What's the matter with BMW iX3 battery degradation?
2 Answers
In fact, battery degradation is a common and normal phenomenon. It's just that if a mobile phone battery fails, replacing it doesn't cost much, but if an electric vehicle's battery degrades severely, replacing it can be very expensive. Introduction to battery degradation: Battery performance degradation actually refers to the phenomenon of voltage, capacity, and state of charge (SOC) differences among the battery cells that make up the battery pack. Causes of battery degradation: The battery pack is internally composed of individual battery cells connected in series and parallel. In an ideal state, car owners would like every parameter of each battery cell to be exactly the same. This can often be achieved when leaving the factory, but over time, it's hard to say—battery cells can become less uniform due to factors such as charging and discharging currents, temperature, humidity, and usage habits. As a result, the battery exhibits degradation.
Regarding the battery degradation of the BMW iX3, it's actually a common phenomenon in electric vehicles, primarily due to the natural aging of lithium-ion batteries over time. After prolonged use, the capacity gradually decreases, much like smartphone batteries. In the iX3, the battery pack consists of hundreds of small cells, and frequent fast charging, exposure to high temperatures, or deep discharges can accelerate this process. Having driven the iX3 for a while, I've noticed that parking it outdoors in scorching weather or consistently draining it to near-empty before recharging can speed up degradation. BMW officially covers this under an eight-year or 160,000-kilometer warranty, but once that expires, replacement costs can be hefty. In daily driving, degradation affects the range—what used to be 400 km might drop to 350 km. To mitigate this, it's advisable to avoid always charging to 100%, keeping it around 80%, performing a balancing charge monthly, and using the original charging station to prevent voltage fluctuations.
