BMW iX Reservation Tracker: Add Yours Here!

Battery life is terrible

11752 Views 103 Replies 34 Participants Last post by Oceans, 2 mo ago

vinomover

Discussion Starter · 5 mo ago

This is a great looking and feature packed car but the battery and the estimated mileage is terrible. I am in the UK and have the IX40, fully loaded with 22 inch wheels. This battery is claimed to do 260 miles and during normal weather, when fully charged, it only states 195 - 200 miles and during the snow in London in mid December the batter would only charge to 175 miles. I pre-condition the car every morning and my daily drive to and thro from work would be 30 miles, so lets round up to 35 miles max. Theoretically this should last all 5 working days, but after 3 days I'm down to 20 predicted miles so have to plug in again. Where has my other 100 miles disappeared to ? I have just come out of BMW M850i and filling this up with petrol lasted 10 days.
I would never recommend this car for the battery life, its terrible. This car was sold on the amount of fuel you save and I feel I am paying more for electricity then I did for petrol.
Buyer beware....

41 - 60 of 104 Posts

alphanstein

· #41 · 4 mo ago

vinomover said:
I would of I didn't loose tons of money for 3 months driving. UK not set up for EV yet. Most motorway charge only have limited superchargers, which are usually full up and when you finally plug in you pay extortionate rates for electricity.
I would love to know the secret. I think my battery is a pile of shit. Car lovely though.
In autumn I was getting 190 - 205 max on full 100% charge. My daily round trip to work is 32 miles but I am lucky if I get 4 days travel and only drive on A road and M25. I would love to drive fast but never exceed 70. So I am get 128 mile on a full charge. I do pre-warm, have sat Nav on and heat at 21 Deg. Help...

Are you tracking your average mile/kWh? If you keep a track of that for your trips, you can then determine if you are running higher than most others and this would allow you to push the dealer to investigate. For example, it seems most IX owners are in the 2.5-3.5mile/kWh range depending on the driving style. But if you are always higher than this, then it could signal an issue with your vehicle that needs to be investigated.

It also looks like some Youtube reviewers are using some sort of OBDII app to track more details on the battery for charge and discharge. So you could try to acquire a similar app and then track more details that way as well. It helps to have your own evidence to present to the dealer to investigate and they can also use this evidence to present to BMW on your behalf.

NomoTesla

· #42 · 4 mo ago

I got 3.6 mi/kWh which equates to 388 miles @100%. The iX is a range beast!

Reactions: 2

Dan UK

· #43 · 4 mo ago

NomoTesla said:
I got 3.6 mi/kWh which equates to 388 miles @100%. The iX is a range beast!

not in the cold it isn’t!

NomoTesla

· #44 · 4 mo ago

Dan UK said:
not in the cold it isn’t!

All EVs suffer 20%-30% range drop in the cold, but ICE cars lose approx 15%-25% in similar conditions. Not that far off.

campbell.ted

· #45 · 4 mo ago

Had my iX 40 now for three weeks, drove approx 500 miles, weather not particularly cold for this time of year e.g. 6 to 10 degrees. Averaging 51 kWH per 100 miles. So gives circa 150 miles. Car goes back to BMW tomorrow to check whether it’s faulty or not. If I’m only getting 150 Vs 260 or even let’s say 220 factoring in cold / miss daisy style driving then that for me is mis-selling - nothing short. The manufacturers must be able to model what actual real world usage will be ! Ps it’s a lovely car, but perhaps better calling it a brick on wheels

NomoTesla

· #46 · 4 mo ago

campbell.ted said:
Had my iX 40 now for three weeks, drove approx 500 miles, weather not particularly cold for this time of year e.g. 6 to 10 degrees. Averaging 51 kWH per 100 miles. So gives circa 150 miles. Car goes back to BMW tomorrow to check whether it’s faulty or not. If I’m only getting 150 Vs 260 or even let’s say 220 factoring in cold / miss daisy style driving then that for me is mis-selling - nothing short. The manufacturers must be able to model what actual real world usage will be ! Ps it’s a lovely car, but perhaps better calling it a brick on wheels

I'm sorry about your experience. Here in Arizona, where the weather is mild and EVs get great range, I'm averaging 3.6 mi/kWh with an estimated range at 100% SOC in the 380-400 mile range. Based on your 71 kWh usable battery capacity combined with my Arizona efficiency (yours would be higher here due to lower curb weight), you would still not achieve the WLTP rating of 260 miles. If the 40 were available in the USA it would be EPA rated at approximately 230 miles (EPA averages 11% below WLTP) and you would exceed the EPA rating by at least 10% here, likely more given that your battery pack weighs less.

Bevforme

· #47 · 4 mo ago

campbell.ted said:
Had my iX 40 now for three weeks, drove approx 500 miles, weather not particularly cold for this time of year e.g. 6 to 10 degrees. Averaging 51 kWH per 100 miles. So gives circa 150 miles. Car goes back to BMW tomorrow to check whether it’s faulty or not. If I’m only getting 150 Vs 260 or even let’s say 220 factoring in cold / miss daisy style driving then that for me is mis-selling - nothing short. The manufacturers must be able to model what actual real world usage will be ! Ps it’s a lovely car, but perhaps better calling it a brick on wheels

iX40 in UK here. Just 307 miles in Feb so far over 12 trips, mostly local short trips but one longer trip of 240 mile round trip, mix of motorway and cross country. Worst 41 kWH per 100 miles and best 31 kWH per 100 miles, climate set to 21c with 2x heated seats plus heated steering wheel and massage on longer trip. Not set to efficient mode at all. Don’t try to hypermile, I just drive and enjoy…

Nedlands

· #48 · 4 mo ago

Bevforme said:
iX40 in UK here. Just 307 miles in Feb so far over 12 trips, mostly local short trips but one longer trip of 240 mile round trip, mix of motorway and cross country. Worst 41 kWH per 100 miles and best 31 kWH per 100 miles, climate set to 21c with 2x heated seats plus heated steering wheel and massage on longer trip. Not set to efficient mode at all. Don’t try to hypermile, I just drive and enjoy…

Your numbers are almost identical to our iX40. About 38 around town (25 kW/100 km) and 30 (19 kW/100 km) on a recent trip going 100 - 110 km/h. It was about 32 degrees c (90F) so it was pretty warm and the A/C was cranking. Another longer trip I did it was cooler (20 c) and we only used 27 (17 kW/100 km). All driving normally
One thing I note is that you have to train yourself to be comfortable arriving to a destination with 10% battery remaining.
Also the windscreen lets a lot of heat in the cabin. The sunroof is fine as is and no need to add extra tint.

electric_journey

· #49 · 4 mo ago

campbell.ted said:
Had my iX 40 now for three weeks, drove approx 500 miles, weather not particularly cold for this time of year e.g. 6 to 10 degrees. Averaging 51 kWH per 100 miles. So gives circa 150 miles. Car goes back to BMW tomorrow to check whether it’s faulty or not. If I’m only getting 150 Vs 260 or even let’s say 220 factoring in cold / miss daisy style driving then that for me is mis-selling - nothing short. The manufacturers must be able to model what actual real world usage will be ! Ps it’s a lovely car, but perhaps better calling it a brick on wheels

@campbell.ted Oh no. I am getting 200-220 miles routinely at the moment, based here in London, and that's even with a lot of <3 mile trips in. Are you having to drive up lots of hills? I'm assuming your tyres are not under inflated?

SJS

· #50 · 3 mo ago

It is great to see nice things about this car, I am due to get myIX50 next week, but had been having second thoughts as I am trading in my Taycan GTS for the IX, Hope I haven't made a wrong choice

NomoTesla

· #51 · 3 mo ago

SJS said:
It is great to see nice things about this car, I am due to get myIX50 next week, but had been having second thoughts as I am trading in my Taycan GTS for the IX, Hope I haven't made a wrong choice

One shouldn't compare ICE vehicles to EVs assuming all things are equal. They are not. The iX rides on a $20,000+ battery and that margin has to come from somewhere. EVs have to be built cheaper than comparable ICE vehicles due to this reality. You should absolutely expect some compromises, and you should be willing to accept those compromises in the name of sustainability and driving green. That is the compensating factor. If you don't care about such things then I'm afraid you may be disappointed.

SJS

· #52 · 3 mo ago

NomoTesla said:
One shouldn't compare ICE vehicles to EVs assuming all things are equal. They are not. The iX rides on a $20,000+ battery and that margin has to come from somewhere. EVs have to be built cheaper than comparable ICE vehicles due to this reality. You should absolutely expect some compromises, and you should be willing to accept those compromises in the name of sustainability and driving green. That is the compensating factor. If you don't care about such things then I'm afraid you may be disappointed.

Sorry, probably needed to clarify, the Taycan GTS that I am trading in for the IX is a EV as well, I have a Model Y too, so not new to EV, but just wanted to know if the IX is worth the £110k price tag

NomoTesla

· #53 · 3 mo ago

SJS said:
Sorry, probably needed to clarify, the Taycan GTS that I am trading in for the IX is a EV as well, I have a Model Y too, so not new to EV, but just wanted to know if the IX is worth the £110k price tag

SORRY! I now see "Taycan" but earlier, before I had my full cup of coffee, I read "Macan" lol my apologies.

Dan UK

· #54 · 3 mo ago

SJS said:
Sorry, probably needed to clarify, the Taycan GTS that I am trading in for the IX is a EV as well, I have a Model Y too, so not new to EV, but just wanted to know if the IX is worth the £110k price tag

Just be careful on what you are paying. The market is flooded with them 2nd hand and they are not moving. Some has been in stock since October last year with 20k coming off original ask. There is almost no secondary market so make sure you want it and pay the right price.

(no one is buying 2nd hand EVs in the UK at the moment, so maybe its bargain time, or time to buckle up if you already own one! Might get better when electricity comes down?)

(I have been tracking IX prices since end of December, and was about to buy an 3k mile full spec Dec 21 IX50 at 93k a month ago. Now up at 88k and I think overpriced as there are newer cars with a bit less spec low 80s. You can get all the price history here including when listed EVs for sale in the UK )

NomoTesla

· #55 · 3 mo ago

Still can't buy a used iX here in most parts of the US. It would seem the market here is totally different than in the UK. The only used EVs that are flooding our market are Teslas as the owners run away from them in droves. I recently saw a Rivian as well as a Tesla Model S Plaid on my BMW dealer's lot. They both traded for iX's!

Reactions: 1

SJS

· #56 · 3 mo ago

Dan UK said:
Just be careful on what you are paying. The market is flooded with them 2nd hand and they are not moving. Some has been in stock since October last year with 20k coming off original ask. There is almost no secondary market so make sure you want it and pay the right price.

(no one is buying 2nd hand EVs in the UK at the moment, so maybe its bargain time, or time to buckle up if you already own one! Might get better when electricity comes down?)

(I have been tracking IX prices since end of December, and was about to buy an 3k mile full spec Dec 21 IX50 at 93k a month ago. Now up at 88k and I think overpriced as there are newer cars with a bit less spec low 80s. You can get all the price history here including when listed EVs for sale in the UK )

Thank you, this is really useful to know, I was limited in which dealer I could buy the IX from as none of the BMW dealers were willing to take my Taycan as a trade in, apparently Porsche dealers are not buying any used Taycans!! But have finally managed to get a good trade in price from a BMW dealer in NI

Reactions: 1

ajcham

· #57 · 3 mo ago

Dan UK said:
Just be careful on what you are paying. The market is flooded with them 2nd hand and they are not moving. Some has been in stock since October last year with 20k coming off original ask. There is almost no secondary market so make sure you want it and pay the right price.

(no one is buying 2nd hand EVs in the UK at the moment, so maybe its bargain time, or time to buckle up if you already own one! Might get better when electricity comes down?)

(I have been tracking IX prices since end of December, and was about to buy an 3k mile full spec Dec 21 IX50 at 93k a month ago. Now up at 88k and I think overpriced as there are newer cars with a bit less spec low 80s. You can get all the price history here including when listed EVs for sale in the UK )

I can second this as I've been watching the new and used UK stock since September. Used prices were initially very close to list, with high finance rates too, but the asking prices of used 50s and M60s have come down by around 10-15% lately. The finance rate on a nearly new M60 is actually lower than brand new at the moment (normally used rates are several percent higher than on new cars making a new car cheaper per month on finance than nearly new), which suggests to me that they are slow to shift.
I'll be keeping an eye on the GFV on my M60 order when it comes in in a couple of months compared to what was quoted back in September when the used market was more buoyant.

Reactions: 1

Dan UK

· #58 · 3 mo ago

ajcham said:
I can second this as I've been watching the new and used UK stock since September. Used prices were initially very close to list, with high finance rates too, but the asking prices of used 50s and M60s have come down by around 10-15% lately. The finance rate on a nearly new M60 is actually lower than brand new at the moment (normally used rates are several percent higher than on new cars making a new car cheaper per month on finance than nearly new), which suggests to me that they are slow to shift.
I'll be keeping an eye on the GFV on my M60 order when it comes in in a couple of months compared to what was quoted back in September when the used market was more buoyant.

I was speaking to a salesman at a BMW dealer and he says they got caught out by all the ex-BMW stock that has been dropped on the market. Seems that all management had them and the review fleet is being rotated now too. I wonder if they are holding back on it a bit now as it simply not moving. tbh with 13% finance rates I dont know how they are selling any cars at the moment (I know the IX has a 5.9% subsidy). The gfv on two cars I considered was about 40% in 4 years. I ended up buying one of the last i3s made for cash. Realised EV made more sense for me as a little run around especially as I had major concerns about IX holding value, current prices and BMWs willingness to update older cars.

SJS said:
Thank you, this is really useful to know, I was limited in which dealer I could buy the IX from as none of the BMW dealers were willing to take my Taycan as a trade in, apparently Porsche dealers are not buying any used Taycans!! But have finally managed to get a good trade in price from a BMW dealer in NI

yeah taycans also completely flooded. They were doing overs but now millions of them as the only new buyers really were businesses taking advantage of the 0% BIK.

I think major stock overhang means big price adjustments ahead. Interestingly we have rolled into march and not yet seen the wave of 5k reductions that happened start of February. Maybe this weekend…

ultimately electricity is so expensive in the UK the case for EVs is pretty much destroyed unless you are doing it through a company. That’s before the gov then needs to recoup all the tax it loses on fuel duty if we all change… of course we all know electricity is expensive which is why no one uses it to heat their houses if they can avoid it. Then there is the high insurance costs to take into account too!

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Reactions: 1

Dan UK

· #59 · 3 mo ago

NomoTesla said:
Still can't buy a used iX here in most parts of the US. It would seem the market here is totally different than in the UK. The only used EVs that are flooding our market are Teslas as the owners run away from them in droves. I recently saw a Rivian as well as a Tesla Model S Plaid on my BMW dealer's lot. They both traded for iX's!

really not the case here, although also lots of teslas available. we have super high electricity costs, lots of publicity over Xmas of 4 hour queues at super chargers (and non super chargers are a joke in the uk), decreasing petrol prices and frankly most Europeans find the IX styling hideous, or at the very least unattractive. If you have to charge at a public charger it costs more than petrol at the moment for the distance you can cover and the petrol car was 20% cheaper like for like… also with inflation finance rates are north of 10%. Not a pretty picture for EVs!

as I alluded to in previous post we have major tax breaks for companies where you basically run an EV out of untaxed earnings. These buyers are now rotating and the secondary market doesn’t really seem to exist. (And this tax break doesn’t encourage buying 2nd hand)

Reactions: 1

electric_journey

· #60 · 3 mo ago

Dan UK said:
I was speaking to a salesman at a BMW dealer and he says they got caught out by all the ex-BMW stock that has been dropped on the market. Seems that all management had them and the review fleet is being rotated now too. I wonder if they are holding back on it a bit now as it simply not moving. tbh with 13% finance rates I dont know how they are selling any cars at the moment (I know the IX has a 5.9% subsidy). The gfv on two cars I considered was about 40% in 4 years. I ended up buying one of the last i3s made for cash. Realised EV made more sense for me as a little run around especially as I had major concerns about IX holding value, current prices and BMWs willingness to update older cars.

yeah taycans also completely flooded. They were doing overs but now millions of them as the only new buyers really were businesses taking advantage of the 0% BIK.

I think major stock overhang means big price adjustments ahead. Interestingly we have rolled into march and not yet seen the wave of 5k reductions that happened start of February. Maybe this weekend…

ultimately electricity is so expensive in the UK the case for EVs is pretty much destroyed unless you are doing it through a company. That’s before the gov then needs to recoup all the tax it loses on fuel duty if we all change… of course we all know electricity is expensive which is why no one uses it to heat their houses if they can avoid it. Then there is the high insurance costs to take into account too!

@Dan UK My experience differs from yours. I don't find electricity expensive in the UK. I've got Octopus Energy at home and am paying 10 pence per kwh to charge my iX on my driveway. I'm doing up to 1500 miles a month and it's saving me a fortune vs running a petrol car of equivalent size and performance. Throw in the various discounts on rapid charging that BMW themselves offer and even other providers, and public charging is deeply discounted.

I found insurance was reasonable for the iX too, by London standards, given the value of the car.

Reactions: 1

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