It is true that the latest electric vehicle (EV) lineups from the luxury German automaker, BMW, are amazing and offer sheer driving pleasure like what the company has always promised to, this does not necessarily mean they come with no problems at all. As a matter of fact, the German automaker has now realized that the onboard chargers on its i3 model are problematic. As reported by the InsideEVs, these onboard chargers will start malfunctioning after they have been used for quite a while. This is even more so when the chargers are used at level 2 charging stations, it seems.
For those who wonder, i3 owners out there have the option to charge their vehicle from a diverse range of power outlets they can possibly find at a given time. To begin with, there are the level 1 charging stations. These stations will give the car 110 V and thus take longer to charge the vehicle. BMW, however, claims that the i3 can be charged to full capacity within only three and a half hours. Unfortunately, this won’t be the case until the BMW i3 owners out there charge their vehicle using level 2 charging stations as these stations will give the car 220-240 V. This means that the car will get 7-7.4 kW of power within every hour.
Yet, the problem is that the onboard chargers, also known as the KLE, on the i3 have some issues in that they seem like they will explode eventually. As a result, owners of the BMW i3 may get stranded for hours.
Honestly speaking, BMW has actually rolled a software update that is meant to solve the issue. However, contrary to most people’s expectations, the software update does not actually solve the charging issue. Instead, it simply attempts to make sure that the charge rate does not go beyond 4 kW in an hour. Unfortunately, this, in turn, results in a longer charging time.
Knowing what the software update actually does, some of the i3 owners out there have even decided to not use it and risk the KLE of their car being damaged. Thankfully, the German automaker has now made clear that it is planning to replace those problematic onboard chargers. BMW wants its customers to be able to charge their car as fast and safe as possible. Needless to say, this replacement is free of charge.
It is said that owners of the BMW i3 will receive calls from the German automaker’s dealerships, but for those who have yet to receive such calls, they should feel free to contact the dealerships and get their vehicle fixed.
