BMW i4 M50 DC fast charging throttle explained

[@slartybartfarst9737]

Bjorn been watching you for so many years now, your perception on charge performance is now so acute you are never wrong. I can gaurentee engineers within the auto brands (morning guys!) will be watching your channel and noting everything. Those on the BMW battery teams will be all over what you are saying. It helps when the forums are aligned but for sure your comparisons with other brands will cut through the BS. You have probably done more for us EV users to get good range and zero BS than any other single person and for that I thank you. BTW I started with a 2014 Model S P85 from new and now 125,000 uk miles (new battery at 75,000) so a lot like Millennium Falcon. Drove a Model 3 long range loaner for 2 days it was incredibly good, seats, software, performance, fit and finish so much better than just 2 years ago but nothing drives as refined as my RWD MS and even with the clipped charging curve free for life charging makes up for it on the pre 2016 cars, still a happy Tesla owner.........Elon get off Twitter lol!

[@phonehoppy]

Great Analysis again, thank you! Friends of mine told me that they saw a similar behaviour on the FIAT 500e. As to the technical necessity of implementing a restriction like this, a guy working as a software developer in a battery company told me (but that's speculation) that it might be an issue with the battery cells BMW uses. These are fairly large prismatic cells with coiled (not stacked) active material. The problem seems to be that this type of cell tends to form internal imbalance of charge, current density, and temperature while fast charging, because different areas in the active material are at different distances from the connecting tab. This isn't healthy for the cell, as it may lead to the separation of metallic lithium in isolated areas inside the cell. Those internal imbalances level out over time, but when charging at high power, the time is just too short to let that happen. So BMW may have set this restriction to allow the cells to recover their imbalance, and that might also be the reason why letting the car sit overnight on an AC charger resets the situation. If this all is true, it is nothing to do with temperature management like e.g. in the Leaf, eGolf etc., but it's a shortcoming of the mechanical layout of the cells. BMW also has announced recently that they want to switch to the 4680 "tabless" cells (among others), that also Tesla will use. Obviously, with the tabless design, adverse effects like this should be greatly reduced.

[@jolive3743]

hence Bjorn saying that bmw owners reported that it sometimes goes away if they charge slowly at home.....kinda rebalancing

[@rogerbrand6214]

AFAIK most vehicles don't perform any cell balancing or even cell temperature monitoring while being DC fast charged. This is part of the reason they throttle so much over 90%, because they only know the total pack voltage and can't tell if there are any weak cells. The on board AC charger has full control and carries out cell balancing as the pack approaches 100%. If this is the case maybe it's worth trying to DCFC until throttling starts, then AC to 100%? Maybe the car's charging system just wants to know that the pack has been balanced and then it will reset?

[@phonehoppy]

@@rogerbrand6214 What AC has, compared to DC, is TIME, and that‘s what is needed to balance the cells. In this case, however, if the assumptions are right, it‘s about internal imbalance inside each cell, not between the cells. Btw. all cars do temperature management etc. while DC charging just as good as on AC. The internal AC charger doesn‘t have different access to the battery or „more control“, it‘s just that it can balance the charge by just waiting for them to even out by themselves and giving a little extra power from outside from time to time. There are no individual connections to each cell.

[@cmoullasnet]

Leaving time for cell balancing is an interesting thesis and is the most compelling one I’ve heard so far. Unfortunately if it’s true, it means that it’s unlikely this will ever change on this battery architecture…

[@bbpleg]

I would be ucking furios if I’d spent 70-80k euro on a car that charges slower than a leaf!

[@hardywoodaway9912]

70-100

[@drmrmcmister]

True. Even a C40 ReCharge is so much better value.

[@hippievogelei]

95% of the users dont drive more than 250km a Day. They see a 3-11kw ac charger for 8 hours , and it full most of the time

[@lukaskrajicek9448]

When we drove 1700km in one day with the iX xDrive50, last two charges were also slower, but from 195kw to 150kw, so not a big deal.

[@EinzigfreierName]

Biggest problem in my opinion is that the car is not communicating what it is doing and why. A message like "charging speed is reduced because of ... " would have been helpfull. and also some hint on how long this state persists.

[@RuffyDotOne]

Yeah: „charging speed reduced because bad engineering” 😂 or: “charging speed reduced because we don’t wanna make this car useful, to not kill the sales of the ICE cars” 😂

[@phonehoppy]

Yes, BMW should be more clear about this, how to avoid it and how long it takes until it is "healed".

[@silverstoned83]

I’d be willing to bet that it’s all related to thermal management limitations with the battery due to how the heat is wicked away. Unlike Tesla, where the cooling channels weave through the pack, almost every other EV manufacturer uses a much less effective method, which results in inconsistent temperatures across the various cells depending on where they’re located in each battery module. The BMW is demonstrating how impactful it is when the battery temperature is not able to be regulated in an ideal manner, which is magnified by the driving performance that is easily capable of overwhelming the thermal management system. Just my 2 cents.

[@JaakkoIsWatching]

@@phonehoppy They should simply state "if you DC-charge for xxx kW in xx hrs, charge speed will be limited to xx kW." Yes that would turn down customers who want to be able to do long road trips, but is breaking trust to customers any better?

[@phonehoppy]

@@silverstoned83 If it was a thermal issue, the behaviour would be somehow related to temperature, I guess. But from Bjørn's findings, that doesn't seem to be the case. The explanation relating it to the battery cell form factor seems more consistent to me.

[@BrianMarquis]

I had this problem a few months ago on a 2000 mile round-trip. The first 1000 miles was broken up between two days - same DCFC stops, with an AC charge overnight between day one and two. The return 1000 miles was done in one day, and that’s when I encountered the DCFC throttling. The throttling occurred at DCFC stop #4, which at the time I thought it was the site. Then it occurred again at DCFC stop #5…that’s when I realized it had to be something with the car. It wasn’t until it had been at BMW service for a week, I stumbled upon the blurb about it de-rating the DCFC speed. Would be _great_ if there was some notification on the display so we’re not chasing our tail. BMW service found no issues and never commented on my ask if I hit the DCFC session threshold…. I haven’t had any charging issues since and have done another 1000 mile round-trip and several shorter hauls. I still love my M50, it’s a great car. I can’t wait for the i4 ///M to launch, with -fingers crossed - solid state batteries :) Cheers!

[@aigarius]

Could *not* confirm this effect. Did a 3800km over 4 days last week, with 11/22 software. In one of those days I managed to charge over 330kWh in 13 hours. Helped by driving fast in Germany and cold and wet weather. No throttling at all.

[@DocKenRunner42195]

Bjorn you should do a road trip from Chiangmai to Khonkaen (Isarn) check out the charging stations availabilities along the route, you are The Voice of EV community. Tesla wouldn't have come to Thailand without your vlogs.

[@bjornnyland]

Already done. Went all the way from Chiang Dao to Sirindhorn Dam and then to Bangkok in Atto 3.

[@philherb3843]

This is a really shitty design. You can throttle to 150 or maybe 120 kW, but not under 100 for a battery that is not even overheated. On the i4 you can tow 1600 kg. With a camper you need to charge every 200 km. If you count on fast charge and after 400 km you have to pause a long time with the family and not on a nice pause area, but on a fast charger.

[@davesax11]

This is an issue. I will analyze my charging, but I've been using mostly fast chargers once or twice per week, and it "throttles" most of the time. I did AC charge the other day and then the next time it charged faster - at least at the start of the session. Yes, perhaps the car prefers slow charge for battery preservation. But makes the car less usable for road trips. If it was universal, that's one thing, but if not a problem for Tesla, then BMW has an issue they need to address. About to do a road trip, we'll see. BTW, n/c after software update the other day. If this is a design or defect issue BMW will be replacing a lot of batteries. Failure to address may result in a class action down the road. I have noted slow charging to my dealer. No issue per them so far.

[@eddiehaug]

I asked about his issue in a BMW i4 forum. People there said this is really a non-issue, since nobody would ever charge as many times as you do in a single trip. Nobody would ever drive as much as you do in a single trip either. According to the folks there, they drove across Europe the whole summer charging several times, without any issues whatsoever, and that was with an older software. I haven't had the chance to test it myself, but this is the opinion of other owners who have taken a long trip with the car. So there's that...

[@albi1977]

Not true. In Germany you sometimes drive from the south to the Baltic or North sea. There are more than 2 charging stops needed. It is BMWs fault. They claim their cars are top notch, which is not true. They are mediocre because they still are not a BEV only plattform.

[@kingsterre]

@@albi1977 This issue is a software thing, not a platform thing

[@eddiehaug]

@@albi1977 have you personally run into this problem yourself with more than 2 charging sessions? The problem didn't arise after 2 charging sessions either.

[@fwalden7194]

As Bjørn states in the video, this seems to be a limitation introduced in a recent firmware update which would explain why this did not occur before (with the older software you're referring to). Also, since this limitation seems to be active for at least 24h, this could cause a "problem" when driving long distances across Europe (range is estimated to be around 380 km at highway speeds). BMW should def. inform about this limitation during the sales process and also when it's activated while using the car (in the car UI).

[@kadoelen-uz2oe]

@@albi1977 This is just pure BS.

[@bogdancantemir]

This summer I was so close on choosing the BMW i4 as my second EV. Instead I've gone for Polestar 2. After watching your in depth study, I'm confident my decision was right at that time - at least from a financial point of view. Thanks Bjorn

[@CarVisionDE]

polestar is way better

[@RickSanchez__642]

@@CarVisionDE i have driven both and i prefer the i4 by a large margin!

[@castroorstad8215]

@@CarVisionDE Not even close. Chines crap.

[@TonyStark-ik9em]

The BMW engineers said "Scheisse!" - and went on to a more aggressive throttling. Fair so far - but why the hell isn't it common knowledge HOW exactly it works? This could well end up in an electrified PR desaster for them. Top notch content from Bjorn, as always.

[@robertsarkezi2080]

@TeslaBjoern: drive like a Leaf - hilarious. Can we call this now a ThrottleGate? Since its neither a RapidGate nor a ColdGate.

[@PhilT993]

That kind of sucks. I wonder Bjorn, if you would be able to contact BMW, considering your well respected status, and get some form of official, written, explanation of this issue. Then we would know exactly the parameters that they have set, so that we would be able to manage them. This would be much better than being left in the dark to guess. Thanks

[@bjornnyland]

Already contacted them.

[@electriccarsworldnews1602]

@@bjornnyland Very curious We own the same BMW and Teslas 😉

[@peterrimmen]

@Bjørn, did you ever get an answer from BMW?

[@a.s.4077]

@@bjornnylandanything new? I am having a huge throttling system and the car doesn‘t recover from it since a longer trip (2000km in 3 days) in November. Since then it randomly was able to charge once with approx 100kw and once with 65 kw. Otherwise always at max 50kw and quickly going down to even 11kw although the battery is between 5-20%. The dealership has no idea what to do. Just got the entire software re-installed. Still I only reached 60kw today at 24%. By the time I got back 30min later it was at 33,4kw at 51% (22,49 kwh in 31 min). What a joke. This car is not for business and/or private travellers. But would by an i4 as a city car? The dealership is completely helpless and I am losing my patience. Had to switch cars with colleagues for longer or time-sensitive trips. But it can‘t go on like this.

[@blummiiii]

Toyota Finland have new ukk (Q&A) and they have asked toyota that you can charge bz4x only 2 times in trip. And there is other things to save battery too.

[@BerkerCelik]

Can you adjust the clock in the infotainment and set it to next day - will it enough to trick it ?

[@winkekeks]

Read somewhere in a KZbin comment that there is a count until 200kwh ant then software cuts charging speed. Root cause seems to be an agreement with Samsung (battery manufacturer) about fulfilling the specifications for warranty. In short: Too much fast charging, no warranty, BMW is in charge for battery related issues

[@bjornedman]

200kWh and then a need to do a fully AC-charge or when does it reset?

[@CheddarKungPao]

Hoping BMW is embarassed enough by people encountering this issue that they software patch it out or at least raise the limit. I'm planning to do road trips all over the US next year when my M50 comes in and this will cause me problems.

[@anthonyc8499]

The BMW i4 throttling seems like a pretty bad drawback to ownership. If the throttling shows up after just two charging sessions, owners will be seeing this within 400 miles or so from leaving home.

[@CheddarKungPao]

@@anthonyc8499 it's definitely more than two sessions. Nobody has nailed down exactly the parameters but it seems to be 4 DC fast charging sessions within 24 hours then the 5th one and beyond will be throttled.

[@dasunikat1534]

@@CheddarKungPao To be fair 95-99% of the people driving the i4 will never experience throttling then. It sure is bad for high mileage users, but I wouldn't consider this behavior a general problem and I totally get why BMW does what they do.

[@rbruijns]

I have asked BMW for explanation but not gotten it. My assumption is that throttling occurs above 220 kW DC. It is lifted not after AC charging but after more than 24 hours

[@hardywoodaway9912]

Imagine selling a product for 70k € to a customer and not care about his questions.

[@rbruijns]

I have an i4 and in my daily use it is not an issue. I experienced it on my holiday trip doing 1600 km within 20 hours. Consumption was high due to roofbox. The car halfs the amperage so we charged the last two sessions to 50%.

[@noffe75]

Hi Bjørn I was on a trip to Berlin with my M50 in March, and discovered on this trip that I had charging problems already on my 2nd charge. I had driven from Rostock towards Berlin at 180 km/h and when we stopped to charge at an Ionity, where the car only charged 42 kWh in 48 min that's pretty slow, have you heard more about that problem? I had the same experience on the trip home It was charging 48kW at 33% battery

[@vizipisztoly]

Interesting. I regularly drive my 2021 iX3 on ~1450 km trips, stopping only for charging. I charge the car 4 times and I use exclusively the Ionity network. The charging curve stays the same (max being 150kw), under 20% of battery it always begins to charge at around 150kw and that drops gradually. The 4th charge takes the same amount of time as the first, so I do not experience the issue mentioned in the video. Perhaps only the newer models with new software? I would be pissed off big time if my DC charging time increased from 30 mins to 1.5 hours! That is totally unacceptable and despite loving BMW I would return it immediately. You can't sell a car marketed with certain charging speed, when the car is not capable of achieving that. 1000 km (or more) in one go is not rare and not much for some of us and how are electric cars meant to compete with ICE vehicles if the driver needs to spend hours of charging after a few hundred kms?! It would be great to have bmw's take on the matter.

[@BrettMorin]

I have only had an Edrive40 for two months and charge at home in US on 120 V AC. Tried last two times to use a fast DC charger at Electrify America claiming 350kW and another at 150kW. Only ever see my charge at 70kW or so. Never let it go to zero though, maybe that's my fault. Always start charging around 30 to 40%. Very disappointed brand new car cannot quick charge ever for me

[@michlanners1550]

Björn explains this is mentionned in the manual. Nobody here have the manual text to show? The best bet I've seen so far is making the batteries stay in spec for warranty from the battery manufacturer.

[@ippem]

Just noticed this video - thanks for this! 🙂 I do often road trips with iX xDrive40 between Finland and Austria, driving about 1000 km a day in 2 days. Driving an ok travel-speed, between 100-120 and only received this popup after quite many charging stops. I haven’t measured this, but I haven’t noticed any proper slowdowns on charging. Björn you really hurt mine with the Leaf-comparison 😅

[@c.j.9401]

Tranks for this Video. In the back of the i4 , on your right , there is a small plug , if it’s open , the battery relay will open . Then I would disconnect 12 V battery for a few minutes . Maybe it will reset the counter 😅 . Worth a try

[@ziggyyo]

Wouldn't recommend that. The counter ist probably for battery safety and warranty reasons. The BMS firmware should should be improved.

The comment sections under these videos are strange. I feel like the "diesel EV" owners come here to say how bad it is, and how they always drive 1000+ km in a day. I agree with those who say the car should be more communicative about this, and show maybe a massage, instead of moving the little gray bar on the charging speed indicator. It's an unfortunate thing, but I agree with Bjorn, that it probably won't affect most people. I don't think the reset can be overridden, as as far as I understand it's a limitation of the specific battery chemistry, maybe some kind of hysteresis in the chemical which needs time to disappear. Where this would really become a problem, is when towing probably, as this can tow, and tow a lot too. Hope we get a proper explanation from BMW soon.

[@DjTonioRoffo]

This will affect you just as much if you drive a few days in a row on a road trip, with way less than 1000 per day - if the 24h "reset time" is true. Another thing I'm thinking, do the cells need rebalancing after a while (Hyundai Kona does this at 80% AC charge - stops for a while to balance, then goes on) - and if that triggers it somehow? We would need cell voltage ODB information when it throttles, then.

[@roldorf5615]

I think it's called load balancing. When the cell voltages differs between the cells the BMS starts to throttle the DC charging to stop them going too far out of synch. When you AC charge the cells are brought back to an even voltage. Many manufacturers recommend to load balance the cells around once a month. Maybe BMW has an intelligent self balancing system when the car is not being used.

[@bjornnyland]

Nope. It has nothing to do with balancing.

[@rjanmjanger5840]

​@@bjornnyland did you get any reply?

[@doktordok7517]

Did BMW change the softvere, or gave an explanation about the trotleing?

[@gregorgems5295]

Did i understand right? The trotteling starts after >5 times DC Charging in a row? I am thinking about our next cars and i'm not happy with most of the currently available EVs. It's between M3P and i4M50. Taycan and Etron GT are nice cars but software is crap and i don't want a 130k car with software problems....

[@ichigo19870]

I'd love to get a statement from BMW. Any chance for that? Maybe it's just a bug? Really can't imagine it's to protect the battery, since it's way too slow for that imho!

[@nexusgraphix]

What an absolute dealbreaker

[@Zedus-rl9hp]

Many will probably never have this problem, since very few drive such long distances. But BMW is quite popular as a company vehicle and as a salesman you can quickly come to this restriction, which then makes the whole vehicle absolutely unsuitable for it.

[@MarcoPon]

Are you sure the throttling wasn't caused by an excessive use of the blinkers (i.e. more than 4 times per hour or about), maybe? That's unknown territory: BMWs aren't designed for that kind of heavy usage!!!

[@sebastiendaubeliou]

An eco charge like Mercedes or Porsche would be a good option to add, especially if it prevents the throttling.

[@knightjocke]

Since there's no information about this in the display, it feels like a stupid feature. If you count on the fast charging curve and it suddenly double the charge-time. Lets say one guy is driving and one sleeping rather than stopping at a hotel. Just add a menu to the infotainment with a gauge that tells you when you'll reach throttling and when you'll be back to full speed. Quite easy rather than this silent stuff. I can understand they do it to not wear the battery but they take the control from the driver

[@jakobpind]

Bjørn, is this just bad design by BMW, or should Tesla batteries have the same throttling state, to protect the battery? I got a Model Y, and I’ve never encountered this limit in DC charging.

[@leeebbrell9]

i've ordered one edrive 40, im in UK our motorway speeds arent that high, so should be ok

[@ignas-b]

Hi Bjørn, thanks for the heads-up! Does anyone know if this DC fast charge throttling issue persist in the new 2024 face-lifted model? Considering placing an order for eDrive40, however, this issue is a deal-breaker...

[@sworksm552]

I had this issue every day in one test week, with the M50 and edrive 40.

[@dennisvanleeuwen5642]

I wonder if BMW already replied with the specifics of this problem? - Just worried now for the upcoming summer!

[@lm971120]

Thank you for doing all these detailed and very time consuming tests. You put the auto journalism industry in the English speaking world to shame, as they earn big bucks yet still fail to test EVs properly (apart from the pointless 0-100), yet dare to advise consumers. It amazes me how barely any car reviewers picked (at least in the UK) these basic EV things up (rapid gate has been there for more than half a decade...). Even in China car journalists nowadays strip cars back and do analysis (albeit usually wrong analysis as they're not Sandy Munro), whereas here they carry on joking around (jokes are fine, but you gotta do proper homework and deliver the crucial info). Sure not everyone would need repeated DCFC, but at this price point this is a bummer. My friend asked me about i4 and I recommended it based on your 1000km challenge, but wouldn't do so now (luckily they've not bought it)

[@veljkodjukic8783]

Bjorn, I cant wait to test Fisker Ocean with LFP and NMC battery. I hope that u will be the frist test reviewer because u have nice connection with Henrik Fisker and I hope that he will give the Ocean to test it 😊

[@cokyrobes]

Crazy to bring a premium car out with such big charging issues. Another example of how the old guard are being left behind in the dust tech wise by the new companies. Don't see myself buying another car from the old boys ever again.

[@muhamedalli7685]

it's not about ac or dc. the reason is in the amount of amps that you are pushing to you batteries. Since ac is overall less Amps than dc, like you can ac charge for 20kwt, but dc you can charge 200kwt+. it doesn't matter what source of energy are you using.

[@hckrohz]

Bjørn do you know which firmware you had on the car? My i4M50 is just back from the workshop because part of the battery had to be replaced. According to BMW, there was a risk that individual cells were contaminated during the manufacturing process. To prevent a fire hazard, the parts of the battery had been replaced. Stay in the workshop: 5 weeks. After the stay I had hoped to get a current software, because I had already read in the net about versions 11/2022.44 and 11/2022.55. However, my car is still at 07/2022.33. In fact, the day before yesterday, on a 550km trip and two DC Fast Charge sessions, I also had the impression that charging was slightly slower on the second charge.... So can you say something about the version of the firmware in the tested car?

[@hckrohz]

Can anyone tell what the current firmware versions are and when they were released?

[@RobertBlow]

@@hckrohz they don't roll it out universally, it's a very hit and miss process getting updates. My M50 hasn't updated since July. Seems like some cars get them others have to wait months.

[@Humuku]

Imagine my 60 Ah i3 throttling after too often fast charging on the Autobahn. I would never arrive. Tales from the Autobahn: Met the same e-Trons at charging stations more than one time (too thirsty). Never met e-Up again on the road after overtaking him on the first charging stop (bad or no battery cooling and therefore throtteling). So if you ever meet an i3 at Ionity, have mercy. It might be faster than you think.

[@MobilAvenue_]

Is it i4 only does iX have this or only ice converted to bev

[@moritzregis5935]

All newer BMW i cars have this feature. So BMW i4, iX, iX1 and i7. I’m not sure about BMW iX3.

[@alladin1314]

@@moritzregis5935 IX3 has CATL cells. Probably not affected.

[@moritzregis5935]

@@alladin1314 who‘s the battery supplier in the i4/iX/i7/iX1 ?

[@alladin1314]

@@moritzregis5935 Samsung SDI for I4, CATL for iX, don’t know for I7, IX1 - but most likely Samsung SDI as the other newer cars. They use both suppliers for cells but battery pack is made by BMW.

[@peterzerfass4609]

Needs a new 1000km challenge? If this is due to new software then the old time gives a wrong impression of what a buyer today can expect.

[@bjornnyland]

It will not trigger during 1000 km challenge.

[@davor92k]

What car profile in the app can you use for i4 M50? I didnt find i4 profile on the CarScanner app😢

[@BuntaBall40]

Sounds like a worth while future video

[@tesla_tobi]

What the Fuchs! Ich have ordered a I4 in March. Today my Dealer did not now when the car will be delivered. So i should consider to cancel my order?! Actually i drive a rented SR+ with LFP, it has a small battery but charges fast. Please keep us up to date to this case 👍

[@alladin1314]

How often do you DC fastcharge more than 200 KWh in a day? Think about it - you leave home with 100% and you charge 3 times to 80% along the way. That is more than 1000km in the worst of conditions. You should not consider cancelling because of this.

[@tesla_tobi]

@@alladin1314For holiday trips i drive from north Germany to south Italy. I dont want suffer from this case on my journey.

[@ziggyyo]

@@tesla_tobi Users with such long roadtrip requirements seem to be affected. BMW should add an "extra long roadtrip battery saver" setting for the BMS. Cap charging at 1.75 C to avoid later catastrophic throttling after reaching the current limit.

[@sale666]

Odd i just did a 270km trip and i started around 49% battery after a charge from 33% on AC 11kw... Went from 49% to 22% to the 160kw charger and it bumped up to 150kw for 5 min than to 100kwh and than to 60-50-40!! Wtf... Temp outside was -2 .. and its an e35 with 66kw battery max 180kw speed of charge

[@leeebbrell9]

i guess their logic is you dont fast charge all the time, maybe the BMS is protecting the battery to not damage will constant DC fast charging.

[@GunitEngage]

I understand why Companies Like BMW or Stellantis/Fiat do tend to be silence in that, but then someone like the EU should punish them for unfit comercial promises...i would call it lying. My Fiat is capping the max charge at DC to under 50kW Peak instead of 85kW, because i did only DC on it. Understand the technical necessity but frankly this should be communicated then. Well next year i will have the pleasure with coldgating Ioniq 5 🙈

[@nissanelectrified9583]

With Ariya, you can simply "reset" this by turning the car completely off for 5 minutes ;)

[@silverstoned83]

I’d be willing to bet that it’s all related to thermal management limitations with the battery due to how the heat is wicked away. Unlike Tesla, where the cooling channels weave through the pack, almost every other EV manufacturer uses a much less effective method, which results in inconsistent temperatures across the various cells depending on where they’re located in each battery module. The BMW is demonstrating how impactful it is when the battery temperature is not able to be regulated in an ideal manner, which is magnified by the driving performance that is easily capable of overwhelming the thermal management system. Just my 2 cents.

[@bjornnyland]

No, it has nothing to do with thermal management.

[@christophw.717]

Please test the mg4 standard already!!

[@madrid01full]

I have seen different videos where the new Toyota actually charges more than fine, cca 30 mins 10-80% with peak at 150 kW... doesn't seem to be that slow tbh, very much on par with the competition...

[@selimsirkeli]

I think some BMW engineers noticed that; if we let people too many fast charging , company will pay lot in for guarantee of batteries Solution; don’t let to do that😅

[@IanFarquharson2]

I guess day to day this wouldn’t really bite you unless you had to drive from one end of a country to the other on a regular basis. Summer vacation cross continent will see it, but having a bit of a longer break is going to be safer for you and the battery?

[@ziggyyo]

The car should not suddenly leave you stranded for hours slow charging at a place you didn't chose and didn't see coming.

[@SteveLoughran]

Well if there's two of you you can normally swap fairly quickly. But even there fatigue is a risk, especially after a meal. When I do plan my next trip to alps from the UK I'm going to have to make sure that I stay in places with an AC charger on the way down, so we can skip one of the DC sessions and maybe help it reset its counter

[@IanFarquharson2]

@@ziggyyo in my 75d its still less than an hour and it is pretty well below 50kw from 50% on, so the 'hours' bit is a bit of an exaggeration

[@2wheelnerd10]

strange. I would expect a BMW to be designed to eat kilometers like like crazy.

[@HoltAlex]

Is it worth contacting BMW?

[@bjornnyland]

Already contacted them.

[@OleksiiBodnia]

@@bjornnyland waiting for their response

[@HoltAlex]

@@bjornnyland Look forward to the feedback; hoping for a full explanation.

[@rockybor25]

I drive frequently 900-1000 km at one day so it would really bother me if I would buy a new BMW i4 🥲.

[@s.kxx1956]

In uk too, the steering wheel is on the right side which is the right side rather than the left side which is the wrong side should have been the right side.

[@EagleWolfSparrow]

BMW better update Battry and charging Port 2024 2025, Most BMW lover who bought i4 keep talking about how GOOD they LOVE their car, IGNORE the fact that BMW Phone APP is trash compare to other brand. Trash charging speed. I was in some FACEBOOK BMW i4 forum, once I talk about bad thing about BMW i4, they all swarm you lol

[@Marco_Dubbleyou]

Moin, Marco from Northern Germany here… the German car makers don’t make their home work. When I was selling and designing coating machines for batteries, 2016 German car manufacturers told me we shouldn’t bother, others in the field have been very straight forward with this. Nowadays you can see the sheer lack of knowledge. IMO Tesla with its dry battery 4680 is ahead. I know Tesla is slowing down old batteries but by far not as much as a new battery as BMW or Japanese ones. Also the Chinese are not very confident with this. My ID3 62kwh is hilariously charging these days with no heat pump. I have to take it slowly. Will be gone in 5 month anyway.

[@famip3679]

Any remarks on Chevy bolts still being a big problem with recalls

[@ziggyyo]

Are you referring to the safety belt tensioner gas and the carpet?

[@Danne89]

Chevy Bolt is not sold in Europe.

[@SteveLoughran]

this is bad news giving I am waiting for an iX1. I rarely do long journeys, but every year or so I'll drive from Bristol england to the channel tunnel (1 charge on the way?), top up there, get to france and drive south to the alps or pyrenees with bikes on the back. with this those rare long journeys are going to be crippled. maybe one trick is to turn on the eco charge mode when you want to take a longer break. But that will mean all the chargers from paris to south of france will be blocked by BMWs charging too slow. It seems to me that if BMW advertise the i4 with 200kW charging and it can't do it, then that's misleading advertising which they aren't allowed to do. someone should complain to appropriate advertising standards body *in every country* to see how BMW handle that

[@bjornedman]

The iX1 does not have a Samsung-made battery.

[@anthonywalsh2164]

Imagine driving across a larger country like Australia with the i4. It would be a disaster. And that is without the problem of battery heat. So the i4 is a city car only, not for road trips.

[@swecreations]

20-25C in the garage? Why are you keeping your garage so hot haha, we keep ours at 10C and that is more than enough. 15C would seem much more reasonable.

[@bjornnyland]

It was obviously just for a few days during the test. Normally the garage is not heated at all.

[@shivan6416]

En bmw, on peut faire 1 fois 1000km, on peut faire 1000 fois 1km mais on ne peut pas faire 1000 fois 1000km.

[@DeeKay1911]

So BMWs first real take on a road trip EV car to rival their diesels are massively limited by design?! What the hell? I do long road trips with my family 2-4 times a year and would be furious if this expensive car would hamper us

[@csabahollo6922]

Trust BMW to call a flaw a feature. No thanks.

[@bshah4831]

Thank you for your extensive analysis of the M50 charging issues. In the UK we don't have that many rapid charges, most are 50 kwh chargers, so on my I4 I may suffer these issues 😕

[@bjornnyland]

*50 kW

[@ziggyyo]

@@bjornnyland or kWh/h 😁

[@10secondsrule]

I was looking into i40 being my first ev. But this is a nail in the coffin. Just after the lack of space inside which was already bothering me alot. Here in Korea you can't do fast driving anyway but the issue tells me BMW haven't gotten their EV's sorted jest yet.

[@doktordok7517]

This seems like dealbrajer for really long trips...

[@don.timeless4993]

a software cool down for fast charging! that so bad this why so so important to get the right battery tech that can handle fast charging. something like CATL MP3 or Quantumscape solid state & those what keeps me waiting to buy an EV. it's one of the 3 main keys need to be considered, *battery tech for better safety & fast charging *motor efficiency *range over 550 km & about diets, yo need to do Dr Paul Saladino diet! some one like you we need him healthy & live a long time!

[@rabidpb]

My eGolf charges faster at 80% than that BMW.

[@MB-sb4cz]

Ahh yes, the new BMW Leaf 🤣

[@latlak]

Alright, this issue slows you down. But EVs slow you down anyway, shouldn't be a problem to be even longer on the road.

[@bjornnyland]

Incorrect. Many efficient EVs with fast charging and long range such as Teslas charge so fast that you don't even have time to eat during your road trip. Watch many of my 1000 km challenges to learn more about how stuff actually works.

[@noffe75]

@@bjornnyland I just made a trip from Danmark (just north og CPH) and had the issue with slow Charging. Both on the way to Berlin and also home, first charge was at IONITY Vordingborg normal/great charging. 2nd charge was in Germany IONITY Heiliegengrabe I was going 180km/t from the ferry to the charger. And it charged very slow 42kWh in 48 min battery was at 2% when I started the charge. I suspect that it also has something to do with the speed you are traveling. Because it slowed down at my 2 charge?

[@RobertPuklin]

Time for a new 1000 km challenge. Current value is misleading.

[@bjornnyland]

Nope. It will not occur. Watch the video to understand why.

[@RobertPuklin]

@@bjornnyland because it would take way too long? :) Watched the video, looks like BMW did a stealth nerf to charging after the initial release.

[@ouch1011]

Poor design by BMW. Most other cars don’t have this issue. BMW is not known for building things to last a long time (anyone who has owned a BMW in the past 20 years knows this quite well), so I doubt they are doing this to prolong the life of the battery. It’s more likely that they are trying to push a cheaper battery beyond its limits. That’s more typical of BMW.

[@hardywoodaway9912]

these classic car makers struggling big time with all their divisions inside. I feel like they don’t want to change at all.

[@Patrick-jc9pb]

To be honest my experience with BMW is totally different and I am very happy to be back again in a BMW I4 after a Tesla 3. My worst car ever.

[@c.j.9401]

@@Patrick-jc9pb my i4 has lost 10 kWh battery capacity after only 25000 km , so good luck 😅

[@milanjordan]

@@Patrick-jc9pb 😂

[@stal5861]

@@c.j.9401 How did you measure the capacity?

[@slijkhuis]

07:58, “How can you avoid this?”, well, simple, do not buy an BMW EV. This is how I personally think about it, I do not care about the reasons BMW would give, This ‘extreme’ throttling is unacceptable, like you mentioned early in the video how much time you ‘wasted’ due to this. A car in this price-class should not do this. BMW has dropped to the Prius/Leaf catagory, atleast for me now.

[@michaell663]

Not that I think BMW is handling this in the right way, but you have to consider that at least some people buy the car based on more properties than repeated high current charging sessions. The iX1 I have ordered can't even charge over 130 kW.

[@slijkhuis]

@@michaell663 I understand, but then we would say that your iX would charge at max 130 kW and then throttles to 32,5 kW at 45% for 24hrs. You would not be able to make any decent long-range trips. As Bjørn said, BMW could add a eco-mode toggle, let the ‘high’ paying user decide themself if they want to degrade the battery faster or not. It is just unacceptable to just give the car less than 25% of charging capacity for over 24hrs.

[@michaell663]

@@slijkhuis But I don't think there is any risk when the max is 130. Probably won't be able to see 130 that often but 32 wouldn't be acceptable and the iX1 may have a low current limit due to the known problems. It has the same battery system as i4.

[@Gaijin101]

The best way to solve the charging issue is to sell the car.

[@nikitapustovoi8987]

Wow, this is bad

[@roybm3124]

What a scam

[@Quikdipp]

Well BMW cars seems not to be a car for proper road trips.

[@leftcoaster67]

Just my 2 cents. I'd rather have a vehicle that works to preserve the battery, than a Tesla that has good engineering and bad build quality. I wonder if it's because these are like a lot of new models, they are still working out the glitches. I've never heard of a Toyota losing a wheel until the Bz either.

[@markifi]

just ecoflow out the window and ac charge while driving /jk

[@antblr2736]

Hi When you do some test real word Tesla S Plaid I’m can’t fuck wait anymore

[@narrowgauge7.25]

Well another ev to avoid

[@samusaran7317]

Brand*

[@ExperienceCN]

What a bimmer 😂

[@RuffyDotOne]

Look, this is a big bummer. But I bet: this is a political thing, because this car drives fast and if the charging speed would be good, it will be as good as an similar ICE car (or better). And if this is an engineering thing: BMW go home 😂🤦‍♂️

[@danielbergsten4977]

Thats no good for souch an expensive car....but maaaan you are in Thailand while every journalist is testing the Tesla plaids...sousch a shame...enjoy the worm weather anyway :)

[@BalrogSlayer666]

1st

[@MichaelEricMenk]

Tesla also do this, but they wait a little bit longer, and is is permanent... What they are emitting doing this is that they are destroying the battery by having to fast charge speed. And they are doing this in able to have a faster charge speed in the brochure.. But again Bjørn pretends that Tesla does not do it, while he have made video about Tesla PERMANENTLY trotting the charge when you have charged to mutch.. At least doing it from day one is more honest than the way Tesla is doing it.

[@lengould9262]

Reference proof please.

[@MichaelEricMenk]

@@lengould9262 references to what? Logic? As Bjørn referenced in the video, they are doing this to save the battery...

[@shivan6416]

Havent seen such throtling on Tesla before... sry if bmw has a shitty design.

[@trinky5415]

I find it more than questionable to compare a new BMW to old Teslas. These Cars did pioneering work please don’t forget that.

[@MichaelEricMenk]

@@trinky5415 That is a valid point, that Tesla was early. So you may somewhat excuse early Teslas.. But they are still damaging the battery in order to have a large kW number in the sale commercials. Better to lower the max C rating of the charge, and have it permanently.. Or at least have the option to set it as a setting in the car. Remember, when you charge the battery to fast, the damage is permanent and immediately...