Battery drain while parked

BMW is notorious when it comes to battery problems. My 550ix went through 3 batteries in 18 months. The dealer claims the car needs to be on a highway at least every other day for 15-20 minutes to properly charge the battery. To say that's ridiculous is an under statement. They were all covered by the warranty- I would not accept anything less...

I'm glad to learn that I am not alone in my battery issues, but I wish I would have know about it before critical mass. I bought my 650 new in August of 2010 with 19 miles on it. Today, it has 8,671 miles and the battery will no longer charge. I brought it in to the dealership a month or so ago complaining of the "Increased Battery Discharge" warning I would get almost daily in the morning and the mechanic said that I don't drive it enough to recharge the battery and to use a trickle charger. He also discussed pushing the "Stop" button twice instead of just once. Pushing it twice shuts off components that will otherwise run for up to 15 minutes, post shut-down. So I did. Now, the battery won't take a charge from either driving on the highway or leaving the trickle charger on it.

The service writer told me that BMW requires the car to be driven at least 350 miles a month in order to "qualify" for battery replacement . I was not happy to hear this and told her that I would be very disappointed if I had to foot the bill myself. Also, if this is such a common and KNOWN issue (especially for the dealerships) then as many times I have been in for wiper blades, an oil change, purchasing accessories, etc. why did not the service person or my sales person, whom I have known for a long time, tell me that because I use the car so little that I should get a trickle charger? Just sayin...

I scoured the Owner's Manual and it says NOTHING about driving too little and battery drain issues. However, I got out my Service and Warranty Information booklet and it does state (on page 20) about battery charging issues if driven less than 10 miles over prolonged periods of time and insufficient use of the vehicle could result in short-term starting problems and, in the long term, could damage the battery.

Well, I guess I am experiencing the "long-term" effects they referred to, since the battery no longer accepts a charge. I guess I will hear tomorrow about the disposition of my battery.

Good news from the dealership today. They ran some kind of test and it fell within the parameters for replacement under warranty. (I know, I know... but at least they covered it 100% )

Glad it worked out for you!

I had to have a trickle charger for my wife's 128i to solve this issue. Her work is only 1km. away and the car was not driven enough.
My new 2013 X3 35i came with one already installed by my dealer.

Originally Posted by René-Pierre

Her work is only 1km.

I know people who walk further than this from their car to their office.