I had an early build 2015 and it had the proper left/right directional style 428 wheels... deletion of the left/right wheels was a mid 2015 build change
I feel like a bait and switch here, 10 minutes of why the old car is better, then 90 seconds demonstrating the new one is better. But I don't want to miss a DT video...
Love the deep dive, David. You own two and I'm in the "partially shady" camp that says Frankenstein the parts so that your grail I3s has all of the best parts. The buyer for the bargain bin older one with a new battery likely won't care.
You rightly highlight some of the penny pinching measures that BMW made - although I think the only irritation for some owners was the standardisation of the wheels. I do though take issue with the overall build quality as my 2018 does not only look better built but had no warranty claims compared with my earlier 2015 model. You have though rightly mentioned that BMW made a number of improvements as a result of warranty claims and I guess others made to improve ease of build. In my experience the changes that BMW made to the i3 is no different to those that they and all manufacturers make to their models through their build life. The last cars off the production line are often the best - although unfortunately in the case of the i3 BMW started running out of components so the SatNav/Infotainment screen on last i3’s was the earlier smaller screen.
Wrong. The transmission on 2015+ cars is not filled through the drain hole. The factory recommended method is to remove one of the driveshafts, then to fill up to the level of the driveshaft opening. The best DIY alternative is to fill through the vent at the front of the transmission.
Incorrect. That only works with the BEV. As I state in my article accompanying this video, the recommended method is to yank an axle shaft (as you note), but the fill hole is preferred by most.
Kind of a nitpicky nothingburger. BMW knew that rational buyers were not going to purchase two models to compare side-by-side. Twice the range, better AC, and other substantial improvements would be noticed by buyers, possibly even prompting them to purchase a later model. Also, as another commenter pointed out, the comparison may have involved different trim levels.
@@splynk1 It was no failure. and after 500000 units sold it was stopped by the new CEO due to different future plans and a changed marked. The I3 was from the beginning a learning project that worked out very well. Yes it was a failure for the US marked, but as a car itself, far from that.
@pilotandthecity8527 Actually it "only" sold 250.000 units, of which around 47.000 hit the US market. Many cars not domestic to the US market "fail" The taste and idea of what a car should be is just different I guess.
Most of what you say is just wrong, especially about the interior, you are comparing a lower grade loft interior with lodge, one has leather, the other obviously not, the roof lining on my 2019 is perfect, so is the rubber trim. the front cargo strap was put in due the the nettet one starting to sag pretty fast, same on the rear of the front seats.oh and i also have the padding on the I-drive wrist rest. And failed project.. really it did excactly was it was supposed to, and was a huge succes, it was never meant to earn BMW money, they knew from the get go that it would never create ROI, still the kept it going for 10 years.
Wrong, It’s exactly the same interior! And if yours is a 2019, it did not have iDrive padding from the factory. Come on now, let’s not troll. And in no way was the i3 a success. Many learnings were basically tossed in the trash. The team disbanded. It was a fail.
@@davidtracy3058 I guess your personal opinnion is blurring the facts, in Europe the i3 is regarded as a succes, and after all it is an European car. Nothing was tossed in the trash, after all it was in production for 10 years, and if you think the experience gathered in the process was trashed, you are kinda ignorant. "Team disbanded", well what did you expect? The team was gathered specially for the "i project" and they finished it. do you expect that people do not move on in life ? "Lets not troll"..... Really, just stop!
@@splynk1I just don’t really get why you said it’s a different interior or that you had the padding. No need to make things up. The other stuff about the value of the program to BmW is totally up for debate and worth discussing! No need to weaken your argument with the erroneous stuff.
The I3 was not a failure. 500.000 units were sold of this first generation EV. Not really a failure. BMW used it as a learning opportunity and stepped away from the CRP structure due to inflexibility's and repair problems. Prices in Europe of full spec cars are going up strongly last months because the car is loved a lot by its owners (quality ;) and new ones are not available. By comparing 2 cars you can't draw any conclusions about the quality. statistics are agains you. I've a late '19 120 Ah Suite model. I don't recognise any of the mentioned problems here. The savings (changes) were made due to streamlining the production processes (wheels), and the net due to the quality problems. You made a lot of conclusions without the background knowledge. I don't blame you for it, but the reality is different. The quality actually improved, As an example : Air conditioning compressor was improved, and the same for the headlights, blinkers and heat pump. About the key: My '19 model has the I3 on it. Yours not. The reason: supply problems during covid. no cost saving issue. some I8 keys were still there probably after the production stop of the I8. I think you should rename your video: The impact of covid and supply chain problems on car production. ;)
Nothing you mention isn’t something I acknowledged (ac compressor, other macro improvements). I have the background knowledge, as I worked as an engineer in the auto industry.
And almost all of the changes I mention happened before Covid, though that’s another issue worth discussing. Google “Covid i3 quality Autopian,” as I have an article about that very topic. Also it was 250K units globally. It was a failure in the U.S. market, and after it left production BMW began distancing itself from the i3, and gave up on cfrp for mass produced cars. A huge investment, but ultimately a failure from a business side.
Also, all the changes I mention happened PRIOR to COVID. All of them! That includes the compass in the rear view mirror AND the key fob! Also, it was 250,000. The program was awesome, but from a business standpoint, a failure, especially in the U.S. BMW distanced itself from the i3, saying it wasn’t a “true BMW” and stopped working with cfrp altogether, then fell behind in EVs. Now it’s catching back up.
@@davidtracy3058 I've to admit I'm totally wrong with the number . It's indeed 250000. Nevertheless, I've still a late 2019 model with the i3 on the key, and not the quality issues you mentioned in the video, like the arm rest and rubber seal. I agree totally that the i3 project is a special one, but a failure I would never call it.
@pilotandthecity8527Very cool that you have the i3 on the key! Not too many later cars have that. And I will admit that some of the quality issues were likely a result of COVID! Good point. Anyway, hello fellow i3 driver! 👋
Swap out the rear hatch, rearview mirror and the armrests before you sell the '14, DT
Some lovely quirks and defeatures
swap parts that you want..you own both of them, you did not cheat anyone..
I had an early build 2015 and it had the proper left/right directional style 428 wheels... deletion of the left/right wheels was a mid 2015 build change
Great video, I thought I saw all relevant i3 videos. Now I want the carbon cover
Good to know info for sure.
I feel like a bait and switch here, 10 minutes of why the old car is better, then 90 seconds demonstrating the new one is better. But I don't want to miss a DT video...
Love the deep dive, David. You own two and I'm in the "partially shady" camp that says Frankenstein the parts so that your grail I3s has all of the best parts. The buyer for the bargain bin older one with a new battery likely won't care.
I got a hold of a 2014 trunk floor, could comapre weight to my 2019 s?
IT weighs 1,65kg.
The metal one weighs 1,9 kg. Meh
@@ded32 Thank you for this! half a pound; meh indeed. Honestly, the metal one feels better quality (do you agree?).
You rightly highlight some of the penny pinching measures that BMW made - although I think the only irritation for some owners was the standardisation of the wheels. I do though take issue with the overall build quality as my 2018 does not only look better built but had no warranty claims compared with my earlier 2015 model. You have though rightly mentioned that BMW made a number of improvements as a result of warranty claims and I guess others made to improve ease of build. In my experience the changes that BMW made to the i3 is no different to those that they and all manufacturers make to their models through their build life. The last cars off the production line are often the best - although unfortunately in the case of the i3 BMW started running out of components so the SatNav/Infotainment screen on last i3’s was the earlier smaller screen.
Wrong. The transmission on 2015+ cars is not filled through the drain hole. The factory recommended method is to remove one of the driveshafts, then to fill up to the level of the driveshaft opening. The best DIY alternative is to fill through the vent at the front of the transmission.
Incorrect. That only works with the BEV. As I state in my article accompanying this video, the recommended method is to yank an axle shaft (as you note), but the fill hole is preferred by most.
Crouching?
Kind of a nitpicky nothingburger. BMW knew that rational buyers were not going to purchase two models to compare side-by-side. Twice the range, better AC, and other substantial improvements would be noticed by buyers, possibly even prompting them to purchase a later model.
Also, as another commenter pointed out, the comparison may have involved different trim levels.
That other commenter was erroneous.
@@davidtracy3058
Not as erroneous as stating that the project was a fail, i kinda doubt you could be more at fault there.
@@splynk1 It was no failure. and after 500000 units sold it was stopped by the new CEO due to different future plans and a changed marked. The I3 was from the beginning a learning project that worked out very well.
Yes it was a failure for the US marked, but as a car itself, far from that.
@pilotandthecity8527
Actually it "only" sold 250.000 units, of which around 47.000 hit the US market.
Many cars not domestic to the US market "fail"
The taste and idea of what a car should be is just different I guess.
@@splynk1it was the definition of a failure, sales wise in the U.S. It’s not up for debate.
Most of what you say is just wrong, especially about the interior, you are comparing a lower grade loft interior with lodge, one has leather, the other obviously not, the roof lining on my 2019 is perfect, so is the rubber trim. the front cargo strap was put in due the the nettet one starting to sag pretty fast, same on the rear of the front seats.oh and i also have the padding on the I-drive wrist rest.
And failed project.. really it did excactly was it was supposed to, and was a huge succes, it was never meant to earn BMW money, they knew from the get go that it would never create ROI, still the kept it going for 10 years.
Wrong, It’s exactly the same interior!
And if yours is a 2019, it did not have iDrive padding from the factory.
Come on now, let’s not troll.
And in no way was the i3 a success. Many learnings were basically tossed in the trash. The team disbanded. It was a fail.
@@davidtracy3058
I guess your personal opinnion is blurring the facts, in Europe the i3 is regarded as a succes, and after all it is an European car.
Nothing was tossed in the trash, after all it was in production for 10 years, and if you think the experience gathered in the process was trashed, you are kinda ignorant.
"Team disbanded", well what did you expect?
The team was gathered specially for the "i project" and they finished it. do you expect that people do not move on in life ?
"Lets not troll"..... Really, just stop!
@@splynk1I just don’t really get why you said it’s a different interior or that you had the padding. No need to make things up. The other stuff about the value of the program to BmW is totally up for debate and worth discussing! No need to weaken your argument with the erroneous stuff.
The I3 was not a failure. 500.000 units were sold of this first generation EV. Not really a failure. BMW used it as a learning opportunity and stepped away from the CRP structure due to inflexibility's and repair problems. Prices in Europe of full spec cars are going up strongly last months because the car is loved a lot by its owners (quality ;) and new ones are not available.
By comparing 2 cars you can't draw any conclusions about the quality. statistics are agains you.
I've a late '19 120 Ah Suite model. I don't recognise any of the mentioned problems here.
The savings (changes) were made due to streamlining the production processes (wheels), and the net due to the quality problems. You made a lot of conclusions without the background knowledge. I don't blame you for it, but the reality is different.
The quality actually improved, As an example : Air conditioning compressor was improved, and the same for the headlights, blinkers and heat pump.
About the key: My '19 model has the I3 on it. Yours not. The reason: supply problems during covid. no cost saving issue. some I8 keys were still there probably after the production stop of the I8.
I think you should rename your video: The impact of covid and supply chain problems on car production. ;)
Nothing you mention isn’t something I acknowledged (ac compressor, other macro improvements). I have the background knowledge, as I worked as an engineer in the auto industry.
And almost all of the changes I mention happened before Covid, though that’s another issue worth discussing. Google “Covid i3 quality Autopian,” as I have an article about that very topic.
Also it was 250K units globally. It was a failure in the U.S. market, and after it left production BMW began distancing itself from the i3, and gave up on cfrp for mass produced cars.
A huge investment, but ultimately a failure from a business side.
Also, all the changes I mention happened PRIOR to COVID. All of them!
That includes the compass in the rear view mirror AND the key fob!
Also, it was 250,000. The program was awesome, but from a business standpoint, a failure, especially in the U.S.
BMW distanced itself from the i3, saying it wasn’t a “true BMW” and stopped working with cfrp altogether, then fell behind in EVs. Now it’s catching back up.
@@davidtracy3058 I've to admit I'm totally wrong with the number . It's indeed 250000. Nevertheless, I've still a late 2019 model with the i3 on the key, and not the quality issues you mentioned in the video, like the arm rest and rubber seal.
I agree totally that the i3 project is a special one, but a failure I would never call it.
@pilotandthecity8527Very cool that you have the i3 on the key! Not too many later cars have that. And I will admit that some of the quality issues were likely a result of COVID! Good point.
Anyway, hello fellow i3 driver! 👋