Sorry, I know this topic has been discussed before by users, but I still have problem understanding it even after researching in many sites. I apologize if I sound too ignorant and also for this very lengthy thread.
I have a brand new 328i in March. I live in Buckhead, Atlanta. So I do basically almost everything within the buckhead area.
Around mid October, I first received a "High Battery Discharge"warning message. But it went away within a minute after I turned on the ignition.
On November 1, I was at my dental office for over 2 hours. I got into the car, drove to pick up some shipping supplies down the street. Got back into the car about 5 mins later, halfway to the mall, my mom called and I talked to her via bluetooth.
Parked the car, cut off engine and still talking to my mom. Whole conversation is about 30minutes. I know. After I hung up the phone, the "High Battery Discharge" warning came up again. I turned off the power.
Went to the mall to pick up a few items, went back to the car. The "Battery Charged Level Low" came up when I turned the power on. This was the first time I saw that and I was worried. I connected to the BMW Assist and the lady insisted I should send my car for a checkup. She connected me to the nearest service center at Global Imports. I got an appointment on Nov 5. The warning signs did not show up after that.
On November 5, the SA told me I have too few miles in the car, and likely due to my driving short distances. I looked at the diagnostics, it said
"#1 Cause was Terminal 15 was on.
#2 was unfavorable driving patterms" Battery at 53%
The technician came and explained I should really take my car to go far away places. He has suggested a trickle charger but since I live in a condominium, that won't work. Everyone zoomed in on my "unfavorable driving pattern". He also said the battery will not be under warranty if it dies.
So I have since tried to take the car to far places once a week. Honestly, this is stressful cos I have to purposely go somewhere far to get the battery charged.
One month later, today I received another "High Battery Discharge". Not sure if it was due to my stopping at the gas station to fill up the gas and again like 10minutes later. When I got back into the car after leaving the car for 10minutes, I received the "High Battery discharge" warning. The warning did not go away. After my one hour meeting at Starbucks, I did not see anymore of the "High Battery Discharge" warning for the rest of the day.
I am wondering instead of going to highway when the traffic is just as bad as the city roads, can I just drive around the city to get the battery charged. If yes, how long should I drive to get the batt charged. Would anyone be kind to tell me if this (driving short distances) is the only reason causing it. I also have a theory, could it be because I keep cutting off the engine at within sort period of time interval. I used to have a MB, and I never have such problem
Would appreciate if anyone can advise on this. Thank you!
I have a brand new 328i in March. I live in Buckhead, Atlanta. So I do basically almost everything within the buckhead area.
Around mid October, I first received a "High Battery Discharge"warning message. But it went away within a minute after I turned on the ignition.
On November 1, I was at my dental office for over 2 hours. I got into the car, drove to pick up some shipping supplies down the street. Got back into the car about 5 mins later, halfway to the mall, my mom called and I talked to her via bluetooth.
Parked the car, cut off engine and still talking to my mom. Whole conversation is about 30minutes. I know. After I hung up the phone, the "High Battery Discharge" warning came up again. I turned off the power.
Went to the mall to pick up a few items, went back to the car. The "Battery Charged Level Low" came up when I turned the power on. This was the first time I saw that and I was worried. I connected to the BMW Assist and the lady insisted I should send my car for a checkup. She connected me to the nearest service center at Global Imports. I got an appointment on Nov 5. The warning signs did not show up after that.
On November 5, the SA told me I have too few miles in the car, and likely due to my driving short distances. I looked at the diagnostics, it said
"#1 Cause was Terminal 15 was on.
#2 was unfavorable driving patterms" Battery at 53%
The technician came and explained I should really take my car to go far away places. He has suggested a trickle charger but since I live in a condominium, that won't work. Everyone zoomed in on my "unfavorable driving pattern". He also said the battery will not be under warranty if it dies.
So I have since tried to take the car to far places once a week. Honestly, this is stressful cos I have to purposely go somewhere far to get the battery charged.
One month later, today I received another "High Battery Discharge". Not sure if it was due to my stopping at the gas station to fill up the gas and again like 10minutes later. When I got back into the car after leaving the car for 10minutes, I received the "High Battery discharge" warning. The warning did not go away. After my one hour meeting at Starbucks, I did not see anymore of the "High Battery Discharge" warning for the rest of the day.
I am wondering instead of going to highway when the traffic is just as bad as the city roads, can I just drive around the city to get the battery charged. If yes, how long should I drive to get the batt charged. Would anyone be kind to tell me if this (driving short distances) is the only reason causing it. I also have a theory, could it be because I keep cutting off the engine at within sort period of time interval. I used to have a MB, and I never have such problem
Would appreciate if anyone can advise on this. Thank you!