These are all known problems, but how often they actually occur is less clear. I’ve had a a 2014 BEV for 7 years, daily driver and rarely garaged. Driver’s heated seat failed ~5 y/o and I haven’t investigated fixing it yet. 12V battery failed at 9 y/o, this was a real pain and I highly recommend replacing first…it’s fiddly but totally achievable DIY. Tires are unique, do wear fast and are expensive to buy - it’s the car’s #1 design quirk. I’m at about 20,000 miles on my current set and they’re probably (over?) due for replacement. I haven’t experienced the other problems in this video; I have the Giga wool interior and it still cleans up well. Beyond that, zero maintenance and no obvious range degradation. Don’t choose the REX version as this video suggests, many use it less than they expect and it adds all the maintenance of a gas car. Get the newest BEV you can afford, make sure there are no warning lights at start-up, and check battery health is still good. At the right price, even a well-kept 2014 or 2015 can be a good buy for in-city driving.
I have had the first gen one WITHOUT the range extender (for reliability reasons) for quite some time now. Still not ONE problem or anything like a problem actually… so glad I got this car. This morning I raced a beautiful blue m235i all the way home from work, we raced probably like 3 times and he tried to pass me like 10 times. Every single time the i3 absolutely DESTROYED him. In eco pro no less 🤯 This car is insane. Still average monthly cost to charge is basically 0$ As my power bill remains still damn near unchanged. I remember the fast chargers are like 2.50$ to fill :)
The range extender isn't an issue as long as its used properly the way it was intended.. Issues occur when owners use the extender continuously to drive long freeway distances across the country at 75mph.
The reliability of this car is not an issue. As long you get a warranty. This car does not scare me away at all. When I buy a newer i3 and once the warranty expires in 4 years or 5 years after ownership. I may pay off or finish the loan, and get rid of the car ASAP lol. Never buy a BMW without a warranty. You will regret and the warranty will pay for itself, sometimes triple pay itself.
@@expertgaming1002 u can renew the warranty as well.. The warranty is $3k 36 months and allows for $1500 in repairs every year with no deductibles and its a full warranty including all electronics, batteries, motor and even tires and windows
I have a 2017 that I have bought used 2.5 years ago at less than half the new price. It as been completely reliable and we use it mostly in urban or peri-urban circuit where it is most efficient. Great in town due to an extremely tight turning radius where I can do a u-turn without backing up, parking is equally easy. Tires are a weak point in city with potholes, the narrow flanks make flat tires a recurrent issue on bad roads. altogether fun to drive economical, very good buy for us.
Thank you for the informative video, just bought a 2014 with 50k miles in mint condition for $9,500 cash in Oregon, it drives great and launches like a rocket, there is no squeaks, vibration or any funny sounds, I was very lucky as it had all the preventive maintenance done with a clean title
Mine is a 2015. Zero of those issues. But mine was well cared for. Lots of BMWs aren't regularly serviced because of expense. Get your a certified BMW inspection before buying.
@@free2be It's a great car. There is no better one for daily use in urban cities. Most of the issues are totally fixed, when you buy a model younger than 2017. BMW is usually great in guarantee up to 5 years if your car was in regular maintenance.
I had the A/C problem on my 2015 model - luckily they extended my warranty to cover the fix. And yes, it was otherwise $8,000 (Though I am in Australia). Otherwise I love my i3
I can confirm pressure sensor, heated seat, KLE change, 12V battery, damper cover and some other things you mentioned on my 2015 REX. I avoid Bridgestones, e.g. Nokian winter tires lasted much longer. Currently steering makes some queeky noise with odd resistance. It is said to be the rubber seal from cabin to frunk. I tried to oil and grease it, but still a bit left of it. Nevertheless the best car to my personal taste 🎉
So helpful👍 Can vouch our 2017 i3REx (bought in 2020) has been very reliable.. Great tip on not topping tank! Currently at 73k miles. No surprises yet. Easy oil changes annually. Waxing the roof & body regularly helps prevent bubbling or issues with thin paint. Much more useful than a long-range BEV like MachE or Bolt or Kona EV since you can easily refill in 3 minutes anywhere.
@@fmulleady Glad you enjoy hanging out in parking lots for hours while on vacation. We'll make sure to honk & wave as we speed by after a quick fill up of the gas tank.👋😊
Dude! Great piece on the i3! You've really made a great little package, going over the ups and downs. Thank you for adding to the community knowledge base.
Lol man I feel like every problem anyone ever had with this car was mentioned. Does not give me confidence in the model. However I also feel like chances are you would not see all of these issues but you could experience a few of them. Sounds like sticking with 2017+ is a must.
I just want to say thanks so much for all yours directions @simplecarguy your videos help me decide to buy a bmw i3 range extender a year ago and is amazing because of this video I decided to buy a warranty repair.
Greetings from the U.K. I have a 2019 42kWh i3, so far, none of the issues mentioned here have affected mine. I know the motor mounts were re-engineered mid-life, here in the U.K. we don’t need A/C very often, though I do make sure to turn it on every 6 weeks of so to keep the system in good shape. No REx on mine, not rally needed with the bigger battery. I hope to keep my i3 for a long time, and I love the car and its radical use of materials that means it should never rust of get annoying parking dents in the panels.
Just had an issue that cost me £1300. Car is 2018 bev. Internal heater failed and this and high voltage cable needed replaced. Could have been more but BMW gave 30% on parts due to low mileage. Quite a shock just before 🎄 and most I've ever spent on car repair.
Nice car but definitely need to not be short of money to own a car like this. I liked this car, but I’m not going to risk the financial burden of it, given my financial situation
No the intent exactly, but it's good to know what you are getting into! They are somewhat problematic if you get a non well taken care of one or one of the earlier ones.
Correction or update your video, motor mounts and bracket on the 2014 models are not covered BMW or by any service bulletins/recall. I recently had my replaced at BMW at my cost. What was recalled was the bolts and software update. Also the AC compressor may only be covered by states under the CARB up to 15-years. The EME was recalled specific i3 model year 2019, I think some 2016 molded too- very expensive too.
BMW replaced the plastic motor mounts in my 2014 i3 with metal ones and they also replaced the bolts for FREE.. The air conditioner is warrant for 15 years..
How common is for the high voltage battery to fail and require replacement? I am considering buying a 2015 i3 with Range Extender with 75,000 miles, and as you mentioned on another video, there is no easy way to check the high voltage battery health and life expectancy ( A BMW dealership around Boston just said that it would cost $800 to check this, as the process is not standardized by BMW, etc). Cost of new battery: $13,000--more than I would be paying for the car. Thank you for great videos!!
'15 REX - DC fast charger problems, dash panel replaced, then re-released, the first replacement didn't have seat heater buttons - all under warranty. Driver's seat belt, $900 NOT under warranty. In future I'm going to save a used tire if I get a good one, they have to order & it can take days. Spray those door panels with bed liner? BEST VIDEO !
One side note about 3G, the car still connected because it fails over to 2G, yes very slow but the app and everything is 100% still working, I can still see the battery status and other details, so I will not call that a problem. About materials I own 2016 one, still looks like new I don't know why yours looks so dirty and worn so quick!
thank you my friend for helpfull video , i have wird proplems with my i3 , wen i release the accelerator pedal the car tack longs time to stop than normal ..... ..... and it keep moving slowly and does not full stop , what the problem ?
So far my i3 Rex had the roof bubbling problem, the mounts cracking problem, the 3G problem and the air bag false notice problem. Guess I should feel lucky that's all. Except my dealer didn't say the mounts had a recall.
I lost the air conditioning and the battery cooling system and then after the 12 volt battery an than the compresor went down again but just the compresor this time in total the warantoes all ready pay more than 20,000 dollars on repair
good video but you made sound like this car is a lemon, i have two and only one issue with charger, fixed by recall.. tires yes isban issue, but these are wors case. Over all bith of mine are just solid. Replaced the 12v on both, that is expected in all cars.
My 2017 is 3G. Though I never used those services much. My only problem has been my chargeport which would not fast charge. BMW replaced it. I try to be very gentile adding or removing the charger, especially the fast chargers.
Missing one MAJOR ASPECT : the tires CAN NOT handle pot holes. I'm on my 15th tire in under 2 years. DO NOT BUY if you travel low quality roads. It does not have a spare, and you will wait days while tires are ordered special for this car. It has been an absolute nightmare. I love this car and every respect except for that ( and the 3G data loss)
I have never heart anyone about this in the Netherlands or Belgium. I guess it depends on road quality (which is overall very good in Holland, and very poor in Belgium) and I think it is also very important how you drive the car. Drive any car like a madman and it will end up needing repairs..
I have a BMW owned for 8 years. None of these problems. At some point the rubber bushes on shocks will need replacement. The rest of the report is total rubbish. I owned several SAAB, Citroen, Renault etc cars and DID experience many of the problems. The BMW i3 is amazingly reliable and fault free.
Was about to buy one of these, love how they look but I reckon its a turkey, imagine getting an 8k bill, thanks for the heads up I'll pass, such a shame
Hi Im in UK and just bought my 1st 2016 i3 REX from a auction grade 2 condition report done 83k miles for less than £4500 with a fault of REX not working reported, when sorting through receipts and history I found a quote to repair the REX engine from a BMW i3 specialist for over £5000 to repair so the previous owner returned the car finance company just after 1 year and 23000 miles yes 23000 the fault I found out when in emissions test mode or hold battery state hold the rex starts up nice and quiet no tapping or knocking noises but only for 20 seconds then stops (strong smell of petrol) it try 3 times then fault codes come up for misfires both cylinders plus ox sensor pre cat so asked for advise got quote from another i3 specialist with that fault explained said need 2 x ox sensors + 2 coil packs plus 2 spark plugs and leads for £500 anyway I bought all parts and got fitted locally reset codes tested but still the same exactly so looked on RU-vid and found same fault in USA where they changed the fuel pump relay and that cured it so I bought new relay from bmw parts and fitted yesterday reset codes and now works excellent so for a £16 relay fixed it I looked in old relay and contacts burned out. I have 4 cars already but this car has grown on me in every way its condition is excellent throughout everything works A/C Heating and heated seated and very fast and £0 road tax and cheap to run what more do you need ?
So I’m a music person(do sound and audio for income), and this speaker system is the best system I’ve ever heard in a vehicle. Make sure under settings/tone that everything is set up to default at least. Also make sure if you are on Bluetooth, to turn your phone volume up as well as the car volume. That might help.
at the minute 5 I realize to don;t buy this experimental new generation nigthmare... so many problems in one single car ,... no way ,.. thanks for info, i will run away from this car
It doesn't have an engine.. LOL It only has an electric motor.. The REx version uses a scooter gas engine that does not drive the rear wheels, it only charges the battery..
I really wish one of toyota, honda, nissan would make a electric car WITH range extender. Do not trust German car quality... had a bmw only 5yrs old... cost me 8k over 5 years in repairs.
Reading these comments, the video gives a totally false impression of the i3. All these issues CAN happen, but more often won’t. And even then, they are minor compared to the heavy and expensive issues other cars, especially ICEs, have. It’s a great and reliable vehicle. I have mine since 2016 and all I experienced from this list was a dead 12V battery - after 7 (!) years.
This car be perfect with a better range, cant believe they wouldnt put a better range extender/generator on it to charge it better. 250mile range be amazing
Are you sure about the whole 3G network part!? Here in Denmark we still have 3G, but places like our neighbor Germany, they have shut down 95% of the 3G network. And when I visit I have full app access to my 2015 BMW i3, trough 2G. Also BMW in Denmark have been out and saying that when we shut down 3G in Denmark, the car can still be accessed trough 2G, but live traffic will not work. Just as I’m experiencing when I’m in Germany. Maybe it’s different in your area with the 2G network, that I don’t know. And thank you for a great video.
Dear SimpleCarGuy, I lost my key fob, and am using the spare. It makes me extremely anxious having one key only, which is why I will have it replaced. Before I go to the dealer and fork over several hundreds, I would like to ask you if you know of any potential less onerous solutions. Many thanks, great channel. Best,
Hi Juan! Unfortunately, you cannot close keyfobs yourself on these cars. Best you can do is get a key that is VIN assigned to your vehicles but NOT programmed (they charge like $100 to program it on top of the key in some cases) and do the programming youself. Most higher end BMW scanners will do that.
@@SimpleCarGuy Thanks for your reply. I decided to go ahead and give away my hard earned cash. However, instead of going to the local dealer, I bought the key fob on line from an out-of-state online BMW parts vendor. I was able to save $150.00.
Can you check if disconnecting the switch main battery under the front, and the orange plug front the battery tray under driver side to electric motor, still the range extender can be used to drive the car? I want to know if my main battery is defective, if I can drive it all the time with range extender only.
My 1995 Mercedes-Benz diesel was $2,500 4 years ago, I've added 40,000 miles! A/C compressor (basically only non-wear part I've replaced besides shocks) was $180! I'm my own DIY mechanic, so labor is $0 and I enjoy making repairs. I've always said I could replace my Benz with an electric, but I don't think I can repair computer modules or $8,000 cooling systems.
So basically these cars are pieces of sh*t, I thought their had to be some problems with these cars. I looked up cars under $10k with low miles and tons of these series of cars popped up. I thought WOW, why would nice looking electric BMW cars be valued this low, and selling this low for cars only 10 years old and with only about 20k to 60k miles on them ??? Well now I've got my answer.
"EVs do not need as much repairs and maintenance" yeah right. Nothing needs less maintenance than a 1.5L 4-cylinder naturally aspirated Toyota hatchback.
Pretty much any newly developed car will sound like this if you just talk about the issues. It's like having a home inspection. Just the bad stuff and some of it nbd.
Word! I was searching ones for sale. Interesting how many have 3+ owners and so many 2014 models for sale sitting on the lots for quite some time. That A/C repair sounds scary!
@@trucuriousity The only thing that is new is the electronic technology, other than that, its still a regular car, with typical BMW problems. These cars are the most expensive to maintain. Literally almost double the average auto repair price in any category lol. Ive owned enough BMW, talked to people and worked on enough cars to know this. There is no reason an AC compressor or a battery should be going at 70k miles.
