[Stoshu]

Originally Posted by badcowboy

I tried today - had a trip that was 40 some miles and started out on pure electric. Mother Nature had it in for me though - I was on the highway cruising at 75 and I noticed the speed was dropping (and there was no acceleration while getting on the freeway). The speed dropped down to 70 and then a minute later I got the 'electric not available, switching to hybrid message.

I guess 0°F is a little cold for the batteries..... I will have to try again once the deep freeze leaves.

Cold kills the battery plus using the heater (if not using ICE) is a major electrical suck. Surprisingly air conditioner use in the summer barely registered on battery range.

[biterror]

Originally Posted by badcowboy

I tried today - had a trip that was 40 some miles and started out on pure electric. Mother Nature had it in for me though - I was on the highway cruising at 75 and I noticed the speed was dropping (and there was no acceleration while getting on the freeway). The speed dropped down to 70 and then a minute later I got the 'electric not available, switching to hybrid message.

I guess 0°F is a little cold for the batteries..... I will have to try again once the deep freeze leaves.

Try it in -20 F :-) Mine ran on gas for the first 20 miles or so.. electric drive was not available.

[Bimmertaz]

Originally Posted by biterror

Try it in -20 F :-) Mine ran on gas for the first 20 miles or so.. electric drive was not available.

I live in Canada, so I have noticed that below about -5F (-20C here), the electric mode is unavailable until the X5 has driven a bit - about 10 minutes. What I have figured out though is the battery is still in use in the hybrid mode: in these 10 minutes, as 1) my l/100km is way lower than when I am out of electric energy and 2) when electrical mode comes on, I have less km than if I started in electrical in the garage.

[Bimmertaz]

Originally Posted by Mothetgoo

Can anyone in the US describe a bit how the charging works at different levels? I have read in the manual that you can set the charge amperage at lower than 16a (16a is the max, I believe). In fact, I believe that the vehicle comes with the charging amperage set to the lowest setting. In the lowest setting on a 110v, regular outlet, how long does it take the vehicle to charge? What are the different amperage settings (i.e., can you set it at any number below 16, or are there different options, like, 8, 12, etc.)?

I am looking to understand what to do if I plug in to a regular outlet that I find somewhere. There are a few places where I anticipate charging from a regular outdoor wall outlet. If I don't know anything about the outlet (say, for example, that its old or something?) should I set the amperage to a lower speed? I know a standard outlet is rated for 15 amps, but does anyone know if it is safer to set the charging below that rate?

My experience is the car just figures it out, and that is the best way to leave it. I installed BMW's 32A 240V wall charger so that I don't have to dig the 240V cable every time I want to charge. It takes 5.5 hours from empty, which isn't bad. I have never used the 120V charger though, and don't intend to - other posts have noted it is more than overnight - 15-19 hours. If I was you I wouldn't bother any 110V charging as it just takes too long - either find a type 2 240V charger on the road, or use battery hold mode to have the engine charge the battery when you are running on gas.

[biterror]

Originally Posted by Bimmertaz

I live in Canada, so I have noticed that below about -5F (-20C here), the electric mode is unavailable until the X5 has driven a bit - about 10 minutes. What I have figured out though is the battery is still in use in the hybrid mode: in these 10 minutes, as 1) my l/100km is way lower than when I am out of electric energy and 2) when electrical mode comes on, I have less km than if I started in electrical in the garage.

I saw the exact same thing when it was -28C here (except that it took 31 km before the car turned off the ICE).

[DwainA]

Originally Posted by Bimmertaz

My experience is the car just figures it out, and that is the best way to leave it. I installed BMW's 32A 240V wall charger so that I don't have to dig the 240V cable every time I want to charge. It takes 5.5 hours from empty, which isn't bad. I have never used the 120V charger though, and don't intend to - other posts have noted it is more than overnight - 15-19 hours. If I was you I wouldn't bother any 110V charging as it just takes too long - either find a type 2 240V charger on the road, or use battery hold mode to have the engine charge the battery when you are running on gas.

I have just completed a road trip having the same concerns about charging while away from home. In preparation for the trip I purchased a travel charger that gives me flexibility to use almost any voltage / current / outlet I may come upon. In this first trip, where I stayed had access to a normal 110V USA outlet (NEMA 5-15). I also added a memory button that gets me to the "Plan Charge" menu in preparation of the need to limit below 16 amps. At the I lowered the Charge Current to 10 amps to avoid triggering a circuit breaker which was probably 15 amps. This worked well for me. Each day I drove in adaptive hybrid mode and usually returned at night with a mile or two of charge left. I was able to leave each morning with a fully charged battery. So, don't give up on 110V, but definitely use more than a 6 amp charge limit.

[nZtiZia]

yup, using max 10A on the included level 1 charger took about half a day to fully charge from empty vs an entire day if set to 6A (US 110V). some nights i didn't have that long to get a full charge in the morning, so i had a level 2 charger installed (tax incentive helped offset cost).

[DwainA]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

yup, using max 10A on the included level 1 charger took about half a day to fully charge from empty vs an entire day if set to 6A (US 110V). some nights i didn't have that long to get a full charge in the morning, so i had a level 2 charger installed (tax incentive helped offset cost).

Agree! I also have a 32amp 220V home charger. Works great for topping up while home between morning and afternoon outings.

[devianttofu]

I get about 20 miles on a full charge (took delivery in Jan.). Temperature at my location is around 0C.

[Bimmertaz]

Originally Posted by badcowboy

I tried today - had a trip that was 40 some miles and started out on pure electric. Mother Nature had it in for me though - I was on the highway cruising at 75 and I noticed the speed was dropping (and there was no acceleration while getting on the freeway). The speed dropped down to 70 and then a minute later I got the 'electric not available, switching to hybrid message.

I guess 0°F is a little cold for the batteries..... I will have to try again once the deep freeze leaves.

In the winter, when I can use electric-only mode, I get 30-40 km of range. However, sometimes I cannot use electric only mode if it is too cold. At a little less than 0F (20C), the electric mode doesn't start out as being available. Hybrid mode is always available and I can tell it is using the battery too as I get much better mileage than I would with no electricity. Usually electric mode becomes available after about 15 minutes though.

[Finito84]

Originally Posted by devianttofu

I get about 20 miles on a full charge (took delivery in Jan.). Temperature at my location is around 0C.

Yeah, I have a similar experience. Today, it was 24 miles in the BMW cockpit but probably less while I drive. After 1,000 miles (got it in mid November) over 70% has been in electric mode. No need to visit the gas station.

[SP45e]

Does anyone know if the ICE should run sometimes to keep the fluids moving?

In my current situation, I'm going to be using electric-only 90% of the time which means I will only be getting gas every 4 months or so. Pretty much have very little need to turn the ICE on therefore it is almost like in storage lol

[jad03060]

The manual doesn't say anything about it. On an i3, the engine will turn on about once every 6-weeks if you've not used it.

Personally, on my 45e, I'd probably put it in sport mode for a few miles, or until it appeared to be fully warmed up maybe once a month if I hadn't needed it in that timeframe. What you don't want is to just run it momentarily. On the i3 REx, it would run for about 10-minutes and, with that small engine, that was probably enough to get it to full temp. The i6 in the 45e, with the longer, larger exhaust, probably would take longer, especially in the wintertime.

[Finito84]

If you keep the hybrid option, the ice will start for extra acceleration or at a certain speed (I believe over 60mph).

Same situation going to the gas station every 4 months, but in summer, we will get some trips to the beach so probably filling up more often.

By the way, regarding the electric range estimate, from the 28 miles in winter, now, it goes over 38 miles easily. I am loving this car more and more!

[jad03060]

When the ICE will come on depends on which mode you're in, and it may not stay on for long. The only way to get it to come on and stay on is to either select sport mode, run the battery down to essentially a zero range indication, or be consistently going over 87mph. Otherwise, it will come on/off as it thinks it needs to. Like any ICE, though, it's less efficient while warming up, and will have better longevity if you do let it fully warm up prior to turning it off.

[e61it]

Hope this helps to convince the moderators that we need a separate x5 45e forum. Lot's of different subjects from the various ice x5 versions.

[Derbeno]

Contacted this supplier below. They can make most of the battery available. I am not comfortable with that but on further inquiry they confirmed that they can simply configure it to the EU spec. They claim the counter will not be increased so that the flash is not detected. Has anyone tried them?

https://missiontuning.com/hybrid-mod...-extender.html

[fndrplayer13]

@Derbeno I would be concerned this would shorten the length of your battery

[scottomfg]

Originally Posted by fndrplayer13

@Derbeno I would be concerned this would shorten the length of your battery

That's a trade off I would accept, easily. Reduce my range from day one, forever, or reduce it in five years when the capacity gets used up? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Eager for some other to try this so we can see how it goes, ha. Back when we had our i3 REX, we could just use Bimmercode to increase the gas tank capacity by an extra gallon in the US to get what everyone else got standard. Sadly, this battery situation seems more complex.

[viperdoc]

Pleasantly surprised at my mpg and performance on my first full commute. 51 total miles, mostly highways at 70mpg. Overall 85mpg with a full charge and 41 miles of electric range. Also In some stop and go traffic the driveability was great despite never using the ICE. Super impressed given the low specs on the electric motor and weight of the vehicle.

[Derbeno]

Originally Posted by fndrplayer13

@Derbeno I would be concerned this would shorten the length of your battery

Indeed.
That's why I will not go beyond the European config.

[Jrg3170]

I enjoyed catching up on this one, two questions after reading:

1) Really cool that people are getting 80% or even 90%+ of mileage all electric, but what did you all do about the 1400 mile break-in period?

2) What have people experienced in hybrid mode on highway trips that are 50-100 miles?

Several days ago I drove ~75 miles, almost entirely highway at 82-85mph on cruise control. The vehicle was in hybrid mode, so I thought I would arrive at my destination with the battery at/near 0%. Its worth noting that starting elevation was 7200 feet, ending elevation was 5300.

Instead, I arrived with ~75% battery. I guess the computer decided ICE > electric for nearly the entire trip? Wondering if others have seen the same? Also, I believe the max speed for all electric is 84mph. Is any electric assist possible at/above 84mph?