2014 BMW I3 Owner's Manual

ContentsThe fastest way to find information on a partic‐
ular topic or item is by using the index, refer to
page 208.6Notes
At a glance
14Cockpit18iDrive26Voice activation system29Integrated Owner's Manual in the vehicle31BMW eDRIVE
Controls
36Opening and closing51Adjusting58Transporting children safely62Driving74Displays89Lights92Safety106Driving stability control systems109Driving comfort127Climate control134Interior equipment138Storage compartments
Driving tips
144Things to remember when driving148Loading150Increase rangeMobility156Charging vehicle165Refueling168Fuel170Wheels and tires179Under the hood181Engine oil183Coolant185Maintenance187Replacing components193Breakdown assistance198Care
Reference
204Technical data206Appendix208Everything from A to Z

NotesThe special features of your
BMW i
High-voltage system
Your BMW i is an electric vehicle. The vehicle
features a high-voltage system that consists of
an electric motor and a high-voltage battery
among other things. Optionally, the vehicle has
a combustion engine that generates electrical
energy via a generator and thereby increases
the range. This combustion engine is called
the Range Extender.
Carbon bodyThe vehicle consists of two different functional
units: the drive module made from aluminum
and the life module made from carbon fiber re‐
inforced plastic (carbon).
Using this Owner's Manual Orientation
The fastest way to find information on a partic‐
ular topic is by using the index.
An initial overview of the vehicle is provided in
the first chapter.
Updates made after the editorialdeadline
Any updates made after the editorial deadline
can be found in the appendix of the printed
Owner's Handbook for Vehicle.
User's manual for Navigation,
Entertainment, Communication
The topics Navigation, Entertainment, Com‐
munication and the short commands of the
voice activation system can be retrieved on the
Control Display via the Integrated Owner's
Handbook.Symbols
Indicates precautions that must be followed
precisely in order to avoid the possibility of
personal injury and serious damage to the
vehicle.
◄ Marks the end of a specific item of
information.
Refers to measures that can be taken to
help protect the environment.
"..." Identifies display texts in vehicle used to
select individual functions.
›...‹ Verbal instructions to use with the voice
activation system.
››...‹‹ Identifies the answers generated by the
voice activation system.
Symbols on vehicle components
Indicates that you should consult the
relevant section of this Owner's Manual for
information on a particular part or assembly.
Indicates, on certain parts or assemblies, that
incorrect use of high-voltage equipment or of
orange-colored high-voltage components re‐
sults in the risk of life-threatening injury from
electric shock.
Vehicle features and options
This Owner's Manual describes all models and
all standard, country-specific and optional
Seite 4Notes6

equipment that is offered in the model series.
Therefore, in this Owner's Manual, we also de‐
scribe and illustrate features that are not avail‐
able in your vehicle, e.g., because of the se‐
lected optional features or the country-specific
version.
This also applies to safety-related functions
and systems.
On right-hand drive vehicles, some controls
are arranged differently from what is shown in
the illustrations.
Status of the Owner's
Manual
Basic information
The manufacturer of your vehicle pursues a
policy of constant development that is con‐
ceived to ensure that our vehicles continue to
embody the highest quality and safety stan‐
dards. In rare cases, therefore, the features de‐
scribed in this Owner's Manual may differ from
those in your vehicle.
Updates made after the editorial
deadline
Any updates made after the editorial deadline
can be found in the appendix of the printed
Owner's Handbook for Vehicle.
For your own safety
Warranty
Your vehicle is technically configured for the
operating conditions and registration require‐
ments applying in the country of first delivery -
homologation. If your vehicle is to be operated
in a different country it might be necessary to
adapt your vehicle to potentially differing oper‐
ating conditions and permit requirements. If
your vehicle does not comply with the homolo‐
gation requirements in a certain country you
cannot lodge warranty claims for your vehicle
there. Further information can be obtained
from your Service Centre.
Working on the vehicle, maintenance
and repairs
Advanced technology, especially the use of
high-performance high-voltage electronics
and modern materials such as carbon, requires
special knowledge when making modifications
to and working on the vehicle, as well as cus‐
tomized maintenance and repair work.
Modifications and work on the vehicle, espe‐
cially maintenance and repairs to the high-volt‐
age system and carbon body as well as the ret‐
rofitting of accessories, may only be carried
out by an authorized BMW i service center or
one that operates according to BMW i specifi‐
cations with personnel trained accordingly.
Body work and working on the high-volt‐
age system
Do not perform any modifications or work on
the vehicle, especially maintenance and repair
work on the high-voltage system and the car‐
bon body and avoid retrofitting accessories.
If work is not carried out properly, there is the
risk of fire and fatal injury from electrocution
due to the high-voltage system's high voltage.
Modifications and work on the vehicle may
only be carried out by an authorized BMW i
service center or one that operates according
to BMW i specifications with personnel trained
accordingly.◀
Seite 5Notes7

California Proposition 65 Warning
California laws require us to state the following
warning:
Engine exhaust and a wide variety of automo‐
bile components and parts, including compo‐
nents found in the interior furnishings in a vehi‐
cle, contain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and birth
defects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and certain
products of component wear contain or emit
chemicals known to the State of California to
cause cancer and birth defects or other repro‐
ductive harm. Battery posts, terminals and re‐
lated accessories contain lead and lead com‐
pounds. Wash your hands after handling. Used
engine oil contains chemicals that have caused
cancer in laboratory animals. Always protect
your skin by washing thoroughly with soap and
water.
Service and warranty
We recommend that you read this publication
thoroughly. Your vehicle is covered by the fol‐
lowing warranties:
▷New Vehicle Limited Warranty.▷Rust Perforation Limited Warranty.▷Federal Emissions System Defect War‐
ranty.
▷Federal Emissions Performance Warranty.▷California Emission Control System Lim‐
ited Warranty.
Detailed information about these warranties is
listed in the Service and Warranty Information
Booklet for US models or in the Warranty and
Service Guide Booklet for Canadian models.
Your vehicle has been specifically adapted and
designed to meet the particular operating con‐
ditions and homologation requirements in your
country and continental region in order to de‐
liver the full driving pleasure while the vehicle
is operated under those conditions. If you wish
to operate your vehicle in another country or
region, you may be required to adapt your ve‐
hicle to meet different prevailing operating
conditions and homologation requirements.
You should also be aware of any applicable
warranty limitations or exclusions for such
country or region. In such case, please contact
Customer Relations for further information.
Maintenance
Maintain the vehicle regularly to sustain the
road safety, operational reliability and the New
Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Specifications for required maintenance meas‐
ures:
▷BMW Maintenance system▷Service and Warranty Information Booklet
for US models
Seite 6Notes8
Parts and accessories
BMW recommends using parts and accesso‐
ries approved by BMW for this purpose.
Your BMW center is the right contact for genu‐
ine BMW parts and accessories, other prod‐
ucts approved by BMW and related qualified
advice.
BMW has tested these products for safety and
suitability in relation to BMW vehicles.
BMW can assume responsibility for them.
However, we cannot assume any responsibility
whatsoever for parts and accessories that have
not been specifically approved by BMW.
BMW cannot evaluate whether each individual
product from another manufacturer can be
used with BMW vehicles without presenting a
safety hazard. This guarantee is also not appli‐
cable when country-specific government ap‐
proval has been granted. Testing of this kind
may fail to embrace the entire range of poten‐
tial operating conditions to which components
might be exposed on BMW vehicles. Such
products could conceivably fail to comply with
BMW's own stringent quality standards.

▷Warranty and Service Guide Booklet for
Canadian models
If the vehicle is not maintained according to
these specifications, this could result in seri‐
ous damage to the vehicle. Such damage is
not covered by the BMW New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Data memory
Many electronic components on your vehicle
are equipped with data memories that tempo‐
rarily or permanently store technical informa‐
tion about the condition of the vehicle, events
and faults. This technical information generally
records the state of a component, a module, a system or the environment:
▷Operating mode of system components, fill
levels for instance.▷Status messages for the vehicle and from
its individual components, e.g., wheel rota‐
tion speed/vehicle speed, deceleration,
transverse acceleration.▷Malfunctions and faults in important sys‐
tem components, e.g., lights and brakes.▷Responses by the vehicle to special situa‐
tions such as airbag deployment or engag‐
ing the stability control system.▷Ambient conditions, such as temperature.
This data is purely technical in nature and is
used to detect and correct faults and to opti‐
mize vehicle functions. Motion profiles over
routes traveled cannot be created from this
data. When service offerings are used, e.g., re‐
pair services, service processes, warranty
claims, quality assurance, this technical infor‐
mation can be read out from the event and
fault memories by the service personnel, in‐
cluding the manufacturer, using special diag‐
nostic tools. You can obtain further information
there if you need it. After an error is corrected,
the information in the fault memory is deleted
or overwritten on a continuous basis.
With the vehicle in use there are situations
where you can associate these technical data
with individuals if combined with other infor‐
mation, e.g., an accident report, damage to the
vehicle, eye witness accounts — possibly with
the assistance of an expert.
Additional functions that are contractually
agreed with the customer - such as vehicle
emergency locating - you can transmit certain
vehicle data from the vehicle.
Event Data Recorder EDR
This vehicle is equipped with an event data re‐
corder EDR. The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash-like situa‐
tions, such as an air bag deployment or hitting
a road obstacle, data that will assist in under‐
standing how a vehicle’s systems performed.
The EDR is designed to record data related to
vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a
short period of time, typically 30 seconds or
less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record
such data as:▷How various systems in your vehicle were
operating.▷Whether or not the driver and passenger
safety belts were fastened.▷How far, if at all, the driver was depressing
the accelerator and/or brake pedal.▷How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better under‐
standing of the circumstances in which
crashes and injuries occur.
EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a
nontrivial crash situation occurs; no data are
recorded by the EDR under normal driving
conditions and no personal data, e.g., name,
gender, age, and crash location, are recorded.
However, other parties, such as law enforce‐
ment, could combine the EDR data with the
Seite 7Notes9

type of personally identifying data routinely ac‐
quired during a crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special
equipment is required, and access to the vehi‐
cle or the EDR is needed. In addition to the ve‐
hicle manufacturer, other parties, such as law
enforcement, that have the special equipment,
can read the information if they have access to
the vehicle or the EDR.
Vehicle identification
number
The vehicle identification number can be found
under a cover under the front passenger seat.
The vehicle identification number can also be
found behind the windshield.
Reporting safety defects
For US customers The following only applies to vehicles owned
and operated in the US.
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect
which could cause a crash or could cause in‐
jury or death, you should immediately inform
the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis‐
tration NHTSA, in addition to notifying BMW of
North America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227, West‐
wood, New Jersey 07675-1227, Telephone
1-800-831-1117.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may
open an investigation, and if it finds that a
safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it
may order a recall and remedy campaign.
However, NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you, your dealer,
or BMW of North America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the Vehicle
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236
(TTY: 1-800-424-9153); go to http://
www.safercar.gov; or write to: Administrator,
NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washing‐
ton, DC 20590. You can also obtain other in‐
formation about motor vehicle safety from
http://www.safercar.gov.
For Canadian customers
Canadian customers who wish to report a
safety-related defect to Transport Canada, De‐
fect Investigations and Recalls, may call the
toll-free hotline 1-800-333-0510. You can also
obtain other information about motor vehicle
safety from http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety.Seite 8Notes10

Seite 9Notes11