[note46]

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So I picked up my i4 but it's resting in the garage until my PPF appointment. I extended the lease on my i3 so I could have some overlap.

I activated my 2 years of free EA charging last week but didn't have any need to charge either cars. Today I had to charge the i3 and I plugged in normally. Once done charging the display on the charger showed a discount equal to the amount I would normally pay. Turns out the free charging is just that, free charging for any EVs. It's not tied to any specific car so I was able to charge my i3 for free. I tested this again at another EA station and again I got free charging for the i3.

[hotrod182]

Originally Posted by note46

So I picked up my i4 but it's resting in the garage until my PPF appointment. I extended the lease on my i3 so I could have some overlap.

I activated my 2 years of free EA charging last week but didn't have any need to charge either cars. Today I had to charge the i3 and I plugged in normally. Once done charging the display on the charger showed a discount equal to the amount I would normally pay. Turns out the free charging is just that, free charging for any EVs. It's not tied to any specific car so I was able to charge my i3 for free. I tested this again at another EA station and again I got free charging for the i3.

Yes, unlike the Tesla, I don't believe the CCS transmits car data. If they really wanted to, they would easily be able to tell that your BMW i3 is not charging at the same rate at indicated SOC levels as an i4 would. The dead giveaway is the peak kW on the i3 would be capped to less than half of what an i4 would be drawing. Can you imagine a warning coming up: "Your charging session profile does not match the vehicle account on record, therefore this session does not qualify under your free 2yr charging plan."

[bimmer32]

That profile message will pop up in the near future. You can bet on that.

[taminatorv]

I was wondering about that. We just got our i4 and added the free charging onto my EA account, but haven't tried it yet. Our other car is an Audi e-tron which will probably continue to be the main road tripper and it would be nice to use the free charging on it.

[taminatorv]

Originally Posted by hotrod182

Yes, unlike the Tesla, I don't believe the CCS transmits car data. If they really wanted to, they would easily be able to tell that your BMW i3 is not charging at the same rate at indicated SOC levels as an i4 would. The dead giveaway is the peak kW on the i3 would be capped to less than half of what an i4 would be drawing. Can you imagine a warning coming up: "Your charging session profile does not match the vehicle account on record, therefore this session does not qualify under your free 2yr charging plan."

There are plug and charge capable cars out there that use CCS, so I would think it could transmit the VIN to verify the account before charging. It doesn't look like BMW has done anything like that. This just looks like a promo code onto an existing EA account.