NHTSA Complaint #10781193 — 2014 BMW I3

THE BMW I3 ELECTRIC VEHICLE THAT COMES WITH A RANGE EXTENDER HAS A CRITICAL HAZARDOUS DESIGN FLAW. IT CANNOT CONSISTENTLY POWER THE VEHICLE TO MAINTAIN A SAFE SPEED WHEN DRIVING ON A MODERATE INCLINE FOR A REASONABLE PERIOD. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU MAY BE DRIVING ON A CALIFORNIA FREEWAY AND RUN OUT OF ELECTRIC CHARGE AND THE RANGE EXTENDER WILL KICK IN. EVERYTHING IS FINE UNTIL YOU APPROACH A HILLY AREA. AS THE CAR ASCENDS THE INCLINE IT STARTS TO REDUCE SPEED. SO BEFORE YOU WERE GOING THE SAME SAFE SPEED AS THE SURROUNDING TRAFFIC NOW YOU START TO SLOW DOWN. 70, 65, 60, THINGS START GETTING SCARY AS CARS START PASSING YOU ON BOTH SIDES, 55, 50 45, NOW IT'S REALLY SCARY AND VERY DANGEROUS AS CARS ARE PASSING YOU GOING 70+ MPH. BY THIS TIME YOU ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET TO THE SLOW LANE, SOMETIMES CROSSING MULTIPLE LANES OF TRAFFIC GOING 25+ MPH OVER YOUR SPEED. YOU PUT YOUR 4 WAY BLINKERS ON AND NOW THE CAR IS GOING 39 MPH, WELL BELOW THE MINIMUM SPEED LIMIT ON THE CA HIGHWAY, AND YOU ARE PRAYING THAT SOMEONE DOES NOT SLAM INTO YOU GOING 80 MPH. I HOPE THIS GIVES YOU A CLEARER PICTURE OF MY SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERNS. I HAD MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE AT THE BMW DEALERSHIP A FEW MONTHS AGO AND THE HEAD I3 TECHNICIAN EXPLAINED THAT THAT I WOULD BE GETTING AN ELECTRONICS UPDATE/UPGRADE AND THOUGHT THAT MAYBE IT WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM THAT I WAS EXPERIENCING. AFTER THE SERVICE WAS PERFORMED THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT I NOTICED WAS THE WARNING OF POTENTIAL LOSS OF POWER ALERT APPEAR ON THE DISPLAY AS I STARTED UP A HILL. THE LOSS OF POWER WAS EXACTLY THE SAME AS BEFORE. THIS EXPERIENCE THAT I DESCRIBED TO YOU HAS HAPPENED TO ME SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST AND CONTINUES TO HAPPEN EVERY TIME I RUN OUT OF ELECTRICITY AND HAVE TO RUN ON THE EXTENDER AND CLIMB A HILL THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY STEEP BUT EXTENDS SOME DISTANCE AT AN INCLINE. THE CAR IS UNSAFE.