Ya.. I have a trickle charger. I read that if you do short trips the battery does not get a full charge. It was recommended that you charge the battery every 6 months.

Ok, X5 novice question - can I trick charge via the jump-start posts in the engine compartment or do I have to dissasemble the back 1/2 of the car to get to the actual battery?

Mine was dead this a.m... Probably my fault, but they don't make working on the battery very simple, do they?

You can use the posts in the engine compartment. I've done it.

Thanks, I'll try it out :)

That would be the only way I would do it. If you can jump from there you can charge.

For what it is worth I got my excess battery drain notice a week ago and nothing since. I think in my case it is a quirk and the X5 has a few but still it is a blast.

Also at around 6000 miles have received the message 3 times in the last week. First time I have seen the message. Am not using the auto vent feature.

The owners manual advises to never connect directly to the battery. You should always pop the hood.