Why the BMW i3-REx

Also no Bolt and the Spark EVs last year was 2016.

 

My i3 had some sort of internal electrical failure last night.

I plugged it in to charge and woke up about an hour later to the smell of an electrical fire -- they have a really distinct smell so I was able to quickly narrow it down.


No smoke, and it didn't go up in flames, but had to get it towed to the dealer. Something electrical definitely burned / melted inside the car. No news yet on what went wrong. Honestly, I'm more curious than anything about what happened lol.

It appears I'm the first one that has had this issue -- I found reports from people whose chargers burnt up, but my charger seemed to be fine.

Currently airing out my garage, which absolutely reeks now.

 

I actually gave up that search. The acceleration has been enough to get me out of the hairy situations, plus people try to change lanes into me much less frequently than with my other cars, haven't decided whether that's because the damn thing is so tall or so ugly

 

if you ever want to reconsider dash cam install / power - most modern OBD connectors have a constant 12v source among all the pins. I bought one of these bad boys for our 2-channel dash cams;



.

 

What was average speed?

 

I've had no time recently but wanted to make sure people didn't think I died lol.



it's the BMW OEM one, I think it's made by Bosch but I don't remember actually.



Dealership has extremely vague about what went wrong. Apparently "vehicle performing as expected" however they reported "multiple voltage errors" (MIL never came on fwiw) and that the 12v battery had melted.

 

Thank you to Bob Wilson and other EV drivers for sharing experiences. I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread while preparing to purchase a used i3, which I did on May 20th. A 2014 (no Rex) which was previously leased to someone in Fresno, CA. It's now in Oakland, CA where it will eventually replace my 2012 Prius Plug-in Advanced.

Excellent car filled with fascinating design choices!

 

How much can a used one be had for? What is the range on the non-REx?

 

Paid $16,500 (+ CA tax & DMV) (+ $18 Bolt Bus from Oakland to Fresno)

The 2014 model I found with 16,800 miles had a lot of options.

Original window sticker was $51,500
TERA WORLD $2,700
TECHNOLOGY & DRIVING ASSISTANT PACKAGE $2,500
WHEELS: 20" X 5.0" FRONT/20" X 5.5" RR DOUBLE SPOKE $1,300
PARKING ASSISTANT PACKAGE $1,000
3-Stage Heated Front Seats $350
DC Fast Charging $700
harman/kardon Surround Sound Audio System $800
DESTINATION + HANDLING $995

 

At 100% charge display shows 83 miles. Actual range is between 65 - 75 miles depending on driving style, speed and conditions.

 

EVs depreciate insanely quickly. Combined with their low cost per mile, used EVs just a few years old make for some INSANE TCO figures (assuming battery doesn't go up in flames I suppose....)


Nissan Leaf is the best deal by far, as well as the most "normal" (not to mention utilitarian) car of the bunch. Leaf is also a lot cheaper to insure and not nearly as hideous, and actually in my opinion it's a much better car than the Beamer. Carvana has a steady stream of Leafs selling anywhere from $8-12k.


Only reason I didn't go with a Leaf is because their batteries are air-cooled -- 100% a deal-breaker for the climate I live in (triple digit temps) so I went with i3 instead.