BMW i8 High Voltage battery warranty, status and percentage of life remaining.

[@IanAbbottDonnelly]

A useful mention in Wikipedia is : The production i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a usable capacity of 5.2 kWh (73% usable =100% charge)

[@uircoaoi6039]

Mine shows 5.6 which exceeds 5.2, does it mean something wrong with the battery?

[@niqqiekhan8609]

Can we upgrade our i8 battery into a bigger capacity but a much lesser weight?

[@steveaustin7306]

If you fully discharge a lipo they are not expecteded to work

[@TestTest-eb8jr]

🖒🖒🖒 Your channel must be the best documented channel on the i8

[@RawNoLimits]

Pat, I just picked up my i8 a couple days back. Your videos are a goldmine, thanks for documenting everything during your ownership.

[@Czechbound]

Sounds like the recommendation when you buy a new laptop : 100% charge and discharge to 0% when new ( or when you put in a new laptop battery ) at the beginning. This allows the laptop to know the battery performance, and so give a more accurate reading for battery state of charge %. My new Lenovo laptop stops charging at 80% which is a new laptop feature for me. I don't know why phone chargers can't be designed to do the same thing. All the best from Prague !

[@Belldandyxinxin]

this video only makes senses to i8 owners. love your discussion on details, really help to bust some myth out there.

[@masonmcderp2485]

This was a great video and explains why my range is only 10 miles. The temperature outside has been over 110 degrees!

[@IanAbbottDonnelly]

Small correction, to unlock it needs the last 5 digits (not 6) of the VIN adding together to create the code. Otherwise great video.

[@Gadne92.5]

Regarding to @11:20 I bought used 2014 i8 and part of Pre-Purchase Inspection I insisted this BMW "battery life test" to be done. Apparently to perform it correctly it will take several hours and thus be quite expensive. I was quoted 300 euros (around $350 US) but it also gave me official "BMW battery health check diploma" for the car with dealership stamp, date etc. And btw, you can see the exact % of your battery usage also from the iDrive menu, under the "Hold Battery" -option. There its shown quite accurate, with one decimal, for example 77,5%. German engineering, huh :D

[@slkttop]

Yeah, OK, Pat...this is a really good one. I own a Jag F type, but am hankering for an i8. I own or have owned several BMWs. This video and the "your i8 is slow" video are my favorites. This one is exactly what I was concerned about: buying a 2014 that has very low miles, and buying it remotely. I am going to ask the inspector to... at least...perform the dashboard check. Thanks!

[@DoctaM3]

Always great info. Thanks Pat.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Thank you!

[@yourrealdaddy6332]

We should start an i8 club.... We should have meets in different cities,every year

[@olalesio9260]

Great video. I always wondered why my capacity is less now. Only things I would ask: how much does it cost to replace out of warranty? Would it be per cell? Also what is the estimated price of a new full battery, esp with regards to msrp? Must be crazy

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Each cell costs about $1500 USD. There are six of them so replacing all 6 would renew the entire unit. I'd estimate about $2k-$4k in labor and replacement hardware. Coolant needs to be drained, AC refrigerant captured and electrical connections disconnected.

[@e_skie2685]

Nice explanation of the car

[@morrismair9183]

Pat, you’re a legend

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Thank you!

[@latinoheat49]

You have 2 of my dream cars !

[@nick_salt]

Another great video Pat - one question - if you can one of the earlier cars is it possible to retrofit the higher capacity battery from the later 2018+ model? I understand that the physical battery is the same size but is more dense, hence the higher capacity.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

I believe there is a place in Germany that has been doing retrofits. However, I also believe this requires reprogramming of the computer modules to be aware of it. Edo Motorsport has also been retrofitting higher capacity batteries into the i8 ProCar. But, I'm unaware how much this will cost. There is a lot of labor in removing the battery enclosure.

[@RobertCiampa9112]

Thanks Pat!

[@ducati9119]

I'm looking to buy a used bmw i8. How can I check if the high voltage battery is ok

[@PatsGarageOnline]

@@ducati9119 BMW needs to scan it. If you can convince the seller to let you have BMW do a Pre-purchase Inspection on the car at your cost, you will know about any of the issues that may cost you thousands in repairs. Always PPI.

[@EZ6FIGURES]

I bought a used i8 Roadster last year. Do you think the Roadster will be a collectible? The Z8's value is through the roof, and the Roadster is rarer than the Z8.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

There's always a chance the i8 will be collectible. But, we can't make that assumption until we start seeing values increase steadily outside of the insane car market we had the past few years.

[@maximusbrisbane17nov]

Thanks again 😊 great videos

[@richardbrout2242]

Hi Pat, just to give you a heads up. I noticed you have a paint chip on the hood, right of the emblem.

[@nineeleven8655]

Another amazing video.Thanks Pat. During winter time and cold temperatures let's say that you begin the day just using full electric mode.Then after 15 miles and driving st 55mph you choose the mid engine...my question is at What the temperature is the oil at that moment? Does the oil still have its lubricant capabilities? Thanks Pat@ecca

[@PatsGarageOnline]

The oil in the mid-engine will be close to the ambient temperature. You will still have cold start protection from the oil, just as you do with a cold start from a stand still. However, using Sport Mode keeps the revs higher and the engine is under more load due to boost. I prefer to put the car in Comfort Mode or EcoPro Mode and select Hold State of Charge in order to allow the engine to shift at a lower RPM and reduce load until the oil warms up. See the links in the video description about Hold State of Charge and Thermostat Temperature for more information.

[@nineeleven8655]

@@PatsGarageOnline Great explanation about my doubt.Thanks a million

[@thomasbeshaw855]

I watched this video and the long term storage video. Here is my question. If someone replaced the older 7.1kWh with the newer 11.6kWh. Estimating that the system was still only using about 70% capacity would you get roughly 8.2kWh usable charge from the larger pack? Or would it still limit the larger pack to the 5.1kWh?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

This hasn't been done yet so your guess is as good as mine.

[@thomasbeshaw855]

Sadly bmw is making new 7.1kwh cells and refuses to replace the 7.1 with the 11.6 battery modules. I have not yet found a teardown of an 11.6kwh to compare its internal parts to the 7.1

[@Thebusinessguide101]

HI PAT I HAVE A QUESTION..I OWN A 2015 I8 AS WELL AN I ALSO STAY IN MARYLAND..I BELIEVE MY LOW VOLTAGE BATTERY WENT BAD IN IT... AND I THINK I NEED TO CHANGE IT..BUT IF THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM AN I PROBABLY NEED THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY IS MY CAR STILL GONNA BE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY BEING THAT ITS A 2015.. SINCE WERE NOW WE IN 2023 ?? WOULD THAT BE CONSIDERED TO BE THE 8 YR MARK OR WOULD IT STILL BE COVERED THIS YEAR LONG AS I DON'T LET IT GO INTO THE NEXT YEAR??

[@PatsGarageOnline]

You are correct. The high voltage battery will be covered until 2023, 8 years after the in-service date that the car was sold. The 12v battery can be replaced but it will require a replacement from BMW. Some folks have put in aftermarket batteries and they don't work. I believe there are electronics in the BMW battery that need to function.

[@Thebusinessguide101]

@@PatsGarageOnline(2015 I8) o ok so long as I go now within this year to replace it if need be.. I'm still covered under the warranty.. that's great to know man! 😓 Because I looked up the price for a high voltage battery and there like $8000!🤯

[@oswaldogonzalez2625]

Hello Pat. I just got muy steering wheel just like yours. I follow you all the time. I would apreciate if you could tell me something about the battery. Im buying a 2016 i8. It has only 5000 kms. Is that bad for the battery? Having it used so little?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

There is no data to show that the battery will have issues if the car isn't driven as much. What's more important is that the car doesn't sit for a long period of time with little charge. That said, the electronics in the car will isolate the high voltage battery if it sits at that minimum percentage for too long. in fact, it would probably be hard to start it and you would need to plug it in in order to bring the battery up to the sufficient charge for the car to run. That said, there should be enough protections in the car to prevent the battery from having issues.

[@oswaldogonzalez2625]

Great videos as always my friend. As many im deeply greatfull of how well documented every explanation is. Thank you so much for the hard work. We all solve so many problems thanks to your chanel

[@katemartin8601]

Hi Pat - can you confirm if it's the last 6 or the last 5 VIN digits that you need as your video with the thermostat says 5 but this video says 6 ?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

It's the last 5. Sorry about that.

[@katemartin8601]

Thank you Pat no worrries. I've got it sorted now on my own 2017 i8 - but when I was looking to buy I was sat in a few with the salesman trying to get into the menu to look at the battery health much to their amusement.

[@hlaluminiumengineering4292]

Excellent info. Thank god i have a Hilux.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

I agree. I have a 2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac with 183k miles on it that gave me very little concern in over a decade. Very reliable.

[@user-be2tm7tm4x]

Thanks for great video and explanation. I'm considering buying USED i8, but I worry about the cost of changing lithium ion batteries with new one. PLZ tell me how much it'll cost if you know. I'm biggener of English so I'm sorry if I mistook usage of English, spells and so on. Thank you.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

The high voltage lithium battery pack costs about $6,000 USD. Labor can be another $2,000.

[@user-be2tm7tm4x]

@@PatsGarageOnline Thank you so much!!!

[@tmass1]

does driving this in normal or sport mode prolong the battery?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

There will be no difference. The car ensures that the battery stays in the optimum charge zone for the best battery life, regardless of mode.

[@anthonybarton2103]

Tanks You 😉

[@PatsGarageOnline]

😂

[@harveyweizman]

So basically what he saying anyone with a 2014 through 2017 model under 100k miles; right before their warranty runs out, should turn on the car (in electric mode only) not drive it, and have the electricity drain the battery excessively down to 0% and recharge it a bunch of times over and over until the capacity/degradation is at about 60%, and then they could change the battery under warranty…

[@nb7609]

Hi Pat, I wonder if it would be possible to just charge the battery when recuperating. I do not have an option for normal charging right now so I would like to know if a 1 hour drive one the Autobahn (with or without the help of the electric motor) would charge the battery properly. I would highly appreciate your answer!

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Charging in Sport Mode is acceptable. Some folks don't have access to an electrical charger where they park their car overnight.

[@jameslaos]

Any idea how much a high voltage battery replacement would cost outside of warranty?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

I predict around $10,000 for parts and labor. The high voltage batteries are warranted for 100k miles and 10 years in the US.

[@mohammedsnaitah]

Dear Pats , greeting , small question for the battery , if i have purchase 2015 model with less kilometers is the battery goes to lose some percentage of the capacity or still i can deal with it as brand new ?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Unfortunately, at this time, no one has reported that their battery replaced under warranty due to loss of capacity on any of the forums. Therefore, we have no data of years/mileage associated with battery degradation and replacement.

[@niqqiekhan8609]

I used to have an International warranty, can I still update it with my car? If battery fault problem arise.

[@brucepeterson3246]

Interesting and informative video Pat - thanks! I am wondering how the i8 initially calculates its capacity. In my lab, I determine the capacity of a Lion battery by fully discharging it and then charging it fully while a Coulomb counter is measuring the charge entering the battery. A Coulomb is the unit of charge where 3600C = 1Ahr. This sets an initial condition for stored energy from which discharging and charging events subtract or add to the battery charge state respectively. Somewhere in the manufacturing process, BMW either starts with a fully charged battery (which could be dangerous) and pre-loads the KWhr capacity into the car computer or starts with a fully discharged battery and charges via the car charging port to let the car report the full charge state battery capacity. I suspect the car knows the true charge state but reports only 70% of it which is usable capacity. Due to temperature affecting battery efficiency or battery self discharge, I would expect the battery "fuel gauge" to loose accuracy over time. I would like to see someone who suspects their i8 battery capacity is suffering to perform the deep discharge and charge procedure you described to see if the car magically reports a higher charge state than before the procedure.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Thanks for the additional battery information. Take a look at this BMW i8 build video from the factory. At 9 minutes you can see how they build the high voltage batteries. They are in a box from Samsung and may be partially charged. After assembly, they charge the entire enclosure of batteries and test them before installing into the car. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqndmISFjaumeck

[@brucepeterson3246]

@@PatsGarageOnline I have seen this video before. First time I saw plasma generators used to clean and activate surfaces. I suspect you are correct that Samsung has left some residual charge in the loose batteries as an artifact of their own testing but not much. A lot of stored energy in the batteries (loose or integrated into packs) make them more dangerous to handle in production For testing, you don't need to fully charge the battery to see if they work - fully charging would only be used to verify capacity. Fully charging during test would have made the test take hours with some very expensive test equipment and in the video we don't know how long the test took or the state of charge in the battery at the conclusion of the test. I really hope that Samsung offers their future solid state batteries in the same voltage and form factor as the batteries used in the i8. An i8 solid state battery retrofit could give the i8 almost a 100 mile EV range!

[@seoneng803]

​@@PatsGarageOnline ​​@Pat's Garage Online hi pat, I need some of your advise, pls help. I just bought a 8 year bmw i8, and I sent to few garage to check for its condition, despite some minor problems, the engine, hvb battery, and turbo charger are all good. The question is how should I take good care of the hvb battery? Should I plug in charge everytime I use the car. Like daily charge as I use it as daily car. Or use turbo mode to charge it and only plug in charge once a month? Also, for plug in charge, should I unplug it around 6 hours coz normally full charge will take 8 hours, as someone told me that we cannot fully charge the battery always charge to 70% or 80% will be perfect. Pls give me your advise. Much appreciated, already subscribed your ch. Tqvm

[@PatsGarageOnline]

@@seoneng803 keep it plugged in using the wall charger and the car will automatically keep the high voltage battery conditioned

[@seoneng803]

@@PatsGarageOnline meaning just keep the car plug in whenever you didn't use the car is it?

[@tayraz6183]

Hi, love your videos. Can you tell me how you can drive the car with open doors. I just bought one but unable to drive it when I open the doors. Hope to hear from u

[@PatsGarageOnline]

You have to put your seatbelt on, then you can drive with the doors up.

[@tayraz6183]

@@PatsGarageOnline how about launch control?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

I have a video showing how to do launch control. It's my latest 0-60 video on the i8.

[@hvkroxrox1513]

Haha just saw you’re in sunset auto club. Coming to the next rally?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

It's been hard for me to make the Sunset rallies. They're a great group of folks but my schedule doesn't always permit me.

[@tube1923]

Great Vid Pat ... so does that mean that if your display goes below 4.2Kwh then this is on the lower limit for a dealer check ( as long as test done at room temp) ? ... so yours is at about 86%

[@tomhanhart5921]

No. 7.1kWh is total (gross) capacity. The usable (net) capacity is 5.2kWh. So Pats battery is at 98%. My 2014 with 70‘000 Mi showed still 5.2kWh last summer. Two years ago I read in a German forum about a secret Samsung paper which stated the battery is good for 20 years and more.

[@XiraArien]

You guys need to read the warranty text. It clearly stated 70% of nominal battery capacity. Unfortunately pat mixed everything up with his usability capacity which is not related to the warranty but only on the usage. The target where the battery no longer is within specs is then 7.1x0.7=4.97kWh I really think this video was mixing everything up and creates more confusion. Charging cycles between 20-80% has nothing to do with battery health status, but to battery durability only during usage. Do not mix those two together.

[@tomhanhart5921]

@@XiraArien This is a bit subtle, especially since the difference between the official net figure and 70% is really not that big. And of course the charging strategy has an influence on the health of the battery. I think you're creating a bit of confusion now.

[@tube1923]

@@tomhanhart5921 Thanks i tested mine and it was at 4.9kWh but was pretty cold (5 degrees C ) ... good news thx for the info

[@tomhanhart5921]

@@tube1923 Indeed good news 👍

[@kelvinmejia8384]

Question man, do you think you can put a Tesla model s plaid electric engine in the front.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

You can put the motor there but it will not work without the batteries and electronics to power it. There's no room in the i8 for that.

[@kelvinmejia8384]

@@PatsGarageOnline damn they should just put a 3 cyl in the front

[@michaelc2254]

Where did you find that range predictions are based on the last 60 miles of driving? My ‘15 i8 reacts faster than that. For example, the second to last time I drove the car it was around town in edrive and I made no effort to drive conservatively. When I got home to charge, the predicted range was 12 miles. On the next drive I used edrive on the freeway and took it easy, got about 14 miles without depleting the battery, and when I plugged it in, the predicted range was 18 miles. I have seen up to 21 miles predicted after a much lower number on a prior drive. None of these trips was anywhere near 60 miles. Btw, the farthest I have gone on electric power alone is 24 miles, but it was no fun.

[@dmcc2873]

Hey, Pat. Curious - what's the little inverted triangle above the battery gauge?

[@TuRo-Maserati]

Tbh I've got two i8's and I have idea either...Pat pls enlighten us 🧐...ta v much

[@dmcc2873]

@@TuRo-Maserati I've never seen it move on mine, and it looks like it's in the exact same spot on Pat's car...

[@PatsGarageOnline]

It's the point at which the mid-engine will turn on in order to prevent the high voltage battery from using more power.

[@seanwilliams6424]

Pat I did the check and got a reading of 5.4 at 99% on a 2015 car. Does that make sense?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Yep, that's cool

[@RK-ge6bc]

Hi Pat, I'm about to travel and leave my i8 parked for two month. Should I leave it plugged in or unplugged? Cheers, Raiko

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Leave it plugged in for the best results

[@RK-ge6bc]

@@PatsGarageOnline My BMW dealership had advised me to leave the battery half charged and the car unplugged. I think the battery charger has a limiter that stops the charge at 70 or 80%, right? If that's the case than your suggestion makes much more sense. Cheers

[@PatsGarageOnline]

@@RK-ge6bc the charger will only allow the battery to reach 80 percent but will display 100 percent on the dash. So there is no risk of overcharging. Leaving it at half and unplugged will also be no risk if the 12v battery is healthy. The choice is yours. But a weak 12v battery will drain power from the high voltage battery. Nothing in the service manual states what the dealer told you. I don't know where they are getting that suggestion from.

[@RK-ge6bc]

@@PatsGarageOnline Many thanks for your valuable input.

[@dejonasmediastudio581]

Hi Pat, I am planning to purchase 2016 i8 model. So, do you recommend replacing the battery when its getting the 8 year mark? How much will it cost to replace the battery? Thanks

[@PatsGarageOnline]

I'm not sure what to recommend as I sold the car before experiencing any High Voltage battery problems so I don't want to lead you astray

[@PatsGarageOnline]

I'm not sure what to recommend as I sold the car before experiencing any High Voltage battery problems so I don't want to lead you astray

[@seoneng803]

​​@Pat's Garage Online hi pat, I need some of your advise, pls help. I just bought a 8 year bmw i8, and I sent to few garage to check for its condition, despite some minor problems, the engine, hvb battery, and turbo charger are all good. The question is how should I take good care of the hvb battery? Should I plug in charge everytime I use the car. Like daily charge as I use it as daily car. Or use turbo mode to charge it and only plug in charge once a month? Also, for plug in charge, should I unplug it around 6 hours coz normally full charge will take 8 hours, as someone told me that we cannot fully charge the battery always charge to 70% or 80% will be perfect. Pls give me your advise. Much appreciated, already subscribed your ch. Tqvm

[@vivos71]

If it may still be helpful, lithium batteries last best when kept at 50% state of charge. The charging and discharging rates are pretty much completely safely managed by the battery management computers, so that they are not over charged or over discharged. Lithium batteries are not like nickel batteries (such as Prius) where they last best when being continuously discharged then fully charged repeatedly. So basically just keep it around 60-40% SoC and you’ll keep the best long term life.

[@johannnorris6350]

Call a PMU Power management unit does a system works manufactures sets up Just like my drones

[@ZeroEight]

Pat, what's the longest rage you can get on a road trip say doing 80mph, assuming full battery and full tank of gas? Does the range increase significantly if you reduce the speed to 70mph so it can run on all electric mode? Just trying to get a realistic expectation if I am cruising on a road trip how many miles the car can go between refueling on highway.

[@thomasbeshaw855]

I usually get 300 miles at 80 not running completely empty though. It is only an 11 gallon tank. I was cruising in sports mode manually in 6th gear. On the a1a in FL 45-60mph speeds i almost hit 450 miles on that tank.

[@thomasbeshaw855]

Oh side note with my much wider 245f/275r sticky tires i did notice a slight drop in the average mpg reported on the dash. Only getting like 30-33mpg at 80 now

[@amdsquad]

The secret battery menu is not present on G30 530e

[@paullevy561]

It's under warranty.... Claim rejected, it's fine. [ until the warranty is gone ... ]

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Yep

[@nigelbradshaw8266]

Gonna be a lot of 8 year old i8 for sale. IC cars last for years and will cover 250,000 miles easily, EVs are an expensive environmentally unfriendly scam.