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Outside the Box Idea for Battery Issues

9K views 121 replies 24 participants last post by  dwpatter53 
All,

Solution is easy, ask people who have the same car in your area to confirm if it's really a weather issue... I don't buy it... Does other cars( Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, and Lexus) have the same issue in your area? If not then your car is defective and as long as the dealer is unable to fix it and provide you with a BS solution instead (installing trickle charger) then it's better to get rid of it and by E 350 or even a Lexus or Audi.

This is a serious issue and not acceptable at all in a car at this class.. It's not acceptable even in a Corola or Civic! If I were you I would get rid of it and loose some money but win my piece of mind.. This is not a cell phone that you need to plug in everyday... Did you buy a plug in hybrid..lol.. Sounds like a Tesla not an F10.

If you live in the US you need to Lemon it, don't accept any temporary solution like plugging the car overnight,..etc

For other countries, Sell it and move on with your life.. This is my advise to anybody who lives in a country with no Lemon laws and is unable to get his car fixed
 
Read my post again. There is no cord hanging out, rather a port that you plug a cord into. My car is new so maybe that is why I haven't had any problems. If i do and I can't get it resolved I'll sell the car and buy something else. I'm too busy to run around waving my hands in the air at BMW demanding a fix. It is what it is and I bought my car knowing that it might need topping up. By the way, the BMW service card says $275.00 for a battery installed (parts and labour).
I read it we'll and didn't talk about a cord, having a port is unacceptable too.. Don't think a Toyota Camry or any other car would need that.. Having the warning even for one time and plugging the car twice a week is not acceptable too. Anyway my advise were for all people here who have this issue and are unable to fix it. You need to read my post again :) This was meant for everybody including the guy who mentioned that his heat went off.
 
Some of you are over-reacting ... most supercars come with the CTEK. Guess they are lemons.
Does having constant battery charging issues on a brand new car is over-reacting!! Lights, heat, and other electrical equipment shutdown while driving is over-reacting!! Yes if a car needs to be plugged in constantly like a cell phone YES it is a Lemon.. What if somebody travel a long way to another state and sleep at a hotel overnight.. what should he do, ask the valet parking guy to plug it in because it will not turn on the next day!! For me definitely thats a Lemon and any other reliable Japanese car like Toyota would be much better.
 
You have to admit that it is LUDICROUS that a $65K + vehicle needs to be plugged in every night. I was told by my SA that I have an unacceptable driving profile. He should have added that I need to be punished! Actually I am punished by having to open the hood and plug in and connect a charger every time I arrive home.

To add insult,BMW does not accept the fact that these electrical issues are an engineering flaw.

Sorry I didn't buy a more reliable machine.
Lemon it, you could easily win the case.. consult an attorney.. if you win BMW will pay everything... if you plug it everyday thats an electrical car..lool... like TESLA
 
Amen. Just brought mine home from the dealer with a "fully charged" battery and a diagnosis that nothing is wrong. Third service visit with battery/charging problems since we bought the car 6 weeks ago. 12 hours later after picking up the car, I have the Charge Battery indicator, no interior lights and occasionally no seat heaters. This is a MASSIVE hassle and my wife wont even drive the car at night with no interior lights. If nothing gets done soon I will start lemon proceedings. We shouldn't have to put up with this crap.
Make sure that you check the Lemon laws in your state, keep taking it back to the dealer until you fulfill the Lemon law requirements and become eligible so you can guarantee the case :)

In NJ if the car stays for 30 business days at the dealer workshop or you revisit the dealer 3 times for the same issue without being fixed you could lemon the car provided that the dealer admit it, if he insist that its normal take it to another dealer (in my case which is a slight steering buzz/vibration the dealer tell me its normal, but your issue is different and serious)
 
Come on ahmadddd, we all know you have issues with your F10, but why spread such negativity. The truth is that any car with a lot of electronics will have battery issues. Even your beloved Mercedes E350 has tons of issues with the battery. A quick search of the Mercedes forum, I was able to come up with tons of dead battery threads:

http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...-times-last-year-after-sitting-overnight.html

http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w212/474347-battery-s-gone-just-after-two-years.html

http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w212/525705-2014-e550-battery-dead.html

http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w212/420346-dead-car-battery-non-functioning-smart-key.html

http://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-x164/381440-gl350-starting-problem.html

http://mbworld.org/forums/r-class-w251/491739-dead-battery-drain.html
You are wrong brother... And this has nothing to do with Mercedes.. Please don't personalize and my car's vibration/buzz problem has nothing to do with my this post! Having a minor problem with my car doesn't mean I can't participate on any post because I lost my credibility !!!! You are funny.. I mentioned Lexus and Audi too .. For me even a Toyota Camry that doesn't need to be plugged everyday would be 1000 times better than his Lemon. You don't need to act as a BMW lawyer and follow me on every thread.. A car that needs to be plugged in on daily basis and the dealer is unable to fix it IS A LEMON PERIOD.. NO DISCUSSION HERE.... PLUG IN =LEMON this is not an electric car lol .. Though I am in the Tesla forum... Even Tesla owners who drive short distances don't plug it in everyday :bigpimp:
 
First of all, I would like to point out that ahmadddd's F10 does not have the battery problem. Secondly, I know personally how frustrating it is to own a new car that needs constant attention from the dealer, I had a few of them. My 535i was delivered to me with a "charge battery" warning as well, the dealer charged the battery 2 years ago and that was the last time I seen that warning. If you car is a daily driver, I would say you might have ground for the new car lemon law. I would consult a lemon law lawyer and have him or her sent BMW NA a letter of your intentions.
Yup, thats correct .. my car has done 3000 miles only since july 2013 and I never got any battery related message or issue despite the fact that all my driving is short distances in the city and I use the heated steering wheel, heated seats, and Auto Stop/Start all the time with no issues at all even on cold days here were ten fell below 10 F.
 
If I am wrong, please explain. If all cars that have a lot of electrical demand need a maintenance charge once a while are all lemons, then half of the Mercedes, Audi and Lexus are lemons in Northern Canada and Alaska. In a way, Camry is a better car for you in this respect, because the electrical demand is low. I am not a BMW lawyer, I am not even a BMW fanboy, but when I see a debatable point made in a post, I like to respond with facts.
You are welcome to participate on any post as far as I am concerned, but credibility is something you need to earn and this is a tough crowd :)
Yes, plug in = Lemon even if its once in a while.. if you travel for a month or so and get the low battery message when you come back because you haven't started the car in about a month I can understand and even for this situation a 10 miles highway drive should be more than enough to charge the battery to normal operation. But getting the message constantly and plugging the car on daily or weekly basis just like what some people mentioned here is not acceptable and definitely a lemon. Any non electric car that needs to be plugged in is a Lemon, no exceptions.

Only a Tesla can be plugged everyday without being a Lemon ;) even Tesla owners who drive short distances don't charge it everyday;)

I drive less than 5000 miles a year as I commute to work, most of my driving is in the city at night after I return back from work..So I use the AC/Heat, lights, projectors, heated seats,.etc and never had any issue or warning. Also left my car for 3 weeks when I travelled to UK and when I came back it turned on nicely without any battery messages and that means this car doesn't need constant charging and all people who are complaining about this issue have a Lemon!

Using the same driving habits none of my previous cars experienced any battery issues at all.My Previous Maxima was a fully loaded car with all kinds of electronics, Navi, Panorama, Heated Seats, all kinds of fancy electronics and ambient lighting and never seen the dealer except for oil change... its a very advanced car with a lot of electronics too
 
I always lock my car after I drive it. Living in an apartment complex, I have to. The problem only manifested itself during this unusually cold winter. With the F10, you really can't shut things off. You turn them off, they just come back on when you start the car again. I rarely use my heated seats. But I do tend to drive a lot of short trips, mixed in with some longer trips over the weekend.
I use everything, always use the heated seats and heated steering wheel and fog lights too. I always drive at night with all lights on and use the auto start/stop which consume more power as the engine shutdown at the stop light while all electronics stays on. With all that said I've driven the car for less than 3K miles since july of last year and never had any battery issue. I believe your car have a problem and need to be checked out.
 
Hhmm, do not know why you have all that stuff around your car, I have done 110k kms with my old F11 with one battery and not one electrical problem at all.
Just to say; n=1, it proves nothing at all.

Most of these problems are reported by guys that make short trips with all the electrics in there car turned on, heated chairs, defrosters, radios, computers and such, using up more electric energy than they are charging in the 5 miles trip, what do you expect?
And there is quite a number of trouble posters that do not lock down their car, so power consumption goes on while not using the car.
Well.
If not a hoax.
It is a problem suffered from by an elite number of car owners.
I Drive maybe 1-3 miles a day, and not even everyday and use all the fancy electronics including the heated steering and seats and never had an issue even on this cold weather. If anybody have this problem and the dealer is unable to fix it then his car is a LEMON. Thats my personal opinion, get a lawyer and Lemon it.
 
I picked up a new 14 535iX last Saturday. My salesman was explaining how to hit the on/off button twice when the service manager walked by and mentioned the lock the car trick to ensure that you have powered down everything that you can, which makes sense.

I have owned many recent cars with every option in the books and have never, ever had to replace a batter in less than three years or worry about power usage. I'd turn the car off, close (not lock) the door, and walk into the house form the garage. I did have to charge a battery once when my wife left the car in auxiliary mode overnight and drained the battery. My wife and I use seat heaters, steering wheel heaters, etc. etc. There was no caveat on the window sticker about having issues if you use all of the features that you pay for.

If anyone is having repetitive problems and the car is new, it is a simple deal to file a lemon law complaints in most jurisdictions, although some are easier than others. I returned a Corvette C5 about ten years ago on a lemon law violation and it was merely a matter of completing a couple of forms. It was in Maryland, a state which is very pro-consumer. Being an attorney didn't hurt either, but I had excellent documentation and had no resistance from GM.

A question....what do you folks think about the option of gas savings realized from turning off the engine when the car stops vs battery charging and using a bit more gas, but putting power into the battery versus taking it out?
Agree
 
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