Battery Gripes.

[ncx]

Sorry about this. If they won't warranty the battery this time then get a battery and Battery Tender yourself, ~$200. Install in 15 min and you won't have the problem again. Get your car and DIY.

[X5 Meister]

Z8's came with a battery charger.

Originally Posted by deutsch100

So, typical of BMW dealing with their E70 X5. Similar stories are like this when the new 7 Series came out in the early 2000's. BMW was/is just overwhelmed with problems and warranty costs. I remember when we got our 2003 Z8 Alpina. MSRP was about $140,000...and the battery died also. BMW told us to keep the car parked in the garage with a BMW battery tender. WTF? And, we had to pay for the battery charger. Sorry to hear this. I would FOR SURE file a complaint with BMWNA. In this volatile economic crisis, BMW does NOT need unhappy customers, that can persuade family & friends to avoid BMW vehicles!!!

[Penguin]

> So they tell me that its going to cost me $665 and that I'm not covered by warranty because I don't drive 800 miles a month.


Well, that would be the last vehicle I ever bought from that dealership.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by Penguin

> So they tell me that its going to cost me $665 and that I'm not covered by warranty because I don't drive 800 miles a month.


Well, that would be the last vehicle I ever bought from that dealership.

Or BMW...

Craig

[tcn2k]

yeah, for a 73k car like mine, if they'd ever say that to me; I'm going to raise hell.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by ncx

Sorry about this. If they won't warranty the battery this time then get a battery and Battery Tender yourself, ~$200. Install in 15 min and you won't have the problem again. Get your car and DIY.

[Penguin]

> get a battery and Battery Tender yourself, ~$200.


Well, that certainly will treat the symptom. But I find it hilarious that a $70,000 vehicle must be kept on a battery charger if it isn't run 800 miles a month!

Here's what they SHOULD do, but likely did not do because it takes some time.

(1) with a good, charged-up battery, disconnect it at the battery terminal and put an accurate digital ammeter between the positive terminal and the positive battery clamp.

(2) close the doors, remove the key, and seal-it up as if it was parked for the night.

(3) Read the current drain, which will be too high since the car has not yet gone "too sleep."

(4) Leave it long enough to go to sleep/inactive mode and read the current drain. On my Z4 it takes about 20-30 minutes to go to sleep.

(5) Compare the current drain in sleep mode with the range BMW specifies for the vehicle.

The acceptable drain varies by vehicle, but for my Z4 I believe it was 20-40 milliamp, and my reading was 24 milliamp.

40 milliamp would be about 1 amp-hr per day/24 hr period. So with an 80 amp-hr battery, just sitting there it would drain the battery a bit more than 1% a day.


P.S.

I do not know about the X5, but my Z4 has a "park on the side of the road" "feature" called "standing lamps" which allows one to put either the left or the right turn signal lamps on solid while parked:

Left or right standing lamps*

As an additional feature, you can illuminate
your vehicle on either side for parking:

1. Turn the ignition key to position 0 or
remove it

2. Turn off the low beams

3. Push the lever in the appropriate turnsignal
direction. The lever engages in
the turn signal position.


It would seem that one could accidentally activate this "feature" if they bumped the turn signal stalk prior to leaving the car. I wonder if this is a possible explanation.

[killcrap]

just tell them your going to leave the car there until its fixed, and tell them your not going to pay a cent. and tell them to pay your lease payment or car payment for you until its fixed.

[LVR]

We have just gone through the same thing with our X5 (amongst other issues). Last week it totally died and we had to get BMW assist to get us going. Took it straight to the dealer who were great.

Our problem is (and I went through this with my 5 series) is that we live too close to our place of work, and apparently with all the on board systems in the new X5, the alternator is only giving a trickle charge to the battery of approx 10% of its output.

It is not being driven long enough on each journey so we have been steadily draining the battery. A software update has apparently changed this to a little more back to the battery, but it seems that all those systems come at a cost for us short trippers.

I suggested we put in a heavier battery but the dealership first wanted to go through a process (as the computer told them we were short tripping) of a battery re-charge then see how we go.

They have also suggested that I get a battery charger and use it once a month or so, and monitor the battery.

Bit rich considering I have paid over $160k for the thing.....

And just to top it off... my 5 series died the other day and is now going in for a battery check.

I am now in the process of investigating the viability of an aftermarket/OEM alternator change. I figure there are vehicles in the BMW range that have a higher draw than mine (eg security series) It might be a wild goose chase but I can't keep calling BMW assist....

Cheers

J

[Penguin]

I really don't understand these battery problems... are they saying that BMW Engineers are a bunch of idiots?

I mean really, if you increase the load due to more and more electrical systems and drain, then why don't they simply put a larger alternator on the vehicle? Sure, it costs more and also weighs more, but are they serious when they tell people that a 250+ HP engine cannot generate enough electrical power to charge the battery on short trips?

The dealer should do a load test and see how much current is flowing when the vehicle is asleep. I cannot believe that the BMW engineers would design a vehicle that needs to be put on a battery charger if it is driven for short trips. I believe there simply are problems where some parts of the electrical system are not "going to sleep" as they are suppose to, but that the dealers are simply either to lazy or too incompetent to do the correct diagnostic procedure.

Ask the dealer what current flow they measured out of the battery when the vehicle was asleep. If they didn't measure it, then they are either incompetent or lazy.