Battery recommendations needed...
 

Hi all,

My original OEM battery (7/01 3.0i) is growing weak, and I want to change it before it dies. I do not want to pay the high ticket on a battery with a roundel on it, when a quality aftermarket is just as good.

I have had good luck with using a Bosch battery from Pep-Boys on my 97 Z3 2.8i (oem fit with vent tube exact as oem, $89). Pep-Boys stores have an perfect fit as well for the X5 3.0 at just $119. Problem is, their warehouse is out of stock.:(

I did a search on board-no batteries plus near me. How is Autozone's battery? Any other recommendations for a quality aftermarket battery with exact fit?

Yellow top Optima. It'll last 7-10 years minimum. Its like having a giant rechargable battery. But its not an exact replacement size.(its smaller than OEM) However you wont have to mod anything.

I have an Exide direct replacement. $95 and at least 72 months pro-rated.

Go OEM - all BMW batteries come with 1 year roadside assistance. Keep a copy of your receipt with you to show if needed. ;)

I'm with Canadian X5 - Optima due to their better internal design. The X5's battery management really sucks and you can easily find yourself with a fully-discharged battery for dozens of reasons (some mechanical, some user-carelessness). Once you discharge a typical starter battery it will never, ever be the same and just a few discharges will completely kill most batteries.

Furthermore - as many guys have found out the hard way - X5's really don't like discharged batteries and many bad things start happening to various electronic systems, displays and sensors. Optima from Johnson Controls (which also OEMs other brands) come in the yellow top and blue top line; both of which are deep-cycle batteries that love nothing more than repeated discharging and recharging. They make EXCELLENT starter batteries and go a long way to provide extra battery for things like high-current amplifiers and 120v power converters. You'll spend a little more for deep-cycle, but you wont have to throw away your battery just because your kids left an interior light on a few times.

When it's all said and done, you can always pull out your $200 Optima deep-cycle battery before you sell the X5 and throw it in the boat as a backup battery (Optima blue top has marine terminals as well as SAE terminals - yellow top has SAE only but are otherwise identical).

IMPORTANT NOTE: For those with the self-leveling rear suspension, just be aware that the OPTIMA blue top or yellow top MAY BE TOO TALL to be dropped into the standard battery well on an X5 depending on the model. If you buy the D31A or D31M which are 9.4" in height, the triangular bracket that holds the rear-air compressor housing will need be be lifted approximately 3 1/2 inches in order to accommodate the new battery. I fashioned my own using U-shaped deck brackets I found at Home depot and using 4" 5/16 bolts to hold the middle two brackets to the original floor retainers. The rear-most bracket was similarly configured but required a little more creativity. Other OPTIMA models are only 7.8" in height and may not require modifications beyond a few simple spacers.

A good listing of the full Optima line with pricing can be found at at www.1st-optima-batteries.com.

Good luck!

Buy the battery from Douglas as indicated in the X5 home page; http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/g...ernatives.html. They manufacture the battery for BMW. Expect to pay under $100.

According to the artcle Douglas does not sell our battery anymore......any suggestions where I can find one? thank u.

Douglas does sell the battery, you need to find a local distributor, call dougleas battery and they will get you one. The OEM battery is only about 100.00.

Pete...
see Post#14 from SuperGreg, in the X5World Link:

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...ry+Replacement

While rummaging around for this link, I came upon your
previous post on how your batt. was doing fine, in
its 5th year...:) Batteries tend to reach the tipping
point, without much notice; mine, in its 5th year, is
also on borrowed time.

GL,mD

Batteries Plus carries the same battery as the OEM for under $100. Only difference is the lack of the roundel on the battery iteself.

see http://batteriesplus.com/ for a location near you.