Excellent, super-informative video. Very useful to not just iX and i4 owners, but to all EV users. Thanks much Tom. Looking forward to your next one. SUBSCRIBED.
They sell the X40 here in Canada. I ordered a fully loaded X50 but the dealer said I may not take delivery until next year. Before anyone judges, I’m paying cash for mine. I already own 2 electric vehicles and will have to call my electrician to add a 3rd level 2 charger before I take delivery.
Thanks Tom, you made my life buying an i4 M50 so easy. New CPH50 coming in a week, new car in the next month! Can't wait to try a long distance run from CT to FL in December!
Thanks Tom, This is brilliant and very informative video. I’m waiting for my iX and this has definitely helped me with some anxiety wrt to my first EV. Sub’d and please keep the great content coming. Wrt to battery degradation I heard your advice on 80% charge. Any additional advice would be appreciated especially for someone who is not getting a Tesla and would like to keep EV for a while to come. Perhaps a video dedicated on the subject would be very helpful. Thank You again for a great and very helpful video.
Do not go lower than 20% and no higher than 80%. This will keep the battery in a great shape longer. I would also avoid charging often on DC chargers as they degenerate the battery faster. Preconditioning the car before the trip in a very extreme temperature helps a lot also.
Salut Tom. Since almost all BMW’s charge the same, you may want to just add a pre-video saying this applies to all BMW. Just a thought! Great Content!!
This the absolute BEST video on all things charging I've come across. I'm the EV charging infrastructure manager at a fleet management company and I'm constantly educating my co-workers and clients on this content. Resources like this are so helpful. Thanks Tom!
Good video! Just took delivery of my iX this week, will install a 14-50 NEMA (similar to a clothes dryer receptacle) in my garage. I understand and the on board charger of the iX will top out at 40 amps. Will report back on performance.. cheers !
Thank you , very informative and interesting video , I would like a video when the IX is refreshing the batterie to see the fan sound or noise. I have another questions , if the car is connected and it raining a lot and I need to go and drive , there is any danger or risk to remove the cable and the rain fall all over ? Thank you but I have this two questions.
Tom, man, you're preaching to the choir bud, EVerything you are saying we repeat to our customer 5 to 10x a day. Love the tremendous insight, keep up the great work!
So glad I was suggested this channel. Just really getting into EV's and this is exactly what I needed. Feels like I'm in school but actually enjoying the the information.
Hi Tom, I’m a huge fan of electrification and the BMW i3 and recently bought a used 42 kWh i3S. Whilst researching my charging options, I simply plugged it in and was delighted when it was at 100% in the morning. Now we charge overnight twice a week and I’ve not bothered with a more powerful facility at all.
Wow Tom, what a great explanation that has relieved some anxiety regarding charging, especially these public chargers. I’m new to EV’s and have a Mach-E arriving soon, but also a ix xDrive50 coming in 4-6 months. Well done video!
I have a ChargePoint HomeFlex hardwired to a 60A circuit. It should provide the max 48A to the iX = maxed out 11kW, correct? My app says that the charger is hardwire to 60A, so -20% that = 48A. I'm only seeing 10kW on mine, but the battery is at 60% rather than 50% in your video. Could this be the reason?
I noticed that you had the ChargePoint home flex unit and plugged it into the IX. But that unit was plugged into the 1450 outlet meaning a max of 40 amps can be delivered. Can that unit also be hard wired to maximize amperage to 48 ? If not, which other units would you recommend for this use case ?
Hi Tom, question for you - do you find it's worth the money to purchase and install a home charging station such as ChargePoint vs just using the included portable charging cord with the IX and plugging into the NEMA 14-50 plug?
it's up to you. Both are great. the flexible charger will charge a bit slower than the wall charger but it's still very good and it comes with iX so you don't need to spend extra money.
Thank you Tom for making this fantastic video! Saved my life (as a new iX owner). I'm planning to do 50/50 home vs. public charging. So thinking to just use my NEMA 10-30 dryer wall plug to do the level-2 charging. Need to buy an adaptor to convert the 10-30 to Nema 14-50 that comes with the iX car. Is it safe to do so? I will make sure to lower the AC limit to 20Amp because I learned the old Nema 10-30 dryer plug can only handle 30amp. Or the default BMW Group charger will be able to handle it and set it to 30amp automatically instead of 48amp? Also I learned from friends that DC ultra fast charging (like the CCS) will shorten the battery life, vs. level2 or level 1 charging. Is it true? Orginally I was thinking to leverage a lot of the Eletrify America 2-year free charging a lot (very close to my work place). But now I'm not sure. Thanks!
Vincent, it's recommended to not charge too much on DC chargers. As your friend stated, it does affect the battery and it causes to deteriorate it faster. It's better to charge on level 2 charger. DC chargers are recommended for a long trips so you can charge your vehicle quickly and get back on the road.
While 240V Level 2 charging is nice to have, for many people it is not strictly needed. I have driven electric for over 6 years only using a 115V wall outlet at home. My new car has over 100kWh of battery and I will still use the 115V plug for now. How is that possible? Like most people, a daily commute for me is about 30 miles round trip. Even if I use the freeway rush hour traffic isn't really "freeway speed". Driving moderately I usually get about 4 miles of range per kWh of battery power used. I plug in when I get home, but if I only charged during the 8 hours when I was asleep I would add 32 miles in that time. That allows me to maintain the charge at a good level, but if I ever need to charge more quickly there are public chargers I can use.
State of charge change rate is not what's important. What matters is 1) how efficient the vehicle is and 2) how much effective 'miles/kilometres' per hour of charge you put in.
So, if I understand you correctly, you can't use a Tesla Supercharger with the adapter, yet? So why would I spend all that money on a vehicle that I can only charge in my own garage? It sounds like finding a charger is like a treasure hunt. BMW better solve this problem ASAP. I love my 3 series convertible, but my next car will be a Tesla because the charging network is already established.
Great tutorial! I just got my iX 40 in Europe, Your video really helped to understand the charging process of the e vehicle. I just have a question. I installed a bmw wallbox and the first time i am plugging it to my ix40, it is just not charging. I am totally frustrated. I cant understand why. Do you have any suggestion?
vic NY 1 second ago It is a bit daunting to switch to EV especially when something new doesn’t work. It turned out the BMW Wallbox had problem. We had to install a new one, download the app to phone and reinitialize the whole physical fuse and Wallbox software before it worked
Excellent and complete video. I installed at 1450 and plugged in the car but the charging box has amber lights plus a red exlamation light. Car is not charting and does not seem to detect that it it plugged in (white light goes our after a couple of minutes). What could be the issue?
Hi Tom, my son already had a Tesla at my house before he moved out. It is a NMEA 1450 with 50 Amp circute breaker. Now I am buying a BMW IX M50. Do I need to change the Circuit breaker to 60 Amps? Thanks
Tom, thanks! I think you made a tiny mistake about connector unlocking - the 2nd option is about charge port cover locking, not connector locking. I do not believe there is an option to leave connector unlocked during charging. I think all the German EVs require a locked connector during charging. It is nice BMW offers the option to unlock at charge completion - my e-Golf has no option to relinquish the connector.
I agree, it should never be allowed to disconnect while current is flowing, it can cause arching and damage the connectors. This is why there is a locking pin to prevent disconnect until charging is stopped.
@@jeffreyfonseca4998 the J1772 standard uses the proximity pin to stop current flow if a connector is removed during charging. If the J1172 standard is correctly implemented, the connector does not need to be locked while charging. Many EVs do not lock the connector and have no arcing due to proper J1772 implementation.
Tom, did you notice that you can’t set a charge time slot (12am to 6am) without setting a departure time on a BMW.. That’s clunky. If you do set a departure time that’s outside the charge time slot with preconditioning does the power for preconditioning come from the battery or the AC power supply?
@Tom I think the charging cable locking is less about stopping people from stealing the cable and more because it is unsafe to unplug the cable while a high current is passing through it. This is also why over 40 amp EVSE has to be hard-wired. Unplug with high current could cause an electrical arc which could damage the equipment or cause a fire or injury. Of course in the garage, unlocking when full would prevent the car from using grid power for pre-conditioning because it won’t be able to pull power when unlocked. Other note, that last locking setting about leaving it always unlocked I think is just for the cover door (not the plug). Great content as always, much appreciated :)
Hi, this was a really useful video, thanks for taking the time to explain the charging so clearly in detail! I have one question. What if the charger (callbox) is more than 48 amps? For example, ChargePoint's Home Flex charger is 50 amps. Can I use that for my new BMW iX xdrive50? Thanks for any insights!
I suppose you could but why? The only time it would really be useful is if you need to charge your car at home quickly, which will be rare for the vast majority of people.
I plan on plugging into the Splitvolt through my dryer outlet. I see the car will allow you to adjust the amps, but does not have a 24 amp setting (goes straight from 32 to 20 amps). Would it be safe to set at 32 amps since the dryer is on a 40 amp breaker, or should the car be set to 20 amps because of the 24 amp limit of the Splitvolt?
In Europe some Tesla DC superchargers are open for all cars with CCS and Tesla has CCS adapter for the early Teslas without CCS. So full flexibility in Europe :-)
Thanks Mr. Tom.I have learned a lot with your excellent explanations, I have here in the Dominican Republic, that model that you showed, it is the first to arrive in the country, therefore we are learning as we go about this magnificent BMW i 40
Thanks so much! I have to be pretty well prepared, when I pick up my 50 - hopefully late June - and embark into a 2300 mile journey back home right from the dealership lot. Your information is priceless to me. Have no idea, what I would have ran into, had I not watched your video. Will be sure to watch the future ones too.
Is there any issue with leaving it set to 80 and plugged in all the time in the garage? I know when I had my Tesla, they always said to leave the car plugged in whenever possible.
If a long winter blackout occurs in a land of electric cars most of the population will perish in the freezing cold. The gas powered car that would provide cabin heat for many days will not be there. The electric car could only supply heat for a short time and would quickly discharge its battery making a trip to a shelter impossible.
This is a great video! Thank you! One question: we are reverse snowbirds and leave the car for the summer sitting idle (literally about 2-3 months). With my traditional gas car, we'd use a trickle charger to keep the battery charged. What is your suggestion for my new iX? I'm new to EVs entirely, so this is a whole new world for me.
It would be recommended to keep the car plugged into a regular standard 110 outlet you can find regularly in your home or garage, etc. would be just fine!
Hi Tom, I have read on the iX forums that the iX can *actually* charge at 22kW (instead of 11kW) from a Level 2 charger that supports 22kW. Are you able to test this and confirm if true or not? Thanks for the great video!
Tom, I love your charging videos! I think that you may have glossed over a features use for another specific reason. It’s the “limit input AC or KW” feature. Many EV’s have this, not all and as you stated most don’t need adjustment because the car can recognize what is coming in and auto adjust. The exception to this (info from friends of mine) is that certain EV,s, using at home level 2, wired for 14-50 and with a 14-50 connector BUT only having either a total of 40 or 50 Amp breakers (not 60) in their electrical panel (due to insufficient incoming power, anything higher won’t meet house code). In this case, depending if #6, #8 or even # 10 wire was used for the electrical install, the EV may or MAY NOT automatically sense the proper KW to reduce to. Just a heads up !!! Keep up the great work !!! 👍🏻😎
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney I do too! I got my Tesla MY 3 months ago and my Tesla wall connector last week, but I still love watching your videos about other EVs and your explanations about charging them with the various charging networks and adapters. You’ve made everything so much clearer, thank you.
Hi. I have been watching your channel for a while and I must say - everything I know is thanks to this channel. I do have 1 question- I have a 2023 BMW IX M60- and I wanted to know if I can get a 80 amp home charger and actually use it on my car? Thank you in advance 😊
You can use an 80-amp charger to charge a BMW iX, but the vehicle will only accept 48-amps. So it won't charge any faster with an 80-amp charger as it will with a 48-amp charger.
Tom, if BMW uses a 111.5 kWh battery pack with 105.2 kwh (net) usable, then what is the reserve amount of 6.3kWh maintained for? Is the rule for charging to 85% capacity a function of the total pack capacity (i.e. 111.5 kWh) or just the usable portion? BTW, great video packed full of useful info.
Those extra kWh are upper and lower end buffers to prolong battery life. The 85% rule is really for the usable pack, but every manufacturer has different opinions on what's best. In a perfect world you'd keep the battery between roughly 20% and 80% of the total pack capacity all of the time. But I wouldn't spend too much time obsessing over it. Charging to 80% to 90% for daily charging and charging to 100% when you need to go on long drives is fine. Just don't leave the battery at 100% (or below 5%) for long periods of time - that's not good. When you charge to 100% you want to get in and drive it not too long after reaching 100% (don't let it sit for days) and when the battery is very low, you want to plug it in ASAP so it doesn't sit for hours at a very low SOC.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney Thanks for the response! You and your channel are a gem. It's amazing how little the manufacturer/sales/dealers share with their customers relative to your depth.
Does anyone know if the Tesla residential chargers require a cost for use, or are the costs incurred by the place of business? I just want to know if I would need to enable any Tesla payment system should I need to use a Tesla (non-supercharger).
Great info, really appreciate this!! Question for you Tom. I have had my i4 for about a month now. Publicly charged it a couple times with the free 30 minute Electrify America program and wondered about the amp limiter setting in car. Charged once with 48 amp limiter on at 350kw station. 47 minutes, max speed 100 kw and delivered 42kwh with battery was about 50% and charged up to high 90’s. Second time amp limiter off at 150kw station, was 45 minutes, max speed 155kw, delivered 64kwh, battery was about 20% charged and charged up to high 90’s again. Is the increase delivery and speed of second charge due to amp limiter being off or more that battery was at a reduced charge from first time or both? You mention in video that putting limiter on prevents car from asking more from charger for level 1 and 2 chargers but then max amps car can take is 48. So if you do not limit car can it get more amps from public charger? Sounds like one does not need to use limiter for public charging, right? Just trying to understand the limiter purpose. Thanks
Since the amp limiter only goes up to 48, pretty sure it only applies to AC charging. (I think the i4 should be able to charge up to about 500 Amps DC) The assumption with the limiter setting is that you would trust a DC fast charger since they are professionally configured and maintained- so no limiter setting is needed.
Thanks Bryan, this is my first EV so trying to understand it all. Appreciate your response. Tom does say in video that limiter is for level 1 and 2. I was assuming, and probably wrongly, that in my scenario above the 150kw station was a level 2 charger and the 350kw station was a level 3, is that correct? Both are dc chargers too? And if the 150kw is dc, therefore the limiter does not come into play.
So, will you do another proper iX charge curve with warm battery that follows the BMW graph or will InsideEVs now always communicate a suboptimal session like it did with the Taycan?
@@abraxastulammo9940 It's really temperature dependent. If I get an EV in the winter, It'S really difficult to get the battery warm enough to accept the full rate. But I also like to show people what they should expect under colder conditions. Not everyone will achieve the perfect charging curve all of the time.
I haven't had that much time with it, but, you won't get 300 miles in the winter. No EVs match their EPA range rating in the cold. I would suspect somewhere around 275-ish, less at 75-80mph on the highway.
The iX battery is 111.5kwh, 105kwh is useable, so it already has a buffer built in. Plus the battery warranty is 8 years or 100k miles, so you shouldn't have to pamper the battery. They are covering the depth of discharge in the buffer already. Better to use it and if it fails, it will be covered under warranty.
@@jeffreyfonseca4998 I think you need to dig into the battery specific warranty info. The issue isn't the battery failing completely, it's degradation of the total capacity due to electrical over stress caused by certain charging behaviors (too much fast charging and charging all the way up to the peak capacity).
For the free 2 years of 30 min EA sessions, I was told there is a cool down period. The dealer said 30 min charge, then 30 min cool down (so free 30 min every hour). Not sure if that is right - we’ll see when my i4 M50 comes in!
I suppose that's possible, but I have never seen that with any of the other free charging programs included with other EVs. Every other one allows you to just unplug, wait a minute and plug back in if you'd like.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney I also received the fine print below in an email from BMW a little while back regarding my i4 and free charging - it is even different than what the dealer said. But it seems like we will need to wait and see. *Non-transferable. Not available for commercial use, such as ridesharing. Requires Electrify America mobile app, account, enrollment in 'BMW 30-minute Charging', acceptance of Plan Disclosure, and $10 deposit to pre‑fund Idle Fees and charging after 30 minutes. User is responsible for Idle Fees, which apply beginning 10 minutes after charge session stops or vehicle reaches full charge. After the initial 30 minutes of each applicable session, charging continues uninterrupted at prevailing Electrify America Pass pricing. There is a 60‑minute wait‑period between charging sessions in which you receive the complimentary 30 minutes of charging under this promotion.
@@CMRose3355 Ahh, OK that's more concrete. Perhaps they have programmed that in. Interesting. I will try it out when I get one, but I'm starting I was wrong there. Thank you!
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney regarding the complimentary 30-minute EA DCFC sessions…. The only cool down is between the complimentary time…. In a charge session, if you go over the 30-min, you’re charged the current per minute or per kWh rate for that charger for the remaining time you’re session is active…. So if you charge 40 minutes, the first 30 is free, and you pay the 10 minutes.
Most people will learn this once the Open the Owners Manual and Read it to learn about their EV and Charging at Home and Away from Home. Over Time they will learn more of their EV and charging and when for less $$$$$.
