High Battery Drain / at my wit's end...
 

Hello everyone,

I have a 2007 X5 4.8 /w pretty much every known option to mankind. As you can imagine, all of these gadgets and electronics will put a strain on any car battery. My X5 is "special" in the fact that in the 1.5 years that I've had the car, it's beached me 3 times. Dead battery... The dealer I go to always "claims" to fix it. They've replaced the battery, tested sensors, etc etc you name it... I've raised a stink, done all I can as a consumer can to get them to fix it...still..nothing. It, of course, always happens at the worst possible time, only adding to my frustration.

My car died last week, dead battery...had AAA come out, jump the car, limped it to the dealer, took a cab home (did I mention it was 1AM?). They replaced the battery, kept it for 3 days, did tests up the ying-yang...they return it to me. It's fine for 2 days...boom, High Battery Drain message *again* to me.

I'm closing in on totally losing it. I am afraid to take the vehicle on long road trips and/or more than 50 miles outside of my comfort zone as I have no faith in the vehicle anymore. Something is draining the battery. They keep saying they've found it at the dealer. Obviously not... They are a good dealer, I know the are trying to repair it. I also know I pay full price for this car and if I skipped a payment, repo-man would be making a pitstop at my place, so I'm not feelin' the love anymore if you know what I mean.

I've researched CA Lemon Laws, apparently 4 times the charm, if the dealer can't fix the issue after 4 times, you (I guess) can start really threatening them with some legal action. I like my X5. I just want it to work, but I'm not going to be anybody's chump and at $1230 a month, I expect this thing to perform like a BMW should. This is my 3rd BMW, I shudder to think it might be my last, losing faith guys... Recommendations? Anyone else have an issue like this with their X5?

Thanks,
Scott
Costa Mesa, CA

Very frustrating to have this happen, especially repeatedly.

May I ask how long your typical trips are? The alternator may not be charging it enough during repeated short trips. Personally, aside from weekends, 5-days a week I only drive it 3mi. daily but I've only seen the high battery drain message once but was still able to start the car then. Also, what options do you have, such as ipod, heated seats, etc..

My driving habits are all over the place. I do make a lot of short trips for work, however several times a week I drive 30+ miles for certain client visits. I like road trips, have taken the car many places hundreds of miles away on many occasions. I have 25,000 miles roughly, the vehicle in my possession 18 months, I drive a decent amount...

As I mentioned in the post, I have basically *all* options, minus the ventilated seats and the 6FL iPod connector (although I do have the old school iPod connector which replaces the 6-CD glove changer, dealer installed post purchase).

Here's another thread on the same problem. Might give you an idea on a few things to check out...

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e70-forum/...ain-again.html

I also have a '07 4.8 that is heavily loaded with electronic options. I had the same high battery drain that others have reported. The dealer has recoded it and gave me a trickle charger because they thought I wasn't driving enough. However, I read in the other thread that someone recommended that locking the doors every time solved a similar problem in a Mercedes S class. Since I started locking the car every time I park it (even in my garage at night), I have never had the high battery drain again. I'm now going on 12 months without a recurrence of the problem.

Although I am not certain this fixed it (could be coincidence), I did notice that if the X is parked and unlocked, it periodically makes electronic sounds. It doesn't do this when it is locked, which makes me believe that when it is unlocked, there is some program that runs to periodically check systems.

It can't hurt to try.

PS: My M3 or 335 doesn't seem to have this problem but now I lock the M3 all the time too.

I had similar problem couple of times.... Both times when I had the car sitting unlocked for extended period of times (like loading it up for long trip).

First time the dealer said it was a bad battery, replaced it. Second time they said it was a bad terminal connection, and they tighten it up.

I believe it is all the electronics in the car, and not strong enough battery. When you unlock the car, the computer starts booting up, all electronics get in stand-by mode, etc. No wonder.... It is also possible that there is a sensor, which detects discharged battery and prevents engine startup, which is miscalibrated...

I thinking of getting a car battery charger and carry it with me. Something like this : http://cgi.ebay.com/JUMP-START-CAR-B...3A1%7C294%3A50

I don't think driving it every day plus 30 mile trips would constitute not enough. It is unacceptable to expect BMW customers would need to drive their cars 200 miles a week for the battery to stay a live.

There are several reasons which have been discussed that causes a high battery drain. If you keep your car unlocked, I do believe there are some things which may be on standby and cause a higher drain. Also, if you have comfort access and the key is kept close, there may be issues as well.

Personally, I have driven my 2008 x5 about 10 miles the past 3 weeks maybe 100 miles in 2 months, leaving it parked for 2 weeks straight regularly. I started it up today a bit worried but had no issues. I always make sure I lock it and I even take the measure of removing the navigation DVD when I know it will be parked for a while since I believe it continues spinning even when the car is parked and locked.

+1 for locking the doors. Doing that certainly stopped by experience of multiple low battery messages and lost settings.

my wife's 325i touring recently also got a battery replaced.

reason is that she drives short distances only, which does not allow the battery to fully power-up. perhaps that is also in your case ?

Had the same problem with mine, High battery discharge, but no dead battery when I bought the vehicle. It started after about a month after I got the X. Took it in to the dealer and the problem apparently came from a faulty cigarette lighter drawing power while the vehicle was switched off. They also reprogrammed teh vehicle, so I guess I'll never know what caused the problem in the first place. Never had an issue since.

The reason we suspected the cigarette lighter was because the first time it appeared I had my iPod charger connected to the lighter, and disconnected it. The message reappeared everytime I used the lighter to charge my iPod and forgot the iPod connected in the car when it was parked. Everytime I removed the charger the message went away and didn't come back until I used the lighter again.

I'm just gald the message hasn't come back....:thumbup:

Got this message after 2 weeks ago after my last international trip when the car sat for maybe 7 days. But spouse drove 40+ to pick me up at airport then I drove to office (14 miles) next day.

The message came up while starting the 2008 4.8. I called BMW Assist and the roadside help said head to the dealer. I got there just as they opened at 7 am. My rep said that it was probably because the X sat for a few days but it sat in early Jan and late Nov for international trips and this was 1st alarm.

Hope locking the doors is not the answer as I need to open the doors from time to time while the X is in the garage.

The other day I noticed that my E70 lives its own life when left in the garage. For example, it would occasionally pre-pressurize fuel lines by running a fuel pump for a moment. Who knows what it is doing while sitting still... It would definitely contribute to battery drain.

Having read this thread, I have to mention that I leave the car sitting in the garage unlocked.

I've had this problem once in my 2009 X5 3.0. Crossign fingers it won't recur. We also had it chronically in our 5 wagon until the dealer finally changed out the battery and fixed a bad CCC unit.

is it really a problem? perhaps we're supposed to lock the doors when not using the vehicle and the battery drain issue will go away?

To further throw salt on the wound...:nanana: ... my SAV sat for two weeks in my parking garage while on was on vacation. Started right up.

Vehicle was locked (of course). Sounds like the car doesn't "shut down" unless locked.

Locking or unlocking does not make a difference. I drive my car every day exactly 22km's. I always drive from A to B, same time of the day, same settings ON or OFF (heated seats on, radio off for instance). I always lock the car when leaving it. 11 hours later I drive back home. Every now and then the car gives me the high battery drain message. There is absolutely no cause and effect noticable. As long as it starts, it's fine for me. I took it to the dealer in the beginning of my ownership but they are clueless. Since it happens not that often, I decided to classify these events as non critical anymore.

I tried numerous things in the biginning, such as locking/unlocking. It does not make a difference at all. I even tried playing the stereo for HOURS when cleaning it (booting the system every 15 mins to keep it playing). The next day no issues at all.

It's just completely random.

I know that this might sound stupid, but when you start the car, hold the start button a little longer than you normally are. When I first got my 08, I was just "flicking" the starter button, and i was getting random error messages. A friend recommended holding the start button a little longer and all of the error messages stopped.

Just a thought....

Got that bloody warning again this morning. Just typical metro driving of late.

I really don't want to lock up every night as I frequently step into the garage to get/place something inside the X so those of you who do this all the time do not get the warning now?

I really don't know what to say about the alarms since both times I could start up and drive like normal. I think my dealer said the instruments are sensitive and just ignore what I'm seeing unless it affects performance.

locking it does not solve the problem, however opening the door eg every hour or so DOES imply a higher usage of battery power than when leaving it locked all the time. The car does 'checks' every time a doorhandle is pulled so I can imagine the risk of a high battery drain increases.

Thanks. In terms of frequency I meant like once in the evening but I step in the garage forgetting my key thus the desire to not lock the vehicle.

High Battery Drain
 

I did a search and found this thread. My wife's 2007 X5 4.8 has had the High Battery Drain error message a 1/2 dozen times or so. She drives it every day, so no parked in the garage unlocked without being driven possibility. Is this a known issue? Is there a dealer fix? Our dealer just blew off her complaints about this issue.

There is not really a fix. However, after each maintenance visit, I ask them to reprogram the car, just to make sure I have the latest software version on EVERY module that sits in the car. And there's a lot of modules ....

As to the frequency of the problem : I have encountered it on very rare occasions now (maybe once in 6 months). Leaving the car unlocked overnight and then driving it for a short distance (read : battery has been 'used' by the car during overnight checks, then followed by a short trip which is not really sufficient to reload the battery completely, followed by another period of 'rest'), does seem to increase the likelyhood of having the problem. Once you restart the car though (I always could until now...), the problem seems to solve itself...

It's one of the nasty gimmicks with the E70, I tend not to pay attention to it anymore and I make sure my doors are locked at all times...

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like sound advice.

I have an '07 and have had the discharge warning about 6 times. I've started putting the car on a BMW battery charger about once a month. Typically, if a battery is normally charged, it'll go to a green light in about 10-20 mins. Each time I put it on the X5 it takes about 4-6 hours, charging the whole time. I drive about 30 miles each day, more than enough for a charge. I read somewhere that some newer BMW's were having this problem because of bad or undersized alternators. Anyone know about this?

Hi Guys,
I also have a problem with a dead 3.0d.. but no signs that there is a high battery discharge... and it just happens randomly..??? Went on holiday for 2 weeks and she started first time... following day as dead as a door nob.. the car will go months with no problems then she will just die twice a week????? we have checked every thing.. and its not cheap.. just thinking if its the bluetooth??? machanic tells me something is switching its self on when the car should be shutting down... I'm now also thinking of buying a battery booster to carry in the car.... its the wifes car and i'm getting a little fed up having to give her a jump start twice a month on top of that now she worried of long journeys...
help.....
cheers
Tony