[Flamesofgold]

Maybe I’m the minority? Does anyone charge Everyday?

I set my car to 70% limit and set it to 6 Amp charging.

Typically I am at 70% every time I hop into the car. For trips over 50 miles I charge to 80% in winter, I’ll reevaluate this in spring/summer.

Is this better or is 50amp charging to 70-80% every 2-3 days better?

I charge this way so I’ll never get caught with my pants down at 30% and getting anxiety.

[VirtualGuitars]

if you’re not using the charge down, to say 20% on a daily basis, i would not charge every day. The less charging cycles the better for any rechargeable battery. Personally, I charge mine when it gets down to 20% and then only charge it up to 80%. Rinse and repeat.

It really all boils down to your driving needs. But make no mistake, the less charging cycles the better for the life of any rechargeable battery.

[Flamesofgold]

But doesn’t battery management system keep track of which cycles for which battery?

In my head at 80% none of the batteries are full but partially full. And when you charge from 40% back to 80% it still does not count as a cycle.

[hotrod182]

Originally Posted by VirtualGuitars

if you’re not using the charge down, to say 20% on a daily basis, i would not charge every day. The less charging cycles the better for any rechargeable battery. Personally, I charge mine when it gets down to 20% and then only charge it up to 80%. Rinse and repeat.

It really all boils down to your driving needs. But make no mistake, the less charging cycles the better for the life of any rechargeable battery.

Can't imagine the hell 12-32 mile PHEV batteries go though on the charge cycle count.

[VirtualGuitars]

Originally Posted by Flamesofgold

But doesn’t battery management system keep track of which cycles for which battery?

In my head at 80% none of the batteries are full but partially full. And when you charge from 40% back to 80% it still does not count as a cycle.

It all adds up. Why charge it even you don’t need a full whack at the start of each day? The battery capacity in your iPhone won’t deplete nearly as quickly if you let it drain down to nearly depleted before recharging. This may not be possible on a daily basis, but the concept is the same here.

[DHDCF]

I gave up on worrying about what may be right or wrong or indifferent when it comes to charging and I just charge when I feel like it. I'm about to just start charging to 100 each time too (from home w L2)

[sourphish]

No technical expertise here on what triggers a full count of a charging cycle in the car, but as mentioned above it's probably easier to manage the charging based on personal needs. I would suggest to charge around your plans, trips, convenience, and to alleviate any range anxiety. We do have an 8yr/80K battery warranty after all. I figure I would likely get a new car before the battery warranty is up anyway. I don't imagine it will hurt your battery materially either way--maybe a couple % points over the life of the vehicle which likely wouldn't impact anyone in any practical or appreciable manner.

I also typically run mine down to ~10-20% in normal driving before I hit the EA stations (as I don't currently have a L2 setup at home). If the free Chargepoints at my work are not all taken up, I'll hop in and charge that way whenever I see an open slot. I set my target to 85% and typically use EA 1x/week if I don't end up using any of the Chargepoints at work.

[Pictor]

There is the old ABC adage. Always Be Charging. The 80% rule still applies but YMMV. Every once in a while it's probably not a bad idea to run down the battery and occasionally fully charge on an L2. It will give the BCU the opportunity rebalance the cells and recalibrate.

[Flamesofgold]

Originally Posted by Pictor

There is the old ABC adage. Always Be Charging. The 80% rule still applies but YMMV. Every once in a while it's probably not a bad idea to run down the battery and occasionally fully charge on an L2. It will give the BCU the opportunity rebalance the cells and recalibrate.

I didn’t know it was an old adage
I always charge up to 70% and charge level 1 speeds. Maybe I should reconsider my strategy here. Thought I was doing something good.

[Pictor]

I don't think you're doing any harm with 70% charging or using L1. Other than not having full range and charging at a speed slower than asphalt on a hot summer day.

The idea behind ABC is really more of being ready. You never know when you need the extra mileage (examples: power outages, unexpected last minute trip, etc.). You're not going to harm the battery with shallow charging as long as you're not pushing 100% SoC daily. If you plug-in at the end of the day and stop at ~80% SoC unless you really need more, then you're doing well.

[garysmith21]

Originally Posted by hotrod182

Can't imagine the hell 12-32 mile PHEV batteries go though on the charge cycle count.

I have the X5 45e - it's 50 mile range almost gets used daily so is always on charge. It's roughly the same battery that's in the i3. Would hate to think the amount of charging abuse it's been through but 2.5 years in and I'm still getting expected range out of it!

[WhereItsAt]

We have a 2018 i3 for our daughter. It’s been charged to full everyday on 50amps and the range has not changed. Granted she drives 100 miles a week, but the car is plugged in every day and charges to full. On trips to Austin she hasn’t needed to stop mid drive to charge and arrives with the same percentage each time.

Originally Posted by garysmith21

I have the X5 45e - it's 50 mile range almost gets used daily so is always on charge. It's roughly the same battery that's in the i3. Would hate to think the amount of charging abuse it's been through but 2.5 years in and I'm still getting expected range out of it!

[VirtualGuitars]

Originally Posted by WhereItsAt

We have a 2018 i3 for our daughter. It’s been charged to full everyday on 50amps and the range has not changed. Granted she drives 100 miles a week, but the car is plugged in every day and charges to full. On trips to Austin she hasn’t needed to stop mid drive to charge and arrives with the same percentage each time.

You may always show charging to 100%, but that doesn’t mean your actual battery capacity isn’t being depleted by being overcharged. Your capacity may diminish over time even though it shows 100% charged. just like an iPhone.

There’s a reason BMW recommends not charging to 100% unless necessary. They recommend keeping it at 80% for normal use for precisely this reason. While you may not notice anything initially, but your battery will start losing its capacity despite the charge level shown - again - just like an iPhone.

[cruzer666]

I3 usable battery capacity is about 80%. So when you are charging to 100% SoC, you’re actually charging about 80% of maximum.

Also, that 20% buffer will hide battery degradation for years, so you’re likely not going to notice a range degradation for 7-10 years.

I4 usable battery capacity is about 97%. Meaning if you charge to 100% SoC you’re almost topping those batteries. Charging to close to 100% puts stress on the batteries and shouldn’t be done on a consistent basis unless it is needed, as described on the owners manual. Also, because that total usable capacity is close to 100%, battery degradation will also show as there is no buffer, so with terrible charging habits you’re likely to see a drop in range in 3-5 years.

i3 and i4 do not have much in common when it comes to battery management system and reccomended charging habits.

[heatmizr]

Interesting...
So is the difference actually due only to engineering strategy? Or to prolong total actual battery life? Or are they just better at making batteries now? Or responding to competition?

[BimmerBahn]

Originally Posted by Flamesofgold

Maybe I’m the minority? Does anyone charge Everyday?

I set my car to 70% limit and set it to 6 Amp charging.

Typically I am at 70% every time I hop into the car. For trips over 50 miles I charge to 80% in winter, I’ll reevaluate this in spring/summer.

Is this better or is 50amp charging to 70-80% every 2-3 days better?

I charge this way so I’ll never get caught with my pants down at 30% and getting anxiety.

I've always subscribed to the A-B-C, both with my Tesla and now with my i4.... my max SoC is 80% for daily, changing to 100% if I take a longer trip.

Regarding the comments about charge cycles.... a cycle is from 0-100%... so if you daily drive using 20% every day, it will take roughly five recharges to equal one cycle...

Some people recharge once a week... some, including me are doing the A-B-C's.... the biggest thing is NOT charging to 100% every day (it's really only ~96% of full capacity due to the overhead BMW has reserved (80.7kWh net, 83.9kWh gross)... charging to 100% every day will degrade the cells faster.... also heavy DCFC use (above 50KW) isn't good for the pack either... . AC charging is best and will cause the least amount of wear on the pack.

Cheers!

[WhereItsAt]

Usable battery capacity on the 2018 is 30kw (total is 33) - 10a%. I’ve check the health and the usable is 29.8. New was 29.9. And it charges to full usable. Which for every EV is 100%. Total capacity would be over 100%. The i4 M50 has a 4% buffer versus the ten as the i4, but same ~3kwh

The BMS on the cars is different, but the battery makeup is the same.

Originally Posted by cruzer666

I3 usable battery capacity is about 80%. So when you are charging to 100% SoC, you’re actually charging about 80% of maximum.

Also, that 20% buffer will hide battery degradation for years, so you’re likely not going to notice a range degradation for 7-10 years.

I4 usable battery capacity is about 97%. Meaning if you charge to 100% SoC you’re almost topping those batteries. Charging to close to 100% puts stress on the batteries and shouldn’t be done on a consistent basis unless it is needed, as described on the owners manual. Also, because that total usable capacity is close to 100%, battery degradation will also show as there is no buffer, so with terrible charging habits you’re likely to see a drop in range in 3-5 years.

i3 and i4 do not have much in common when it comes to battery management system and reccomended charging habits.

[Humy]

I just bought a '23 i4 M50 and am new to electric vehicles. When I set the charging target to 80% in my i4, will car charge to 80% and then car stops taking juice from the charger even if the charger is plugged in? I am going to be using the BMW flexible fast charger that was in the trunk when I bought the car. I am having the 50 amp socket installed tomorrow

Any other settings in the charging app in car I should be using?

[note46]

Originally Posted by Humy

I just bought a '23 i4 M50 and am new to electric vehicles. When I set the charging target to 80% in my i4, will car charge to 80% and then car stops taking juice from the charger even if the charger is plugged in? I am going to be using the BMW flexible fast charger that was in the trunk when I bought the car. I am having the 50 amp socket installed tomorrow

Any other settings in the charging app in car I should be using?

80% setting is mostly what you need. Only other setting would be how fast to charge to 80%, which you can set via the amount of amps in the app or in the car. But since you are putting in a 50amp circuit it will be fine for the included charger (it pulls 40amps so you need a 50amp circuit).

If you really want to get into saving money (if you have variable time based electric rates) you can set a schedule to charge in the app.

[drexplode]

daily use is about 20 miles so definitely not every day.

Snag a free charger at work if less <70% or charge at home when below 50%.

On a long road trip (PCD to MI) - charge every 100-150miles depending on charger availability. Target is L3 with plugshare score of 9-10, near (1-2miles) current road of travel.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by Humy

I just bought a '23 i4 M50 and am new to electric vehicles. When I set the charging target to 80% in my i4, will car charge to 80% and then car stops taking juice from the charger even if the charger is plugged in? I am going to be using the BMW flexible fast charger that was in the trunk when I bought the car. I am having the 50 amp socket installed tomorrow

Any other settings in the charging app in car I should be using?

Yes, once the car hits the % target, it will stop pulling power. Make sure the amp setting is unlimited in the car if you want it to charge at the max 40-amp rate. Also, please make sure whoever is putting in the socket is an electrician who understands EV charging and is using a high quality, commercial grade outlet (not a cheap outlet designed for an electric dryer) and suitable wiring. Check out the State of Charge channel on You Tube for some very scary cases of people who did not have a high-quality outlet installed and suffered serious consequences.