May take the plunge and try an e-car this time
Discussion
I decided to pay a bit more and go for the i3 94ah Rex over the 60ah Rex. I debated about waiting since there are a few new models coming out for 2020, but my old car was going to need repairs soon, so it was time to switch. I read about the new VW ID3, but I was not sure about getting a first year car, and the actual style is currently unknown. I really liked the ID3 concept car, but very few concept cars make it to production keeping the "wow" elements. The i3 seemed to keep it quirky concepts, so I went with that. A guy a work has a Renault Zoe, and he likes it, but it was a bit too vanilla for me.
I have not used the Rex engine since my drive back from the dealer. The 94ah range has been great for my daily commute. The Rex will most likely only get used on extended road trips, and those tend to be only once or twice a year. I like having it as a backup, so we can go on trips if we want.
Ken
I have not used the Rex engine since my drive back from the dealer. The 94ah range has been great for my daily commute. The Rex will most likely only get used on extended road trips, and those tend to be only once or twice a year. I like having it as a backup, so we can go on trips if we want.
Ken
I have had the i3 for almost four months. As the weather is getting colder, I can see the kWh/100km is increasing due to the occasional cabin heater usage and the outside temperature. I now have a dedicated charger in the garage, and it has a digital meter. I decided to track the actual meter reading that will be used for the quarterly billing and the car display usage of the kWh/100km. I also wanted to compare the cost of the i3 vs the car it replaced, my old Z4. It used around 8.4 l/100km and a guess of 1.40 Euros per litre.
The meter has a green light that is on all the time, so it uses a bit of power even when not in use. Hopefully my math is correct
The car also broke down last week. I went to go to work, and I opened the rear hatch, shut it, and went to open the door, but it did not open. I thought the fob may have died, so I went back home to get the spare fob, but same issue. I then went home once again and read on the Internet how to use the real key. I returned to the car one again, and was able to get inside. I held the fob to the location on the steering wheel, but nothing happened. It was just after 5 AM, so I decided to go back to bed and call ADAC at a decent time.
Once the sun was up, I read on the Internet that if the 12V battery dies, the car is dead. I also read that you need to be careful if you boost the car due to high voltage etc. The charging cable was still connected, so I also found the location of the mechanical release. I gave this a try, and it broke, so now the car is in an underground garage, and tethered to the wall. I called ADAC, and they arrived quickly, but he had never worked on an i3. The downside of being a somewhat early adopter I forgot to read on how to release the hood when the power is gone, so this took a few minutes of searching before I found the little cover under the hood button. We took the front storage out to access the battery and the ADAC guy connected a portable battery. The car then came to life, and I was then able to remove the charge cable and drive the car to a BMW dealer. The check engine light was on, indicating an issue.
They diagnosed the issue as a bad 12V battery, and it was replaced under warranty The 12V battery always showed fully charged on the i3 display, but I guess it just died.
I now need to research on how to put the i3 into neutral and release the electronic parking brake in the event of a future 12V battery failure. I park in a city garage. I back out of my space, then I need to shut the car off because I need to put the parking space post up. If the car were to die in that position, no one could leave the parking garage, and the car would be stuck in park with the e-brake on, I would not be popular
Anyway, overall am still happy with the car, and I have almost nine months of warranty coverage remaining. If it is going to break, better now than after the warranty expires.
Ken
The meter has a green light that is on all the time, so it uses a bit of power even when not in use. Hopefully my math is correct
The car also broke down last week. I went to go to work, and I opened the rear hatch, shut it, and went to open the door, but it did not open. I thought the fob may have died, so I went back home to get the spare fob, but same issue. I then went home once again and read on the Internet how to use the real key. I returned to the car one again, and was able to get inside. I held the fob to the location on the steering wheel, but nothing happened. It was just after 5 AM, so I decided to go back to bed and call ADAC at a decent time.
Once the sun was up, I read on the Internet that if the 12V battery dies, the car is dead. I also read that you need to be careful if you boost the car due to high voltage etc. The charging cable was still connected, so I also found the location of the mechanical release. I gave this a try, and it broke, so now the car is in an underground garage, and tethered to the wall. I called ADAC, and they arrived quickly, but he had never worked on an i3. The downside of being a somewhat early adopter
I forgot to read on how to release the hood when the power is gone, so this took a few minutes of searching before I found the little cover under the hood button. We took the front storage out to access the battery and the ADAC guy connected a portable battery. The car then came to life, and I was then able to remove the charge cable and drive the car to a BMW dealer. The check engine light was on, indicating an issue.They diagnosed the issue as a bad 12V battery, and it was replaced under warranty
The 12V battery always showed fully charged on the i3 display, but I guess it just died.I now need to research on how to put the i3 into neutral and release the electronic parking brake in the event of a future 12V battery failure. I park in a city garage. I back out of my space, then I need to shut the car off because I need to put the parking space post up. If the car were to die in that position, no one could leave the parking garage, and the car would be stuck in park with the e-brake on, I would not be popular
Anyway, overall am still happy with the car, and I have almost nine months of warranty coverage remaining. If it is going to break, better now than after the warranty expires.
Ken
KGV said:
I have had the i3 for almost four months. As the weather is getting colder, I can see the kWh/100km is increasing due to the occasional cabin heater usage and the outside temperature. I now have a dedicated charger in the garage, and it has a digital meter. I decided to track the actual meter reading that will be used for the quarterly billing and the car display usage of the kWh/100km. I also wanted to compare the cost of the i3 vs the car it replaced, my old Z4. It used around 8.4 l/100km and a guess of 1.40 Euros per litre.
The meter has a green light that is on all the time, so it uses a bit of power even when not in use. Hopefully my math is correct
The car also broke down last week. I went to go to work, and I opened the rear hatch, shut it, and went to open the door, but it did not open. I thought the fob may have died, so I went back home to get the spare fob, but same issue. I then went home once again and read on the Internet how to use the real key. I returned to the car one again, and was able to get inside. I held the fob to the location on the steering wheel, but nothing happened. It was just after 5 AM, so I decided to go back to bed and call ADAC at a decent time.
Once the sun was up, I read on the Internet that if the 12V battery dies, the car is dead. I also read that you need to be careful if you boost the car due to high voltage etc. The charging cable was still connected, so I also found the location of the mechanical release. I gave this a try, and it broke, so now the car is in an underground garage, and tethered to the wall. I called ADAC, and they arrived quickly, but he had never worked on an i3. The downside of being a somewhat early adopter I forgot to read on how to release the hood when the power is gone, so this took a few minutes of searching before I found the little cover under the hood button. We took the front storage out to access the battery and the ADAC guy connected a portable battery. The car then came to life, and I was then able to remove the charge cable and drive the car to a BMW dealer. The check engine light was on, indicating an issue.
They diagnosed the issue as a bad 12V battery, and it was replaced under warranty The 12V battery always showed fully charged on the i3 display, but I guess it just died.
I now need to research on how to put the i3 into neutral and release the electronic parking brake in the event of a future 12V battery failure. I park in a city garage. I back out of my space, then I need to shut the car off because I need to put the parking space post up. If the car were to die in that position, no one could leave the parking garage, and the car would be stuck in park with the e-brake on, I would not be popular
Anyway, overall am still happy with the car, and I have almost nine months of warranty coverage remaining. If it is going to break, better now than after the warranty expires.
Ken
Is it worth keeping a multimeter handy to check the 12v battery yourself? If it's a lead acid then it should be at least 12.1v; any less implies it's flat.The meter has a green light that is on all the time, so it uses a bit of power even when not in use. Hopefully my math is correct
The car also broke down last week. I went to go to work, and I opened the rear hatch, shut it, and went to open the door, but it did not open. I thought the fob may have died, so I went back home to get the spare fob, but same issue. I then went home once again and read on the Internet how to use the real key. I returned to the car one again, and was able to get inside. I held the fob to the location on the steering wheel, but nothing happened. It was just after 5 AM, so I decided to go back to bed and call ADAC at a decent time.
Once the sun was up, I read on the Internet that if the 12V battery dies, the car is dead. I also read that you need to be careful if you boost the car due to high voltage etc. The charging cable was still connected, so I also found the location of the mechanical release. I gave this a try, and it broke, so now the car is in an underground garage, and tethered to the wall. I called ADAC, and they arrived quickly, but he had never worked on an i3. The downside of being a somewhat early adopter
I forgot to read on how to release the hood when the power is gone, so this took a few minutes of searching before I found the little cover under the hood button. We took the front storage out to access the battery and the ADAC guy connected a portable battery. The car then came to life, and I was then able to remove the charge cable and drive the car to a BMW dealer. The check engine light was on, indicating an issue.They diagnosed the issue as a bad 12V battery, and it was replaced under warranty
The 12V battery always showed fully charged on the i3 display, but I guess it just died.I now need to research on how to put the i3 into neutral and release the electronic parking brake in the event of a future 12V battery failure. I park in a city garage. I back out of my space, then I need to shut the car off because I need to put the parking space post up. If the car were to die in that position, no one could leave the parking garage, and the car would be stuck in park with the e-brake on, I would not be popular
Anyway, overall am still happy with the car, and I have almost nine months of warranty coverage remaining. If it is going to break, better now than after the warranty expires.
Ken
I wonder whether you could keep a little motorcycle battery handy or one of those li-ion jump packs?
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