Duralast Gold battery for my '05 X5
 

As I've posted, some of the functions such as central locking does not work after I replaced the battery with Duralast Gold from Autozone. I called the BMW dealer who told me that a new battery must be registered and only BMW battery can be done. Otherwise, the car still "thinks" that it's still running on the old battery.

Is this valid?

this is valid for E70 cars and not exactly as the dealer said...

Tell us more about your case - it is safe to assume that you have checked the fuses for the central locking in the glove compartment?

there might more than one fuse... if i remember correctly, it might be fuse 11... check the label to make sure...

No...as this question is oft asked...the answer is still the same. The e53 X5 does not require "battery registration" for a replacement battery.

Whoever spoke to you is thinking of the new BMWs (like the e70 X5) that uses the MOST communication bus system (i-Drive). Your e53 X5 is just like all BMWs prior to i-Drive and you have no need to "register" a replacement battery.

Make sure you didn't blow a fuse when you replaced the battery by checking ALL of the fuses for the central locking system (front glove box & rear cargo area). You can check your red LED status light (the clown nose under the rear view mirror) to see how it flashes when central locking is activated (you'll have to manually insert the key into the driver's door since the keyless system is not functioning).

The remote key contains 3 features that are all separate but work in conjunction with each other:

• EWS - immobilizing drive-a-way-protection system
• FZV - keyless entry/central locking system
• DWA = anti theft alarm siren system

Again, if you arm the DWA system, you can check the red LED status light to see if all monitors are working correctly...if not, find the monitor that is not working and repair it (or disconnect its electrical harness) and that may restore the keyless function to your FZV system.

QS, thank you for this info. Car's current with my trusty mechanic.

Terminator: As soon as the new battery was connected. The alarm went off and my remote stopped working. Aside from central lock/unlock, front wipers, interior lights, rear windows do not work. I checked all the fuses in both boxes and they are all fine. Someone said possibly the relay was blown during all this. Very frustrating....

disconnect the battery and couple of minutes later reconnect... how did you check the fuses? multimeter?

I disconnected the battery for 2hr but it didn't make a difference. I disconnected both +/- for 2hrs but funny the preset button on my radio was still set.

As for the fuses, I just visually checked the fuses comparing the existing ones to the new ones.

try to use multimeter - visual inspection of blade fuses is not reliable

Hmm....if the alarm went off when the new battery was connected...it could be that the alarm siren's internal battery was low due to the vehicle's battery failing (is that the reason for the replacement H8 battery?).

The alarm siren contains its own rechargeable battery that gets recharged by the vehicle's battery. Low voltage or a sense of change in voltage will cause the siren to go off..see the info below. Once your new battery is operating/charged normally...it will then recharge the alarm siren's battery...which may cause the issue to fix itself. Let's X our fingers. ;)

Also, have you tried reprogramming your remotes? If you have more than one remote...you need to do BOTH during the same session. If you program a remote and the other remotes are not done during the same session, the ones not present will no longer lock/unlock & arm/disarm the vehicle (see programming instructions below which must be followed to the "T". (tip: only insert the first key into the ignition...start any other remote's programming on STEP 3 where you start pressing the buttons)