Good to hear

Thanks for the information

According to some KZfaqrs this makes the i3 a "FAILURE".

just two oil changes? they got me for once a year on mine 😂

oil change??

I'd be surprised if the shocks/struts wouldn't have become a bit bouncy by about then but obviously they can be changed at a cost.

you're gonna keep it for years? You won't be enticed by all the new technology in newer EVs? One of the biggest issues I have with BMW is that they didn't include simple safety features in the i3 such as Blind Spot Detection, Lane assist/keeping, radar Active Cruise Control. In some markets, BMW removed the autonomous driving features but still charges the same price. Most people have to software code their i3s to even get simple things like WiFi or the ability to manually turn on the REx. Its well built car but its missing some modern tech.

@@mamadouaziza2536 One of the things that attract me to buying an i3s is that it HASN'T got LKA, the reason for not buying is the tyres being so unique and expensive.

@@12alocin The tires are now $80 USA dollars each.

@@mamadouaziza2536 I don‘t need all that tech since I drove 40 years well without all that stuff. I will also keep my i3. Best car I ever had.

@@mamadouaziza2536 True, but one thing that is often overlooked with the i3 is how efficient it is, due to its drivetrain (which compares well to newer EVs) but mainly down to its lightness. Why would I want a Mercedes EQ or Audi e-tron just to have to put twice as much electricity into it? If you do the average commute then its perfect, and the cheapest way to get around.

Tell me more.

Go Green Autos Ltd Sent you a DM on your Facebook page 👍🏻

@@lumicolour1 Tell me more as well please. I too have an i3.

@@covertoperatah Sure, there was a fault with the air conditioning system whereby the system wasn’t cooling, due to a tiny hole present in the condenser. My suspicion is that, that loss of gas was the cause of battery damage. Hence why active battery cooling is important, to protect lithium battery health. Now everything has been repaired, the car doesn’t feel 7 years old and having covered now 98,000 miles. All work was completed on original BMW battery warranty and dealership warranty.

@@lumicolour1 thank you for your reply. How was the battery repaired?

it actually has a damn good battery in it pertaining to less degradation than the Nissan Leaf.. As long as one only charges it to 80 to 90% and do less CCS charging, the battery will outlast the car.

@@mamadouaziza2536 the ccs charging I fully agree with (limit it to 7 Kw/h or thereabouts is best), but the battery management software does a good job. I did read the consumer software interface does leave a low (approx 10%) and high (approx 20%) charge gap, hence the difference between 18.8 kw charge capacity (approx) being shown as 100% and actual 22 kw capacity to always maintain the draft needed for battery health and longevity. I have read interviews with the chief designer and on the i3 forum where one of the briefs was not to risk an early reputation for battery degradation. Hence the assurances you can charge to 100% from say 90% 9 times and that is the same, in regards to degradation, as charging from 10% to 100% because the software will do the cell discharge / recharge management and move it around the stack as needed between the cells. In other words, when the consumer display says 100% it is maintaining a state that isn’t overcharged to cause degradation. There was even an assurance in an interview, a few years after the original i3 release, that so few failures in degradation have occurred that the design team were confident the batteries will invariably outlast the car’s lifetime.

That's good to know, thank you. (Its brake pads , so close).

This is excellent news and I am very glad to hear it. I just bought a 2015 REx and plan on keeping it forever. Have you had any problems with the motor mount bolts? I hear the 2014 and 2015 models were affected by this but not as much in the UK/Europe for some reason.

Nothing.

@@Teesquared00 Nope. Never had an issue with motor mounts.

Wow that is limited or spirited driving. We're getting 80 miles on this on warm day.

Hi. Wish I'd know you/this earlier when I had the vehicle. Its long sold now, but we used it as our own car for about a year I think. Your old car is in a few other videos www.youtube.com/@GoGreenAutos/search?query=bmw%20i3

@@GoGreenAutos Great Videos

Mileage on EVs isn't as relevant as it is with ICE vehicles. The powertrain has so few moving parts, wear & tear isn't the big issue. So keep and enjoy it. You'd have to spend a lot of money for anything better.

500-1000 cycles?? They can do far more than that. I know of a 24kWh Leaf that has done 6,600 DC rapid charges, thousands of AC chargers (ex taxi) and the battery is still at around 78% SoH & Nissan's have the highest degrading batteries due to lack of cooling. Looking at the ECU in this i3, the figures say: - Driving cycles counter = 5,071 - Driving cycles counter with range extender = 799 OK, that is driving cycles and not battery cycles. But as you say, its got to have done near 2,000 battery cycles.

The prismatic cells from Samsung SDI used in the i3 have a much longer cycle life. The datasheet for the 94Ah versions e.g. says "1500 cycles at full 1C charge/discharge" down to 80% state of health and even 2500 cyles to 70% SoH. Actual numbers vary a lot with temperature, charging power and other factors but I would say i3 has very good batteries compared to other EVs.

Where are you getting that done? Is that something a BMW dealer has diagnosed? I ask, as I'll be surprised if they get involved with changing bearings - dealerships normally just change whole parts, so would only fit a whole new reduction gearbox. Or if you've not had this diagnosed yet, I would suggest its normally (on EVs generally, not the i3) the motor bearings which get noisy, rather than the gearbox bearings (as these sit in oil).

Either a cold or fully charged battery, so the regeneration is disabled until the battery is in a state that it can accept the charge?? All normal. Its been a few years since I've driven an i3, but most EVs will not come to a full stop on regen and to hold the car, you need to press the brakes, otherwise the motor will keep creeping the car forward.

Other than that though, there was zero sign internally or externally about the high mileage

@@poleguy4857 Thanks for letting me know. Ours had no motor whine whatsoever.

@@GoGreenAutos Glad to hear it - hopefully just an isolated incident/specific to my car. A HEVRA approved garage said it wasn't healthy sounding but couldn't do any further investigation due to lack of experience.

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bremeier.ralf.electrified

Single phase. I did a review video a few years ago, see kzfaq.info/get/bejne/f7Zned1ez9rDdmw.html

This video is six months old and long sold. It sold for £11,500.

Don't use BMW as they are expensive. If in the UK, use a HEVRA garage, see hevra.org.uk/garages.html

Yes seems so. Not a single dent or scratch on it.

Yes, they are tough! A guy opened his car door into my passenger door as I drove silently by. No damage. A falling tree knocked a 100lb cement statue off a wall and onto my i3, scuffing several panels and the passenger mirror, but it looks fine if you are not looking closely, and no worries about rust starting anywhere.

@@bigwhimsy2236 there are some torx bolts underneath will rust over time. Also a bar in the frunk that goes from left to right. The ends will rust. The wiper motors will corrode

It depends if its using REX then thats correct. The gas generator renews the battery on the road.

Yes it is. I've put it here in the comments somewhere.

...Yes, I've just found the data with my scanner. It records the REX driving distance, time and operating cycles. This motor has done 5,996 miles and operated 133 hours. So pretty little when the car as done 128,603 miles.

REX doesn't drive the car and it's not an engine. It's a generator charging the battery... So it's irrelevant with regards to the battery degradation. It's basically a different method of charging the battery.

I unfortunately can beat that. Mines only got 7578 miles. Only used when needed. Every time we go out, it's like the first time. Still love at first sight. Next trip out hopefully will be for our follow up jab. Dam covid-19

well you see what you can easy get to, so you can work out how many more years you can keep the car for. so you have many years of happy driving left.

In true BMW tradition though, the REX engine is pretty garbage compared to the rest of the car :-D

@@benbaselet2026 it's not an engine though is it ? It's an electricity generator

@@jctoyou It's an internal combustion engine from a motorcycle. OK it drives a generator, but it's still an engine.

Total mileage is logged in the BMS, as of course it is always driving off the battery. Not sure if the range extender ECU logs a mileage or hours used. I suspect so. I will have a look and report back.

Thanks! Your video gave me more confidence about buying a higher mileage i3. They are a great deal!

Yes, I've just found the data with my scanner. It records the REX driving distance, time and operating cycles. This motor has done 5,996 miles and operated 133 hours. So pretty little when the car as done 128,603 miles.

@@dennisbird5901 You can buy this one ;-)

Thanks Matt. Unfortunately I live in the US. Can I ask what type of scanner you used to find the REX data?

Yes, I've just found the data with my scanner. It records the REX driving distance, time and operating cycles. This motor has done 5,996 miles and operated 133 hours. So pretty little when the car as done 128,603 miles.

@@GoGreenAutos Thank you. When you say scanner, is that some canbus reader?

@@tinaturner9761 An Autel scanner, see www.autel.uk/diagnostics/pro-range/

This is an old video. The car sold back in Feb 2021 for £11,500.

@@GoGreenAutos. Thank you for your response. My inclination is that these could be a sought item, moving forwatd

Can't remember specifically on this vehicle as its sold when I made this video. But yes, I probably did. I do on most EVs as is easy to do (with a lift).

Its a range extender model. It has a petrol generator on-board which chargers the battery when it gets very low, so if you've not made it to a charger, then it will charge while you drive to enable you to get to that charger or destination.

Could well be. Someone else here has done 120,000 miles in their i3 and still on the original brakes.

See kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rah1d89y1ri1h58.html

Its the last 5 digits of your VIN number, added together.

Longer than the car will.

@@GoGreenAutos really? That would be great! I heard 160 000 km or so.

Interesting. Has anything been replaced or repaired on it?

@@GoGreenAutos just tyres, and two oil and filter changes Still on original brake pads!

@@bendybedale Great news. I think ours is on original pads too, but just changed them.

@@GoGreenAutos No all original, but have received notice to have the KLE replaced

@@bendybedale My KLE got replaced. Any idea whether it is different in any way apart from the materials problem?

A very common issue on the i3.

Circuit board

And this is the issue with EVs. Unsellable with a fault as it might cost more than the car is worth to fix a problem with the high voltage system

They self cycle if not used. Still, on a 60Ah version the Rex kicks in quite frequently as it comes on at 8% charge.

yes, the REx will automatically cycle on every couple of months if its not used regularly and the car will tell you when to have the REx serviced.. Easy peasy

@@mamadouaziza2536 yes I know about that, still have read that many have problems, especially when buying used ones.

@@electricwhirl5175 thats why you get the car checked out before buying it.

@@mamadouaziza2536 I believe from Go Green autos you can buy the car with piece in mind, but other sellers might smug you some problems as they care for profit and faster selling