Should I try to get a new battery under warranty?

If I get my battery replaced under warranty, will I get the same battery that comes from the factory, or a crappier replacemetn? I vaguely remember someone posting that the factory once are unique.

The reason I'm asking is that my battery fully discharged once due to the IHKA drain problem. Several months later I left my parking lights on for 4 hours and the battery was drained enough that the car wouldn't start; this seems extreme to me suggesting that the battery might be weaker than it should be.

I may try to pressure my SA to give me a new battery when I'm in for my oil change Thursday, but I'm wondering if the new one might be even crappier than what I already have.

Last summer, my battery died while I was many miles from my house. I called the roadside assistance number and had it towed to my BMW center. The next day, they were able to replace the dead battery for another OEM battery, free of charge (under warranty). So I'm guessing that if your battery is experiencing problems, they will indeed replace it with an OEM unit. Cheers

Edited to write that, from what I've heard, BMW's choice for OEM battery isn't all that...

Yes, they will change the battery under warranty if their tests show it is bad. However, you wil get the same crappy quality battery that comes from the factory.

It is the cheapest method, but maybe not the best long term.

Thanks guys.

For some reason I thought I remembered reading that the factory battery was decent. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong.

Not an answer to your question, just an FYI, my original battery from the factory is a Douglas battery. It has a sticker on it that says DBC (or something similar), Winston-Salem, SC.

I was surprised as I always thought that factory batteries were german. My car was built in Munich.

It is 3.5 years old and fluid level is still ok.

Let's see, 2.5 months from new, the battery in our E46 M3 was DEAD.

Many similar reports around. Also the fake maintenance free "feature" of the batteries isn't a big help. Real caps exist under the sticker.