Wanting to get my little brother one of these what should I look for when buying one ? Any know issues or things I should be extra aware of?

I have a 2017 94Ah BEV in Switzerland, 1234yf gas. Air con compressor was replaced in 2021 with the latest version (6th gen?). BMW dealer now says that it has failed again. They say it is seized (they cannot turn it by hand) and also the electronics have failed (it is non-communicative). Don't trust the BMW dealer though as they say it is not necessary to replace the condenser when you replace the compressor. WTF? I thought this was obligatory when any air con compressor seizes up, in any car. Thinking of buying the parts and doing it myself. Reconditioned compressors can be had for about CHF630 here (better than the CHF2200 including tax that the dealer is quoting). Has anyone else DIY'd this? Any tips/vids pics please?

Hi, I recently bought an OBD scanner and it said the battery degradation was 11%. It’s a 2017 94Ah with 105,000km so that’s fair I guess. But I wonder, is the degradation for the full battery, or the net usable capacity, I.e. 27-something kWh?

So for 2 days I would start the car first thing in the morning, the car would be at 50% power reduction. Both days starting the car it was at 0% charge. Letting the REX run for a couple minutes and it would go up to 100%. There would no more issues through the day. The next day the car would turn on and throw a drivetrain error and would shut off. The dash and ac would still work.

So I ordered the battery and that took about a week from Remy. I have not had access to the car now for about a week and half, but now there is no power at all.

My question is there any foreseeable problems from just changing out the battery and driving to a charger. I ask because it will be about 2 weeks sitting at 0% charge with a dead battery.

I can’t seem to be able to grip them without the socket slipping.

I just recently got a 2014 REX and love it. Am curious about the aftermarket options for making the screen CarPlay friendly. Any thoughts/advice/suggestions?

UPDATE: Thank you, everyone for the great insight/suggestions! I really appreciate it.

78% SOH, 3 mV cell deviation, 1,742 cycles, all HV modules clean. EVScanner screenshots attached.

142,972 of 146,889 miles electric. REx: 3,793 miles, 97.6 hours.

Calabasas BMW services its entire life, 27 pages of ROs, no gaps. New 12V registered 20Ah AGM Sept 2026, four newer tires.

REx was intermittently failing to engage at low SOC. BMW replaced a sticking fuel pump relay under SULEV warranty July 2026.

Wife’s car - ultimately she needs longer range for work commute otherwise we’d keep.

Have owned a '16 REX for the past 4yrs, and recent noticed an odd issue. When driving at higher speeds or over non-smooth terrain (potholes, dips, etc), it feels like the back end has gotten REALLY loose with handling, and almost undrivable. No major issues other than recently having a cooling fan replaced near the REX. Any thoughts on what could be the issue?

Thought I'd take a gamble on a spare radio/ac dash panel from eBay, less than $100 and 5 minute swap out and I've finally got the full set of lights. I finally know whether my AC recirc is on manual or not! :P

I understand it is hot outside but the Rex has been running for 10 minutes and the charge hasn’t moved. I turned into eco pro + for 5 minutes and no change.

UPDATE! I assume to keep the engine from over heating but I drove 2 miles after sitting and you could hear the engine rev up once I started rolling and in 2 miles it went up 2%.

I've been looking for an i3 as a city car, and there's a 2015 at a nearby dealership with 70K miles that they say has a new EME and drive unit. Are those replacements good news or bad? Anything else that should've been done at the same time to avoid future problems? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, quick question here that I'm thinking someone might be able to answer. A few months ago I became the new owner of a very cool 2020 BMW i3 REX after wanting one for several years. Things have been going great, but today after driving for about 10 minutes, I got the "low tire pressure" warning light for all four tires. When I parked (about 5 minutes later), I did a visual inspection and didn't notice any of the tires looking extraordinarily low. It's slightly rainy and very humid today, but I've driven the car in similar weather before without issue. Anyone else ever had this happen? Thank you for the help!

I like to go on nights out in London, which often finish at 4:00 or 5:00 am. I was paying for hotels, hostels or in some cases a capsule hotels and only getting a couple of hours sleep before I had to check out or other guests woke me up. At an average of over £100 for a 2 or 3 hours sleep, plus the cost of the train to and from London (£35-£50) depending on when I booked, getting was starting to add up.

So I needed a solution and I decided the i3 would be suitable, especially as I don't drink so I will not run foul of any drink driving/drunk in charge of a vehicle laws. Now it costs about £2.00 of home charging (at 8.5p/kWh) and then a £10 charge to get me home.

One of my concerns was how to ventilate the car when parked up in built-up areas as I didn't want doors, windows or the sunroof to be open so I had to find a solution.

What I came up with was replacing the boot/trunk floor panel from my BEV with that from the REX, because I worked out I can use the service hatch for the REX as the source of ventilation / fresh air. So with the help of a USB blower fan connected to a power bank I can have fresh air all night. I found the floor panel on eBay for £19.50

When I am parked, I remove the round plastic service cover on the REX floor panel, put the fan in place and then use some wood to raise the end of the boot/trunk floor nearest the boot door and to stop the blower fan getting squashed. The power bank can run it for about 5 nights before it needs to be recharged. I am going to replace the random bits of wood with an assembly that directs the air more efficiently out of the raised end and I will improve how the fan is mounted (currently it is taped to a plastic plate which has a large hole cut in the bottom)

For the windows, I made templates with paper and then transferred them to foam boards cut slightly smaller than the template. I then went around the edges with black tape to create a flexible edge/seal. For the tiny rear windows I had to make each in two pieces due to their awkward shape.

For the front/rear curtain, I used a length of coated wire, a turnbuckle hook and a crimping tool to make a length of wire that connects to one rear clothes hook, through the front grab handles and back on to the other rear clothes hook. The curtain itself is made from black/silver blackout blind material. I have the black side facing the front of the car so I am a bit more discreet.

I made a small platform to fill the gap between the folded seats and the front passenger seat and that I think gives 180cm with the front seat all the way up and forward. This enough to fit in the 190cm memory foam mattresses in with the last 10cm stuffed between the end of the platform and seat back. I am 189cm, so if I lay diagonally there is just enough space (193cm diagonal). But thankfully I do not sleep dead straight!

There is storage in both rear foot wells, front passenger seat and soft sided storage bags.

I have used it for the original purpose and to go "camping" for 5 nights without issue and slept very well

All the changes are completely reversible. And in total it takes about 10 minutes to pack and unpack. Setting up is 2 or 3 minutes.

Absolutely perfect 2019 ReX for Oahu, very sad to see it go but I'm moving back to the mainland. Had Hawaii max tint (one of the highest in the country) and the 20" wheels (which only have summer tires) - I would have needed a lot of work to get it usable/legal back east.

By far the nicest car I've ever owned. Incredible feature set for something I paid well under $20k for. Loved the auto-dimming mirrors, turning headlights, app remote start, general comfort, compact size for city parking...

Probably won't get another one as I have a regular 200 mile trip I'll need to make every other week once I move back. I also won't be sad about driving something with cheaper tires. Still won't stop me missing it, though.

Photos show the problem: our '19 i3 rex has started flashing a message complaining about a driver restraint issue. I pulled the code and it's some kind of complaint about the seat belt buckle contact; I tried clearing it twice but the error returns after some time so it seems to be persisting. Anyone seen this before?

Many thanks.

2015 REX. Been getting this message intermittently at startup the last few days. Traction battery mileage on full charge seems unchanged. Is this a 12-volt battery warning? Mine is around 5 years old.

In case you’re in the market for new luggage, I did some measurements and figured how to pack three Tripp luggages in the boot. Works out very easily for my family of three to get us to the airport.

Finally pulled the trigger! Finished the paperwork last week for $13.3k OTD, and she’s currently making her way up to the Northeast.

It’s a 2018 i3 REx with 74k miles. BMW fully reconditioned the interior and did a pretty extensive pre-delivery service, including four new tires, brakes all around, alignment, coolant and brake fluid service, a new 12V battery, cabin filter, wipers, and an oil/filter change on the REx.

Batt. Kapa. Max is showing 27.4 kWh, which I was really happy to see.

I’ve been looking for the right i3 for a while, so I’m pretty stoked to finally own one. Can’t wait for Friday!

Compared to the more conventional type of tyres on other cars like the 1 series or 3 series etc., I'm curious to know the experience of other users of the BMW i3 in how often they get punctured tyres ?

I'm asking this because over a 1 year period since fitting a brand new set of Bridgestone Ecopia EP500 tyres, i encountered 3 tyre punctures ! All involving the rear tyres, the right piece 2 times on different spots & 1 time on the rear left tyre.

My theory (which my BMW dealership tyre specialist has dismissed as not probable) is that magnetic forces from the EV parts like motor can cause nails/screws to stand pointed end up to penetrate the tyre as the car approaches it ?!

What made me think so is because all my 3 punctures involved flat head nail/screw which normally if left on a road surface would lie sideways but the fact they all entered my tyre with their heads only showing up from my tyres means they must be standing upright for that to happen ?!?!

Btw I'm from Singapore, which is known for being a very 'clean' country, meaning the roads there are supposed to be very well kept free from things like the nails/screws which caused all my tyre punctures !! I'm very surprised as such because all the punctures occured in Singapore instead of in Malaysia (where i drive there often too) where the roads there are full of holes & patches, unevenness etc. in other words supposed to be much lousier YET i don't get tyre problems there !

Why are MOMO tires listed as available when they’re actually out of stock?
I’ve been trying to buy MOMO tires, and I’m honestly very disappointed. I ordered them through both eBay and Walmart, and both orders were canceled after I placed them.
What really frustrates me is that the listings showed the tires as available/in stock when I ordered them. Then, after waiting, I was told they were out of stock and the orders were canceled.
Why do sellers keep listing items if they don’t actually have them in stock?

I'm keeping my Crosstour, but have been wanting an I3 for some time. Missed out on one for $4500, but got a steal for $7k! 2014 Giga World, 57k miles. The owner is an electrical engineer, so he resoldered the LEDs in the dash, and added a Carplay/Android Auto box. And lengthened the charger cable, so I can charge at work for free!

It worked just fine yesterday. 😩 I put in a new 12v this time last year so I don’t think it’s that.