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Vehicle battery needs to be replaced on a 10 months old car????

40K views 86 replies 44 participants last post by  LRguy15 
#1 ·
We have the 535ix purchased last year in December so it's been 10 months with 9000 miles. Wife drives the car most of the time but when I took the car out today, I get an warning says "You may still drive the vehicle, have the battery replaced at the next opportunity".

I have never had a car that needs the battery replaced in less than a year. This is almost telling me that the alternator is bad or the battery is not charging the battery properly. Is battery included in the warranty? We have already has a bad experiance with the dealer during purchasing I am really hoping the car can hold up to it's reputation. :dunno::dunno:

Anyone else had issue with the battery within the first year? or even two?

Thanks guys!!!

2011 535IX | Black Sapphire
 
#2 ·
It has been a fairly common problem with these cars. Does your wife do a lot of short trips? The charge while coast system may be a bit suspect....
 
#3 ·
Wife uses the car every other day, not short trips but stop and go traffic as that is our daily life living in the DC area. I just don't understands that we have had other cars where I don't need to replace the battery until 3-4 years. It just seems like these cars are just draining the battery even if they are just sitting there.

2011 535IX | Black Sapphire
 
#4 ·
Wife uses the car every other day, not short trips but stop and go traffic as that is our daily life living in the DC area. I just don't understands that we have had other cars where I don't need to replace the battery until 3-4 years. It just seems like these cars are just draining the battery even if they are just sitting there.

2011 535IX | Black Sapphire
There have been problems with electrical on this car. Take it in, make them replace it under warranty. Don't let them give you any jive about your driving habits.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the note "decaf". I plan to call the dealer tomorrow just to get a feel what they will say.

To Emilner, I (wife does not care much) also wanted to get the 550ix in four years. At least that is the plan. We will do the European delivery next time. 2 batteries in 12000 miles... Wow! Did you had to pay for it or it is covered under warranty? I seriously don't want this to be a yearly thing...
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the note "decaf". I plan to call the dealer tomorrow just to get a feel what they will say.

To Emilner, I (wife does not care much) also wanted to get the 550ix in four years. At least that is the plan. We will do the European delivery next time. 2 batteries in 12000 miles... Wow! Did you had to pay for it or it is covered under warranty? I seriously don't want this to be a yearly thing...
It was covered under warranty- and I would assume it will continue to be covered either under the warranty or free maintenence program. It was rather frustrating...
 
#15 ·
Called the dealer this morning to bring the car in on Wednesday. However, they said it may or may not be covered under the warranty depending on the issue. I am not going to argue with them over the phone so called NABMW Customer relations and explained my situation. She is very determined that the car is still under full warranty and should be covered 100%. She told me to call her if the dealer thinks otherwise. Feel a little better now but it's still a hassle to bring the car in and etc...

Anyway keep you guys posted on the visit on Wednesday.

Hey Brad Wool, nice shine on that new car of yours.... regarding tires, I purchased tire insurance from
Robin Agee
Financial Services Manager
Flow BMW
336-788-3333 ph

Since you have already took delivery, not sure if she will still take the order but call her anyway...all she can say is no right?
 
#16 ·
What's up with this? My "Replace Battery" warning indicator recently came on at 8600 miles during my 11th month of ownership. How can this be? It has to be covered under the 50K mile warranty - doesn't it? Guess I will find out when I get into the dealer next week.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience about the frequency of this on our new F10s?


Warranty coverage?
 
#18 ·
You guys are freaking me out... If something is intentionally done to reduce the charging current while the vehicle is operated to save gas, and a $100 battery needs to be replaced every year, I am officially and seriously outraged and will forever change my opinion about BMW. Fake and non-existant "savings", which in reality switch profits from the oil industry to car battery makers and/or other parts makers (start-stop function and all the elements that destroys prematurely, incl. the battery...) and BMW service centers at the same time. All of that to show a better number on the MPG fact-sheet, but in practice fooling us all and robbing of money in bright daylight.

I sure hope this is just a glitch that some F10s are experiencing, although, even that sounds scary I must admit. Seems like a no-win situation.
 
#19 ·
I think you're overreacting.

YOu also act like this technology is unique to BMW. All automakers are being forced into measures like these to meet fuel economy or CO2 output measures. These technologies are coming, and as they are new, there will be teething problems.
 
#20 ·
Dropped off the car today instead of in the morning. All the information is in the key fob, so as soon as they put the fob in the cradle they can tell what the problem is. In my case, the error is showing electrical problem which makes me think that my battery may still be ok or just not charged properly by the system. However, the service manager did tell me that they don't see this message very often. Either way, I will find out tomorrow as they need to monitor it overnight. I hope is just a minor wiring problem, fix it and I'll be on my way. Reason> they gave me a Toyota Carolla as a loaner. Nothing against Toyota's as I have the van and a Camry but going from a 300HP down to a 132HP car is a challenge to get use to...LOL.
 
#24 ·
I drove my 2011 535 for 14 months, 17,000 miles and had zero battery issues. Almost every week the car would stay parked for 2 or 3 days while traveling and never was a problem. And mine was an early July 2010 build. I think this battery issue may be an isolated case and not an expected behavior.
 
#26 ·
hmmm I just replaced the battery in my 2006 330XI purchaced in 2005.
HOT climates are particularly tough on batteries in part due to dehydration.
Should not be an issue for OP
 
#27 ·
My 2001 530i ran on the original battery for 8 years.
That's higher than average but I expect at least 5 years from any car.
Any less indicates a design problem with the electrical system.
 
#28 ·
Update-Update-Update...got the car back this afternoon. The initial warning was misleading as it turns out to be, there was never a problem with the battery. I was told yesterday that it was an electrical problem but today, a software update took care the problem. hmmmm...No one can explain to me exactly how an electrical problem can be solved by a software upgrade. It's not a regular update or upgrade I was told, it's whenever something goes wrong, they will hook it up to a computer and it will tell them to perform the update. Honestly, I don't even think they know why besides following procedures. As complicated as these cars are today, it's difficult to identify where the issue is with a electrical meter like the old days.

Oh, it was all covered under warranty which was good. Yes, to a post above, to replace a battery on these cars is about $400-$500.

thanks guys
 
#32 ·
Oh dang... I suppose becase of the new and complex active charging system or whatever they call it, conventional battery cannot be used anymore. Keeping my fingers crossed, but a $400 (prob. $700 in Canada as usual...) even every 4 yrs will hurt. What have I gotten myself into with this ride?? LOL.
 
#34 ·
not just stop and go

I do mostly highway. have 34,000 on my 2011 550, and my "replace battery" warning message just came on. I just hope they don't give me the same runaround they did with tires (all 4 were replaced at 10k). After spending $70k on a car, they really should treat you better......
 
#35 ·
You just resurrected and old thread so hopefully this has not been too big of an issue.

They do typically try to pin it on you ..... sir, is this a daily driver? ...... did you leave the lights on?

Be firm and remind your dealer of the 4 yr 50,000 mile "no worries" full maintenance and they usually fold.
 
#36 ·
I had my battery warning message come on at 28,000 miles on a 2011 550ix. I drive 80%+ highway. Rarely short trips or even stop and go traffic for that matter. The day it triggered, it had been sitting at an airport for 3 days in the hot sun (98* days). I wonder if the battery got so hot that the computer thought it was an issue and now the message won't go away until the software resets or something. Almost to my scheduled maintenance anyway so I hope it makes it another couple of thousand miles without issue.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Well..... to bump this thread up. My F10 is 10 months old with 7100 miles on it. Over 4,000 miles are from two trips. The rest is around town usually short trips. My wife and I share 4 cars so it does not get driven daily. At times it will sit for a week or two at a time. Because of this, I hard wired a Deltran Battery Tender to the car. I even contacted Deltran and asked which Battery Tender I should use for a absorbed glass mat (AGM) battery that is in our cars. They told me to use their Battery Tender Plus Gel unit. While the car is not being driven I religiously keep the car hooked up.

Yesterday, my wife picked up a grandkid from school then went to the store. When she came out from the store the car wouldn't start and showed several warnings; steering malfunction, transmission warning and battery warning. I jumped the car, got it started and drove it to the dealership. The only warning that came up once it was started was the low battery warning.

I got a call today that the car was ready to be picked up. The verdict, a bad battery. It will be interesting to see if this becomes an ongoing problem with our cars.

The service department at Bob Smith BMW in Calabasas, CA, couldn't have treated me better. Three BMWs in the last six years they have never disappointed me. My SA, Julia Moffa, or Tig when she is not available, are the best. :thumbup:
 
#40 · (Edited)
"If you do not drive for a few days, but drive a good distance on the others, the battery will not have issues. It is just stop and go low mileage that seems to be a problem. "


if thats the case then some drivers will need to take unnecessary driving trips just to charge the battery,which would eliminate any fuel savings from the auto stop feature.
and has it ever been ackowledged that the fuel saving from the auto stop is whats causing the battery problem?

yes all car makers are having to increase mileage estimates,but at what cost.
are they also experiencing premature battery failure? or is this unique to bmw?

and what real benefit is there in solving one problem,fuel consumption,if by doing so you create another problem,driving simply to charge the battery to prevent failure?
we should never have to choose between ,fuel economy or battery life .
it could be and should be both. and it shouldnt be that difficult.
 
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