50,000 Miles in a BMW i3 full EV - Owner Review

[@simontaylor3394]

Hello thanks for putting up this video. Like you I bought a new i3 in 22. I’ve done nearly 19k in ours so far and had no problems. Great to hear yours has done 50k with no issue as I plan to keep ours for as long as possible. Like you I love the car it just smashed city and country drives. They really are so much fun to drive. Hope you have many more years of fun …

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@simontaylor3394 thanks Simon very kind of you! Hope you have a great many years in yours too!

[@izzard]

Best car I've ever had.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@izzard great praise! Thanks for watching

[@izzard]

@@ElectricPetrolhead Mine is a 2016 REx with 90,000. The only things I've had to fix are a few punctures and a windscreen chip! In five years, I've changed the 12 volt battery and the brake pads myself (recently - and the originals had life in them), and the brake fluid, cabin filters and engine oil couple of times. I charge overnight with Octopus and it doesn't attract road tax. In short, it has been unbelievably economical to run, and I intend to keep it for many years. Such a shame that BMW stopped making them.

[@Sevenseas0]

Thanks for the review, I’m gonna start looking round for an i3 after the new year

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@Sevenseas0 awesome! You’ll love it! No affiliation but Wisely Automotive would be worth a call when you’re ready to buy

[@tonyharper5604]

Good to see another satisfied i3 owner! We use ours in exactly the same way as you have described, with a Landrover Discovery 4 as the long distance / large capacity workhorse and a 911 for high days and holidays. All 3 currently accommodate our 12 and 10 year olds, though that might not be for much longer! I also know lots of car enthusiasts with similar combinations of some sort of Porsche, a Landrover product and an i3, so we can’t all be mad and I say go and get your TVR 😀

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@tonyharper5604 haha agreed!! How does your 12yr old find the 911 for size? I’m 6ft1 and Kates 5ft9 so both tall so worth the back seats will almost be useless. Suppose it also depends which variation of 911. Cheers

[@tonyharper5604]

@@ElectricPetrolhead he’s only about 5ft 1in at the moment and puts up with it rather than looks forward to it 🤣 but I am 6ft 3 and wife is 5ft 9 so I know I am on borrowed time. It’s a 996 so pretty cosy in the back!

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@tonyharper5604 ha sounds similar situation. My girls are nigh on 5ft now I think. They almost become 3 seaters with the drivers seat at a safe and comfortable position and passenger seat forward.

[@tonyharper5604]

@@ElectricPetrolhead agree; very little room behind me anyway. The 10 year old loves coming out in it with me and so the two of us go off on ‘adventures’ when time allows.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@tonyharper5604 Lovely. Took my girls to Sunday Scramble on Sunday and they enjoyed it. Youngest wasn't a massive fan when JayKay started up his T.50 tho! Haha

[@CosmicMan5555]

Man this car was amazing.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@CosmicMan5555 thanks!

[@terryc4vts670]

I've been eyeing these up as I just use my car for 12 miles a day..... I have an ICE car for bigger journeys and have so far only seen positive reviews of this car which is so rare nowadays 😁

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

It'll be perfect for that. No need to worry about warming up an engine on a journey. Hope you can find a lovely example. Wisely Auto worth a look if you're in the UK. Good luck!

[@terryc4vts670]

@ElectricPetrolhead I've seen one for sale local to me and drove past it yesterday, I just wish it had the brown leather interior but it looks well priced, tidy and am seriously considering it 😁

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@terryc4vts670 exciting! Good luck!

[@MrDesmonick]

Excellent review, and mirrors my findings with my 2021 i3 👍

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

Great to hear! Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@robertmassey807]

Thank you for that. Helped me enormously. 👍

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@robertmassey807 pleasure! Do you have an i3 or tempted? Cheers

[@robertmassey807]

@ElectricPetrolhead Yes, I do. Been contemplating for a while. You have given me that little push I needed. Thanks.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@robertmassey807 awesome. First EV? Are you in the UK? If so Wisely Automotive are an i3 specialist in London who would be worth looking at

[@tbone9405]

Just purchased a 2019 with 12,000 miles… absolutely amazing car…..

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@tbone9405 awesome! You’ll do well with that. Hope you have many fun miles ahead

[@johnjames7332]

Thanks for the upload. Currently looking at an older I3 for the school runs

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

Would be great for that role. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for watching

[@johnjames7332]

Bought a 2019 120Ah i3 not long after this comment and its great. Thanks

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@ here’s to many happy miles!

[@barryfairhurst3914]

pick up 2022 reg i3s on saturday cant wait

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@barryfairhurst3914 woohoo! Have a great first drive! Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!

[@philw4625]

We've had one since 2017 - great little car and more capable than many would realise. The best turning circle ever as well - my wife loves it. 12v likely to be dash cam related as ours hasn't 'yet' needed changing. Also have the crunchy steering that goes away with lube. Beware of the AC compressor as they can fail and spit metal filings into he tiny cooling channels in the HV battery - a very expensive fail that could 'write the car off'. As for Tesla M3 performance, i have one and its fine but the wheels are a complete pain - always getting the rims damaged and repeatedly damaging sidewalls in potholes - such pain. We run continentals on the i3 and they're great IMO - less skittish.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@philw4625 I’ve screenshotted this as very interesting especially the AC compressor part 🫣 Any pointers on how to see if the compressor is failing? I’m wondering if it’s the condenser as I seem to remember pulling a bit of debris out of a radiator which could have been the condenser. If that’s failed it’s the far cheaper part 🤞🏻🤞🏻 Agreed on turning circle! Love that! Thanks for the info and watching 🥰

[@philw4625]

@@ElectricPetrolhead Sadly im not a mechanic so can't really offer any diagnostic advice. I saw a youtube vid on the 'i3's fatal flaw' recently - you might find it that way. I think its mostly an issue in very hot countries where the compressor has to work really hard all the time. As its shared between cabin cooling and battery temperature management it doesn't get much of a break, and the cooling channels in the battery are very fine, meaning they can block with debris if it fails. In the UK its probably just an issue of getting it regassed.(hopefully).

[@simonreeves2017]

Greetings from Oxford. I bought a new BMW i3 in 2019. I still have it, and still love it. I would criticise the harsh ride and the rear doors. The only issues I have had are interior rattles, glove box and door cards. The rivers side window has ‘dropped’ slightly making the glass rattle and leak if pressure washed. I did need four new tyres a 37k miles and chose Continental over the factory Bridgestones based on advise from Wisely Automotive, very pleased with these Continentals, quieter, better ride and more tread depth - recommend.

[@uttherkunst3806]

I bought a 2019 i3s with just under 13,000kms on the clock and within 6 weeks it had broken (badly - would cost thousands if it wasn’t under the dealer used car warranty) so not everybody will have this idealised experience. Deal with the AC compressor sooner rather than later - when (not if) they fail they scatter parts throughout the battery cooling tubes and effectively destroy your HV battery.

[@whittaker52]

With regards to your aircon issue, it may be worth having a chat with Wisely Automotive as they now offer mobile servicing options, so may be able to get things sorted quickly and fairly painlessly, and may even be able to add a few things to your car, possibly carplay. The i3 is a great little car, the perfect little run around!

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

Yep, know Arthur and the team. Definitely a consideration for service time in May. You know me tho... love fixing problems!

[@uniqueforeveri3s22]

Carplay definitley makes the car feel mode modern. I hardly see the idrive interface in mine... when i do I agree... it looks OLD now. For me a bump to 50kWh battery and 70 or 100kW charging plus an update to infotainment is all it needed to be very current in the small EV market even today. Superb little car.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@uniqueforeveri3s22 yes completely agree. Would be a mega car then and very easy for bmw to update. Assume the carbon tubs etc became too expensive? Did you spec CarPlay from new? I’d like it but not sure I drive it enough to warrant paying BMW’s prices to activate it! Thanks for watching and your comment

[@loonymoon1]

@@ElectricPetrolheadyes specced with CarPlay ( it was standard in 2022 anyway) I decided to get a last special edition before they went out of production. It’s my only car so it’s used for everything.

[@mc4130]

Good review - similar to mine: 2019 50k and similar use case. How are your front gaiters? Mine had perished so changed them and top mounts too. The DAB cut out - check your dash cam - esp. if you have a rear cam - mine interferes with the DAB signal - the transmitter is under the spoiler, so I will have to try and address it with the cable magnets soon. Will check out the steering column! Did you have to code your battery to the car?

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

The gaiters were the first thing I checked when the steering was being a bit weird. But mine are fine weirdly. Good point on DAB. I do have dashcams front and rear... hhmm Battery coded via Bimmerlink app. www.bimmerlink.app/ Thanks for watching and adding your comments!

[@philcook7055]

Just watched your video very informative had my i3 about a month now and loving it, can i ask when your car has its mot do they put it on the break rolling tester as i have heard its not good for the motor so iam getting mixed messages if it should or not just worried when it goes to my local garage they dont break it thanks for any help.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@philcook7055 hey Phil. Thanks! I’ve honestly never thought about it. Most MOT centres are aware of EVs now so you should be ok. Worth a call to discuss your concerns as you won’t be the first. If worried you could choose a garage with a Hevra certification as they will understand EVs fully. hevra.org.uk/ev-garages-near-me/

[@philcook7055]

@ElectricPetrolhead cheers for that, and thanks for your time.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@philcook7055 pleasure! Love helping people 🥰

[@dopiaza2006]

What symptoms did you notice for the steering column?

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@dopiaza2006 steering starts to feel crunchy and not smooth. As if you’re turning on very gravelly roads at slow speed. Less noticeable when driving. Does that help?

[@dopiaza2006]

@@ElectricPetrolhead Thanks, mine has heavy steering - not 'no power steering' heavy but just a bit stiff - not self centering. It's still quiet and smooth though. I'm looking at an expensive rack refurb but it has occurred to me that it could be the column creating the stiffness.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@dopiaza2006 check the top mounts of the front suspension. Sometimes they have play which can cause the self centering issue. Get someone to turn the wheel back and forth to the lock stops and you should be able to see. There’s a few videos on KZbin on that issue that helped me rule that out. So shows what to look for. Good luck 👍

[@dopiaza2006]

@@ElectricPetrolhead I've popped the tie rod ends off, so it's just the column and rack. Still stiff...

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@dopiaza2006 Hhmm not sure then. Wisely are doing mobile work now so could be a good option?

[@nicholasroy1025]

Great video thanks 👍 definitely keep the i3, if you swap out for that Tesla m3 performance.. it will just be a faster version of your Y!! Keep the variety and enjoy the simplicity of the i3 😉 silly thing I just swapped out all the windscreen wipers on my i3s.. I just love the simple engineering of this great car.. diy is certainly the way to go.. best regards (hmmm maybe upgrade to a 2nd hand i3s!! Solves both dilemmas 😊

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@nicholasroy1025 the variety factor is so true! We took delivery of our i3 about 6m before the first Model3s came over and we said it would be good to have variety. You may have noticed in the video that part of the wiper blade needs either replacing or painting as it’s lost all its colour. Was that easy? Thanks for watching and the lovely comment!

[@leemarshall969]

Only 50k? Mines on 140k!

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@leemarshall969 nice!

[@cedarcanoe]

Seems you are having all sorts of issues with it. Is that for creating attention on youtube or is it for real? My i3 is 7 years old, 100.000 miles en has been trouble free so far.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@@cedarcanoe not sure why I’d fake issues. Tbh the steering wheel is very common (look at other comments) and the 12v lasting beyond 4yrs is rare so you’re been very lucky. I don’t do this channel for views, money or attention. Just trying to help others and I learn from the comments so win win

[@cedarcanoe]

A battery change after 4-5 years is normal wear and shouldn’t be called an issue. The steering axle thing I have never heard of nor read about.

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

@ you’re giving me an unfair hard time imo Steering issue exists enough for bmw to have released documentation about it

[@mikadavies660]

Lucky guy... Owned a BMW from new and then decided to buy a Tesla Model Y as well... Plus kids plus pets... Clearly struggling to earn a wage! Most people in the UK never own a new car in all of their working lives!

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

What a strange viewpoint. I wish my life was as simple as you're making out! Reality is the Y is used for a lot of work mileage and running two EVs is so cheap fuel wise for private miles. Plenty of actual millionaires on youtube showing off their Ferraris etc.

[@terryc4vts670]

Why even project your absolute resentment of your own lack of achievements? I also have never owned a new car but why even comment? That's wasting energy that could be directed to changing your personal circumstances that prevented you until now being able to for example "own a new car"....

[@denisk186]

What exactly do you lubricate as far as the steering column goes?

[@ElectricPetrolhead]

I'm going to do a proper video soon on this. But if you remove the frunk (its just bolted in so very easy), you'll see the steering column. I lubricated the column and tried to squirt up it as well. Then turn the steering wheel a number of times back and forth and repeat 3-4 times. That seemed to do the trick. It's much harder to access from the steering wheel end sadly. Give it a go. As its just lube in an area thats exposed to the elements I'm guessing (no guarantee!) there's not a lot to go wrong.

[@denisk186]

@@ElectricPetrolhead great! Thx