Just had a very bad i3 experience.
Discussion
Needed to do an unexpected journey in my i3 yesterday afternoon, only had 33 miles of range left, so went to my local BMW Dealer who happens to have a DC rapid charge post. I've enrolled in 'Polar' the charging pay card system, so I introduced my card to the charging post and it was happily accepted, I plugged the rapid charge cable into the i3, watched the dashboard confirm that the car was charging and locked the car. Went off for a wander around the various car showrooms on the industrial estate for an hour. When I got back to my car, it had been unplugged and another i3 was being charged. Got in my car to drive off and the dashboard display indicated I'd only gained two or three miles of charge . I went into the BMW dealership to ask if they could throw some light on what might of happened, and a salesman came out to my car with me to take a look, by which time I noticed the driver of the i3 that was plugged in and charging was sitting in his car, the salesman indicated he was a "regular" at the charging post. I asked the driver why and how he'd unplugged my car, to which he answered "your car wasn't charging", I replied " that it was when I left it ", he replied that " if it was charging I wouldn't have been able to unplug it ". Miffed and out of time I went home and used my I/C powered car for the journey, concluding electric cars are useless in an emergency situation . Then after some research I discovered a video on YouTube that shows how simple it is, with just any key to press in the lock nipple on the charging plug and unplug a locked car . My conclusion is that in my case the savvy regular user had simply unlocked my charging cable and plugged his own car in . What a completely hopeless system ?
Apologies, my mistake, I jumped the gun this morning, now daylight has arrived I've just checked my i3, and it seems the UK spec cars are different to US spec cars that the YouTube video is made about. The unlocking device on a UK car is completely covered by a flush fitting panel, and is apparently inaccessible. So I have no idea how my car was unplugged ? All I can say is this experience has convinced me to keep my good old internal combustion engined Smart, because you simply can't be certain of what situation may arise in life, and having limited range and slow refuelling doesn't cover the bases well enough . Again sorry to mislead.
ravon said:
Apologies, my mistake, I jumped the gun this morning, now daylight has arrived I've just checked my i3, and it seems the UK spec cars are different to US spec cars that the YouTube video is made about. The unlocking device on a UK car is completely covered by a flush fitting panel, and is apparently inaccessible. So I have no idea how my car was unplugged ? All I can say is this experience has convinced me to keep my good old internal combustion engined Smart, because you simply can't be certain of what situation may arise in life, and having limited range and slow refuelling doesn't cover the bases well enough . Again sorry to mislead.
This is why the REX makes sense. Do you use the BMW App? Allows you to monitor charging remotely and perhaps would have notified you.
Another thing that occurs to me .. were you DC or AC charging? On AC, if you unlock the car (via comfort access?) then charging stops and the car can be disconnected.
hornetrider said:
What a 
. I'd certainly be looking for some sort of petty revenge. If he's a regular he may use it to boost for his commute? In which case the timing is regular too? I'd head back and try and cock block him again tbh, if at all convenient.
If he's a regular get there earlier, get yours on charge, sit in the car with the paper/work/book whatever. Wait for toys to be thrown from pram. What's the betting on the latter?. I'd certainly be looking for some sort of petty revenge. If he's a regular he may use it to boost for his commute? In which case the timing is regular too? I'd head back and try and cock block him again tbh, if at all convenient.
AH33 said:
You have to go wandering round industrial estates for an HOUR when you "fill up"?
Also, Nobody has ever disconnected my petrol hose while I've been at a service station.
If the govt ever wants to know why EVs aren't catching on, there you go!
Watch out, there's a meteor coming........... #dinosaurAlso, Nobody has ever disconnected my petrol hose while I've been at a service station.
If the govt ever wants to know why EVs aren't catching on, there you go!
The fast DC charge on an i3 is 50kW. They have either a 22 or 30 kWhr battery. So assuming you got to the charger COMPLETELY flat, it would take between 26.4 min and 36min to fully charge.
And you're forgetting the fact that i've already saved several hours so far this year not having to go to petrol stations and queue for ages whilst someone does there weekly food shopping, because my car is fully charged (and fully defrosted and warm!!) before i get into it each morning.......
Max_Torque said:
Watch out, there's a meteor coming........... #dinosaur
The fast DC charge on an i3 is 50kW. They have either a 22 or 30 kWhr battery. So assuming you got to the charger COMPLETELY flat, it would take between 26.4 min and 36min to fully charge.
And you're forgetting the fact that i've already saved several hours so far this year not having to go to petrol stations and queue for ages whilst someone does there weekly food shopping, because my car is fully charged (and fully defrosted and warm!!) before i get into it each morning.......
I don't know why EV-users make such a big deal out of stopping for petrol. Once a week I pop into a petrol station on my way home... five minutes later I drive off again. It's not really a major issue (or at least it won't be until they start closing petrol stations!) The fast DC charge on an i3 is 50kW. They have either a 22 or 30 kWhr battery. So assuming you got to the charger COMPLETELY flat, it would take between 26.4 min and 36min to fully charge.
And you're forgetting the fact that i've already saved several hours so far this year not having to go to petrol stations and queue for ages whilst someone does there weekly food shopping, because my car is fully charged (and fully defrosted and warm!!) before i get into it each morning.......
EV sounds much worse - having a to find a charger because you're paranoid you won't have enough charge (again) and then having to twiddle your thumbs for 20 minutes to half an hour while it charges up. That would be a right pain when it's late and you're tired and you want to go home.
It's the same issue as I posted the other day. Someone was arguing that based on his normal day, he'd be running out on the Severn Bridge every day, range anxiety, bla di bla. If that were the case he'd have bought the wrong car.
Clearly there EVs have upsides and downsides. At the moment with battery and charging technology their mode of use is probably limited to people who use one vehicle for lots of short trips near base and have the opportunity to charge / top up with little inconvenience to themselves. If they need to drive from one side of the nation to the other at a minute's notice they have other readily available alternatives.
As usual on PH it's the case where folks use their situation as the basis for argument that what is correct for them is also correct for everyone else. For the record, don't have an EV before someone goes down the evangelical cult argument.
Clearly there EVs have upsides and downsides. At the moment with battery and charging technology their mode of use is probably limited to people who use one vehicle for lots of short trips near base and have the opportunity to charge / top up with little inconvenience to themselves. If they need to drive from one side of the nation to the other at a minute's notice they have other readily available alternatives.
As usual on PH it's the case where folks use their situation as the basis for argument that what is correct for them is also correct for everyone else. For the record, don't have an EV before someone goes down the evangelical cult argument.
It's not really though, is it? It's a fairly universal thing. With an ICE car, it can take you wherever you want without a great deal of planning. If someone phoned you at work and said 'hey want to come over and go out tonight?' with an ICE you just think 'great, I'll be over later'. With an EV you'd have to think 'crap, have I got enough range and where can I charge it?'.
Based on six months of ZOE ownership, I don't think destination charging will work long-term for EVs. People are dicks. Parking in EV spaces, leaving their car there all day etc etc.
I never rely on it - just leave home fully charged and as the battery technology improves fewer people will need to charge during the day.
I never rely on it - just leave home fully charged and as the battery technology improves fewer people will need to charge during the day.
My daily drive shed gets around 400 km / tank (of petrol). That's about 250 of your English miles.
I have clocked up around 200,000 km in it, and never run it dry. That includes a lot of country driving, and towing rally cars around.
I accept that charging an EV takes longer than pouring petrol in a tank, but on country trips I usually stop for a coffee / feed when I fuel up every 3-4 hours, so I honestly don't know why people think they need 400+ mile range.
I have clocked up around 200,000 km in it, and never run it dry. That includes a lot of country driving, and towing rally cars around.
I accept that charging an EV takes longer than pouring petrol in a tank, but on country trips I usually stop for a coffee / feed when I fuel up every 3-4 hours, so I honestly don't know why people think they need 400+ mile range.
AW111 said:
My daily drive shed gets around 400 km / tank (of petrol). That's about 250 of your English miles.
I have clocked up around 200,000 km in it, and never run it dry. That includes a lot of country driving, and towing rally cars around.
I accept that charging an EV takes longer than pouring petrol in a tank, but on country trips I usually stop for a coffee / feed when I fuel up every 3-4 hours, so I honestly don't know why people think they need 400+ mile range.
Simple example. I do a moderately regular 180 mile each way trip - easily within the range of a high end EV. Unfortunately there is no convenient guaranteed charging at the far end. Yes of course I could:I have clocked up around 200,000 km in it, and never run it dry. That includes a lot of country driving, and towing rally cars around.
I accept that charging an EV takes longer than pouring petrol in a tank, but on country trips I usually stop for a coffee / feed when I fuel up every 3-4 hours, so I honestly don't know why people think they need 400+ mile range.
- Park at a charging station several miles from work and get a cab for the last few miles
- Stay at a less convenient hotel that guaranteed me a charging point over night
- Stop for between 30 and 60 minutes on the way up to charge
But actually I don't need the £60 (or whatever the diesel costs) that badly.....
NDNDNDND said:
I don't know why EV-users make such a big deal out of stopping for petrol. Once a week I pop into a petrol station on my way home... five minutes later I drive off again. It's not really a major issue (or at least it won't be until they start closing petrol stations!)
EV sounds much worse - having a to find a charger because you're paranoid you won't have enough charge (again) and then having to twiddle your thumbs for 20 minutes to half an hour while it charges up. That would be a right pain when it's late and you're tired and you want to go home.
It can be a pain but generally I prefer it. I wake up every morning and have a full tank! EV sounds much worse - having a to find a charger because you're paranoid you won't have enough charge (again) and then having to twiddle your thumbs for 20 minutes to half an hour while it charges up. That would be a right pain when it's late and you're tired and you want to go home.
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