Increased Battery Discharge issue

Originally Posted by mclaren

Cops and lots of other folks believe that the difference between a porcupine and a BMW is that a porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

I heard that saying before, of cos I strongly disagree even before I walked over and join "the dark side" ;P

Here is my input as well.
I have 2007 X5 and I had Battery discharge issue. I was reading these posts here and decided to definitely bypass BMW dealership. I am in Ontario, Canada and there is a guy here who is well know as Car Electronic Expert (I put capital E for expert because I think he deserves it). Anyway, he gave me two possibilities:
1. FOB key - if it's close to your car, car will never go to sleep mode - that wasn't my problem as my car is about 10-15 meters away from my key fob.
2. Battery - he asked me how old is that car, when I said 5 years, he said "not official rule but BMWs especially X5s need battery replacement every 4 years", if you go to dealership they would tell you "noo, it's not true, battery is good". He suggested to get new battery but battery from Series 7 as series 7 has more computers (chips) and will be perfect on my X5. It cost me about $300 for OEM battery and about $90 for labour and he said "if you have the same problem, come back I will give you back $390 immediately" - I still didn't go back to pick up the money even though it was 5 months ago which means no battery discharge problem since then. I hope it'll stay that way :-)

Good luck!

Hi djenka2!

You probably have read about my frustration initially when the dealer suggested my fob was too near the car which implies either I slept in my car or in the parking deck.

Since the battery was replaced last December, I have no more battery issue. It's absurd that a brand new car and a car battery can start to giving problem after about 8 months.

When my car was sent in for the first year maintenance service in March, the shop foreman told me sometimes car batteries become defective after the cars are made and are ready to deliver overseas. Say they may sat at the port for a period of time, and also those times when they arrive in US and eventually to the dealer. At least ie what he told me. Since the engineer from BMW stepped in and got my battery replaced for free and also personally checked my car, the service center has been exceptionally nice to me. I have no complaints though this morning I have to send my car in cos the glove compartment was jammed. It just happened out of the blue. Very strange!

Thank you for posting here

@teri_atl, I am glad issue is gone. What a coincidence, my glove compartment get jammed few times as well but I thought it's from over 40C inside (plastic expanded or something), hmm strange.
Interesting thing is (or it's dealership's theory) what ever you bring the car in for they say, "ohh it's common for that car". I first brought mine to have rear suspensions replaced due to suspension air bags are gone and they said "ohh it's common at X5s". When I came to pick up the car I was joking and said "hopefully there won't be any errors when I sit in the car" (after every service new error comes up) and guess what? Yes, new error, something like "dual tail lights" and guess what they said "ohh it's common at X5s", come on is there anything that's not common, what's next to expect...
Anyway, I found out, the less you visit the dealership (even if it's regular maintenance) the less headache you will have.

Good luck!

I had same issue, battery must be registered with car after replacement. Never saw problem again.

After the battery was replaced in our 328xi we found that the real problem was really the battery cable that includes the current sensor. Fortunately it was all covered under the warranty.

Hi djenka2,

The service center did not tell me why or if it is a common issue. Then again things break even though I am known to take good care of my things. I am glad my glove compartment is working again even though I don't open it on a daily basis. I hope your X5 is not giving you any problem at the moment

Yup, I have to say it's very tiring to bring in the car for service/repair. They gave me a 2012 328i convertible as a loaner this time. It sure drives better than a very basic 328 loaner but I sure miss my Harmon Kardon.

Originally Posted by djenka2

@teri_atl, I am glad issue is gone. What a coincidence, my glove compartment get jammed few times as well but I thought it's from over 40C inside (plastic expanded or something), hmm strange.
Interesting thing is (or it's dealership's theory) what ever you bring the car in for they say, "ohh it's common for that car". I first brought mine to have rear suspensions replaced due to suspension air bags are gone and they said "ohh it's common at X5s". When I came to pick up the car I was joking and said "hopefully there won't be any errors when I sit in the car" (after every service new error comes up) and guess what? Yes, new error, something like "dual tail lights" and guess what they said "ohh it's common at X5s", come on is there anything that's not common, what's next to expect...
Anyway, I found out, the less you visit the dealership (even if it's regular maintenance) the less headache you will have.

Good luck!

Hi there! I believe the service center always register a new battery with the car. I have to pair my phone all over again.

Originally Posted by light1

I had same issue, battery must be registered with car after replacement. Never saw problem again.

Originally Posted by mgthompson

After the battery was replaced in our 328xi we found that the real problem was really the battery cable that includes the current sensor. Fortunately it was all covered under the warranty.

Hi mgthompson, for my case, they can't locate any other problem. My car battery has no problem since the replacement. I hope it stays this way *fingers crossed"

Originally Posted by terri_atl

Hi mgthompson, for my case, they can't locate any other problem. My car battery has no problem since the replacement. I hope it stays this way *fingers crossed"

Glad to hear that you are finally Liberated and Free of your battery Issues!!

Originally Posted by x26

Glad to hear that you are finally Liberated and Free of your battery Issues!!

Hi X26,

Thanks!!

hi, getting, Increased Battery Discharge message on 2010 328I convertible, vehicle has 11, 500 miles, does battery need to be replaced? , when the car s turned off i don't see anything that could be draining the battery... thanks

Originally Posted by TropicsX5

hi, getting, Increased Battery Discharge message on 2010 328I convertible, vehicle has 11, 500 miles, does battery need to be replaced? , when the car s turned off i don't see anything that could be draining the battery... thanks

Hi Tropics! I am no expert in cars but of cos if you have read my postings from the beginning, you know I have this same problem. You know the dealer/service center will first blamed on your low mileage in the car. Actually I am going to ask if you live in a house or condo, if you have recently not drive this car for over 7 days, do you play your music with the engine off.. I am sorry to ask so many questions. I am trying to help by sharing what I learned, my situation (living in a high rise, in a city), what the service center and the engineer from BMW have said or advised. So please feel free to share with me any info. U do know the service center will try to blame it on your driving pattern n made you pay the battery. I did my homework and got the engineer from BMW involved and got the charge reversed. Write back soon

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...EeHrH8mjC3ThAA

Even when the car is sitting it will use some power .
If you lock the car it will use less.( as it puts it in a low current draw state)
Also keep the fob well away from the car.

If you leave the car sitting or only drive it short distances the battery will not
recharge.
If your driving profile fits in the last description you should get a battery tender/charger
such as a ctek3300 and use it .

Originally Posted by TropicsX5

hi, getting, Increased Battery Discharge message on 2010 328I convertible, vehicle has 11, 500 miles, does battery need to be replaced? , when the car s turned off i don't see anything that could be draining the battery... thanks

I highly recommend a 'battery tender' if you're not driving enough to keep your battery sufficiently charged. I bought a Deltron via Amazon shortly after buying my car, and have had no problems during the past 33 months of ownership. I hook up the tender when I know the car won't be driven for a week or more, and recently didn't drive it for over 5 weeks - no problem when I finally fired it up. I never had a problem with any other car I've owned over the past 50 years, however knowing how expensive BMW replacement batteries are, plus the cost of registration (never had to do this to any other car either), the tender was a true bargain at about $45.00. If there's a drawback, it's that you have to have access to an electrical outlet - obviously not easy for those in apartments or whose car is parked outside.

[QUOTE=ctuna;7230282]http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...EeHrH8mjC3ThAA

"Even when the car is sitting it will use some power .
If you lock the car it will use less.( as it puts it in a low current draw state)"

I disagree he car will use less power if it's locked IF you have the factory alarm, as I do. I know that blinking clown uses battery power for lunch and dinner!

Hi all, since the dealer has replaced the battery in my car in Dec 2011, I no longer have this "Increased Battery Discharge" issue. I dropped my car off yesterday so that the service center can fix the "recall" problem. When I picked up my car this morning, the system alerted a warning sign when I was on my way out. I had to turn the car in, the warning? "Increased Battery Discharge"! Anyone has any take on this? I am wondering if someone did not lock my car when it was at the service center the whole day yesterday or the recall repair has created a new problem. Any idea is very much appreciated here. Thanks!

Lufthsana the some members have measured the draw at .5 amps
in the awake mode . The asleep mode has been measures at 10 - to 20 ma without and alarm .
Granted it will draw more with and alarm but I don't think
it will be .5 amps . The only way to know it to measure it.
They probably depleted Teri's battery by working on the car but if her driving profile hasn't changed
you are going to have to replace the battery every two years.
To disagree is Ok to measure it the only truth.

I would anticipate getting at least 5 years out of the battery using the battery tender, although I may be selling the car in the near future - I just don't drive it that much (14k miles over 3+ years).

Originally Posted by ctuna

Lufthsana the some members have measured the draw at .5 amps
in the awake mode . The asleep mode has been measures at 10 - to 20 ma without and alarm .
Granted it will draw more with and alarm but I don't think
it will be .5 amps . The only way to know it to measure it.
They probably depleted Teri's battery by working on the car but if her driving profile hasn't changed
you are going to have to replace the battery every two years.
To disagree is Ok to measure it the only truth.

Hello Ctuna! During the past 2 years, my driving pattern has changed a little but I never have this battery problem ever since and even when I brought my car for service a few times. My first battery lasted me 9 months when it started giving me problem. Just hope it was something with them not locking my door (cos I have to teach my new service advisor how to lock the door) or something to do with the repairing of the battery cable (recall).

Originally Posted by Lufthansa

I would anticipate getting at least 5 years out of the battery using the battery tender, although I may be selling the car in the near future - I just don't drive it that much (14k miles over 3+ years).

Hello Lufthansa! Can't believe I am back here talking about battery again. Maybe I jinxed myself when I ran into this technician who worked on the battery issue 2 years back. I was telling him the car has no more battery problem

My advisor called and said the technician test drove my car the whole day and couldn't duplicate the warning message. So we agreed to leave the car overnight and I would pick it up tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!!

Update: I have written to the very nice support engineer from BMWNA. He just replied letting me know the warning was set when the repair was done. Battery has to be disconnected during the repair. He has also checked the data the car sent to the servers in Munich, my car was perfectly fine. So ok, perhaps false alarm here. Hehe.. Yes, it is a big relief for me esp hearing from the engineer