BMW Gen 3 Level 2 Charger delayed for months

[CalAcacian]

My dad recently sold his 2019 Model X and moved back into a BMW with the X5 45e. We have 2 Tesla level 2 chargers installed in the garage for the Model X and a Model 3.

We placed the order for the X5 45e back in mid-February, and had been actively shopping for the car since January. At that time, there were almost none on lots within 50 miles of me in Orange County, and we knew that we wanted a custom order anyways.

The BMW USA site said that the Gen 3 Level 2 wall charger would be out in Spring of 2022. Perfect, we thought.

The vehicle arrived and we picked it up, and I called up EV Pros, who had done the install of our Tesla wall chargers and breakers (by the way, I massively recommend them for anyone interested in EV charging installs in Orange County, they were incredibly professional and both installations they have done are top notch).

I then called BMW Irvine and BMW USA, who both confirmed that not only was the BMW site (which still showed the charger coming out in Spring of 2022) wrong, but that they had no information about when the charger would be released. The best I could get from BMW USA was that it may come out in Q4 of 2022. Luckily, this isn't a pure electric vehicle, but this is a huge problem. How is BMW 6 months behind on releasing this product, and why are dealers not addressing that upfront.

I can't speak for the iX, i4, etc. buyers, but I can't imagine they are happy to buy a car without a wall box. The best solution BMW offered was a $500 220v cable which would require installing a new outlet which would have to be replaced again when the wall box was introduced.

Personally, I think this is a pretty big failure on BMW's part to communicate. Have any of you had a similar experience with BMW charging products?

[BMWCCA1]

Why on earth would you buy the BMW wall-box when you can get the same functionality from dozens available on Amazon for much less? What is the magic in a BMW charger? Electricity is electricity. Or just buy an adapter for your Tesla box. The best your PHEV can do is Level 2 anyway.

[DanG]

This is why I have zero plans to get an EV in the near future.

Also China controls the rare earths that are required ti make EV batteries. The push to EVs is premature in my opinion.

[VaztheDad]

Originally Posted by DanG

Also China controls the rare earths that are required ti make EV batteries. The push to EVs is premature in my opinion.

This is not in the slightest accurate.

OP - literally dozens of companies product J1772 L2 chargers. Ten minutes of research can prepare any owner into PHEV or BEV.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by VaztheDad

This is not in the slightest accurate.

OP - literally dozens of companies product J1772 L2 chargers. Ten minutes of research can prepare any owner into PHEV or BEV.

Not talking about the chargers. My China remark is for the rare earths used in the batteries.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by DanG

Not talking about the chargers. My China remark is for the rare earths used in the batteries.

And now there is the idea of mining the deep ocean floors for the elements,minerals and the subsequent ecological chains of destruction.

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/21/10821...e-supply-chain

[VaztheDad]

Originally Posted by DanG

Not talking about the chargers. My China remark is for the rare earths used in the batteries.

Very much understood.

The notion around specific minerals being only associated to China isn't accurate. The US has a mine as done Canada if the industry wants to stay focused on leveraging said minerals for motors.

Primary battery tech leverages lithium and cobalt, neither of which are rare earth, nor are single sourced from China.

Here's a decent read.

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/myth-and-reality-alternatives-rare-minerals-ev-batteries

[Hegge]

Originally Posted by DanG

This is why I have zero plans to get an EV in the near future.

Also China controls the rare earths that are required ti make EV batteries. The push to EVs is premature in my opinion.

Agree with Dan on this. Shift to EV is way premature and the infrastructure is not ready.

[CalAcacian]

Originally Posted by VaztheDad

This is not in the slightest accurate.

OP - literally dozens of companies product J1772 L2 chargers. Ten minutes of research can prepare any owner into PHEV or BEV.

To be clear, I have owned several PHEV and BEV vehicles, the difference is that the X5 is the first J1772 L2 vehicle I have owned, the others have used various proprietary plugs.

I've now ordered an adapter for the Tesla wall unit, which is all I need.

My consternation is primarily with BMW continuing to represent that a product which is 6+ months away from being released is going to come out this quarter.

[VaztheDad]

Originally Posted by CalAcacian

My consternation is primarily with BMW continuing to represent that a product which is 6+ months away from being released is going to come out this quarter.

Bait and switch is real in the tech industry. Keep them on the hook and keep dragging out line.

Apologies if I can across brash! TOO many new folks dipping into PHEV/BEV aren't as knowledgeable. Did you flip from Tesla to PHEV or do you have both?

Side by side chargers here - J1772 for her, HPWC for me.

[CalAcacian]

Originally Posted by VaztheDad

Apologies if I can across brash! TOO many new folks dipping into PHEV/BEV aren't as knowledgeable. Did you flip from Tesla to PHEV or do you have both?

Side by side chargers here - J1772 for her, HPWC for me.

No apology necessary, but I appreciate it nonetheless. So my first foray into electric vehicles was a model 3 dual motor, which I enjoyed driving (especially on my weekend trips from Orange County to LA and back) but had terrible issues with Tesla's failure to remedy errors in the infotainment system.

Next was a Volvo XC90 T8, which drove fantastic for an SUV (the twin charged engine, while not super powerful, was very fun to drive with the supercharger whine at full throttle). However the infotainment system felt like it was 5 years out of date the day I purchased the car new. That car was actually lemon-lawed and bought back by the manufacturer because the hybrid drive completely failed twice. It was replaced once under warranty with a parts cost of about 22,000, and then had numerous visits to the dealer for the same error which they tried to correct with software every time. If memory serves, the car ended up in service 73 days in the first 13 months of ownership.

Now, I am in my M2, and it is my dad who has the X5 45e in question. We took delivery last Friday, so I can't really say much about it yet, except that it looks fantastic with the M-sport package, blue exterior, and night package.

[VaztheDad]

Originally Posted by CalAcacian

No apology necessary, but I appreciate it nonetheless. So my first foray into electric vehicles was a model 3 dual motor, which I enjoyed driving (especially on my weekend trips from Orange County to LA and back) but had terrible issues with Tesla's failure to remedy errors in the infotainment system.

Next was a Volvo XC90 T8, which drove fantastic for an SUV (the twin charged engine, while not super powerful, was very fun to drive with the supercharger whine at full throttle). However the infotainment system felt like it was 5 years out of date the day I purchased the car new. That car was actually lemon-lawed and bought back by the manufacturer because the hybrid drive completely failed twice. It was replaced once under warranty with a parts cost of about 22,000, and then had numerous visits to the dealer for the same error which they tried to correct with software every time. If memory serves, the car ended up in service 73 days in the first 13 months of ownership.

Now, I am in my M2, and it is my dad who has the X5 45e in question. We took delivery last Friday, so I can't really say much about it yet, except that it looks fantastic with the M-sport package, blue exterior, and night package.

Great cross section of cars! Thank you for affirming why I talked the wife out of the Volvo. That's a brutal experience.

We picked up our 45e last month, which I'm incredibly impressed with the electric range considering its having to work through a traditional ICE driveline.

To make matters worse, after driving a 90D for a few years I've forgotten how nice interiors can be. Neighbor has an M2, PCD had an epic M3, and here I am doubting owning a BEV.

[CalAcacian]

Originally Posted by VaztheDad

Great cross section of cars! Thank you for affirming why I talked the wife out of the Volvo. That's a brutal experience.

We picked up our 45e last month, which I'm incredibly impressed with the electric range considering its having to work through a traditional ICE driveline.

To make matters worse, after driving a 90D for a few years I've forgotten how nice interiors can be. Neighbor has an M2, PCD had an epic M3, and here I am doubting owning a BEV.

To be fair to the Volvo, while the outdated infotainment (tiny screen, sluggish response, byzantine menu structure, and over reliance on menus instead of physical controls) is a major error in design, my understanding is that the hybrid system issues have largely been worked out following the 2020 model year that we had.

The extreme cost of that repair is largely due to the design of the system: the rear axle and electric motor are a singe combined unit that have to be removed and replaced.

For the time being, I still love my M2. I specifically bought it in mid-2020 as what could be my last gas-powered, turbo charged, loud daily. I tend to keep my cars for a fairly long time, and the rate of electric advancement is such that I wanted to wait at least 3 or 4 years for the technology to progress before I bought an electric.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by DanG

Not talking about the chargers. My China remark is for the rare earths used in the batteries.

Which has nothing to do with this post. So you just want to randomly attack BEVs in the forum?

[akeem]

Originally Posted by CalAcacian

To be clear, I have owned several PHEV and BEV vehicles, the difference is that the X5 is the first J1772 L2 vehicle I have owned, the others have used various proprietary plugs.

I've now ordered an adapter for the Tesla wall unit, which is all I need.

My consternation is primarily with BMW continuing to represent that a product which is 6+ months away from being released is going to come out this quarter.

The BMW Gen 3 wallbox has been available in Europe and Asia for a few months. There's no reason why it still isn't available in the US.

https://www.baum-bmwshop24.de/bmw-wa...ion/?locale=en

Perhaps one could order this from Germany and get an electrician to install.