[doru]

Hi everybody.
A little background: Car is 2011 335is. Purchased a couple weeks ago. Only drove the car home. No issues. Dealer didn't want to give out maintenance detail because of privacy? But I have the dates with mileage when the car was serviced, and the mileage pretty much jives with oil change intervals (BMW style). So that's all I know about the vehicle.
For the last 2-3 weeks the car sat in garage - I was waiting to finalize the write-off of the e39 in order to get the lic. plate. So about couple days after I purchased the car, I played with the I-drive. Needless to say, after a while the yellow battery icon lit up, and I couldn't do anything. So I hooked up the charger in the engine bay.
Now here is the strange thing that was happening, and I really didn't give it much attention: my charger is a smart Noco charger that goes into trickle mode, once the battery is charged. However, if I opened the door of the car, there is a sharp "click" in the engine bay, and the charger is kicked out - as in like it's not even hooked up (looking at the LED's). To get it back to charging, I have to take off the negative, then let the charger go in "wait" mode, then hook up the negative, and it charges quickly, then it goes in trickle mode. No problem here. But every time I open a door or trunk, the sharp "click" is heard, and charger is kicked out. This never happened to ANY of the BMW's I own or owned.
So the car was in trickle mode until two days ago, when I had to move it in the garage. Didn't hooked up the charger anymore thinking the battery is OK now (My biggest mistake: didn't check the bull's eye if it's green or yellow or black - still OE battery white).
Today I finally got my license plate from the totaled car, but when I tried to start the engine I was greeted with the low battery power message and the inability to start the car. All my current and previous BMW's had OE batteries that lasted 7-8 years or better.
Hence my question: is this "normal" for a e90 or e92 to have such a short battery lifespan, do I have an electrical issue? (search didn't reveal anything - maybe I used wrong key words). Any input, similar links greatly appreciated.

[bmwmsport]

It may be a battery issue or even an alternator issue. If it's still under warranty then the dealer should take care of you. I'd recommend an OEM BMW battery coded to the car specifically. You can have them test the battery for healthiness.

On a side note, they aren't supposed to disclose the service history. If you get a nice dealer or know someone up there, they may bend that rule a little. Seems dumb to me why they even have such a rule, the service history is what it is, it doesn't disclose anything about personal info about previous owner.

Maybe you just need to drive the car more.

Good luck and keep us posted

[doru]

Originally Posted by bmwmsport

It may be a battery issue or even an alternator issue. If it's still under warranty then the dealer should take care of you. I'd recommend an OEM BMW battery coded to the car specifically. You can have them test the battery for healthiness.

On a side note, they aren't supposed to disclose the service history. If you get a nice dealer or know someone up there, they may bend that rule a little. Seems dumb to me why they even have such a rule, the service history is what it is, it doesn't disclose anything about personal info about previous owner.

Maybe you just need to drive the car more.

Good luck and keep us posted

I don't think it's an alternator issue. The battery got discharged totally in 2 days just by sitting....
And if I add that weird clicking sound when activating anything on the car after the car is in sleep mode, that's what got me thinking....
I hope it's a toast battery that cannot hold the charge anymore.
I'm used to the old school BMW's - with GT1, INPA and I just loaded ISTA/D, but never used it. Is there a function to test the battery?

P.S.: I forgot to add: also, when I cleaned the engine bay, and did a quick brake flush, every now and then I could hear electronics buzzing in the engine bay, and sometimes in the cabin. I don't have the convenience key. Is this how the new BMW's are?

[bmwmsport]

I can't really narrow down a "weird clicking sound" without a video or something...

I haven't ever had electronics buzz when the car is off and key is out. The only thing that hums is the fuel pump when it starts just before the engine turns over.

It's probably just the battery, but I'm not knowledgeable about this enough to know. This has never been an issue for me.

[doru]

Originally Posted by bmwmsport

I can't really narrow down a "weird clicking sound" without a video or something...

I haven't ever had electronics buzz when the car is off and key is out. The only thing that hums is the fuel pump when it starts just before the engine turns over.

It's probably just the battery, but I'm not knowledgeable about this enough to know. This has never been an issue for me.

Just had a chat over the phone with my trusted indy (former BMW master tech), and he agrees it's a battery issue. One clue I gave him was the non-function of the comfort access feature - which "doesn't work", hence I thought I don't have it. he told me I have it, but because the battery is weak, it disables some of the car's functions. And he also told me when I worked this weekend around it, those noises I heard were different modules I "woke up" just by being in the proximity.

Thanks for all the help. An AGM battery is on the radar.

[jwalker87]

Batteries on their way out can cause weird problems on these electronically complex cars. Replacements are not too expensive (in the realm of late-model BMW parts. I prefer Duralast and they run around $180) and can be changed in about 15 minutes, with a little added time to register the new battery.

[E90Graphite07]

I picked a H8-AGM battery from advance auto for $130 ($50 off coupon offer; purchase online and do a local pick-up). Swapping it out is fairly easy, 15mins tops for a first timer. You'd have to register the new battery of course after.

[doru]

Got an AGM 92 Ah OE installed, coded & registered. No more issues. The original one was toast.

Thanks for all the help