[velcro]

Hi all. I've currently got my eye on a i3s and was wondering if it's possible to start the cabin preheat when the car is not plugged in? There's no charging where I work and I'd rather not have to scrape the car when finishing late shift!

 

[Chrisjam]

Yes it is easy, just text the car from the app. Just 5 mins makes a difference. If icy before you leave for home then 15 mins will have the cabin nice and warm and a clear screen. Will use 3-5% from the battery.
if you can see the car and it is in blipped range then the diamond button on the remote can be set to perform the climate function as an alternative to the connected app.

 

[Jako999]

I’ll second that it’s great now it’s getting colder 5 mins is enough to de ice and get the cabin warm and you don’t even notice how little battery it uses.

 

[Malcolm Hedges]

You can also code it into your key, the app can be a bit unreliable

 

[andrew*debbie]

Or set a departure timer.

 

[Malcolm Hedges]

For some reason our's (off peak charging) has gone haywire recently, thought it was the Zappi but the Tesla works fine. Pot luck on the i3 at the moment.
But anyway, bit off topic

 

[80698]

Hi all. I've currently got my eye on a i3s and was wondering if it's possible to start the cabin preheat when the car is not plugged in? There's no charging where I work and I'd rather not have to scrape the car when finishing late shift!

One thing I would add to this:
Yes. It can easily be pre-heated while unplugged at work but only if you are going to be charging it at home regularly. The app in my experience will only work to start preconditioning 2 or 3 times. After that, it will constantly fail and doesn't seem to work again until after the car has been charged, even if you still have plenty of range remaining.

And maybe keep a scraper in the car just in case, since the app isn't 100% reliable even when you are within the above number of attempts to precondition.

 

[andrew*debbie]

That is why I suggested using the departure timer.

 

[velcro]

OK guys. Thanks for the input.It'sll a toss up between the hyundai kona and the i3s rex. The Kona is probably edging it at the moment due to the longer range and warranty. But the i3s is more of a drivers car. It's a head versus heart decision I think. 🤔

 

[andrew*debbie]

Looking at used? 2018 was the last year for an i3s with a range extender. New ones have a bigger battery but no rex.

 

[Jako999]

How do you set it from the key?

 

[mrdr_ev]

Check the iDrive settings and you can set a few different functions to the diamond symbol on your key. (This is stored per-key.)

 

[Jako999]

That’s set for the boot, I’ll have a look Thanks

 

[mrdr_ev]

Yep, that's the choice ; boot or preheat. I've never had issues using the app but I realise that depends on a great deal of functional infrastructure ..

 

[ColA]

I didn’t realise you could do this unplugged. Do you have to set a departure time? There doesn’t appear to be a “Pre-condition immediately” option. Unfortunately, by some strange BMW logic, to charge off-peak you need to set a departure time so I have a weekly time and unplug beforehand. Setting an additional pre-condition departure makes it even more complicated.

 

[mrdr_ev]

It's called "climatise now" in the app. No need for being plugged in, no need for setting departure timers. This is not a full pre-condition, it's just operating the cabin heaters, afaik.

 

[Jako999]

It’s a little picture of a fan

 

[ColA]

Thanks. I’ll try that.

 

[PentAr]

It's called "climatise now" in the app. No need for being plugged in, no need for setting departure timers. This is not a full pre-condition, it's just operating the cabin heaters, afaik.

Do I understand correctly that full pre-condition (via the timer in the app) is only available when plugged in? And when not plugged in, it will only pre-heat the cabin?

 

[andrew*debbie]

It think it will cool too. The i3 will only warm the batteries if it is plugged into an EVSE capable of delivering at least 16A. (or at least that is how mine works)

Not sure about battery cooling. Normally that would only happen on a rapid charger.