How well does the BMW i3 age with mileage? Here's a 4.5 yr old REX that's done 122k miles.
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- čas přidán 13. 02. 2020
- This just shows how well the BMW i3 seems to cope with high mileage in terms of signs of wear and tear rather than reliability, as this has yet to be proven by myself as not owned them long enough.
I forgot to add this in the video about battery degradation. Mainly because it isn't an issue, it slipped my mind. Batteries on EVs will outlast the car. I've checked the battery capacity on the 60Ah i3 that has done 122,000 miles and using the hidden service menu on the dash, it is showing a capacity of 16.9kWh, which isn't bad if they start new at 18.8kWh. So battery degradation is minimal. The range we're getting is the same as any other 60Ah REX regardless of mileage.
*Update* January 2020 - a new update video here • Looking at our BMW i3 ...
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After 22 cars in 33 years of driving I unreservedly say that my i3 is by far the best car. I recently had to drive an ICE after my i3 had to go in to get a new front bumper (a deer ran out of nowhere) and it was like stepping back in time, changing gears, zero acceleration and the one that surprised me the most was the ride height. The i3 is a class act that for once in my life I intend holding onto for as long as possible.
I've got a 2014 60Ah BEV with 51k and it's in great shape as well. My favorite BMW I've ever owned.
Can I ask what sort of costs are charged for servicing in the time you've owned it?
@@markreed9853 it's been covered under warranty, including an extended one I purchased. he car has definitely had some expensive repairs covered by warranty. Most out of pocket things have been things like tires. The 12V battery needed to be replaced - that was around $300. I finally replaced the brakes but that wasn't more than a normal brake job.
@@markreed9853 Here is some insight on i3 service cost from the forum - www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16399
@@jeremyburnich2713 I have 2014 i3 Rex with about 90k and still doing Amazing I love it
@@raulcelaya9410 What's the maximum range indicated after a full charge? Thanks.
Most EV drive trains will be good for 250 to 500k miles, add to this the i3 construction of non-rusting materials, and you're looking at a long lasting vehicle. Battery pack is likely the first major failure, however, by the time this is needed, I would expect to see an emerging aftermarket in battery replacements, with much improved range and charging.
and if you have a rex battery range is never an issue....
Great info and comparison. Thanks for sharing!
Nice video. I purchased a 2017 i3 REX 2 months ago. I’m loving it so far. The info in you video reassures me that I made the right choice.
Great useful video, I’ve seen an example with 150.000 miles for sale that I’m interested in. Thanks again.
Great video, thank you.
Good to know that the i3 can stand up to high mileage.
I read numerous complaints that the i3 is a great car “but too expensive”, I guess you are paying for the quality and you get what you pay for in this world.
A fantastically good and smooth drive. The boot is a wee bit small if you're a family but I love driving this car.
Believe it or not you're helping me with my research buying a BMW i3, just a heads upwashing your car with a cheapest conditioner you can find will make it look like showroom
An old friend of mine bought one of these used. I think it was a 2014 with the range extender. Fortunately, she allowed me to take it for a drive. I was really impressed. It was as tight as a new car, very quiet, and impressively torqey. She bought an extended warranty that costs her $400 a year for inspection and service because it can get expensive for BMW repairs.
I have a 2018 I3s BEV 94ah with 36k now. Specifically avoided the REX version due to the additional complexity. We have a Honda CRV for long trips which we rarely drive. For running around Dallas/Forth Worth it has been great. No maintenance issues yet and near zero battery degradation. Tires do wear quickly.
That is awesome. I am in the Dallas area as well. I recently Purchased a 2014 Rex with only 20k miles on it. It’s the Tera world package. Pretty loaded other than sunroof. I just wanted a vintage type commuter for town and so far it seems to fit the bill. A little worried about the battery degradation since the car has not been driven much in nearly nine years. Struts were worn due to age i guess but those have since then been replaced.
Looks good but what about the battery degradation ? What kind of range can be expected from such a high mileage vehicle? I admit, they both look very good.
I forgot to add this in the video. I've checked the battery capacity (on the 60Ah i3) using the hidden service menu on the dash, and and its 16.9kWh, which isn't bad if they start new at 18.8kWh. So battery degradation is minimal. The range we're getting is the same as any other 60Ah REX regardless of mileage.
The Samsung SDI cell in the i3 has a very good track record. It is rated for 4600 full 0 to 100 charge cycles before end of life (where it drops below 80% capacity). The battery capacity in the service menu isn't very reliable. Those numbers have a tendency to fluctuate a lot
@@samueltolentino322 Max capacity calculated by the BMS is always going to vary on a real car day to day because the batteries effective SoC is affected by the batteries temperature. A battery at say 30 degC and a battery at 15 degC have a very diffierent ability to accept charge! The calculated max capacity attempts to provide the driver with the best possibel range estimate, and hence it is biased to using data from the last charging cycle as that best reflects the current battery SoC.
I have a 2014 i3 and I didn't notice much battery degradation until this past year. Where in the summer I could go well over the stated range of 81 miles by using eco pro plus. (up to a little over 100 miles per charge), now I can only go up to about 80 miles per charge on eco pro plus. In the winter I was getting around 60 miles of range on really cold days when running the heater and using eco pro mode, and now I get about 45 to 50 miles of range in the winter. This isn't scientifically tested or anything, just stating what my real world use is and I haven't changed my driving habits or my usual places to drive. The car has been great so far, the glove box rattles a bit on bumpy roads and there is another rattle occasionally in the drivers side vent (I had this replaced for a rattle once before and it's a little metal clip that isn't secured very well, I could probably fix it with a small screw myself.) I also had to have the rubber seal replaced on the rear hatch as the hatch was squeaking and they determined that was the cause. I believe they ALL have the issue where the black comes out of the electric drive badge on the back. Like many others I simply took a few toothpicks and scraped the rest of the black out of the badge to make it look better.
Samuel Tolentino 4,600 cycles. I doubt it. Even the very best NMCs are only rated at about 1500 cycles to 80%. Plus SamsungSDI is just a brand name with a bunch of different chemistries with differing cycle life. Where dd you get your info from? 4,000 plus cycles is getting into LiFePO4 (and even then seems high) territory and that would be a much heavier pack.
How the he'll are you guys cleaning ur seats. When I 1sr got mine there was a small spot so I scrubbed it off with a wet rag and the senor in the seat mist have got wet because the passenger airbag light cane on and didnt go off until after it dried.i love my 2014 bev but the range is a nightmare trying to see abt upgrading my battery.im learning it can be done for around 4000 🇺🇸 💰
Can confirm, I've got an ex-lease 2015 REx and it's worn extremely well, battery has probably lost 5-10 miles range after nearly 100k. The BMW garage loaned me a new i3 while mine was undergoing a recall and it felt pretty much the same as my older car (apart from the plasticky new car smell)
So the viewers might like to know at what price these might fetch? Thanks
Excellent comparison! How much did you get the 122K for if you don't mind asking. I found me a 2015 I3 with 107K miles as of Dec 2022. Thank you!
This video is two years old, so prices are irrelevant now as the market has changed so much. I did keep both cars for our own use for a while too. There's some other i3 videos here www.youtube.com/@GoGreenAutos/search?query=i3 if you're interested.
I do agree that the plastic panels and paint do suffer from chip damage more than I expected. This is a disappointment, overall though, I think it's perhaps the best car I have owned. I certainly see no circumstances under which I would return to a combustion car.
Can’t wait to purchase my i3 REX soon(:
good idea, i have one no problems and 2p per mile to fuel (octopus of peak 7.5p per kw)
I purchased a 2014 i3 w 10k on it… lease return from the dealer … battery is still strong even though it has 100 k miles….only Issues drivers side airbag code and when driving on the freeway the car becomes twitchy… alignment was checked when tires were needed and it was spot on …. On the the car wanders a bit as if I may have been drinking… but that’s not something I do
Looks in great nick but they are just plug-ugly !. How’s the battery holding up ?
So battery degradation is minimal. Hardly noticeable.
seriously, who would care about stone chips, it's going to differ from place to place, how about the mechanical condition, wear tear, and not cosmetic, it's kind of pointless.
i’m assuming both those cars have been garaged that would helped with preserving the interior
I came to this video in hopes of hearing what the maintenance was. I have a late 2014 REX. Has 50k I’m going to walk away from it and get another Volt. This is the scariest car I have ever owned. The people who I have talked with that made it to 200k have spent $20-40k in maintenance which sounds crazy right? No one in their right mind would maintain a vehicle with those expenses... except BWM owners!!! Now I understand why there are so many short term leases done.
People keep going through AC compressors and they cost $3000-15000 to repair. Not kidding about the $15k. Multiple owners have had metal shards in the coolant and the batteries are cooled with that coolant so BMW replaces the coolant tubes on the battery or the entire battery.
For REX owners I believe the AC gets used to manage the REX and I know for sure it manages the battery. Then the AC as well.
For non REX owners if you have the cold weather package the pump also does your heating via the heat pump method.
So the car is worthless if the pump fails and it’s super expensive. It seems to go bad more often on the cold winter package cars. I don’t know for sure but maybe the motor is designed to run both directions and for some reason that’s causing issues I have no clue. Maybe it just gets used more on the heat pump cars.
Anyways I’d stay the F away from this car. My Volt didn’t have a single repair on the way to 100k I didn’t even need brake pads!!! I should have kept it :(
Hello friend, I am very curious about your I3. I have a Volt and was recently thinking of switching to a used i3 Rex or salvaged bolt I can work at fixing up. But I keep coming across some interesting comments like yours about the i3s reliability. Has your i3 had any issues?
Tyler Reeves every person who I have talked to that has a very high mileage i3 has spent multiple 10s of thousands of dollars in repairs. It is not a good car at all. One guy was bragging about 200k and I asked how much in repairs and it was over $30k. That makes no sense! He could have bought 2 used i3s for that much.
The AC pumps don’t last and since they are electric they cost thousands and contaminate the battery coolant lines with metal flakes and shards so BMW says the lines have to be replaced. If you don’t have the newer style motor mounts your motor mounts WILL fail and it will be a $3000-8000 job if you didn’t crash.
So many other problems though. Most i3 owners don’t have a lot of miles. Also the tires are so expensive and go so quickly that you don’t save any money at all VS a gas car. Plus gas is incredibly cheap right now.
I bought an i3 REx and I programmed it to have hold mode and I had plenty of problems that I fixed myself but you can’t fix everything! Some stuff is impossible without having access to certain things at BMW. I had the BMW service software but that doesn’t solve everything.
The Volt is very difficult to work on as well and when something fails it could end up making the car worthless but most colts have no problem hitting 200k with minimal to no repair.
Personally we haven’t seen the last of plug in hybrids and I think that is the way to go for another 10 years. I think the PHEV market will grow. There are several new PHEVs. Don’t expect anything like the Volt unless your willing to shell out big bucks. It wasn’t a profitable car and the selling cars for a huge loss isn’t going to last.
I’m probably going to get a used Cadillac ELR. I miss my Volt but would rather have something flashy.
Oh and once Indiana drops the extra charge for plating EVs I’ll probably pick up a Fiat 500e for around town if I don’t get the Cadillac. I think my wife gets the next nice car and it’s probably going to be a Chrysler Pacifica PHEV, Kia Niro PHEV or some Toyota.
@@MrGivmedew thank you so much for taking the time to reply... Probably has saved me tons of money by doing so. Yeah the volt is a hard car to work on, I just finished up replacing my heater and coolant flow control valve and man that was a pain. But the parts are relatively cheap, the service manual pretty well written and the car is very low maintenance. Starting in January through, my commute turns to 56 miles both ways (with free DC fast charging at a CA rest stop on mile 32) and doing some projections on tire, brakes, oil, gas cost per year based on that milage... I'm really in the market for something with more electric range and DC fast charging. Thought the i3 Rex was the answer but I am so grateful I have had the chance to come across several people like you telling me otherwise. The Chevy Spark and fiat 500e have my attention.
But they may not be able to make the return trip home if for what ever reason, I can't charge at the rest stop. Hence why the i3 Rex and Bolt have been what I've recently been looking at.
Tyler Reeves make sure you replace your coolant level sensor with a fake dummy sensor and follow the directions to a T. Did you completely disable the car? There are some things that if messed with the car will go into a safe mode and have to be reflashed. Some dealers don’t even know it’s just a reflash and possibly a bad wire or coolant sensor and they start replacing crap. That is one of the bigger issues with the Volt which really isn’t a big issue at all.
Also the 500e doesn’t have DC as far as I know. I’d grab the Spark EV if you want DC.
I just like the way the 500e looks and I think it costs more to make. The car is made by Bosche and they know what they are doing. The Spark EV is obviously bullet proof as well though... so many people in California live by that car.
As far as buying a Bolt... I got my i3 REx for $15k with 25k miles 2 years ago and it still had some warranty left. If I could have bought a Bolt for $15k that’s what I would have bought but that’s not going to happen. A first gen ELR is $15-20k and a 2nd gen is $25-50k. So that’s why I might not get one of those. I don’t want to spend more than $25k on a car and I don’t want another Gen 1. They are great don’t get me wrong but the Gen2 is certainly an improvement.
The Ford Fusion Energi is a lot of car for the money. The only thing is that you shouldn’t really drive it in hold mode a lot. It has air cooled batteries and it seems like the people who have issues with their batteries are the ones that drive it in hold mode a lot.
@@MrGivmedew wow man your awesome! Thanks again for all this knowledge sharing! I'm not sure about this coolant sensor issue you speak of. I just followed GM's service logs, but I don't have a computer to do the "relearn valve position" procedure. So I have to take it to a dealership to perform the task before I know it works or not. Currently, the new heater is definitely working, as it draws about 6-7 kw before turning off after around 14 seconds. The original HV heater wasn't doing that at all. The auxiliary coolant pump feels and sounds like it's working, however I still do not have cabin heat in either EV or ICE mode. I've removed the panel blocking the heater core on the driver side from your legs and put my hands on the inlet and outlet types of the heater core, they are always cold no matter what mode the car is in. So I suspect it's either that 3 way positional valve that needs to do the relearn procedure (suspect it's stuck in some sort of in-between state so I don't get flow to the heater core in ice or ev mode), the value that controles coolant flow to the cabin heater core itself, or more likely then not... Just something else I don't understand; such are the troubles of life 😂 yeah I'm looking at a salvaged gen2 that was just in fender bender and had an airbag deployed and thus, the battery locked out. The guy wants 7k for it wich seems fair based on what I see salvage bolts going for on online dealer auctions. I may snag it and turn into a side project, see if it would be as easy as slapping a new bumper on it, switching out the airbag computer module and bags themselves, and unlocking the battery from it's safe mode. If in 6 months I get it working, I'll sell the volt and keep the bolt. If not I'll just do what the previous owner did and sell it as is and grab a spark like you suggest. Yes, I believe you are right, the 500e doesn't have DC fast charging but unlike the spark it has the 7.7kw charger and that's fast enough to use the level 2 chargers at work (though they are not free so the spark is ideal because of the free DC fast charging). Thanks again for all your knowledge and actually taking the time out of your day to respond to these! People like you are awesome!
The blue one looks good. Best colour!
You think so? I much prefer the andesite silver - must be my age!
Go Green Autos Ltd it is my old car...
@@carboresross Hi Ross. Just seen your S2000 so twigged!
@@GoGreenAutos I'm 51, I prefer the blue! 😂
I only had to replace the computer , buttons where misbehaving. 60K on it. Driven Texas to Boston and back, no problems. Need to do my own oil change. Added own aerokit to it, getting 4.2 mi per Kwh, 48 mpg REX at 60 mph
Would you tell me more about your aero modification? In my opinion, the i3 has the perfect shape for an fullsize boattail. Would look incredible
How’s the battery degradation?
Our i3 will be three years old in about four months and I can’t imagine driving 120,000+ miles in one, with hundreds of stops at public chargers, our BEV has done about 8,000 miles and only gets charged at home.
How is the battery degradation how many miles on a charge ?
The paint falling out the badges on the back is the most annoying "wear" on my i3......
Yes, the same on these two too.
Confirmed .. Mine too ( 08.2016 Model) -The Blue remains intact. I simply removed what was left of the black paint... and now its just blue and silver . ;-)
Surely the very first thing you would want to look at on a used EV is the battery condition and how much capacity it’s lost? Especially when you don’t know the history on them.
See my comments on the video description. But no, because I know that high mileage EVs have better batteries than low mileage EVs and batteries will more than last the life of the car...with the exception of Nissan.
I should have included this in the video, but you'll see I've done other battery life videos on this channel.
Curious to the battery degradation for these too? Did u mention it? If so I missed it.
Other videos on the channel about that. Use the search. Just search for "i3" and also "battery life".
I don't think many people are that bothered about cosmetic appearance. What they, "really want to know", is how the battery has held up on both these cars. What is the battery degradation ?. Are they still useable, for day to day driving on battery alone ?. Please give us an update regarding this, thankyou...
It is in the video notes above and in the comments below.
The i3 is always a full electric car , the Rex only charges the battery if you want to use it , I've only run Rex for 2000 miles out of 56000 miles as a way of cutting a stop out of a journey 90%+ of people don't need the Rex , I only bought it because I can't charge at home , the networks were almost non existent in 2016 , some owners have never public charged in over 4years of ownership , it's really not that hard as most people don't have a petrol pump at home but almost everyone has got electricity , though to be honest listening to some sages on these articles they still have gaslighting /candles 🤣. It's the best car I've ever owned 2016, 94ah 33kwh Rex ( range extender) averaged 3.6 m p kWh for 56,000 miles or 195 mpg e .just buy one this guy is not lying 👍.
Just upgraded my Rex 60Ah to a 120 aH battery. It became the perfect town car which can now do the occasional longer trip and allowed to get rid of the backup combustion engine car..
Get that done in the UK?
Nope, am in Switzerland and the mechanic flew in from Prague, drove the car there (on Rex) and dropped it back in front of my door ..
@@garyhoward4064 sorry for the question How much did you spend to change batteries from 60 to 120A? Thanks
@@pedromartins4440 cost is approx €10’000
I really wish all manufacturers would put a hours used meter inside every car there's a big difference for doing 100000 miles between Manchester and Scotland compared with doing 100000 miles in a city centre
Bosch ECUs used on VW have engine hours counter. We use that to check if the dash odometer was tampered with.
Commercial vehicles actually do that. You can see mileage and engine hours.
when you mention the panels are all plastic. my though go to the DeLorean, stainless steel panels.....steel screws that rust away and are required to change out. So how is the undercarriage and the like in that area?
The i3 is a carbon fibre-reinforced plastic tub with plastic body panels and an aluminium frame which holds the battery and suspension. See czcams.com/video/wBEDlAqRQWk/video.html
An update here too czcams.com/video/-FsicNMimc0/video.html
2016 with 94Ah??? BMW says they only made 94AH in 2017 and later.
No incorrect. Summer 2016 when they were first available in the UK. This one is registered July 2016.
True , 👍
No sign of wear and tear ? Have you looked 2 times at your brake discs ?
Almost no wear on disc brakes. EVs like these two have very strong regen and if driven efficiently, you don't use the brakes.
Good job-i have i3 rex 2014 with 55k miles. Is going strong-love the car. I want the model y performance. Its $800 per month with $20k downpayment. Haven’t pulled the trigger on getting the tesla yet. I am cheap. I will get it soon. Performance teslas are crazy cool and stupid fast. And autopilot is cool on freeway. All that said-i still love my i3 rex.
Hi there Go Green Autos Ltd! I was going to buy this car but im wondering how the battery is doing after this high mileage? Does it still get about 70k miles on one charge.
See czcams.com/video/-FsicNMimc0/video.html
Vehicle age has little to do with the car & everything to do with the driver & wether the car been garaged or not.
Totally agree 👍
Those brake discs...
One of the few videos I've disliked, as it wastes ten minutes on trivialities such as upholstery wear and paint nicks but fails to answer the obvious question: How much has the battery capacity decreased in these two vehicles?
Covered in the comments. None basically.
Do you know the history of the 2015 car?
No. Posted on the FB i3 group to see if the previous owner was still there, but no luck. So I don't know if anything has been replaced.
you forgot to mention the tear and wear!
See czcams.com/video/-FsicNMimc0/video.html
Hey I’m interested in a bmw i3 Rex
good idea , a proper ev with no range problems
"Problem" not "issue".
What do they mean by REX?
REX = range extender. The models with the onboard petrol generator.
No range anxiety....
Enough ! We have used loads of oil. Let's go electric. Let the planet breathe
I can't wait to get a electric car they just need to be cheaper than petrol cars
In the UK, used EVs won't be cheaper than petrol cars for many years as demand is keeping prices high and in most cases, they are rising month after month. New prices will come down as they launch new models. Look at the new Zoe ZE50 and Peugeot e-208 - big batteries for no extra.
I want an EV asap as well and yes on paper they are more expensive - you just need to see that even though you pay more initially the total cost of ownership will be less due to lower maintenance and fuel costs. I hired a Renault Zoe for 4 days and drove 500 miles - I spent around £15 on electric (from public chargers so would be cheaper from home) with my ICE car normally costing me £70+ for the same.
Mark Reed you aren’t talking about a BMW i3 though... theoretically maintenance is lower but you can’t do that maintenance. I had 100,000 miles on my Volt with original brake pads. Same with my i3 at 50k I just got rid of it.
But if a tiny little itty bitty thing goes wrong... well for most of these cars right now nobody but the dealer can fix it and even they sometimes don’t know what to do so they just replace tons of shit. You go to the dealer and get a $6000 repair bill! Not kidding!
It’s different with Toyota it seems and probably some other brands but it’s going to take time.
Meanwhile the real hero’s of low maintenance are the Toyota Prius Hybrids. They get all the benefits of an EV and none of the down sides.
Right now in America fuel doesn’t cost a damn thing. It’s why you see a shitload of Ford Raptors driving like complete assholes and prob getting 8MPG because it’s pedal to the metal the whole time.
I’m not idiot... high fuel prices will come back. Apparently nobody remember cash for clunkers! When the government gave people money for trading in their gas guzzlers.
Anyways get a Hybrid or PHEV that’s based on a Hybrid like a Ford Fusion Energi or Prius Prime. Both those cars use almost identical drivetrains and they do use the same drivetrain as their lead acid brothers but with better batteries and a charge port.
Best cars you can buy right now.
@@MrGivmedew lol, it’s funny how you define Raptor owners. I own a 2020 Raptor and average around 16 mpg in the city and I don’t drive like a jerk. I’ve also owned a 2015 i3 and a Model X. I’m considering getting another i3, looking at a 2018 i3s. I’m a car enthusiast so can’t help myself. But to your point I am concerned with long term reliability as neither electric I had had over 30k miles.
Battery degradation ?
Mine showed about 4% Degredation After 60k miles before I sold it for a Bolt. The more you drive around with the rex, the less the battery degrades.
Why do they measure battery capacity in Ah whilst other manufacturers specify in kWh?
Ah means nothing without knowing the battery voltage so this is useless on making comparisons with competitor cars.
Some other manufacturer's do the same too. But you soon get to know what they equate too. All on Wiki too.
On the i3's... 60Ah is 22kWh, 94Ah is 33kWh and the new 120Ah is 42kWh.
Kwh is equally useless without knowing the cars miles per kwh rating.
Would have been better if you had actually taken them out on the road in your review.
I don't have the equipment to film while driving.
Sorry to be negative - but it's really not possible to review a car that you don't have much information or experience with. Was hoping for more than just 'visible' wear and tear information.
You're talking about cosmetics. HOw is mechanical reliability.
Where is the most important thing,range drop
No noticeable range drop
@@GoGreenAutos my country is a really hot.so nissan leaf totally failed due to lack of cooling methed nissan used.so range drops so fast.i wonder how bmw i3 range drop in a hot country.i m planning to buy a i4,but still too soon to get a idea from i4 users, because its new.
@@kalanaliyanage1905 In the UK we have EV friendly temperatures. Even so, on average, Nissan Leaf & ENV200 batteries would loose about 3% per annum in the UK. All other EVs see about 0.5-1% loss per annum.
Bbbb
Too much on the cosmetics and little to toning on the battery degradation. Redo the video and page me.
See czcams.com/video/-FsicNMimc0/video.html