NHTSA Complaint #10625717 — 2014 BMW I3 REX

I WAS DRIVING MY BMW I3 REX FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA TO THE BEACH NEAR SANTA CRUZ VIA HIGHWAY 17 WITH MY WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN. GETTING TO THE BEACH FROM MOST OF THE SF BAY AREA REQUIRES DRIVING OVER SOME COASTAL HILLS. AS I APPROACHED THE HILLS, MY EV BATTERY WAS VERY LOW. THE I3 WITH "REX" (SIMILAR TO THE CHEVY VOLT) HAS A GASOLINE ENGINE THAT ACTIVATES WHEN THE MAIN EV BATTERY IS DEPLETED. IN THESE HILLS, THE REX ENGINE TURNED ON. FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, THE CAR DROVE NORMALLY AND KEPT PACE WITH MODERATE TRAFFIC IN THE SLOW LANE. THE SPEED LIMIT ON HIGHWAY 17 VARIES FROM 50MPH TO 65MPH. ON THE HILLY PARTS, IT IS A TWO LANE HIGHWAY WITH NO SHOULDER ON EITHER SIDE, INFREQUENT EXITS AND OCCASIONAL TURN-OUTS. WITHOUT ANY WARNING FROM THE CAR, I EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN AND DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN POWER, WITH THE CAR SLOWING FROM APPROXIMATELY 50MPH TO 25MPH EVEN UNDER FULL THROTTLE. I TURNED ON MY HAZARD BLINKERS AS APPROACHING CARS HONKED AND SWERVED TO AVOID US. WITH NO SHOULDERS, WE HAD TO "LIMP" TO THE NEXT TURNOUT. THIS WAS EXTREMELY ALARMING AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS. WE REALIZED THAT ENGINE WAS RUNNING LOUDLY AND WE SURMISED THAT IT WAS RECHARGING THE BATTERY. AFTER A COUPLE OF MINUTES, I CONFIRMED THAT POWER WAS RESTORED BY BRIEFLY ACCELERATING IN THE LONG TURN-OUT. I THEN ATTEMPTED TO MERGE BACK ONTO THE HIGHWAY. ALTHOUGH FULL POWER SEEMED AVAILABLE INITIALLY, AS I PULLED OUT OF THE TURN-OUT INTO THE SLOW LANE, THE POWER DROPPED AGAIN, SLOWING US FROM 40MPH BACK TO 25MPH. WE AGAIN LIMPED TO THE NEXT TURN-OUT AS CARS AVOIDED US. MOST SHOCKING OF ALL, I SPOKE WITH BMW'S INTERNAL "I CONCIERGE" PRODUCT TEAM WHO INFORMED ME THAT THIS WAS NORMAL OPERATION FOR THIS VEHICLE. I LEARNED THAT THE I3 HAS A SPECIAL MODE TO SAFELY DEAL WITH HILLS, BUT THIS WAS REMOVED FROM THE US CAR IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE CALIFORNIA "CREDITS." MONEY TRUMPS SAFETY.