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  #1  
Old 01-03-2012, 05:24 AM
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Does BMW Warranty Cover Battery?

The "Battery Poltergeist" hit us this weekend.

My wife's 25 month-old Mercedes died when we went for a short ride to the beach on New Years Day. MB Service came to the beach, replaced the battery and set up needed codes within an hour at no charge no questions asked.

Yesterday, my 18 month-old X5d refused to start. BMW Emergency service (a local service station, not a dealer) came and jump-started it. No new battery. Took it to one dealer - "no replacement under warranty." WHAT???

Isn't it BMW that touts their 4-year, 50,000 mile warranty and service?

What's the story here? Anyone else have that experience? WHat was the resolution?

I'm going to try my local dealer tomorrow & then BMWNA if necessary.
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  #2  
Old 01-03-2012, 08:34 AM
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They will talk to you about daily distance. Vehicle is designed to travel at least 25 miles per use/day. If you do not do this sort of milage there is a chance of high battery discharge/drain. If you drive normally according to BMW then you should have ground for warranty replacement. Hope that helps!
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Old 01-03-2012, 09:31 AM
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I had my battery replaced recently with the updated AGM battery under warranty after the two year old battery refused to hold more then 30% charge
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  #4  
Old 01-03-2012, 09:40 AM
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I haven't taken notes, or memorized all the battery under warranty posts here, but from fading memory:

on the older E53s, there were anecdotal posts that suggested some posters got a free replacement initially, while others did not. After the first replacement went boom, most were on their own...however, some posters never got that first replacement covered. Many of us went to using a Battery Tender or similar 'maintainer' with some regularity. Fwiw, I got 6+ yrs out of my initial batt, and have 5 on first replacement, using a tender. Same goes for my Vette...

The same as above, holds for E70s, though I recall fewer reports of replacement success, as BMW may do any/all of the following:
-wants to dodge the coverage, esp as a new batt has to 'linked' to the car
-as SCardamon noted, many dlrs will blame the owner 'for not driving enough'
-dlrs will blame any additional non-oe devices
-dlrs will blame an 'undetectable parasitic draw'
-a lucky few posters will get a new batt, or a new batt 'at cost', as it seems to vary with the dlr, Service relationship, good complaining, etc.

Not to suggest that every E53 or E70 had/has batt woes, though the E70 problems seem to be more prevalent, possibly due to all increased electronics & gizmos on the newer models...

And, some posters park their E70s for days/weeks with no problems. It's a crap shoot.

Press your dlr, hope you get a new batt, and maybe look into a BattTender or CTek maintenance charging unit; yes, that is ridiculous, but it is what it is.
GL, mD

PS...fwiw, as you are in FL, you know that heat is really the batt beater, and I suspect your dlr knows that, too.
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  #5  
Old 01-03-2012, 09:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCardamon View Post
They will talk to you about daily distance. Vehicle is designed to travel at least 25 miles per use/day. If you do not do this sort of milage there is a chance of high battery discharge/drain. If you drive normally according to BMW then you should have ground for warranty replacement. Hope that helps!
I would imagine that with an average of 1,000 miles a month it would fit their "normal" driving range.

We'll see.
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Old 01-03-2012, 12:55 PM
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People should be aware that the BMW warranty- and in particular what is covered- is determined by both the PART and the FAILURE MODE.

No part is warranted due to normal wear and tear. Other parts are excluded (or defined) by name (ie the supension alignment is warranted for only 2000 miles).

An owner is required to follow the manual and the instructions therein, and if a 'non-excluded' part fails due to a defect in workmanship or materials, BMW will replace it.

As noted here, BMW has designed and implemented a sub-standard battery charging and current draw control system. I am not sure why they have done this, but short trips will exacerbate this flaw and batteries will fail. To give themselves legal coverage, they provide a mealy-mouthed warning in the owners manual... HOWEVER, they have a pretty strict criteria they use to determine if the battery will be covered.

They can download a driving history from your car- and if it fails to show 'adequate' long trips, they will claim you did not follow the instructions in the owners manual.

(Can anyone say "Class action for breach of implied warranty of fitness"?) BMW Should not sell cars to people that cannot be used they way 99.9% of the cars sold on the market can be used without issue.

You're not the first, there are a few threads with details on this.

GL

A
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Old 01-03-2012, 12:55 PM
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lol yes I believe so. 1000 a month should cover it
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Old 01-03-2012, 07:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blue dragon View Post
I had my battery replaced recently with the updated AGM battery under warranty after the two year old battery refused to hold more then 30% charge

Ditto this statement, got a 850A AGM, not covered under anything, paid out of pocket.
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Old 01-04-2012, 11:34 AM
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I had my battery replaced with an AGM after having the Increased Battery Discharge error. I never paid a cent.
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