Battery Install...6 Yr Old OEM Swapped Out

[bgsquad]

2001 3.0 SP have air self leveling rear suspension?????? WOOOOOOOW coooooool i thought it was a 4.4 feature!!

Hope i did not mess anything while removing the dome... but i returned it back and firmly secured it... Thanks for the tip to properly access the battery next time!!

[Weasel]

It was standard epuipment on the V8s, but was an option on the 3.0i. and removing the dome like you did shouldn't cause anything to worry about. If you would have taken off the 3 extra nuts on top of the dome you would have seen the inner workings.

[JG42]

Many thanks for your advice Motordavid. Changed my battery this evening which took me about 20 minutes. Was left with some lights on the dash but followed the advice of Eurosport, on the same thread, and turned the steering wheel left/right from lock to lock and everything reset straight away.

The battery I bought was a VARTA H3. It has a higher spec than the BMW OEM and is a lot less expensive at £89.00 (about $140). Found the seller on Ebay.

I didn't realise that I had a problem with my battery until my radio started cutting out. I found a thread on xoutpost.com saying that it could be at fault and I'm please to say that replacing it has solved this problem. My old battery was installed in March 2004 so it served me well.

Make sure that you disconnect the negative terminal (black) on the old battery first then connect the positive (red) on the new one first or you might get a 'spike' which could do some damage!

With the help of xoutpost.com and Martin at bimmernav.com so far I have changed my nav from MkIII to the DVD Mk IV version and bluetoothed the hard wired phone that was in the car when I bought it. My iphone works fine with it too

[Multibeemer]

Help!! I can't the old battery out! That long bolt on the right side of the battery, which attaches the hold-down clamp (or whatever it's called) to the car, is just spinning and spinning, but isn't loosening in the least. The entire bolt is spinning, including the bottom part that is in contact with the hold-down clamp. Is there some trick to getting this thing out? Thanks.

[Zulu95]

When we purchased our CPO '01 in '04 the battery died after 2 weeks. It was a VW marked Varta so obviously this was, at least, the second battery in a less than 3 year old vehicle. I had a OEM spec. Exide fitted and it is still performing well though I expect to have to replaced it sometime in the near future.
I guess some OEM are better than others and non-OEM will work also.

[Weasel]

Originally Posted by Multibeemer

Help!! I can't the old battery out! That long bolt on the right side of the battery, which attaches the hold-down clamp (or whatever it's called) to the car, is just spinning and spinning, but isn't loosening in the least. The entire bolt is spinning, including the bottom part that is in contact with the hold-down clamp. Is there some trick to getting this thing out? Thanks.

Usually just spins right out.... Most likely the threaded insert it screws in to is stripped and spinning in the plastic housing. If that's the case not much you can do but break it out unfortunately. Maybe try prying up on it while unscrewing?

[Multibeemer]

Originally Posted by Weasel

Usually just spins right out.... Most likely the threaded insert it screws in to is stripped and spinning in the plastic housing. If that's the case not much you can do but break it out unfortunately. Maybe try prying up on it while unscrewing?

You hit it right on the head. That's exactly what happened, and I had to pull up on the battery while unscrewing the bolt, and it finally broke free. I wedged a couple of pieces of wood between the new battery and the tub to help secure it. I'm not too worried about it moving around - we're not the off-roading types.

[Weasel]

Well, at least you got it out and was able to complete the job.

[mysweetx5]

Originally Posted by motordavid

Switched out my oem 6 yr + old battery today. It's easy, even for this ol'fumble fingers.
Took some pics, some of which are redundant to the previous good threads that point up
the easyDIY.

As we get some aging Xs in our midst, it may pay to cop a new one, trickle charge it up, and
change it on your schedule rather than when it decides to go dead at the most inopportune time.

I had to hunt for a replacement, as we are shopping-variety-challenged here in hillbilly heaven;
finally got the Battery Plus joint in Asheville, NC to special order me one: their national site shows
the Werker Brand "Luxury Import Series" to be the only part currently available. Those that got one
from Batt Plus that is white, like the oem, got lucky. I paid a Buck Twenty Nine...hmmm.

Also, the current Werker model is less cosmetically appealing than the oem, looks like it was made
in some 3rd world country, has no "charge state eye", fwiw, and the fooking vent hole is on the wrong side,
vis a vis proper placement in a 3.0 '01.

So, I tapped in the other side for vent hole, (I got it looking a lot better than the pic shows, lol!), and installed it.

Curiously, my 6 yr old oem batt. looked "very good", the fluid level was up to snuff and the damn charge state
light was go green! I hope I didn't fook with the battery gods by swapping out the old one...the oem one
is sure pretty compared to the new black Werker batt.

Dash warning lights cleared, reset time and date and the radio kept my classical and hillbilly stations.

Be sure to carefully remove the existing vent tube and reinstall it in the replacement batt. An easy job
overall: it took me less than 30 mins from start to finish including pics and staring off at the views.
Tools needed are a ratchet, ratchet extension and a 10mm and 13mm socket.

I've linked another thread that has some good info/pics,
too. SEE LINK BELOW for more DIY Pics
BR,mD

MORE PICS IN THIS LINK:
http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum...r-vehicle.html

APPRECIATE THAT MY MEN! GREAT POST!!! SPECIALLY FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO GET THE SPARE TIRE OUT FROM THERE, AND IMAGINE REPLACING THE BATTERY.
HOWEVER! I'VE REPLACED MY BATTERY ONCE IN MY (X5 4.4i) SINCE I BOUGHT IT A YEAR AGO. MY OLD BATTERY WAS SO BAD, IN A WAY IF I STOP SOMEWHERE TO GET SOMETHING OUT OF THE TRUNK QUICKLY, AND GET BACK TO THE CAR TO RESTART, (THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START AGAIN.)

ONCE I KNOW THE (STEALER BATTERY) WOULD COST ME (A MORTGAGE PAYMENT), I WEN'T TO (SEARS) WHICH PROVIDED ME THE SAME PARTICULAR (GROUP 49 BATTERY FOR MY 2001 X5 4.4i) FOR ONLY:$152.38 TAX INCLUDED ALSO WITH 3YRS WARRANTY. I REPLACED IT EASILY THE SAME WAY YOU DID, AND MY CAR STARTED RIGHT UP LIKE A BRAND NEW ENGINE. I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED BY THAT. ONE DAY, I FORGOT MY HEADLIGHTS STAYED ON FOR: (8HRS) WHEN I CAME BACK, MY CAR STARTED RIGHT UP WITHOUT HESITATION. BY THE WAY, PEOPLE MAY TRY SEARS INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE (STEALER @$249++) I HAD MINE SINCE 11 MONTHS NOW FROM SEARS, NO PROBLEM AT ALL.

[mysweetx5]

ALSO I DON'T EVEN TOUCH THE (VENT HOSE) CABLE LINE ON THE SIDE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT, I DONT EVEN USED IT AT ALL