to show up and would arrive at 7:20am.

At 7am, a different Eastgate guy showed up - he got out and talked with me to tell me about the guy yesterday was frustrated and he said that a tow company needs Go Jacks to raise the front end and move the car to the alley so that a truck can tow it. He said DON'T use a FLAT BED tow truck because it will drag my front tires and wear down the rubber since the car is stuck in PARK. --- Good Information!!!

The Star towing (858 573 8700) guy arrived, he had a short truck and said a flat bed truck was ordered also. He took 1 look at the car and canceled the flat bed tow truck.
He said we can't use a flat bed because it would ruin my tires -- good answer!!! I said to myself, I think he'll get this done.
He got out the dolly for the front wheels and used the tow crank to raise the back of the car.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have an epoxy finished garage floor and all of the tow truck equipment would have destroyed the finish if the guys were not experienced with protecting the car AND the floor.

This guy from Star, Mike, was awesome!!! He was really careful with my car and my garage floor. It took about an hour to get it all hooked up and pulled out of the garage into the alley. He then re-positioned the wheels straight on the dolly so that there were no other issues while going on the freeway.

So now the car is finally safely delivered to the BMW service folks.

I know that this is a whole new car concept and I know there will be many software updates for various things.
Thank goodness I have my M3 or a rental car from the BMW folks for those situations when a software bug takes over my new i3!!!!!

I am hoping that they do the Emission software update to get rid of that error and the DriveTrain software update too.
I will call to ensure that the car is fully charged before I pick it up too.

I hope no one ever has to go through what I went through in the past 2 days for just towing a car.
I have heard that Tesla would send a technician out to their cars to resolve error messages onsite.
I would think that in the future, if these errors are related to software then BMW should be able to push the new software directly to the car and do the install right in the garage.

I'll let you know what they do to fix my car (sounds like 2 software updates) and how long it takes.

Thanks for everyone's help in other posts!!!

FrannieM3i3

 

[Surge]

Disappointing that BMW released a half-baked software set for the car. This is not normal and should not be tolerated. You've had the car for 25? Days and it took several days, and appointments, just to get it towed.
Owners should express there disappointment, although I doubt BMW cares.
It's posts like these that make me reconsider whether I will get one. I cannot afford to be late for work because my car won't start.

Oh, another point, I would not get a 3rd party to hack into the idrive software. Bad idea. Just my 2c.

Best of luck!

 

[noakey]

Disappointing that BMW released a half-baked software set for the car. This is not normal and should not be tolerated. You've had the car for 25? Days and it took several days, and appointments, just to get it towed.
Owners should express there disappointment, although I doubt BMW cares.
It's posts like these that make me reconsider whether I will get one. I cannot afford to be late for work because my car won't start.

Oh, another point, I would not get a 3rd party to hack into the idrive software. Bad idea. Just my 2c.

Best of luck!

Hi. I have had my i3 recovered on several occasions relating to a charging problem, but on all occasions the whole customer service experience has been 110%. The collection has been withing a 1 hour window of when I have requested, and have always had a bmw hire car ( 3 series ) to keep me mobile. Even the offer of a paid for taxi to get me to work. .. well done bmw... keep it up.

 

[frannieM3i3]

Hi Surge or others that are thinking twice about getting an i3,

I would like to clarify a few things about the aggravating issues I am having versus the issues that are handled exceptionally well.

The car charger installation is a non-BMW vendor - charger installations are rather new to these vendors and they are learning on the job. The fact that I live in a townhouse caused more time on the installation for various reasons.
I posted the details of my installation so that others in a similar situation would know ahead of time what types of things might be an issue to discuss with their installers for a smother project completion.
The electrician was a terrific guy and we were both learned some things.

The BMW Assist folks, I call it 'the lady in the sky' (but I did get a guy the other day), were absolutely fantastic!
They were very friendly, courteous even when I may not have been, and helpful. They listened and tried to do the best they could in the situation and they called me back several times during the whole ordeal to see if they could help further.
I have nothing but good experiences with them.

Now the first vendor that they dispatched was the biggest issue that I had. That towing vendor had no clue how to tow an electric car. Neither did 2 other employees at the same towing company. They could only relate something they had heard about for a Tesla. Tesla had deployed a technician to person's house to load software onsite. I have no other information on how my i3 issue would relate to the Tesla issues except that we are both electric and they were taking a stab at a possible solution.
The second vendor that was dispatched was awesome!!! He told me about classes that his company sends him to learn the various techniques to tow all types of high end cars. I learned more than I ever thought was possible about towing cars and most of it was based upon customer service.

In the middle of all the issues that I have had with my i3 from before delivery as I was waiting impatiently to this recent software malfunction, the San Diego BMW folks have been amazing!!! I am in continuous communication with emails or phone calls with the Sales, Service, Finance, Customer Service and iGenius folks on a regular basis. They want to help us with our new cars and they want to learn as much as they can about the new i3 cars.
I have nothing but terrific things to say about them.
They also know me, my husband and I have been customers since 1998, Red 323, White 330, White 335, Blue M3 and Silver i3 for me and Black 335, Silver R1200 and K1300 motorcycles for my husband.

We have never been left stranded when any of our BMW vehicles were malfunctioning, they even deliver a loaner car directly to where I am, if I need it.

When I find a good product with excellent service, it is something that I stick with because I trust them to take care of me.

The i3 is a new car concept and so are the electric cars for any of the companies out there. It will take some patience in dealing with initial issues that may occur with this technology. It may not be for everyone.

I am really glad I bought the i3 and that blog sites like this are extremely helpful when the cars are on the 'bleeding' edge of technology that still has some bugs to work out.

I look forward to getting my i3 back soon and learning what went wrong with it.
I will update this blog when I find out to help others with their cars.

I am still a happy i3 customer!
FrannieM3i3

 

[jadnashuanh]

While some dealers, really shouldn't be in business with their lousy practices, most BMW dealers I've dealt with bent over backwards to accommodate me. Certainly, if you have a dealership that is unresponsive, and there is no other nearby, that can jade any transaction and steer you towards another brand. But, as a company, I've had good experiences (so far!) with BMW. It may be that the dealership I'm working with bounces between #1 and #2 for customer service in their region.

The i3 has been running prototypes for several years, along with the trial electric they had in the field for a few more to get experience with what and how people reacted and used their vehicles. THe fleet was pretty large and they put a lot of miles on the vehicles. I do not consider the teething problems occurring with the larger scale deliveries to be a major issue. If you do, you shouldn't buy one!

 

[frannieM3i3]

Quick update on the EME module repair.

I have been getting updates from my BMW service guy every other day while they have had my car since July 16th.
On the call today, he told me they got the module in and they are in the process of pulling apart my car's engine to install it.
Then they will fully test the software and make sure the recent updates are loaded.

That translated to 2 days of work but they may need another day to confirm all the software.
So I just might have it by the weekend!!!

Oh and I gently reminded his to check that the battery is fully changed for me when I pick it up.
I will keep you posted.
FrannieM3i3

 

[Surge]

Well it's nice to hear the customer service is good.
But it shouldn't be an excuse for a new car leaving you stranded. Don't know about you, but in my job I cannot afford to be hours late because of unexpected trips to the dealer!

Anyway, BMW is offering me a 2 day test drive of the i3 next week. So that's nice.

 

[noakey]

Quick update on the EME module repair.

I have been getting updates from my BMW service guy every other day while they have had my car since July 16th.
On the call today, he told me they got the module in and they are in the process of pulling apart my car's engine to install it.
Then they will fully test the software and make sure the recent updates are loaded.

That translated to 2 days of work but they may need another day to confirm all the software.
So I just might have it by the weekend!!!

Oh and I gently reminded his to check that the battery is fully changed for me when I pick it up.
I will keep you posted.
FrannieM3i3

Am hoping for mine fir the weekend too after being away for 5 weeks... it was all finished on Tuesday eve and awaiting valeting. .. but they can't tell me when it will be returned other than 'we expect it should be back by the weekend'... fingers crossed... have fun

 

[Sjt2]

Quick update on the EME module repair.

I have been getting updates from my BMW service guy every other day while they have had my car since July 16th.
On the call today, he told me they got the module in and they are in the process of pulling apart my car's engine to install it.
Then they will fully test the software and make sure the recent updates are loaded.

That translated to 2 days of work but they may need another day to confirm all the software.
So I just might have it by the weekend!!!

Oh and I gently reminded his to check that the battery is fully changed for me when I pick it up.
I will keep you posted.
FrannieM3i3

Were you given a loaner car all the while when your i3 is going through the repair/upgrade process? If so, what car?

 

[noakey]

Quick update on the EME module repair.

I have been getting updates from my BMW service guy every other day while they have had my car since July 16th.
On the call today, he told me they got the module in and they are in the process of pulling apart my car's engine to install it.
Then they will fully test the software and make sure the recent updates are loaded.

That translated to 2 days of work but they may need another day to confirm all the software.
So I just might have it by the weekend!!!

Oh and I gently reminded his to check that the battery is fully changed for me when I pick it up.
I will keep you posted.
FrannieM3i3

Am hoping for mine fir the weekend too after being away for 5 weeks... it was all finished on Tuesday eve and awaiting valeting. .. but they can't tell me when it will be returned other than 'we expect it should be back by the weekend'... fingers crossed... have fun

Yeee... car arrived back at 5.50pm...

I had a loaner 3 series for 4 weeks and a loaner i3 for the 5th week...

 

[uktechie]

Quick update on the EME module repair.

I have been getting updates from my BMW service guy every other day while they have had my car since July 16th.
On the call today, he told me they got the module in and they are in the process of pulling apart my car's engine to install it.
Then they will fully test the software and make sure the recent updates are loaded.

That translated to 2 days of work but they may need another day to confirm all the software.
So I just might have it by the weekend!!!

Oh and I gently reminded his to check that the battery is fully changed for me when I pick it up.
I will keep you posted.
FrannieM3i3

Am hoping for mine fir the weekend too after being away for 5 weeks... it was all finished on Tuesday eve and awaiting valeting. .. but they can't tell me when it will be returned other than 'we expect it should be back by the weekend'... fingers crossed... have fun

Yeee... car arrived back at 5.50pm...

I had a loaner 3 series for 4 weeks and a loaner i3 for the 5th week...

What needed doing?