Successful DIY battery replace, is BMW registration necessary ?

I bought the BavarianTechnic cable, so that I can do basic activiations, read codes, troubleshoot, and yes - register new batteries. Cost a few hundred bucks, but now I can do a lot of things in my garage that would normally be done at the dealership.

I replaced my battery with a new one from Autozone two days ago. I was able to register it myself in a matter of seconds.

Having the BT cable also allows me to set my own service intervals for oil changes (7,500 miles instead of 15,000), reset the brakes, and do quite a few other things. I think it's a worthy investment, seeing how one trip to the dealer for some of these basic functions pays for itself.

Originally Posted by BickUW89

I bought the BavarianTechnic cable, so that I can do basic activiations, read codes, troubleshoot, and yes - register new batteries. Cost a few hundred bucks, but now I can do a lot of things in my garage that would normally be done at the dealership.

Plus it frees you from the tether that BMW has around your neck. There is a certain freedom that comes with these diagnostic tools that can't be measure purely in terms of dollars.

Bickuw, I'm local. Sent you a pm

I wasted 200 bucks registering the battery and it was running fine before it. I say don't register.

Is the charging system intelligent or not?

From what I can gather, BMW is saying that the IBS is intelligent and charges based on the age of the battery. The charging map allows for more charging as the battery ages to compensate for wear. If you change a battery but do not register the new battery, the system does not know about the battery change and charges according to the point of the map the old battery was at and thereby possibly overcharging the new battery. This sounds like a time based system and not an intelligent system.

Shouldn't an intelligent system be able to assess the health of a battery and determine for itself whether a battery is new or not?

my 04 530i needed a new battery in 08 or 09, went to a regular battery store and they matched the battery with a similar one, although the replacement was about an inch shorter from side to side. it was a white housing battery, did not need registering and has been fine even after i almost drained the battery when i left the headlights on for 7-8 hours 3 months ago. your battery may be similar to mine, ie, white housing. it cost me about 130$.

Originally Posted by rijc99

Is the charging system intelligent or not?

From what I can gather, BMW is saying that the IBS is intelligent and charges based on the age of the battery. The charging map allows for more charging as the battery ages to compensate for wear. If you change a battery but do not register the new battery, the system does not know about the battery change and charges according to the point of the map the old battery was at and thereby possibly overcharging the new battery. This sounds like a time based system and not an intelligent system.

Shouldn't an intelligent system be able to assess the health of a battery and determine for itself whether a battery is new or not?

Just to add to the confusion. A new battery can be fully charged or can be discharged to zero. So the intelligent system see it or not? I charge my 3 year old battery every 2 weeks so after charging it up I am killing my alternator like somebody just said in a post.

Originally Posted by osbimmerfest

my 04 530i needed a new battery in 08 or 09, went to a regular battery store and they matched the battery with a similar one, although the replacement was about an inch shorter from side to side. it was a white housing battery, did not need registering and has been fine even after i almost drained the battery when i left the headlights on for 7-8 hours 3 months ago. your battery may be similar to mine, ie, white housing. it cost me about 130$.

How did you leave your headlights on? This is an impossibility on e60s.

OK - i've been reading through the forums for about 3 hours now so I just called my local CA dealer and told them to go ahead and install the battery and get it registered - for a whopping $538 (which already includes a 10% discount)-all in all, it sounds like it is probably worth the money considering 60% of the people who claimed that they didn't register the battery came across a myriad of problems afterwards? Oh well, let's just hope it's truly worth the money...

Originally Posted by morez610

OK - i've been reading through the forums for about 3 hours now so I just called my local CA dealer and told them to go ahead and install the battery and get it registered - for a whopping $538 (which already includes a 10% discount)-all in all, it sounds like it is probably worth the money considering 60% of the people who claimed that they didn't register the battery came across a myriad of problems afterwards? Oh well, let's just hope it's truly worth the money...

For the price, that better be an AGM battery, make sure of it.
IMHO, if you don;t like to tinker with your car that is reasonable price from dealer, anything wrong afterward just bring it back to them.

Originally Posted by gcvt

I put in the Duralast battery a while back and did not pay to have it registered. Everything is fine so far.

How long is a while back? I bought the same (I think) battery yesterday. The wet cell for 134.99. I was told not to buy the AGM battery because my car did not come with one. The original battery lastest over 7 years! The Duralast has a 3 year replacement warranty. That's hard to beat. I will take my chances with not registering it. I can buy 2 (6 yrs. guaranteed!) Duralast for what I was quotes at an indie import shop......And I'm a tightwad!!!!
I admit it!!!!

I just changed my battery 5 days ago. The car which was built in July of 2005 that makes the battery 7 years old. I think the battery lasted 7 years because the charging system and I go my new battery registered. I got a battery from AutoZone r95. I paid 45$ to register and don't have to worry about it.

Originally Posted by dutch79

How long is a while back? I bought the same (I think) battery yesterday. The wet cell for 134.99. I was told not to buy the AGM battery because my car did not come with one. The original battery lastest over 7 years! The Duralast has a 3 year replacement warranty. That's hard to beat. I will take my chances with not registering it. I can buy 2 (6 yrs. guaranteed!) Duralast for what I was quotes at an indie import shop......And I'm a tightwad!!!!
I admit it!!!!

Whoever told you that doesn't know what they're talking about. BMW only sells AGM batteries now, for all cars. The E60 in particular has a tremendous thirst for power, even in sleep mode, and the deep-cycling nature of AGM is suited well for it.

Originally Posted by sunny 2005 bmw

I just changed my battery 5 days ago. The car which was built in July of 2005 that makes the battery 7 years old. I think the battery lasted 7 years because the charging system and I go my new battery registered. I got a battery from AutoZone r95. I paid 45$ to register and don't have to worry about it.

so who registered it for you?

Originally Posted by colin007

so who registered it for you?

I went to an independent shop. I forgot mention I put the battery in and didn’t get it registered till 3 days. The computer had a fault in it for battery needs to be registered

Originally Posted by borderchris

Whoever told you that doesn't know what they're talking about. BMW only sells AGM batteries now, for all cars. The E60 in particular has a tremendous thirst for power, even in sleep mode, and the deep-cycling nature of AGM is suited well for it.

My original wet cell battery lasted over 7 years!!! My new battery has a 3 year replacement warranty. For $135 vs. $300 at the dealer, why should I care???

some where there is a post about using jumper cables to the battery terminals under the hood, in order to keep power flowing to the car while changing the battery........and if done with success, there is no need to register the new battery. Has anyone else seen this post? I ran across while searching thru some threads.

Originally Posted by stevendc

some where there is a post about using jumper cables to the battery terminals under the hood, in order to keep power flowing to the car while changing the battery........and if done with success, there is no need to register the new battery. Has anyone else seen this post? I ran across while searching thru some threads.

Yes, I've seen that and I did it! I lost no memory at all. However there are plenty of people who will argue that it still should be registered. I'm not one of them! But I've been wrong before........

I'm with you Dutch! And when I do need a battery, that's exactly what I will do.....

Originally Posted by stevendc

I'm with you Dutch! And when I do need a battery, that's exactly what I will do.....

This batt replacement topic has become the #1 topic, it was "which oil is better".

No need to register batt after replacing regular batt, no error code will pops up. I replaced 2 batteries on BMW, from the old to the more electronic loaded kind; never I've seen any fault/warning afterwards. No need to plug it to another batt source, all radio, seat, iDrive setting etc stay intact after batt replacement.

I am not saying batt registration has no meritt though.

I am going thru the clogged Sunroof drains, water in battery and spare well, failed rdc, etc in my 07 wagon. Battery dying too - pulled it out and its a white one which I believe is NOT AGM - did the 07 wagons come with AGM? This is a CPO car that I am starting to find lots of surprises on...

Originally Posted by Laci535i

I am with you, man! 2 bolts for the bracket and one each post. Easy money for the stealer plus another $100 for registration to get 2-3 month extra battery life? It is a joke! Autozone 3 year replacement warranty and prorated to 8 years. And the battery is $160.

Same here...i replaced my battery as soon as I bought my car and didn't register it. Got an AGM from AutoZone 6 months ago. No isseus whatsoever yet. If something happens within 3 years, ill get a free replacement. I aint payin' no stealer $200 to tell my car a new battery is installed. If the Intelligent Battery Sensor was so intelligent, you would think it could tell that there is a new battery installed and reset on its own. But then again, that would be money not going to the stealer and BMW surely can't design that feature in, right?

Nice post. I agree completely............ANYBODY can replace a battery.

Originally Posted by e28m5297

I am going thru the clogged Sunroof drains, water in battery and spare well, failed rdc, etc in my 07 wagon. Battery dying too - pulled it out and its a white one which I believe is NOT AGM - did the 07 wagons come with AGM? This is a CPO car that I am starting to find lots of surprises on...

2007, doubtfull.

My 2008 comes with regular batt.

It's probably ok not re-programming the car after getting a new AGM, I just don't like the idea of potential over-charging and hydrogen gas build up (worst case scenario). I checked the alternator output and it was 14.9V before programming and now settles around 14.4V, AGM absolute max from Eastpenn is 14.6V, FYI.

If you need a new battery, I don't believe that would covered under your CPO. I would replace the battery myself, or have indy do it if you can't..........and then take it to the dealer for what's covered under the CPO.