Bought a replacement battery at Sam's Club
 

We had our first couple of days over 110+ degrees this week, and the heat killed my battery. The only two places in town that stocked a replacement were the BMW dealer and Sam's Club. I chose Sam's to save money and picked up a really nice replacement for $82.28.

It included free installation, but I ended up doing most of it there in the shop since they weren't sure where the battery was. :D It was branded "Energizer" and I think it's a good value for the price! :thumbup:

When I checked a few months ago, my local Sam's didn't have a battery in their catalog for an 04 4.4. I think they did have an 04 3.0 battery.

I'm hoping you made sure the vent hose was hooked up to the battery...? You just don't want it venting in the cabin corroding up the stuff back there. As long as you got that hooked up and the AH and RC rate match the OEM you shouldn't have a problem.

The new battery came with a nice vent tube and an optional extension in case it wasn't long enough. The new battery vented in the middle, so I did use the extension and made sure it vented properly. The new battery had 850 CCA and has a considerable warranty - 36 months full replacement 120 months prorated. It seems like a solid deal to me. FWIW, they also stocked the 3.0 battery as well.

Can you post the model # of the battery and all the specs? I am trying to put together a nice list. Thanks.

I got there just a few minutes before they closed and I installed it in the parking lot in about 10 minutes, so I didn't get a good look at all the specs besides the 850CCA. The model was called the "Energizer E49" for the 4.4 V8 which I what I have. Then the model listed for the 3.0 was E94L if I recall correctly. If I stop back by Sam's soon I'll pick up the rest of the specs.

Great, thanks.

BTW - here's a battery selector that's pretty handy for several brands of battery. It appears that all have some sort of "49" model number for the 4.4:

Battery Selector

Vegas: Thanks for posting the info. I will likely need a new battery in the next year or two. Was this your first replacement on your '02?

I'm surprised they let you in the shop area. My experience with most large places is that their liability insurance restricts them from having customers in the work area.

Also, I remember seeing the free installation offer though they didn't have a battery available for mine when I checked (only checked out of curiosity). There was an asterisk on the free installation offer saying "for most vehicles." I guessed at the time that it might not include X5s since the procedure is more complicated than average. Less than $90 is a great deal even without installation.

Yep it was for mine. I technically wasn't in their shop area. I pulled up to the entrance of the garage without entering the bay and left my car running because I knew it would die if I shut it down. The tech said he would watch it while I confirmed they had my battery and purchased it. After I bought it and came out with the receipt, I turned off the car and the tech started looking around the X5 to figure out where the battery was while it was still parked just outside their service bay. I showed him it was under the spare in the back and he went and grabbed a socket set to start digging in. When he came back with the tools and started on it, another tech called him over to help mount up a set of wheels on a Tahoe. I started wrenching on it myself since I was a little leary of the fact he didn't know where the battery was, and when he came back over I had just lifted the battery out of the back. He said "wow that was faster than I could have done it!". At that point I just decided to finish the job :D. They were really nice guys, but I felt more comfortable doing it myself just to ensure it was done correctly (hose vent, air compressor not damaged, etc.).

Yep, good move, you certainly don't want Joe Hundai to bust your air suspension hoses. A $90 install could quickly turn into a $1000 repair.

I bought the same battery from Sam's about 3 years ago and I haven't had any problems.

I checked my local Sam's yesterday and they do not stock the Energizer E49 battery. I guess it depends on where you live. My battery is 6.5 years old with 25k on the odometer and it's still going strong so I'm not in a rush to replace it.

My local sams club no longer carry the energizer. They switched to a different brand.

Mine carries mostly Interstate batteries. They didn't have a 49-sized model though.

This is the recommended Interstate on their site ($193 suggested retail, 720 CCA):


http://www.interstatebatteries.com/cs_eStore/Search.aspx/Automotive-Truck/BMW/X5?dsNavigation=Ns~product+Type|101|1|,N~21-4294493536-4294493492-2147384818-4294493514

Does anybody know the AH (Amp Hours) and RC (Reserve Capacity) rating of the stock battery (I'd be interested in the 4.4l; not sure if there would be a difference between its and the 3.0's)? I've been searching, and I can't find it. Is it stamped somewhere on the battery?

I called Everstart, and the guy told me he's pretty sure the RC on their MAXX-49 is 140, and he thought the AH was between 70 and 80, but he was going from memory, as he didn't have access to a spec sheet. The RC on a Duralast 49-DL is 155, but its AH wasn't listed. Thanks.

If your OEM battery is 640cca the AH is 80, if it is 720cca the AH is 90.

Thanks for the quick reply. Any idea what the reserve capacity is? And in terms of compatibility with the car's electrical system, which is the more important factor? Thanks.

Don't remember the RC off hand unfortunately... They are both important in their own right. All the info on what means what can be found here. But basically AH and RC have to do with the output capacity of the battery other than starting (which is all CA and CCA is, just for starting) and how long it takes to drain with a load/draw on it etc.

That's a very informative link. Thanks.

If you read in there about AGM batteries, that is what is being used in a few modern BMWs, starting with the E65 and including many newer models with heavy electric loads. (we actually had to do retrofit programming to have the DME alter the charging profile in E65's when changing from lead acid to AGM)