Increased Battery Discharge issue

Originally Posted by terri_atl

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

I didn't read all 5 pages, but if it's any consolation I've experienced the same issue, albeit with different causes. I've gotten this warning 3 times. Each time it was associated with washing/detailing my car (which usually takes about 60 minutes). IMHO the OEM battery is too weak. Damn Germans probably scoff at the idea of someone actually doing something other than driving with their car.

In answer to your ORIGINAL question, you don't need to drive on the highway. Driving around town is adequate. In my experience, 30 minutes should be enough.

Originally Posted by dkotanto

You should have called BMW NA and complained. The battery, if that is what they recommended to be replaced in their final diagnosis, is covered under the warranty and should be replaced for free. Period.

I did, and BMWNA just sitting on the fence, said if I don't trust this service center, I go try going another one. I intend to write to BMWNA after I meet with their engineer.

Originally Posted by sunny5280

I would not agree to pay for a new battery. There is a problem with the car that damaged it. The short driving distances aren't the problem. Insist they fix the underlying problem.

I did, the service center said there is no problem with the car the service director wouldn't agree to anything other than waiving the labor costs. He said he will arrange for me to meet his the BMW engineer who is visiting in 1st week of January.

Originally Posted by Eights-n-Aces

I didn't read all 5 pages, but if it's any consolation I've experienced the same issue, albeit with different causes. I've gotten this warning 3 times. Each time it was associated with washing/detailing my car (which usually takes about 60 minutes). IMHO the OEM battery is too weak. Damn Germans probably scoff at the idea of someone actually doing something other than driving with their car.

In answer to your ORIGINAL question, you don't need to drive on the highway. Driving around town is adequate. In my experience, 30 minutes should be enough.

I read the warranty & service book that comes with the car. I am going to make a copy the next time I head to the service center and show it to those people who kept saying I have too few miles on the car. It stated if any driving less than 10 miles, to put it on highway occasionally. The first time I went to service center, I was being "blamed" for city driving. Took the car out on weekends and at times even weekdays

Originally Posted by Eights-n-Aces

I didn't read all 5 pages, but if it's any consolation I've experienced the same issue, albeit with different causes. I've gotten this warning 3 times. Each time it was associated with washing/detailing my car (which usually takes about 60 minutes). IMHO the OEM battery is too weak. Damn Germans probably scoff at the idea of someone actually doing something other than driving with their car.

In answer to your ORIGINAL question, you don't need to drive on the highway. Driving around town is adequate. In my experience, 30 minutes should be enough.

Anyway, if that "Battery Care" recommendation is BMW standard, then I am not guilty of abusing the battery. My battery is at 54% state of charge even after I run highways a few times a week. So I am going to prep myself before meeting the BMWNA engineer. One very important question is where in the warranty manual there states battery will be voided due to some conditions. I see none. I am trying to monitor my battery voltage every day n created a log for that. Yes, I am getting paranoid

Thanks everyone who posted. I really appreciate all infos, help, comments or just by listening

Originally Posted by terri_atl

I did, the service center said there is no problem with the car the service director wouldn't agree to anything other than waiving the labor costs. He said he will arrange for me to meet his the BMW engineer who is visiting in 1st week of January.

He's already told you there is a problem with the car. That problem is Terminal 15. He seems to be ignoring that primary cause and focusing on the short driving distances.

Originally Posted by terri_atl

I read the warranty & service book that comes with the car. I am going to make a copy the next time I head to the service center and show it to those people who kept saying I have too few miles on the car. It stated if any driving less than 10 miles, to put it on highway occasionally. The first time I went to service center, I was being "blamed" for city driving. Took the car out on weekends and at times even weekdays

Might be a good idea to keep a log of each trip you make with the car.

Originally Posted by sunny5280

He's already told you there is a problem with the car. That problem is Terminal 15. He seems to be ignoring that primary cause and focusing on the short driving distances.

Yes, but he said the Terminal 15 was on is a result of "leaving keyfob in the car", or "leaving the radio on", etc..

I don't know how I can tell these people there is no way I will leave keyfob, thereby not locking the door in a parking deck or leaving radio on all night. I find myself keep repeating the same thing to them, they just have this selective hearing thing going on.. I get it, they ignoring the facts and perhaps just going by the book (or whatever book they holding)..

Originally Posted by sunny5280

Might be a good idea to keep a log of each trip you make with the car.

Yes, I am doing that. It's really exhausting Thanks again for posting here

Originally Posted by terri_atl

Yes, but he said the Terminal 15 was on is a result of "leaving keyfob in the car", or "leaving the radio on", etc..

I don't know how I can tell these people there is no way I will leave keyfob, thereby not locking the door in a parking deck or leaving radio on all night. I find myself keep repeating the same thing to them, they just have this selective hearing thing going on.. I get it, they ignoring the facts and perhaps just going by the book (or whatever book they holding)..

My wife's '08 535xi has the same issue, as do all of the 5 Series BMWs in that year. I have had to use my battery tender on a regular basis to keep it fully charged. I charge her car's battery if I know it will sit for more than 2 days.

We keep the car locked in the garage which puts the car systems to sleep. I also found that where we were storing the key fob in a drawer in our kitchen was too close to the car and would not let the car systems completely shut down. This caused a drain on the battery. We now store the key fob in our house further away from the car and this has helped.

I think it has something to do with the alarm system. My 2011 335is does not have the alarm and has zero issues with battery drain.

Originally Posted by terri_atl

Yes, but he said the Terminal 15 was on is a result of "leaving keyfob in the car", or "leaving the radio on", etc..

I don't know how I can tell these people there is no way I will leave keyfob, thereby not locking the door in a parking deck or leaving radio on all night. I find myself keep repeating the same thing to them, they just have this selective hearing thing going on.. I get it, they ignoring the facts and perhaps just going by the book (or whatever book they holding)..

There is a very easy way for him to verify this. While the car is in for service he can ensure nothing is left on and then check for the Terminal 15 condition.

Originally Posted by beden1

My wife's '08 535xi has the same issue, as do all of the 5 Series BMWs in that year. I have had to use my battery tender on a regular basis to keep it fully charged. I charge her car's battery if I know it will sit for more than 2 days.

We keep the car locked in the garage which puts the car systems to sleep. I also found that where we were storing the key fob in a drawer in our kitchen was too close to the car and would not let the car systems completely shut down. This caused a drain on the battery. We now store the key fob in our house further away from the car and this has helped.

I think it has something to do with the alarm system. My 2011 335is does not have the alarm and has zero issues with battery drain.

When you lock your 535, doesn't that activate the alarm, which undoubtedly puts somewhat of a drain on the battery just to have the clown flashing. I don't lock my car when it's in the garage, and thought (maybe mistakenly) that more things would be shut down than when the car was locked with the alarm activated. I would like to know, as I posted earlier, if there's a way to lock the car without activating the alarm.

Originally Posted by beden1

My wife's '08 535xi has the same issue, as do all of the 5 Series BMWs in that year. I have had to use my battery tender on a regular basis to keep it fully charged. I charge her car's battery if I know it will sit for more than 2 days.

We keep the car locked in the garage which puts the car systems to sleep. I also found that where we were storing the key fob in a drawer in our kitchen was too close to the car and would not let the car systems completely shut down. This caused a drain on the battery. We now store the key fob in our house further away from the car and this has helped.

I think it has something to do with the alarm system. My 2011 335is does not have the alarm and has zero issues with battery drain.

Hi there! In my case, proximity of the key to the car is never an issue cos I live on the 9th floor, car parks everyday on the 5th floor. Unless the BMW service center suspects I sleep in my car every night, And of cos I live in a highrise, I don't have the luxury to use any battery tender.

Originally Posted by sunny5280

There is a very easy way for him to verify this. While the car is in for service he can ensure nothing is left on and then check for the Terminal 15 condition.

sunny: The service director simply said that's the diagnostics when they checked the car.

Originally Posted by Lufthansa

When you lock your 535, doesn't that activate the alarm, which undoubtedly puts somewhat of a drain on the battery just to have the clown flashing. I don't lock my car when it's in the garage, and thought (maybe mistakenly) that more things would be shut down than when the car was locked with the alarm activated. I would like to know, as I posted earlier, if there's a way to lock the car without activating the alarm.

Hi!! I remember you posted about how to lock the car without activating the alarm, have you check with the BMW service people? If nobody has an answer for you, perhaps I can pose this question when I get to meet the so-called BMW engineer. I really hope he is a qualified engineer

Originally Posted by terri_atl

sunny: The service director simply said that's the diagnostics when they checked the car.

His diagnosis doesn't pass the common sense test. You need to tell him as much and demand he prove you are leaving the key in the proximity of the car.

Originally Posted by Lufthansa

When you lock your 535, doesn't that activate the alarm, which undoubtedly puts somewhat of a drain on the battery just to have the clown flashing. I don't lock my car when it's in the garage, and thought (maybe mistakenly) that more things would be shut down than when the car was locked with the alarm activated. I would like to know, as I posted earlier, if there's a way to lock the car without activating the alarm.

You need to lock the car to put the systems to sleep, with the exception of the alarm. It has helped us somewhat by doing this.

Originally Posted by terri_atl

Hi there! In my case, proximity of the key to the car is never an issue cos I live on the 9th floor, car parks everyday on the 5th floor. Unless the BMW service center suspects I sleep in my car every night, And of cos I live in a highrise, I don't have the luxury to use any battery tender.

You need to find a way to be able to use a battery tender. There is no other solution. We have been trying to find out why the battery drains to no avail since we bought the car, as well have many, many other people.

The dealer keeps testing our battery drain and says there is none beyond the norm? It is complete BS, I know, but there isn't much I can do about it. I actually took it to another dealer who said the same thing, but, he also said BMWs have this issue and they have not been able to figure it out.

Looks like there is a need for a logging current meter.
Which would give you history of how much charge you are using or putting back into the car
when driving . It would have to attach to the negative terminal as the positive splits out three ways.

terri_atl,

There an E90 electronic information file in pdf that you might want to look over, it is posted over at E90post in their diy threads. On page 41 it talks about the terminal 15 message that I think you were referring to. It also says that Note: The battery may be discharged if the driver ignores the warnings and locks the vehicle. Not sure if this relates to you but it's interesting to read all the electronics on our cars.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=468137

look at the bottom of the page on the first post is the pdf. 114 pages of great info.

If you remember my post above I was also getting the increased battery discharge a couple times, I was also getting a door open warning while driving when I didn't have any doors opened, I just got my car back from the dealer after 4 days and the invoice says they had opened a Puma case because my car was throwing fault codes 9CBD and 9CBD and they were told to change the footwell module, the newest module is version #3. My car is only 1 year old but still a 2011. My invoice also says they changed my battery during programing.

I think the more options we have on these cars the more electronics and the more it uses the battery. If your car is throwing fault codes it's also possible that if you ignore them long enough that it can cause an increased battery discharge until they fix the problem. I admit that I did not take my car in right away and I waited awhile so it could be that it was using up my battery slightly when my fault codes were going off for weeks, it may have even been up to a month but I finally had time to take it in and have it taken care of. I hope you get your problem fixed.

I'll report back on this thread if I encounter any other issues on this topic but everything seems to be ok for me now.

Originally Posted by sunny5280

His diagnosis doesn't pass the common sense test. You need to tell him as much and demand he prove you are leaving the key in the proximity of the car.

Trust me, I fought really hard as in I presented all the facts. Isn't it common sense to people (service center staffs) that no one will be that insane to leave her keyfob inside the car on a 7 stories parking deck? The staffs just ignore all the facts.

Originally Posted by beden1

You need to find a way to be able to use a battery tender. There is no other solution. We have been trying to find out why the battery drains to no avail since we bought the car, as well have many, many other people.

The dealer keeps testing our battery drain and says there is none beyond the norm? It is complete BS, I know, but there isn't much I can do about it. I actually took it to another dealer who said the same thing, but, he also said BMWs have this issue and they have not been able to figure it out.

Hi Beden, not sure if you get to read my earlier post, this is my first BMW. I used to drive MB only. I see that you a very loyal bimmer owner So won't the "battery drain" upset you? I wonder why all the owners who have similar issue with "increased battery discharge" do not unite & complain to BMWNA. Honestly, I am rather shocked to find this car started to have a problem when it is only 9 months old. Of cos not to mention about the nonsense I have to put up with at the service center which eventually squeezed me for another $200+ for a new battery. And I am upset not about the money but the "not the norm" fault (according to the service center's guide) that void the battery warranty. Who knows what will be next?

Originally Posted by ctuna

Looks like there is a need for a logging current meter.
Which would give you history of how much charge you are using or putting back into the car
when driving . It would have to attach to the negative terminal as the positive splits out threw ways.

Hi Ctuna: Hi there!! Thanks for your suggestion. You have been very nice Initially I thought it is really my problem, ie why my original post is to find ways to charge my battery. But now I really find the original battery either is defective to begin with or there is a fault somewhere. I am pretty sure I am not a battery abuser; I actually meet BMW's standard when it comes to "Battery Care" as put out in the car's warranty & service guide.

I will research more on that, but in the mean time I am just waiting for my SA to call me & tell me when the BMW engineer is coming in. I want him to check my car again and explain to me what went wrong when I did everything right. Thanks again for "seeing" you here

Originally Posted by Bimmer4life

terri_atl,

There an E90 electronic information file in pdf that you might want to look over, it is posted over at E90post in their diy threads. On page 41 it talks about the terminal 15 message that I think you were referring to. It also says that Note: The battery may be discharged if the driver ignores the warnings and locks the vehicle. Not sure if this relates to you but it's interesting to read all the electronics on our cars.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=468137

look at the bottom of the page on the first post is the pdf. 114 pages of great info.

If you remember my post above I was also getting the increased battery discharge a couple times, I was also getting a door open warning while driving when I didn't have any doors opened, I just got my car back from the dealer after 4 days and the invoice says they had opened a Puma case because my car was throwing fault codes 9CBD and 9CBD and they were told to change the footwell module, the newest module is version #3. My car is only 1 year old but still a 2011. My invoice also says they changed my battery during programing.

I think the more options we have on these cars the more electronics and the more it uses the battery. If your car is throwing fault codes it's also possible that if you ignore them long enough that it can cause an increased battery discharge until they fix the problem. I admit that I did not take my car in right away and I waited awhile so it could be that it was using up my battery slightly when my fault codes were going off for weeks, it may have even been up to a month but I finally had time to take it in and have it taken care of. I hope you get your problem fixed.

I'll report back on this thread if I encounter any other issues on this topic but everything seems to be ok for me now.

Hi bimmer4life, in my case I called them and scheduled a checkup. My case is just a big mystery for now. Please post back here if you encounter any other issues on this topic. I will also report back here esp after I get to meet with the BMW engineer. Thanks again. And I am definitely going to read on the electronic file you provided. I really appreciate that