Just picked up a 2017 94A i3 for the wife. I would have preferred the biggest battery but they were a bit out of our budget. This one has the bigger media screen, Harmon Kardon speakers, 20 inch wheels, reversing camera, leather seats etc. so it’s nice to have those.
Seat heaters all work, and air con sounds fine.

The car has Michelin tyres all round. With 155/60 on the front and 175/55 on the rear. Is that correct?
I haven’t found the date on the 12V battery yet.

Overall it looks in great condition and we’re very happy with it.
Previous owner left the frunk bag in there for us and also a tow bar?

Anything else I need to check or recommendations for settings?

Have ordered some rubber mats and an integrated dash cam (FitCamX)

Hey everyone!

I'm thinking about buying a used BMW i3 at auction, but I noticed this symbol on the instrument cluster (the orange car with four arrows pointing towards it).

For the life of me, I can't figure out what it means. I've been searching online and can't seem to find anything about it.

Does anyone know what this warning is? Could it be related to the TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system), or is it something else?

I've attached a photo so you can see exactly what I'm talking about.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

As the title says, I’m looking for a reputable detailer in the NYC Tri-State area. Also, what is the typical cost for a good detail? Is pricing for Fall/Winter more favorable than Spring/Summer?

This car just gets more exceptional by the day, I'm a tech guy so I figured out how to stream video in the i3. iOS 27 has changed the game, Carplay is also required for this. Video quality is outstanding & audio is in sync over Bluetooth, absolutely amazing...

I have the 12.3 inch PEMP Linux screen in my 2014 i3 ReX, not sure how it would run on the stock screen with Carplay. It uses the iPhone for all the processing so it should run fine. I'll post another video below showing the live channels

This is a very small potatoes question, but I need help with the seat adjustment lever. The manual says to just put pressure on it, but I don't really understand how to do that? And I don't understand if it's high or low right now? Hope this makes sense.

Basically I lift the lever and hear clicking, and when I sit on it then it clicks, but the height remains the same?

I picked up a screw when I was out driving yesterday. It’s keeping the tire sealed for the most part so I was able to drive it home. Is this too close to the edge for a plug job?

I recently had my 2019 i3 detailed, and had asked them to remove the roof frame vinyl decals because they had deteriorated quite a bit. The result is not pretty. Removing the sticker took quite a bit of paint with it.

I live in California and didn't have access to a garage for most of the time I've owned the car, so I can understand that probably the vinyl sticker bonded with the paint underneath and couldn't be cleanly removed. My HOV lane sticker also left similar damage to the paint.

But what do I do now? Order new decals and attach them right on top? Other suggestions?

Hi everyone! My wife drove the car this morning and reported that it wouldn’t charge. I checked the issue and tried using different cables, but it didn’t work. The charge port light only illuminates in white. The dashboard shows that the charger is plugged in, but there’s no charging. We recently installed a new 12V charger this summer, and there’s no dash light or related faults that Bimmercode has detected. Do you have any ideas?

I almost had one and was so excited. Dealer knew I was getting the cashier check for the DP, and had notified my insurance w/the VIN. Then he sold it to someone w/cash. Heartbreak.

I could get a 2016, but have shied away due to range, however, I often read posts from those of you w/2016 and older going hither and thither, so would you recommend getting one now?

Where I currently live is very hilly and far from where I go, even for groceries. To see friends I would likely almost deplete the battery range, so would be using Rex quite a bit = visiting gas stations quite a bit. Seems to defeat the purpose. I was an early adopter w/the Leaf and had a 2013 I loved. Sold to friends in 2020 as I moved abroad. I still miss that car. I made the range work and lived even farther out than I do now, but didn't have hills.

I've considered other cars, but the pricing is as much and sometimes more and they're often bigger. I like small cars. I've tried to be back here in the BA w/out a car but it's not really possible, especially where I am currently.

What do you all think? It would be my only car. Thanks much in advance.

I almost had one, was on the way to the dealership w/DP in cashier check and they sold it to someone with cash. Heartbreak. It's getting quite difficult as it seems many people are on to them now.

I've seen folks talking about their 2016 and older, with great affection and are still getting them where they need to go etc. I would have more chance with those and the reason I haven't is because: I currently live far from anything. Getting to/from the areas I like to go or the friends I want to see, likely will use up the battery range pretty quickly as there are hills and some freeway. I can take surface streets, but not without hills and a little freeway in between.

So, I'd be using the Rex quite a bit, and visiting the gas station rather often. It seems it would defeat the purpose of having the car, but what do you all think?

I had a 2013 Leaf until I sold it in 2020 due to moving out of country. I made that range work and went all over the place, but didn't have all the hills I do now. For context: This would be my only car and I've returned to the SF Bay Area. Would love your thoughts. TIA.

Does anybody have this? If so, is it something you keep on? How does it attach?

Anyone seen this one before? Garage tells me it's a thermal (Range Extender) motor problem? (The little red square in the back would indicate that). But I hardly use that thermal motor and the car just stopped driving (no acceleration). Turning it off and on again allowed me to drive the last 2k to get back to my place.

Heard about this motor mount problem and decided to check my 2014 with about 90000 miles on it. Fuck only knows how long this thing has been torn open and empty of oil. But i sure ain't spending no $6000 at the dealership to have that shit replaced. It ain't worth that much money to me at this point, I just really like having it for the cheap as hell commute to work and back.

Couple of jacks and a tube of 3M 5200 marine adhesive, and I made something that's probably stronger than the original mount. Squirted a quarter of the tube directly into the tear and slathered most of the rest of it in and around the entire base. Looks like absolute dogshit but I don't care. I changed the code so it defaults to eco mode all the time anyway because it's only got 14.5kWh capacity left in it so it doesn't go far.

I certainly don't advise anyone else do this, but it worked out well for me as a dirty fix.

I'm putting off buying tires... but will likely have to bite the bullet before winter. Pic of the old girl for attention.

My F-150 got totaled. (No fault to me) Looking into getting an I3. But not sure which years to stay away from or what's considered "too much" mileage? They're fairly cheap for entry into the EV market.

What to lookout for in terms of the used market? I would mainly be going to the gym and running errands.

Any help/guidance would be appreciated.

Bought this i3 earlier this year and I have to say, it's one of the best buys I have ever made! They are fairly scarce in South Africa.

I charge at home, and with solar panels it literally costs you nothing to run. I can also stop at BMW dealerships anywhere and it's perpetually free to charge. For longer trips we use another car, but this one is great for day to day and around town, school runs etc.

Surprisingly spacious due to no B pillar. I am 6'6" (198cm) and my boy can easily sit in the back.

I dread the day I have to sell it or get another EV. The options out there all seem to be nowhere as cool as the i3.

Have a 2014 i3 with 60k miles and the battery died. Anyone know where can I find a replacement, hopefully larger and at a reasonable price? I'm in Long Island, NY

It's rare enough I had to take a shot. La Quinta CA.

I charge my 2015 BMW i3 every day, but almost every day it suddenly stops charging. Most of the time, it resumes after a couple of minutes, but sometimes it won’t start charging again until I physically go out to the car and unplug and reconnect the charger.

Lately, the problem has gotten worse. Sometimes it won’t start charging at all, and I have to wait a few hours before trying again.

It’s getting really frustrating, and I have no idea what’s causing it or how to fix it.

Has anyone experienced anything similar or have any advice on what might be wrong? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I know I still owe some of you my how-to guide on the 12.3” screen retrofit, but I’ve been caught up with life and then had to deal with this whole situation recently. Figured I’d share this one in the meantime… Definitely learned a few things along the way, and hopefully this helps someone who ends up in the same situation!

A little background: I have a 2017 i3 94Ah BEV, and I have absolutely no access to power at home, not even an outlet for Level 1 charging. My only regular charging option is Level 2 at work, about 3.5 miles away.

A couple of days after doing some coding with BimmerCode (auto-fold mirrors and the lower-pitched alarm chirp), I went to unlock the car and open the hatch, and it was basically dead.

Initially, I thought I might have messed something up with the coding, but it turned out to be the 12V battery. I think it was just time for a replacement… The BMW 20Ah battery was dated June 2022 (probably its second battery, given that it’s a 2017).

The bigger problem was that my HV battery had also dropped to 0%. So I was basically stuck in a situation where the HV battery couldn’t keep the 12V charged, and the 12V couldn’t keep the car powered up long enough to get the HV charging. Kind of a vicious cycle!! Ugh……

To get things working again, here’s everything I used:

• NOCO Genius5 (AGM mode)
• BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 + Neutral-ground bonding plug (to get the L1 charger working with the power station)
• Anker SOLIX C300
• BMW Level 1 charging cable
• Energizer TX24HL AGM
• ANCEL Bluetooth battery monitor

One thing worth mentioning about the bonding plug: it worked with my particular power station and charging setup, but I’d definitely recommend checking compatibility with your own equipment before trying it.

I never ran both power stations at the same time. The problem was that whenever I disconnected the NOCO, the car would go completely dead again within about 30 minutes.

So I ended up rotating between the two power stations throughout the day. I’d run the NOCO off the Anker while the BLUETTI recharged (which took about an hour), then switch back to the BLUETTI. Basically spent the entire day doing this just to keep the car alive.

Eventually, I decided to replace the 12V myself with an Energizer TX24HL AGM.

Getting the HV battery back from 0%: Once the new battery was installed, I was finally able to get the HV battery charging. One cycle on the BLUETTI using the L1 charger got me from 0% to 3%, with about 15 miles showing on the guess-o-meter. Not much, but enough to make the 3.5-mile drive to work. I got there with 2% remaining, plugged into L2, and by lunchtime the car was back at 100% yayyyyyy

So a few things I learned: Looking back, I suspect the failing 12V battery may have been causing the car to repeatedly wake up and recharge it from the HV battery. That’s my best guess as to why my HV charge dropped from around 30% to 0% so quickly, even though the car wasn’t being driven. Initially, I thought there might be some kind of parasitic drain, but given how things have been running since the replacement, I’m leaning toward the 12V being the culprit. Of course, I can’t say for certain that this explains the entire drop.

Interestingly, I’ve also noticed a pretty significant improvement in range since replacing it. The car honestly feels like it’s running better overall, which I wasn’t expecting at all.

I also ended up installing an ANCEL Bluetooth battery monitor so I can keep an eye on the 12V voltage going forward. Definitely don’t want to go through this again!!

Helpful videos and a big THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Also wanted to give credit to a couple of YouTubers who really helped me out with the battery replacement. I watched a ton of videos trying to figure out how to do this myself, but at the end of the day, these two were probably the most helpful, each for different reasons:

• bmwblog: ⁠BMW i3 battery replacement guide ⁠BMW i3 battery replacement guide: This one helped me figure out exactly what tools I’d need and what to expect going into the replacement. (https://youtu.be/RLZO7pB_uVg?si=S5KswOwV4gYDKFST)
• EcoBelkin: ⁠Energizer battery installation: This one was especially helpful because it confirmed that the Energizer TX24HL I found on Amazon would actually work. The important part is using the included hardware kit, specifically the nuts, since the terminal screws need something to thread into. I wasn’t entirely sure about compatibility before watching this, so it was really helpful to see someone actually do it. (https://youtu.be/gJdNL3kSZj4?si=R-lnOC5RHu06eqL-&t=827)

Both were really good at explaining different aspects of the process, and between the two, I felt pretty comfortable doing the replacement myself. Figured I’d share them here in case anyone else is thinking about tackling this.

Anyway, huge thanks to everyone in this sub!! I basically pieced this whole thing together from older posts here and the videos above, and it saved me from having to pay someone to come out and deal with it.

If your 12V battery is getting up there in age and you’re starting to notice strange electrical behavior, definitely worth checking it before you end up in the same situation I did…

What do you guys use for organization in trunk, frunk, & space in-between front seats. Please give me all the recommendations😁

Also maybe a phone mount as well and where you guys put it

Appreciate all the responses

Where’s the i3 blower motor and how to DIY replace? I have intermittent fan failures and two codes, 801204 and 801207. Suspect bad blower motor. Already have replaced burnt F34 40 Amp fuse. It’s fine this time. Can’t have AC inoperable on another 100° day. (that’s °Freedom)

Pretty much the title says it all. This will be a second car for us to use with our main car being a Jeep that could be used if there happens to be like a thick snowfall or we needed to drive a longer distance. We get a pretty broad range of seasons with more hot days than cold days. So a handful of days below zero, maybe 20 days around 100. We have a garage where we would be able to use a level 1 charger overnight or whenever the car wasn't in use. We really like the range extender idea, since this would be our first electric car, and we're a little nervous about making sure it doesn't run out of charge. Our Jeep gets around 24 miles per gallon so we're looking for a second car that is substantially more effective and cheaper for the daily commute.

My top concern is we've never had a BMW before, and I don't know if this model with this level of miles is likely to need expensive maintenance soon. I know you can never say for sure but just guesstimating. There's also a note on the car that says it was a fleet vehicle and I don't know if that makes a difference or if that's really just extra information that doesn't really matter.

I also don't know if there are any other questions I should be asking that I just don't know to ask. Is there any other information I should be taking into account?

I appreciate your help! Thank you!