06 X3 Woes
 

My 2006 X3 has been in the dealer going on 3 times now due to low battery/won't start. Everytime I take the X3 in, the dealer says nothing seems to be wrong and charges up the battery. That was a month ago. Today, same thing attempt to start, vehicle won't crank, call BMW Service, to tow into the dealer.

I'm getting at my wits end here. I personally think it's a defective battery but the dealer doesn't seem to want to replace it. The battery is one of those with the "Green eye" things. Well, the eye thing is black and I've been advised by my dealer that "those things are never accurate".

I'm mostly venting here but if you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to chime in. Thanks.

if you take your battery to an auto supply store they'll test it, usually for free

have you added ANYTHING electrical to your X3?

ab

Do you have any electrical activity at all? Do all of the lights come on but the car wont crank? No lights at all?

It is really important to know whether you have added anything electrical to the car.

Its time to talk to the service manager or the service director since you have been in three times for the same problem. It may not be a problem with the battery but it could be a short in the system or something staying on overnigh draining your battery.

Nothing electrical has been added. The service advisor said when the car was towed in last night, the rear hatch was not fully closed. I did open it to get the towing hook out and may have not closed it all the way. They think I could possibly not be closing the hatch all the way causing the interior light to stay on all night and draining my battery. Maybe i'm just a du-mass...

rickp:
Tough to diagnose by post, but my guess is:
a dud battery from the build/install.

That, or a dead short/drain somewhere in system
which is v. diff to track and locate.

I'd lean on Stlr for a new batt., slow charged, and
then if all is well days, weeks, months from now,
that was the fix. Pretty easy fix for the stlr to do
and will prove the point in short time.
GL,md

If I remember correctly the problem you are having is do to a glitch in the Soft Ware.Question your dealer about it. Do a search on www.bimmerfest.com or www.e60.net about Battery Drain. Good luck
cheers
vern

Nope...not that. The X3 will turn its interior lights off after 20 minutes (I think that is how long) to prevent draining the battery. Talk to the service manager or find a different dealership. The problem here is the dealer not diagnosing your issue.

FWIW there are no TSB's for the 06 X3 that I was able to find at the NHTSA web site.

I'd go with "have your battery tested" first. Next, I would put a VOM in line with the positive side of the battery and see how much current you are drawing with everything off. I'd even wait 20 minutes to be sure the interior lights were off as well. High draw would indicate a problem.

There is a TSB indicating that if the key is only partially removed from the ignition it will drain the battery (some people leave the keys in the car while parked in their garage and may do this to stop the door chime when exiting the vehicle). The key needs to be either left fully in , or completely removed.

It's one of several possibilities to be aware of.