It would not surprise me if the battery is toast after four years. Most folks recommend a trickle charger if the car isn't driven often.
Mine has set for three or four weeks several times when I'm travelling and I've not had a problem yet. I have an '06 and I replaced the battery in late '09. I'll be happy if I get four years out of this one.
If you haven't had any problems since new, I recommend replacing the battery and going on down the road.

 

A car battery typically lasts 3-5 years depending on the environment and use. Extreme cold and heat shortens the life, and so does allowing the battery to fully discharge.

The 6 series definitely has a design flaw when it comes to the battery and BMW is very aware of it. Before I bought my 650 I asked a good friend of mine who is also a service advisor what the problem areas are for the 6 series. He said by far the largest number of problems the dealer sees are related to the battery. He told me if I take mostly short trips I will have to use a tender on the weekends. This is why BMW dealers have come up with the universally standard reply "driver profile" when you have battery issues.

Personally I would just purchase an aftermarket battery for ~$100-$200 and pay the dealer or an independent BMW specialist $50 to get it registered.

If you take mostly short trips (under 30 minutes) then I would also pick up a battery tender and use it on the weekends.

 

Is there a "best" pick for battery choices? I like the idea of buying a sealed 10 year battery and having it registered?

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I'm on my third battery. I live close to work and my gym and the short trips were killing the battery. Luckily my SA didn't charge me for the third battery, and gave me a BMW trickle charger, which I throw on on weekends. The 650 and probably all BMW's are hard on the battery, just opening a door or hood/trunk "wakes up" the car for about 18 minutes, draining the battery.

 

2 mile commute to my studio, 1 mile to bank, post office, and lunch, 1 mile back to studio, 2 miles back home. 6 miles per day 5 days per week, driven sparingly on the weekend. No battery problems.

 

I drive 10 mins each way daily to a commuter train for work and after 2 weeks the battery was barely starting the car. So now I am using a tender.

Maybe the newer cars have a software update that shuts down the electronics sooner than the older cars? I was doing some work on the 330Ci in my garage the other day and noticed the 6 would wake up and make some buzzing sounds under the hood every 5 min or so for almost an hour after shutting it down. The sound was very similar to the buzzing I hear when the SMG pump primes on my M3, even though my 650 is a 6 MT.

 

Battery condition

One of the major issues affecting the batteries on the 6er is any device mp3 player, mobile phone etc. plugged into the power socket in the glove box or under the foot-well. What happens is the car does not go into a power shut down whilst these devices are still plugged in, and especially if you are doing lots of short where the battery does not get the chance to get a full charge. They can also awaken the car when they try to draw current to charge their own battery.
Since I was made aware of this issue I have never had a problem and my battery is now 6 years old and still going strong.....

 

Has anyone tried running an additional battery wired parallel in the trunk. I know there is one guy on here that has 2 batteries but he has not posted whether it has been a help or how it was wired.

 

Hi guys. 2 years later. I am still having battery issues even after having it replaced. =(
Battery tender from BMW won't get the battery charged all the way. I think something is still draining it.
I don't have any external accessories plugged in.

 

If your battery will not take a full charge after being hooked up overnight that is VERY likely a bad battery. You may have:
A) received a bad battery (old stock for instance)
B) new battery was not registered or was not set to the proper type 2 years ago and it's now dead
C) if you allowed the battery fully discharge a few times in the last 2 years it could be dead by now (fully discharging a lead-acid battery takes about a year off its life)
D) possibly an alternator / regulator issue

 

Drove my car from Pittsburgh to Northern Florida just after putting in a new battery. Car then sat for 30 days while I was gone. I have driven it only short trips and had to have AAA jump me today. 3 miles later all hell broke loose on the dash and transmission went to limp mode. Then the car stopped a few blocks from the house. Hooked my battery pack up to the car and drove it home. I am charging up the battery now and hope that all will be well. My question is How do I know if my Alternator is putting out any voltage? After jumping the car bot times I got the red battery symbol on the dash and then it went away after the rpms increased. I ahve been charging the battery for a couple of hours and the car now starts fine and all codes except the check engine light are gone. Is there anyplace to read output voltage of the alternator? If the alternator is not putting out enough voltage will I get a message?

 

.... Is there anyplace to read output voltage of the alternator? If the alternator is not putting out enough voltage will I get a message?

This is from one of my prior posts:
The battery voltage should be ~ 12.5V when the car is off, if it's at 12.0V the battery is dead. Right after starting voltage should be ~ 14.7V. Try turning on the headlights and crank the heating fan - now check the voltage. If it drops below 13.5V or is fluctuating then you probably have a bad alternator.

Use a voltmeter under the hood (battery charging points) or buy one of the small cigarette lighter plug in voltage monitors to keep an eye on the voltage. There are many to choose from on Amazon - one example for $20.

[EDIT]Out of curiosity I checked my voltages - new AGM battery 2 weeks ago
Car off: 12.48V
Car started with headlights on: 14.32V

 

Hi ! I think one of the issues maybe that when people buy /replace the original battery they may not purchase the correct replacement type. These cars use the AGM type battery for very specific reasons and not the normal lead acid batteries which most people are familiar with, which is why they are so much more expensive.........
I read that the life of an AGM battery will be significantly reduced if the charge drops consistently below 60% between charges. This might explain why some guys are getting short life even on replacement batteries. With all I have learned and experienced with these batteries in the 6 Series, is that if the alternator has to work consistently hard to regulate the voltage because the battery is low on charge will ultimately lead to early alternator failure, in conjunction with the battery failing, this is significantly more pronounced on low usage /mileage cars. Therefore the only way to maintain a healthy system is to consistently use a battery tender at least once a week and ensure no devices are plugged in to drain the battery while the car is in sleep mode !!!!!

 

You state that you are having multiple electrical issues, but do not elaborate on what they are. Since you are getting the BMTechnic package, run DIS & see what history of problems pop up. Run a test plan on the DME to help eliminate some of the problems. The lighter tester is probably off as much as 10 to 20% off. Use DIS or INPA to read the actual terminal readings, to see what is going on. Terminal 30 I believe is the one to be most concerned with. Learning the BMW software is quite trying, & is a learn as you go tool. It is very detailed & specific, but the terminology is quite confusing.

Hope this might help!

 

HerbP, I'm working on it. Sample electrical problem is as follows. I charged the battery last night (brand new AGM that is paired to the car) and this morning it is at 65% charge. My 5 day battery charge profile was all in the high 50% range and I use a charger. Something is draining the battery while it is off. Although I have CA I am careful to not leave the keys in range and I don't have a phone paired. Yea, the BM technic is nice, but not easy to use for troubleshooting. I have a lot to learn, but as I said, I'm working on it.
Thanks.

 

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Maybe the battery took care of your problems. I was shocked when it took my new battery that long to fully charge.

Good Luck!

 

Two days, that's all it was good for:bawling:. Yesterday had a failure to start issue again. Charged the holy crap out of the battery again last night and took it off the charger this morning and the voltage read over 13v. Came back less than a couple of hours later and voltage was a whopping 12.45v. You can actually watch the battery slowly discharge before your eyes with a volt meter.

After the failure to start I got two faults, first was an IHKA2 fault 9C72 Interior Temp Sensor Fan Flap Motor Blocked (what the heck is that?) and second was a TCU fault A37C for Main Telephone Aerial (I have a telephone aerial?).

On the positive side, I got rid of the passenger seat belt gong, the warning screen, and added turn indicators to the HUD.

In DIS I ran a open current check (I think that's what it's called) and got zero hits over the last 32 days, but I'm not sure what the amperage threshold is for that. Back to square one.

I really want to like this car because it has so many good things going for it, but it is not easy given the problems I am having.

 

The 2 fault codes that you have listed, should not cause the engine not to start. At this point I would suggest using a VOM, & use it to monitor current. After this is connected, start pulling fuses to see when the current draw stops. This will be time consuming, but will You should be able to use DIS to troubleshoot the AC system for the temperature sensor. The phone system sounds like it could be a coding issue, but possibly not? The IVM module could also be starting to fail, which could cause your starting issues.

Good Luck!