DIY change battery in 2011 x3?
Newbie here. Thanks in advance for your patience. I was wondering what the red box on top of the battery is and if I need to have any special steps or consideration for it when changing my battery? Thanks. Hopefully the image is attached!
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Always remove the negative terminal first.
Don't forget to reattach the vent hose w/o kinks.
Avoid shorting positive and negative.
Don't forget to reattach the vent hose w/o kinks.
Avoid shorting positive and negative.
Newbie here. Thanks in advance for your patience. I was wondering what the red box on top of the battery is and if I need to have any special steps or consideration for it when changing my battery? Thanks. Hopefully the image is attached!
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Thanks! Any idea what the big red box on top is?
It is a power distribution system.
that red block is a circuit breaker (in case of accident it cuts the power... this is found on all modern bimmers).
thanks all. i just went to pepboys and had them change the battery out. i'll wait for someone to post a DIY video to do it myself in the future. didn't want to mess around with disconnecting and reconnecting the breaker/ disti box.
Did you program in the new battery?
what pep boys did was keep a charger on the leads to that no of the custom settings were erased and there was power supplied to all systems during the change. the user manual says to register the battery with the dealership service provider to ensure all "comfort features" are "available". i'll see how everything works in the coming week...
That's not exactly the same, you can retain all the custom settings by using the charger, but you are also suppose to go into the program to tell the computer that there is a new battery in the car. As the battery get weak, the computer will shut off some comfort features. I believe the new battery has to be register in order to charge properly.
I'm not sure. this is what my owners manual says
"Battery replacement
Use approved vehicle batteries only.
Only use vehicle batteries that have been
approved for your vehicle by the manufacturer;
otherwise, the vehicle could be damaged and
systems or functions may not be fully available.
After a battery replacement, have the battery
registered on the vehicle by your service center
to ensure that all comfort functions are fully
available."
one could always call their local dealership or mechanic or BMW to verify...
ok so an update:
yesterday all sorts of bad messages (engine, transmission, etc...) started popping up. i called pep boys and they said "oh yeah, you're supposed to have the computer reset". they meant by a service provider. of course i paid them to install it correctly, but i think they don't know how to do it. essentially, i had to take it to my mechanic to have it reset (Wasn't free - so much for thinking a battery change is easy, even pep boys' self proclaimed "pros", and i could save a few bucks).
so the lesson is, for at least the 2011 X3 bmw, you need to have your battery changed by someone that knows how to reset the computer otherwise it will affect alot more than "comfort" features alluded to in the owners manual. risky to get the battery changed, then drive to the mechanic - go to a place that can do it all for you at one time.
i'm going to have to go back to pep boys to get some $ back, for doing an incomplete job that made me spend $ on a mechanic to fix their mess.
"Battery replacement
Use approved vehicle batteries only.
Only use vehicle batteries that have been
approved for your vehicle by the manufacturer;
otherwise, the vehicle could be damaged and
systems or functions may not be fully available.
After a battery replacement, have the battery
registered on the vehicle by your service center
to ensure that all comfort functions are fully
available."
one could always call their local dealership or mechanic or BMW to verify...
ok so an update:
yesterday all sorts of bad messages (engine, transmission, etc...) started popping up. i called pep boys and they said "oh yeah, you're supposed to have the computer reset". they meant by a service provider. of course i paid them to install it correctly, but i think they don't know how to do it. essentially, i had to take it to my mechanic to have it reset (Wasn't free - so much for thinking a battery change is easy, even pep boys' self proclaimed "pros", and i could save a few bucks).
so the lesson is, for at least the 2011 X3 bmw, you need to have your battery changed by someone that knows how to reset the computer otherwise it will affect alot more than "comfort" features alluded to in the owners manual. risky to get the battery changed, then drive to the mechanic - go to a place that can do it all for you at one time.
i'm going to have to go back to pep boys to get some $ back, for doing an incomplete job that made me spend $ on a mechanic to fix their mess.
Need help with something in the photo at the top for this post. See the two thin blue wires attached at the upper left where (though under the red cover) the main battery cable fastens to the positive post. I can't figure out how to unfasten the clip that connects those two wires to the whole power distribution arrangement. I need to unfasten it to be able to pull the whole power distribution box and cables out of the way so I can remove and replace the battery. I can't figure out how to disengage the clip mechanism and don't want to force it.
Having a similar scenario here with mine. Should I be purchasing the same specifications on a battery that are shown on my current battery that I am about to change out? The only one's I've been finding is Group Size H9 but those are some pretty large batteries for an X3, aren't' they? I'm honestly trying to avoid having to take this to a dealership for a simple battery swap out. However, if there's alot of computer related issues that are involved then I guess I would be better off taking it to a mechanic who knows what they are doing or pay an arm and a leg at the dealership for them to do it.
Modern vehicles are power hogs, even just parked. Get the same specs as the existing one in AGM. You'll need to register it to let the vehicle know the batt is new so the charging characteristics are correct, if not you'll be overcharging it shortening the life.
Verify that your 2011 X3 requires battery registration. BMW phased that requirement in different years for different models.
All F25 require battery registration, it was not phased in for this model.
Yup. I went to an independant shop who took care of the registration in addition to swapping out the battery, making sure settings were retained, etc. It's an important part of the process and should not be skipped.
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