BMW iX3 40 battery care mode tested: DC charging drops from 120 kW to about 100 kW
We tested, on our YouTube channel Masina Timpului, the new BMW iX3 40's battery care setting on a 120 kW fast charger: DC power settled at about 100 kW and the charge limit is capped at 80%.
The new Neue Klasse BMW iX3 has a setting in its charging menu called "Battery care". We tried it on our own YouTube channel, "Masina Timpului", in a short of just under three minutes, with an iX3 40 on a "iHunt" DC fast charger.
What the setting does
The on-screen text spells it out: when it's on, the car reduces DC charging power and stops at 80% if the charge limit was set higher. The point is less heat and slower battery wear. You give up some speed in exchange for a longer-lasting pack.
What the test showed
- With the setting off, at about 30% charge, the iX3 pulled 120 kW, the charger's maximum.
- After switching on battery care, power first dips toward 87 kW, then settles at about 100 kW. The screen shows "Charging with battery care active". We repeated it: every time the setting is on, the iX3 charges at around 100 kW.
- Switching it off brings power back up to 120 kW without unplugging.
Who should use it
On a road trip with short stops, leave it off. If you rely on fast charging a lot, for example with no home charger, or you're not in a hurry, it's worth turning on. A 20 kW difference matters less on a 120 kW charger than on a 400 kW one, where the iX3 can pull far more. The clip doesn't time a full session with and without the setting, so the real time penalty is still to be measured.
We also covered the iX3 in the Canadian 1,011 km single-charge test.
