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      02-04-2020, 01:40 AM   #1
Swiss tone
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E drive not available?

Maybe nothing guys but happend a few times now?

Only seems to happen after a full overnight charge and on my 8 mile commute to work in a morning.

I get about 3 miles into the journey and a steady speed when it announces 'Max E drive not available' and switches it off when there is plenty of miles left?

This only happens on the way to work but not on the way home and i can achieve any speed (60 mph+) without a problem?

I can turn it back on and seems happy to stay back on so not really a problem but just wondered if anyone else has this and why?

I thought i read somewhere that E-drive is only available up to about 50Mph but i regularly drive 60-70 in E-drive on the way home so didnt think that was the reason!

Maybe that it just doesnt like mornings like me!! Lol
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      02-04-2020, 02:09 AM   #2
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Is it cold where you are at the moment? Afaik the i8 from time to time disables the EV mode to intentionally start the engine. You would (like me) be a candidate to notice if you drive a lot (daily commute) in pure electric mode. Reason is to make sure that the engine moves from time to time, fluids get pumped, no friction build ups, etc. It's best not to force it back to EV mode then but let it do it's thing and heat up a little to protect the rarely used ICE. Remember the car could be forced into Sports anytime and rev an engine up that has been off for weeks otherwise.
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      02-04-2020, 02:31 AM   #3
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I’ve had trouble engaging MAXe drive it after 20 mins ICE drive – sometimes it would take a couple of attempts but oddly its stopped doing that now. I don’t recall it ever popping out of Max eDrive until the battery is depleted. I shouldn’t worry too much about it – I’ve had other bugs that have come and gone. (ICE wouldn’t switch off once started – fixed itself after 2 weeks)
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      02-04-2020, 06:19 AM   #4
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Its cold but not freezing at the moment, about 5 degrees C early morning and probably 8-10 when i drive home.

Maybe it is switching it on just to pump some fluids around then but just seemed odd when plenty of charge.
I wont worry about it as not an issue, just wondered if others experienced it as well at time to time.
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      02-04-2020, 06:40 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swiss tone View Post
Its cold but not freezing at the moment, about 5 degrees C early morning and probably 8-10 when i drive home.

Maybe it is switching it on just to pump some fluids around then but just seemed odd when plenty of charge.
I wont worry about it as not an issue, just wondered if others experienced it as well at time to time.
Yes. Works as designed. And it does it even with a full charge in the garage sometimes which is a little annoying. But then again, ICE excercise
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      02-04-2020, 06:51 AM   #6
Swiss tone
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Good to know that it isn't a problem.
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      02-04-2020, 12:44 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Leto1701 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swiss tone View Post
Its cold but not freezing at the moment, about 5 degrees C early morning and probably 8-10 when i drive home.

Maybe it is switching it on just to pump some fluids around then but just seemed odd when plenty of charge.
I wont worry about it as not an issue, just wondered if others experienced it as well at time to time.
Yes. Works as designed. And it does it even with a full charge in the garage sometimes which is a little annoying. But then again, ICE excercise
Mine never does this. Not even when it's cold outside. I can always drive the whole battery empty, without the ICE fiering up.
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      02-04-2020, 02:44 PM   #8
fishpond
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nachbar View Post
Mine never does this. Not even when it's cold outside. I can always drive the whole battery empty, without the ICE fiering up.
Likewise, my ICE doesn't fire up mid-journey when on e-drive.

Top speed in e-drive is just over 70mph (71 or 73 - I can't remember exactly). Even when you hit the top speed, the ICE doesn't kick in.

Swiss tone - might be worth getting this checked when it is next in for a service.
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      02-04-2020, 04:54 PM   #9
Leto1701
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Guys if your i8's don't fire up the ICE once a week or so and disables edrive with a system requirement message then your i8's would need looking after because that is a build in protection for the ICE and should work. Don't talk Swiss tone into suspecting a problem where there is none.
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      02-05-2020, 01:12 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Leto1701 View Post
Guys if your i8's don't fire up the ICE once a week or so and disables edrive with a system requirement message then your i8's would need looking after because that is a build in protection for the ICE and should work. Don't talk Swiss tone into suspecting a problem where there is none.
No one said, we drive all week in e mode. All good my friend.
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      02-05-2020, 04:13 AM   #11
Swiss tone
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Didn't do it this morning guys and only occasional, couple of times a week maybe.

I wouldn't get to work and back purely on electric so usually half way through the journey home it runs out normally and the ICE comes on anyway (so it does get used every day).

Nice to have a longer electric range but not much chance of that eh. Not sure how anyone can use it for long without the engine! Is that possible
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      02-05-2020, 09:12 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swiss tone View Post
Didn't do it this morning guys and only occasional, couple of times a week maybe.

I wouldn't get to work and back purely on electric so usually half way through the journey home it runs out normally and the ICE comes on anyway (so it does get used every day).

Nice to have a longer electric range but not much chance of that eh. Not sure how anyone can use it for long without the engine! Is that possible
Yes, didn't use much fuel yet

I bought it because my commute (8 or 36 km a day depending on office or travel) fits the battery, for me it's an EV with maybe two long distance drives on fuel a year. And it needs to prove itself on the Nordschleife in the Summer. Not at Supercar level but below 9 min. to earn the Nordschleife badge (tradition for all my cars).
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      02-25-2020, 07:19 AM   #13
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Been doing it again!
This morning i put it straight into E drive and a couple of miles down the road getting to about 48mph, it says not available and ICE kicks in?

As i said, i can just turn it back on but can't see why it would do that and use the ICE regularly every day. It's also got nearly a full charge. Temperature about 4 degrees outside. Never does it on the way home.

It's going in the the main dealers next week to have the shock gaiters/bellows inspected for potential warranty claim so could mention it but doubt they will do anything!
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      02-25-2020, 01:20 PM   #14
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Hi
Since my i8 was updated with the latest software last year (multiple batteries icon) it switches out of E drive at about 50mph when it is about 6 degrees C or less. Invariably this is first thing in the morning on my way to work. It doesn't do it on the way home, temperatures are generally higher then.

During warmer weather this does not happen. I do not remember it happening on the previous version of software.

I have got used to it now.

Barry
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      02-26-2020, 07:04 AM   #15
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Interesting Barry, very similar thing them.

I can switch it back on and it seems to stay there?

As you say, maybe a temp thing but will see if it still does it when it gets warmer.

Not really an issue but just strange.
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      02-26-2020, 01:12 PM   #16
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Hi

When E drive is disengaged, reduce speed slightly and then re-engage E drive. Note if your speed goes too high it will disengage again.

On my way home tonight the air temp was 3 degrees C and E drive disengaged at about 50 mph.

Once the car\battery warms up it allows you to go faster.

Barry
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      02-27-2020, 03:28 AM   #17
Swiss tone
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Thanks Barry.

I do precondition the car/battery before i leave in a morning so would have thought it would be already warmed up but it is cold as you say.

If i re engage it, it does seem to stay there ok.
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      08-24-2020, 04:39 PM   #18
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Thread resurrection.

An interesting thing to note - if the ICE has been turned on from cold, I've noticed a few interesting things.
1. The ICE has to run for a minimum amount of time once activated, usually around 2-3 minutes. This means 'No e-drive available' for a few minutes. This presumably is to stop you turning on the ICE then immediately killing power to it, from a cold start.
2. The ICE needs to run for a few moments with minimal load. It will not engage warp speed/sports mode until it has. As an example, I'll run e-drive for the first 5-10 minutes. Then when it goes from 50mph (e-drive) to 70mph on the dual carriage way I'll put it in sport, floor it and.....nothing.

I need to engage sports mode for a good 30 seconds prior before doing this otherwise there is no power at all. Presumably a self protection mechanism.

Interesting once the ICE is at temperature you can activate/de-activate the ICE/e-drive at will and it will seemingly turn off instantly. I imagine there is still a minimal amount of chugging over in the background from the ICE and it won't completely kill the ICE in order to maintain a minimum constant operating temperature.
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      08-25-2020, 01:19 AM   #19
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I’d tend to run the ICE stationary at lights, when I know I’ll be using it. Nice to get some heat in the oil before a 45mph shock start.
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      09-23-2020, 01:57 PM   #20
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Garage List
I am getting an ever increasing hybrid drive problems. 8 months ago, my 2016 i8 experienced a complete hybrid drive failure resulting in a complete system (except actual motor) replacement. It hasn't been right since! Car is parked in a heated garage. Symptoms - Press start- about half the time the ICE fires up and won't shut off for a while- This is new. Firmware update with new replacement? E-drive disengages randomly. This is new. More often now, e-drive is unavailable even with plenty of charge. This is new. Recently, while coasting in eco-pro with the regen showing about half - the throttle was disengaged giving me no throttle response - switching to straight comfort drive made no difference. I had to engage sport to recover control. This is the latest new! Something is wrong! First, when things change with no explanation, something is wrong. Second, if the diagnostic shows nothing, the conclusion is that the system is working fine. If your technician can replicate the problem, without a code to work with, their hands (minds) are tied. That- I can't fix it if it says its fine is frustrating. It is of little comfort when a computer fixes a problem with no evidence of the problem? I took photos of the dash during the problem. Once again, without codes, no problem- obviously I had to have photo shopped right? The car is with the technician. Without codes and no other car similar car to drive, how would they know what "normal" is? I am convinced that the Hybrid Drive Control unit is faulty and not telling. Buying another unit to A/B mine with sounds expensive..... Good news! The Hybrid drive system has an 8 year warranty! My advice- be fussy, note the weird things that happen and the situation. Eventually, as more cars experience issues, and are shared on forums, the techs will be able to solve these mysteries. Normal is only when everyone's experience is the same.
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      09-24-2020, 05:36 AM   #21
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PK - the ICE of mine, once started, will only shut down when it has run for a few minutes, I presume to get up to operating temperature. The ICE cannot be shut off at this stage. After this it will start stop at will. But the very first time it always takes a few minutes which also locks out e-drive simultaneously. So it might be your 2 issues are actually only one.
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      09-24-2020, 08:24 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
PK - the ICE of mine, once started, will only shut down when it has run for a few minutes, I presume to get up to operating temperature. The ICE cannot be shut off at this stage. After this it will start stop at will. But the very first time it always takes a few minutes which also locks out e-drive simultaneously. So it might be your 2 issues are actually only one.
Can confirm this
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