Removing my comment - was a duplicate...

So the inevitable happened.
 

Looks like my dad's X5 is joining the club. There's no good possible reason for user error in this case. He's been driving 60km (40mi) a day, half of it highway, to and from work the last 3 days. He did not leave any lights on by accident. But nonetheless, a flat battery.

This evening when he was about to leave work at 6pm, he tried to start the car and the electronics apparently went on a fritz then the car shut down completely. The key fob was stuck in the slot so I directed him to use the manual metal key to lock the car, go somewhere warm, and grab dinner.

He'd contacted Roadside Assist who cited a 90min wait time; 90min later, they said they didn't have a flat bed available, so the X5 has to stay in the car park overnight until tomorrow, when they will tow it to the dealer. We drove to pick him up at 9:30pm. (Why didn't they tell him the first time my dad called?) :thumbdown

This 7-month X5 really is a dud. Two restraint system faults within a month, creaks and abnormal wind whistle, a loose cruise control stalk, and now this.

Chances are all it will need is a jump to get it going, either from another car or a portable unit. Roadside assistance just carry the portable units around.

I got tired of waiting around for BMW assist. They are completely useless. Just carry a portable jump starter in the back of the car and jump leads.

So I had the same issue many times. Had the same argument I didn't drive the car enough. Finally got a new battery under warranty. Only time will tell.

Roadside Assist did show up (guess I didn't write clearly) and tried to jump the car to no avail. I guess they showed up with the wrong type of tow truck, hence the no-tow.

FWIW....
I guess it's an annual thing...my X has been at the dealer for three days now due to fbs (flat battery syndrome)..Two weeks ago it started acting up, so i pulled out the charger and topped off the battery...then it died in a parking lot a week later...

So...I asked them to fix the peeling door handle and steering wheel, blistering roof rack, align (just put third set of tires on it), and reset the service indicator...

When the SA checked about the indicator, he realized that although they show they did the brake fluid flush 8 months ago, the system does not show all the parts required so the SA is thinking the entire service was not done!!!

Anyway..hopefully today I'll get it back..been stuck in a Camry for the last three days and am tired of it!

Yup, got some cold weather and for the first time I got the Excessive Battery Discharge message, So I pur ir on a battery charger.

Yes, I did do some short trips, but you should be able to do 3 short trips of one-mile or less without getting a battery drain message. This is ridiculous. It's like I'm back in the 1950's when with generators, instead of alternators, you would discharge the battery at idle and short-trips would not charge the battery enough.

I'm beginning to think that it's not worth the hassle to own a BMW, and that the "Ultimate Driving Machine" for me is something that can be driven for three short trips in the Winter without battery drain messages popping up.

+1 and everyone made fun of me when I traded mine off for my Lexus. I haven't had but one software update in 9 months. No dead battery, no stupid check engine lights. I'm glad I traded mine.

Craig

Last winter, I had complete battery discharge twice. I had to hear same old arguments that I could have heard in the 1960s; Did you drive long enough? Did you leave your lights on? and Did you leave your vehicle parked longer period of time sort of things.

Hey... How long is long enough? Do they want me to drive 100s of miles every day? No... I always shuts off the system by pushing Enging Start button twice(comfort access). Yes.. I leave my vehicle in airport parking for a few days. I left my ex-Honda Civic back parked outside in the winter in 1980s, but it started after one month of no movement.

Battery issue with X5 is ridiculous, and so are BMW's(or dealers' service departments) arguments.

They told me the same thing, I didn't drive it enough and had to leave mine on a battery tender every night. The X5 was neither reliable or durable in my opinion.

Craig

My E60 and other E60's also have similar problems. I've also heard that the 7 series also has the same issues.

1.) The dealer can run an energy diagnostic to determine if its a driver/user issue or if there is drain in the system. If it is a drain in the system, they will fix it.
2.) If the computer determines it is a driver issue and you disagree, my personal opinion is that a lot of the batteries are damaged during shipment/sitting on the dealer lot. By damage, I mean the battery loses its charge, the dealer charges it back up but the battery now can only hold a 70% charge becuase some of the cells are permanently damaged. So, the car will operate fine with a full 70% charge but if you "leave teh door open" for a couple minutes, your margin of charge is so low that the car battery dies.

BMW doesn't want to give a you a new battery so they tell you to "plug it in".

Yout next option would be to buy a new battery that hasn't been sitting around and hope that it is a good battery.