Let’s all just be honest about wireless chargers in cars: most of them suck. Yes, more recently they’ve gotten better, but for far too long they were complete hot garbage. You’d throw your phone onto the pad, the charge-indicator light would blink because your phone wasn’t perfectly placed, and once you broke out your surgeon’s gloves and tweezers to precisely place your phone exactly where it needed to be, you might get 10% charge over an hour.
During this era of horrible wireless chargers — an era I’m going to just say spans from 2015 to 2022, even though I’m mostly just pulling that out of my arse — two vehicles offered the very worst wireless charging experience: The BMW i3 and the Mini Cooper.
I know this because I own a fully-loaded (sans moonroof) BMW i3, and its wireless charger is a useless waste of space, and I cannot believe someone paid $600 for it. Allow me to explain.
It’s Located In The Armrest
I know we shouldn’t look at our phones while driving, and that a phone being in an armrest shouldn’t be a big deal since Apple Carplay projects the phone onto a screen. But let’s all just be real: Sometimes you want access to your phone when you’re in your car, and that’s especially true if you don’t have an iPhone.
See, the BMW i3 never came with Android Auto, so if you want to charge your Android phone wirelessly, but you want to use Google Maps to guide you somewhere (for example), you’re stuck having to listen to the guidance because that screen will be tucked away in that armrest. It’s a dumb place for a phone charger; I almost always leave my phone behind after I park.
Most Phones Don’t Fit
The bigger issue is that the phone charger doesn’t even fit he majority of modern phones! Above is a Google Pixel 6 — not even the Pro, just the regular Pixel, which is a modest 6.2 inches tall and 2.9 inches wide:
And above is my wife’s iPhone 14, which is just 5.8 inches tall and 2.8 inches wide — it has a totally normal-sized case on it, and because of the case, her phone doesn’t fit the charger.
If you Have A Case, You Can Forget About It
It’s not even just the issue of length that makes charging impossible, it’s thickness. If you have any case — even my thin clear one shown here — the phone probably won’t charge. Mine does sometimes, but again, it has to be perfectly placed.
Maybe if I use a magsafe case it’ll be better, but all of my wireless chargers at home work totally fine with my existing case, and my i3’s just doesn’t.
The Phone Has To Be Perfectly Placed Or It Won’t Charge
Check out the video above and you’ll see what I’m dealing with. My iPhone 15 only fits because it has that thin clear case, and even with that, the phone charges intermittently.
When I’m using Carplay, I’ll see the lightning symbol on my battery, then it will go away, then I’ll see the lightning symbol, then it will disappear, then it comes back, then it’s gone, etc etc. It drives me crazy!
Even If The Phone Charges, It’s Slow And Gets Insanely Hot
See the vents on the side of the armrest? Those are there because a small fan provides ventilation for the phone on the charger. This fan adds an extra potential failure mode that I frankly don’t want, and also: It’s just not very good. If I even get my phone to charge, when I pick it up it is scalding hot.
It’s So Bad, People Just Delete It To Get The Tiny Cubby Back
Check out online forums, and you’ll see complaints all day about BMW i3 (and Mini Coopers, since they share numerous components) phone chargers. “Anyone remove the wireless charger from the armrests?” reads one Reddit post by a user named Sea-Presentation5686.
From that post:
I hate the wireless armrest charger for all the reasons, slow, too small, stupid location. I’ve since removed it and ordered the non-wireless rubber bottom piece but it doesn’t fit. Does anyone know what OEM parts or maybe they want to trade with me (in USA) for the wireless charger? I just want some storage space.
Man that person sounds frustrated, and I get it! Here’s what they want instead of their wireless charger — just a small empty armrest bin:
Yes, the wireless charger is so bad, this person would rather have a tiny storage bin. And it’s not just Sea-Presentation5686, it’s also a user named UrbanExtant, who was “bummed” to find out that their car came with a wireless charger:
“It’s been completely unusable,” writes UrbanExtant. “After the report that the wireless charger was frying iPhone 15 models, he stopped using it.” UrbanExtant goes on to ask questions about what it would take to remove the wireless charger. (For reference, this person is referencing an issue spelled out in “Apple says BMW wireless chargers really are messing with iPhone 15s” by The Verge).
Then there’s the Reddit thread titled “Has anyone found a solution to the wireless charger (armrest) not accommodating a larger phone without needing a 3D printer?” and there’s “Useless wireless charger” which reads:
Anyway i can remove this wireless charger in the center armrest and utilize the space instead? Do i have to completely swap out the armrest?
Plus there are plenty of threads on Mini forums:
The good news is that there is a solution, at least to the size issue. It turns out folks are 3-D printing little extenders that replace the original bracket. The downside is that 1. It’s not free and should have come with this from the factory and more importantly 2. It looks like a pain in the ass to install:
How BMW screwed up this wireless charger this badly — so badly that people are replacing it with a tiny storage bin — is beyond me.
Our x5 has the stupid arm for a phone cradle. So no wireless charger. But for only $400 I could get an oem one from eBay which is identical to the one featured here, which may or may not fit my phone. Instead I went to AliExpress and got a rubber mat that can be cut to fit for $14 and double sided taped it to the stupid cradle and now I have a wireless charger that works. Not only does it work. It works well. Sometimes the over engineered solution is terrible
My iPhone 13 fit and charged perfectly in my 2019 i3s (it did get kinda hot tho)… but since upgrading to an iPhone 14 Pro I can’t use the charger. It fits fine, but the 3 giant camera lenses are so thick that the back of the phone won’t sit flush enough to the charging pad to charge! Sigh.
The era of the useless wireless chargers in cars isn’t over David, it’s still going strong.
My coworker and I both got new Jeep Grand Cherokees last year, and at first I was bummed mine didn’t have the wireless charger option like his. Then after I saw how much space it took up in the already tiny bin (seriously why is there so little storage space in such a huge car??) and how terrible it was I’m better off. Ended up buying a magsafe charger that sticks to the dash, works fantastic. Some may say it’s ugly, but really it’s a small black circle that sits next to the large black rectangle that is the center screen. Who cares.
Until cars start shipping with magsafe wireless chargers I’d never pay for it as an option. The one in our Odyssey is terrible as well.
From reading the comments, it seems like the automakers are universally bad at these wireless chargers. In the 23 chevy bolt, it is in a great location, just below the climate control, and is plenty big enough for the large phones. The problem is in making it so big to handle the big phones, even my iphone 13 pro max doesn’t really land on the right spot because it falls too far in to the cavity. As a result, I have shoved some napkins down there very scientifically to get it to the right spot. I will also say, wireless charging is just slow. If I am going on a roadtrip it is fine, if I am running errands and want my phone to get a quick top up, it is useless.
I know this is not the issue here, but you’re still on a Pixel 6?! The 7 is MUCH better, the 8 is a little better (I don’t know about the 9), but you deserve an upgrade.
I’m using an iPhone 15 Pro because I had to go ios. I miss my Pixel 6’s camera, though. There’s a photo in my latest “Just had a kid” article of my house at night; I cannot believe that photo was taken by a phone. My iPhone would be fallen on its face.
If it ain’t broke.
Another problem: When I got my i3 I was excited to use it. Less excited when I realized a) as you pointed out it didn’t really perform it’s one and only job, and b) I found I was leaving my phone behind in the car all the time. I figured I’d eventually develop a reflex to grab it, but no. Something about putting your phone in a place where you can’t see it makes it a lot harder to remember, at least for me.
Out of sight out of mind. I put my wallet in the consul of my wagon over the weekend, and I forgot to grab it twice
Yes; same thing happens to me! (added that to the blog).
Just like the regular snap in adapter, which was created around Iphone 4 and never updated properly. The “universal” version of it came with a micro USB when USB C was already a thing, but there is no USB C cable to plug directly without a micro USB to USB C adapter.
So, if you’re charging your phone, that fan is blowing scorching-hot air on E.N.H.R.N.’s thigh? That doesn’t sound very gentlemanly.
have you seen the (optional) wireless charger in the 6th gen Camaro? It’s located behind the armrest and is also small, glad mine just has the bin instead.
My only experience with wireless chargers is my Mom’s 2020 RAV-4. Not impressed, both placement and performance wise. It’s tucked under the dash in front of the 12V sockets so you can’t see your phone well enough to know if it’s charging. And it’s ultra picky on placement, so charging one minute but not the next. The only thing going for it is its size, I guess.
The USB charging port on my phone is dead so wireless is my only option.
Can confirm. We don’t even bother using it in our rav. The phone slides very easily and will not stay connected. The space does hold a good bit of stuff instead.
You may have not noticed it but know that big dip in the i3 center console right under the floating screen?
It’s right over the A/C piping to the center vents, like directly touching almost.
When the AC is running that spot gets very chilly and it’s where I kept my phone to charge while on long, sunny drives. Would also be a good place to keep a wireless charging pad the for the same reasons
Clicked to see what car had such a bad wireless charger….oh, it’s the one I drive everyday 🙂 (Mini SE). I actually like it and have yet to have a single issue. Charges every time without looking (iPhone SE in a cheap case), and the wireless CarPlay has been flawless. Compared to my R53 that doesn’t even have an armrest, this stuff still feels like a big time luxury to me….(maybe try yelling “argh my wireless in-car phone charger isn’t working today!” out loud in public and see if you really like the person you’ve become…)
To be fair, this is a problem all the manufacturers had. My Niro could handle most phones the year it came out (2019), stopped handling the larger phones almost immediately thereafter, and probably couldn’t handle much of any phone within 5 years.
I’d give this setup a little more leeway, since it is both older and size-restricted by the attempt to hide the charging phone. Unfortunately, even current-gen wireless charging pads are kind of garbage, and this one was ahead of the curve and therefore ahead of the improvements that would make them somewhat viable.
I think we’re probably a generation of most vehicles away from Magsafe, which is better, though still imperfect. We might also see smaller phones make a comeback, which will make the larger charging pads less useful, since the phone may slide off the target area or just miss when you set it there. The magnetic charger solves that problem, too.
USB-C ports are pretty much the ideal choice right now if you want charging. They’re faster, more reliable, and will work to charge a lot of things that may not do well on wireless charging pads.
I’m loving the setup in our new CR-V; you place the phone on the console tray, up under the dash, out of the way. It’s rubberized, so it doesn’t slide around. And with Apple Car Play, I really don’t need the phone while I’m driving. This is luxury to me. The only problem is that it sometimes connects to the wrong phone if multiple users are in the car, and it is very slow to connect if you choose another phone.
I thought it was only me.
The wireless charger in the Caddy is perfectly placed and has no size limitations, but works so rarely that I just don’t use it anymore.
I have this charger in my MINI, and yes, it does suck!
Moreover, I did install the extension from Etsy, it is incredibly fiddly (the screws are tiny and easy to lose!).
Believe it or not – there is another problem with it that you didn’t catch: let’s say you have a flip phone; for example I had a Motorola RAZR+. Guess what – now the phone is too small!
The little retracting holster arm thing needs to be extended to activate the charger power – so if your phone is so short that it doesn’t – too bad, so sad – no charge.
I haven’t experienced this particular unfortunateness but related to this are the vehicles of the same era that included wireless charging but required wired Carplay/Android Auto.
What!?! Yes. Our 2019 Volvo was so afflicted. Why would wireless charging help me if I still need to plug it in to access some of the primary features?
So much dumb.
My 2024 Camaro says, “Hold my beer”.
The charger is located at the aft end of the center console, just ahead of the useless rear seat. It’s unreachable, too small, and there’s nothing to hold the phone in place…
https://www.reddit.com/r/camaro/comments/1e81uzw/charger_too_small_for_phone/?rdt=43577
The one on my Tesla works okay. The phone gets a bit warm with a thin case on it.
Conceptually, with wireless CarPlay or whatever – I get the idea. It just doesn’t work.
Ultimately, plugging it in just never struck me as that big of a deal. Also, at least in my tacoma (I know, not exactly the most technically advanced vehicle on the road), the wireless CarPlay is a lot slower than plugged in.
I have been concerned exactly zero times with a wireless charger in the car, but now I’m suddenly interested AND outraged.
I guess that’s good journalism.
Seriously, though…modularization. Qi or Magsafe, but why not just give me a place to put my own charging puck of my choosing? I’ve just never been bothered, I’m just a “phone in the cupholder” kind of guy, using a 6-foot cable because sometimes I have to share it with a back seat passenger.
I drove a Hyundai last year that had a little slot you just drop the phone into. Storage and charging for probably 90% of normal phones (with cases)
Cars should come with a magsafe charger option, that’s the only reliable way to charge my phone.
Honestly, I like the armrest idea.
My car doesn’t have a wireless charger so I use an ~4″ long USB cable to plug it in from the cubby so I can use Android Auto. I physically cannot use my phone while it’s plugged in so the temptation to use my phone is nil.
I wish automakers would make it exceedingly difficult to use the phone while driving.
I cannot say I have ever used a wireless charger in or out of a vehicle on any phone o have owned. This might be due to have thicker cases or wallet cases to protect my phone better but also in a vehicle it just seems it would be unreliable since it would be getting moved around a lot so not always in the perfect spot for the charging to work.
The one on my Equinox works well, and it’s location (cubby in front of the shifter on the console) keeps it pretty secure. With wireless Carplay and Android Auto, it’s pretty convenient.
On my previous vehicle that didn’t have wireless connections for those things, having wireless charging was far less useful to begin with.
its an issue with most wireless charges overheating because they’re not designed to be used while you have a case on your phone
the case will also cause it to overheat faster on a sunny day