Loss of 15% Range with Update to HMI 02.03.03

[swissmot]

My range (both indicated and effectively achieved) before the software update was typically around the 150km. After the software update this is now (both indicated and effectively achieved) around the 130km. That's a 10-15% loss in range. With range being the top 1 concern re the i3 and certainly my top concern on an otherwise exciting product, this is not good.

Both figures are (IMHO) at reasonably comparable external factors (temp, route, tire type and pressure, etc.) as well as reasonably comparable driving style (most efficient driving in EcoPro+ only, 90kmh on Freeways).

My car has 16'000km, driven since Feb. My very first drive from the dealership at 4°C was 142km with 4km remaining (on Winter tires at 4°C), a route and distance I wouldn't even dare risking since the update, despite Summer tires and currently 12°C and with all I have learned in the interim re efficient driving.

With no hard evidence, my feel is that the loss in range is a combination of both higher consumption and lesser available battery capacity. Service Menu display is between 18.2 and 18.9 KWh Max Battery Capacity now, however I have no figure from before the update. If (pure assumption) my car was at the 19.8ish KWh Max Battery Capacity before the update, which seems to be a figure a number of users are reporting, that loss of 1KWh in usable capacity would explain maybe a 4km (or approx 5%) loss in range, which still could only be part of the explanation.

I wonder whether others have observed a range impact with the SW update ?

 

[BoMW]

I had my software update on 31st October and I have noticed a considerable change for the better!
I normally travel with a passenger and heavy equipment and have a statedintitial range of 85 miles. When I have driven alone without any load I have had a range of 92 miles. After the update as I was leaving the dealership I had a range of 118 miles! I have never seen a figure above 92 let alone 100 so I was very pleased.

On a downside I have noticed missing menus on my connective drive selection. I see no Messages or BMW Online options. I only seem to have 3 choices where as before I had at least double.

 

[SanSerif]

I have a very early i3 which was upgraded in August to version x (how do I find which version I have?) - and the predicted range took a real bashing. However, the *actual* range still seems to be there. Certainly, I did one trip with a predicted 70 mile range and arrived home having driven 80 and having 20 remaining (or similar - I forget the details).

The colder weather seems to be having a much bigger impact on range than I remember last winter and I'm not certain how real (rather than predicted) this impact is. If the s/w upgrade beefed up battery heating (or something), I can imagine the effect is more real.

 

[jadnashuanh]

IF you can precondition while still plugged into the EVSE, that can make a big difference, especially in the winter-time. If you regularly only do short trips and let the car sit long enough to reach ambient, those multiple reconditioning events can affect overall range, and might be part of the range estimation. And, remember that, the expected range is just a guess based on various things, and those can change, especially if you don't have the same pattern every day.

FWIW, at least in the USA, of the 22Kwhr battery, you can only use about 18.4Kw. I do not know how the service menu is based, off the usable amount, or total. I think that the only way to get more than the normal maximum in the vehicle would be if it was able to add a bunch during regeneration near the beginning when you had a full (based on the charging logic) battery in the first place, and this is, I think, one reason why they don't 'fill it up' during a charge. Otherwise, they'd have to restrict regen at the beginning of a trip, and that could get awkward once you've gotten used to the normal operation and would defeat the one-pedal driving until some of that power was used up.

 

[BrianStanier]

When I have driven alone without any load I have had a range of 92 miles. After the update as I was leaving the dealership I had a range of 118 miles! I have never seen a figure above 92 let alone 100 so I was very pleased.

I have seen the same, but the real range does not seem to have changed. The guessometer has gone from being somewhat pessimistic to being (at times) wildly optimistic as our Leaf was. The estimated range rapidly corrects itself after just a few miles. My guess is that it now more biased toward recent driving than previously.

 

[BoMW]

When I have driven alone without any load I have had a range of 92 miles. After the update as I was leaving the dealership I had a range of 118 miles! I have never seen a figure above 92 let alone 100 so I was very pleased.

I have seen the same, but the real range does not seem to have changed. The guessometer has gone from being somewhat pessimistic to being (at times) wildly optimistic as our Leaf was. The estimated range rapidly corrects itself after just a few miles. My guess is that it now more biased toward recent driving than previously.

Yes I realise the GoM has gone wild but I wanted to highlight that after a sw update I had a more favourable result

 

[swissmot]

Thanks for all the input. I have lost effective/real range and this is what is concerning. The predicted figures by the guess-o-meter in my car have actually been pretty accurate (provided I don't use the SATNAV) before as well as after the update.

The driving style and pattern as well as the external conditions before and after the update are pretty comparable. I usually score 95%-100% driving efficiency as per the BMW app and can currently do an effective max just over 120km in EcoPro+, whereas when I picked up the car in Feb I could do at same temperatures over 140km.

BTW: The Max Battery Capacity indicated in the the Service Menu must be the effectively available capacity (rather then the total capacity).

 

[SanSerif]

Where do I find the "max battery capacity" info?

 

[elptex]

This thread on the Facebook i3 group has discussed this at length: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BMWi3/732841326789731/

My specific note:

I've realized that you guys commenting on lower range estimator numbers have been brought up to the same software version my car came with 7 weeks ago. We have only ever seen range estimator numbers between 65 and 85. Our daily commute is 74 miles, including ~40 miles at highway/motorway speed. Where I have seen a lot of people talk about wildly inaccurate range estimation, I have found it pretty accurate. In 10C/50F+ weather, we've been seeing 80-85 estimated range on full charge. Half of our round trip is 37 miles and after driving that, we usually see estimated range of about 45 miles, or nearly spot-on with the original estimate less distance driven. The comments on Comfort/Eco Pro/Eco Pro Plus are also in line with what I've experienced. We've been running our heat at 22C/71F and switching it on/off only changes estimated range by 3-4 miles at the top end of a charge and 1-2 miles at the bottom end of a charge.

In 10C/50F+ weather, we were arriving home after our 74 mile round trip with about 15% charge remaining, which lines up with the estimated ~85 miles total range at the start. Weather this week at just under 0C/32F, we are arriving home at exactly 6.5%, typically (unfortunately) with the last 1-2 miles with the REX running. This lines up with the approx. 10% range loss in colder weather running heat at a comfortable 22C/71F.

All-in-all, I think people will find the software update means a more accurate range estimator, while bearing in mind that, as Tom said above, actual realized range hasn't gone anywhere. What people will more likely experience is a much closer correlation between 1 mile drive and 1 mile less estimated range.

It is not in BMW's successful business interest to provide a software update that actually reduces range by introducing inefficiencies. With the i3 beings its first foray into EVs, it has to prove itself as successful--otherwise its multi-billion investment will fail.

 

[MikeS]

If what elptex says is true then we may feel we have been misled. I bought a car expecting at least 70 mile range and now I have one that tells me it only has 50 miles!

 

[elptex]

If what elptex says is true then we may feel we have been misled. I bought a car expecting at least 70 mile range and now I have one that tells me it only has 50 miles!

When I have driven it on the weekend with all the creature-comforts on and essentially flooring the accelerator at every opportunity, yea I only get about 50 miles range.

During the week when I need to hit 74 miles for my round-trip commute, I am conservative with the creature-comforts and drive with utmost consideration to range, and that sees me hitting around 80 miles range. In the recent weather just above/below 0C/32F, I have been getting 72.

All depends on how you drive it. To that end, I only go 60mph on the motorway/highway. I set the cruise and stay in the 'slow' lane, going into the middle lane only when I need to pass trucks (which are typically speed limited to 56mph).

 

[MikeS]

I have driven it just very short trips - less than a mile - each day at nevermore than 25 mph and still only see 50 to 60 miles predicted and realised. I have also driven it from home to longer destinations with a mixture of roads and speed and get about the same range. I never floor the accelerator and always drive conservatively.

Seems strange also that the app shows my average consumption as around 4.4/kw and the community average as 3.8m/kw!

 

[WoodlandHills]

Seems strange also that the app shows my average consumption as around 4.4/kw and the community average as 3.8m/kw!

Given how many people have complained of low range in the past as well as those who report lower range after the software update, how can the community average be so high? On my app the community average is always 4.0 no matter what. That seems a bit fishy to me.....

 

[jadnashuanh]

It could be that the community is by country. I've been averaging about 4.3m/kw.

Lots of short trips with time in between means lots of heating or cooling the vehicle and the batteries to get things into range from ambient. It's more efficient to keep them there than to do it over an over again after lots of short trips, so that may be part of the issue.

 

[BoMW]

I have a feeling that my range has increased post update. Yesterday I managed to get up to 82 miles before the Rex kicked in and this journey had much motorway driving at 70mph. The GoM today started out at 122 miles, unheard of!
I do however have some issues since SWUD, my voice control is effected, simple "day map mode" instruction is not understood, it has even cancelled out before I say the word "map". Regenerative breaking does not seem so strong anymore. Having got accustomed over the months I feel as I'm learning again because resistance is reduced.
DC Charging issues have not been resolved. Ecotricity - ikea Warrington station shut down within a minute once charging hit 120A.
Finally on my connect drive I see many options deleted, in particular messages and BMW online, means I have no connectivity to the outside world.

 

[BrianStanier]

Seems strange also that the app shows my average consumption as around 4.4/kw and the community average as 3.8m/kw!

4.4m/kWh and a range of 50-60 miles suggests a battery capacity of only about 11-12 kWh which sounds like a bad cell in the pack. But I don't understand your figures. If you only do 1 mile a day it would take two months to discover the real range. What am I misinterpreting?

 

[MikeS]

Seems strange also that the app shows my average consumption as around 4.4/kw and the community average as 3.8m/kw!

4.4m/kWh and a range of 50-60 miles suggests a battery capacity of only about 11-12 kWh which sounds like a bad cell in the pack. But I don't understand your figures. If you only do 1 mile a day it would take two months to discover the real range. What am I misinterpreting?

I don’t generally only drive 1 mile a day that was just for a few days.

I posted this on the thread about range disappointment - My experience is just as disappointing as yours. Since my last charge I have driven only in eco pro and quite conservatively. My app currently shows 82% efficiency and 5 stars for everything accept acceleration which shows 4 (I exceeded 56 mph for a few minutes to overtake) and aux consumption that shows only 1 star - evidently owing to something to do with the fan (next tot the fan symbol it shows +11 miles - which seems strange as I have been driving in eco pro so the climate control should be off!

Current SOC is 56% with 38 mile range remaining which equates to only about 67 mils full range!!!

 

[WoodlandHills]

AFAIK, the climate control in Eco Pro is only reduced, it is turned off in Eco Pro+.

 

[MikeS]

AFAIK, the climate control in Eco Pro is only reduced, it is turned off in Eco Pro+.

My mis typing - I was driving in Eco Pro+…...

 

[pastyboy]

If what elptex says is true then we may feel we have been misled. I bought a car expecting at least 70 mile range and now I have one that tells me it only has 50 miles!

I am finding the same. When we got it in September it suggested a range of 78 miles. That suddenly dropped to 65 a couple of weeks ago, even though the temperature did not drop significantly and now it is saying 55 miles, and the temperatures are still not very low.

I borrowed a Rex to test how it would retain battery range at 75 and the demo model would do it all day, whereas our actual car will struggle at 70mph. The demo convinced me to buy the car and I feel a little bit cheated (even allowing for colder weather) although driving the car is great