i3 Range and the weather

[ds666]

I've noticed that the range of my i3 has dropped from around 83 miles to around 63 on a full charge . Trips, speed etc the same . The miles/kwh has dropped from 5 to 4.4 . Have others noticed a change as the weather gets cooler ?
Alternatively I had a major software update , inc nav - not having to set Uk everytime , the car no longer rolling back on a hill and you can apply power whilst the car is held on the brakes ( with the left foot - doesn't seem to make it quicker off the line ...) and have noticed the reduced range since then ( coincidence?)

[Doshy]

ds666 said:

I've noticed that the range of my i3 has dropped from around 83 miles to around 63 on a full charge . Trips, speed etc the same . The miles/kwh has dropped from 5 to 4.4 . Have others noticed a change as the weather gets cooler ?
Alternatively I had a major software update , inc nav - not having to set Uk everytime , the car no longer rolling back on a hill and you can apply power whilst the car is held on the brakes ( with the left foot - doesn't seem to make it quicker off the line ...) and have noticed the reduced range since then ( coincidence?)

That's a huge drop in range for a mild drop in temperature. Sounds like the update maybe ?
There's a discussion on the BMW i3 forum here: http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&am...

[Amateurish]

4.4 mi/kw gives a full range of 83 miles which seems reasonable. I find the predicted range very pessimistic.

[ds666]

What do you multiply to get the range from the miles/ kwh ?

Apples for apples the predicted range has dropped from 83 - 63 ...

[Amateurish]

The battery capacity i.e. 18.8 kwh.

Forget predicted range, what actual range are you getting? For example, how far do you get with 50% charge.

PS I have seen a drop in efficiency from around 4.4 mi/kwh to 4.0 mi/kwh with the change in weather.

[Greg_D]

i've had the same SW update and have noticed almost exactly the same occurence.

i was getting C.88 miles/charge, now 63. It's nothing to do with being pessimistic, it really will only do 60 miles now. i'm distinctly unimpressed, i'm pretty much charging it daily now so as to not be left short.

A maximum return journey of 25-30 miles simply isn't good enough.......

Yes, the weather has got a little colder, but i'm still in short sleeves for god's sake....

At what stage would you consider it unacceptable, it's a 30% drop FFS..........

[mids]

Strange. My car has had three different software updates and can't say I noticed any change to the range at the time but the colder weather is certainly making a difference.

Ross was saying the other day that he'd had an update and thought it was showing increased range!

[skilly1]

My car had no software updates and the range has dropped to about 64 miles so it is not software related.

On another note BMW were going to update the software and also change the drive shaft (or some sort of shaft) in the REX as there was a recall on it. They have delayed it as they are still making changes to software apparently.

[mids]

skilly1 said:

On another note BMW were going to update the software and also change the drive shaft (or some sort of shaft) in the REX as there was a recall on it. They have delayed it as they are still making changes to software apparently.

When my car was last in (a couple of weeks ago) they mentioned this to me too, called it a spline shaft which sounded rather worrying to me so I asked for more info as maybe just from an auxiliary pump rather than motor/engine drive but they weren't sure. When they looked into it they realised that they didn't have the tooling to make the change so they said they'd call me back when ready.

[ChrisW.]

I also have seen a drop in the anticipated range, some of which is down to ancilliaries --- but when I look at the miles being consumed by these in Eco Pro + it's very low numbers.

So I wonder if it's partly dependant upon whether or not I have conditioned the car from the mains before setting off.

[Nish]

Mentioned in an earlier thread but I was using daily for a 65 mile drive.

Would generally arrive with the 15 mile range warning just having pinged on, used the other day when temp said 5.5 degrees - arrived with 3 miles remaining.

The weather is definately having a big impact - no software updates. Car is preconditoned from mains before departure.

Will need to start using the 5 series again I think

[Amateurish]

I am find the predicted range very pessimistic at the moment. A couple of days ago I set off with 125 miles predicted total range (Rex). The car was not preconditioned. I then drove 37 miles, cruising at around 60 mph, and my range had increased to 155!

[Welshbeef]

Cold!!!
If your losing 20-25% range on what isn't really cold weather then what will happen in Jan-Mar with freezing conditions? Will it mean some owners physically cannot complete their return commutes?

[Caruso]

In 3 years of commuting by EV, I've found that strong winds have an effect on range too, and we've certainly had plenty of that recently.

[c2mike]

There are two main reasons for range loss in colder temps.
Firstly the battery will be less effective - not much you can do about this except keep the car in a warm garage overnight and if it has active battery heating, use it.
Secondly the cabin heater will draw a lot. Pre-heating the cabin while plugged in helps for the first few miles, but ultimately you learn to drive with more clothes on to maximize range! Does the i3 come with a heat pump? That should reduce cabin heater drain a lot.
My 2011 Leaf has no battery heating and no heat pump - I lose around 20% range in colder temps.

[Doshy]

c2mike said:

There are two main reasons for range loss in colder temps.
Firstly the battery will be less effective - not much you can do about this except keep the car in a warm garage overnight and if it has active battery heating, use it.
Secondly the cabin heater will draw a lot. Pre-heating the cabin while plugged in helps for the first few miles, but ultimately you learn to drive with more clothes on to maximize range! Does the i3 come with a heat pump? That should reduce cabin heater drain a lot.
My 2011 Leaf has no battery heating and no heat pump - I lose around 20% range in colder temps.

The winter package (£260) gets the battery to optimum temperature before you set off. Glad I ticked that now.

[RossP]

Back in March when I first got the i3 the range did seem a little lower when it was cold.

Since the software update the main thing I have noticed is that the range more accurately reflects current driving style / conditions rather than being totally random..

[Atommad]

Range on mine hasn't changed noticeably, even though I had it in January this year. That said it is always garaged overnight and I suspect this has a significant impact.

[Welshbeef]

I wonder how many buyers have snookered themselves with the assumption of 60 miles is easily doable suddenly its a huge worry to get home....

[TimJMS]

My REx is still doing 54 miles @ 70mph on the A1M each morning but with noticeably less reserve than in the summer on colder mornings. In ideal conditions I was getting back with 30% battery left, this morning it was more like 10%. Stats were : vehicle fully preconditioned before departure. 4 degrees outside air temperature, thick fog in places, climate set to 24 degrees, heated seat and Radio 4 on. Very pleasant. Eco Pro mode, but with several bursts of hard acceleration en route. Can't remember the efficiency percentage which has now been erased by a subsequent short, fast journey.

We haven't really had a winter since 2012/3 though so the real test is yet to come.