Well, the X5 has been doing odd stuff this last month, mostly indicating a bad battery, e.g., excessive discharge messages, won't crank more than a half second, etc. So I've been using a battery charger to keep it going. Finally took it into the dealer today and told him I wasn't interested in hearing any excuses about too many short trips, etc.

Got a call this afternoon and the tech told him it's my fault, because the computer tells him I lock/unlock and open the hood too much, waking the modules and running down the battery.

Well duh! The only reason I open the hood is because if I don't put the battery charger on for a few hours, the vehicle won't start!

Kudos to the service adviser, who told him to replace the battery under warranty anyway.

So it looks like BMW has a great excuse ready no matter what... if the battery dies, they tell you you have to use a battery charger, and if you use a battery charger, they tell you you are opening the hood too much!

Jay Leno couldn't make this stuff up...