Dead battery

Tippo · 06-15-2010, 06:07 AM

What could drain the battery so heavily on these cars?

My battery turned out to be dead yesterday AM. The car is still under AUC warranty so the assistance people came out no probs.

He charged me back up. Reckoned my 150 mile a week use is not enough, is this the norm for E90 saloons? Never had an issue like this before.

The car was brought last September it was registered in March 2006 and only done around 46k miles when I got it. So perhaps the battery had never got a good charge up over its lifetime maybe?

Bizzare really.

robsdesk · 06-15-2010, 07:35 AM

If 150 miles / week isn't enough then I'm surprised I've not run into problems yet. Mine sits at home all week (train for work) & probably does no more than 40 miles over the course of an average weekend. The odd longer trip here and there, at just over 4 years old I wouldn't be that surprised if the battery was past its best, perhaps that combined with low charge times isn't helping.

Tippo · 06-16-2010, 04:57 AM

Well if it happens again within the next 3 months then I expect BMW assist to replace the battery with a newer one. End of.

Searched the site and found some US owners had dodgy negative terminal connections so maybe it was that.

Never had an issue like this on previous cars, last year my last car, an Audi TT was parked up for six weeks due to a broken wrist injury. Turned it over a couple of times but had no issues then on that car. Started first time no probs.

SteveF1 · 06-16-2010, 05:04 AM

I've got the same car as yours, registered on the same month with the same 46k miles on it when I bought it. I do roughly 80 miles a week but the journey does include ten mins of motorway running but I've had no problems with the battery.

Unless my cars previous owner has had a replacement battery (which I doubt) then it appears an issue with your motor as opposed to a lack of mileage problem. Plus, what a dumb excuse, these aren't supercars or F1 cars that are living things that need feeding exotic minerals, these are common or garden BMs that should be able to sit idle for weeks and start with no problems, never mind not start because you haven't travelled 150 miles in a week.

Full of.......

Tippo · 06-16-2010, 05:15 AM

Yeah major BS alert going on here.

Usually have a 55 mile return trip on the m'way each week so would expect that to keep it charged up on its own imho.

Well fingers crossed it won't happen again then I guess.

matlough · 06-16-2010, 06:00 AM

Take it to the dealer and get them to check for error messages....was having the same problem, turns out that the alarm was draining the battery too much. Part replaced and (touch wood) no more problems.

Tippo · 06-16-2010, 11:21 AM

Hi matlough

How many times did yours end up dead? Did it happen every few months or something?

matlough · 06-16-2010, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tippo

Hi matlough

How many times did yours end up dead? Did it happen every few months or something?

It never went completly dead, all I got was the 'Battery level very low' warning signal if i had parked up for about 5 mins with no engine running and just listening to the radio. It also disabled the 'welcome corona rings' that you get when you unlock the car.

Its worth taking to dealer just to get them to check it out. Do you have extended warranty?

Tippo · 06-17-2010, 03:05 AM

It is still under AUC warranty so if it happens again then will call the assistance people out. Did not get any low battery warnings at all though.

Did note that when the assist guy was working on the car he was setting the alarm off every now and then so maybe he was actually replacing that dodgy part after all.

Still does not explain the BS I got about weekly milage and use though......

simples · 06-17-2010, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matlough

It never went completly dead, all I got was the 'Battery level very low' warning signal if i had parked up for about 5 mins with no engine running and just listening to the radio. It also disabled the 'welcome corona rings' that you get when you unlock the car.

Its worth taking to dealer just to get them to check it out. Do you have extended warranty?

Matlough

i get the exact same problem u had, the car was in and out of the dealers so many times that they ended up saying the same as 'not driving enough miles' he even printed out the stats. i accepted this at the time as it kinda made sense but have since, i have done long journeys and still get the error so that cancels out their conclusion. they would'nt change the battery as they said it was ok!
What part was changed on your car?? also the check was made under the AUC. but now thats run out i have named component warrenty. do u think i would still be covered considering their theory is bull as i've done longer trips??

matlough · 06-20-2010, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simples

Matlough

i get the exact same problem u had, the car was in and out of the dealers so many times that they ended up saying the same as 'not driving enough miles' he even printed out the stats. i accepted this at the time as it kinda made sense but have since, i have done long journeys and still get the error so that cancels out their conclusion. they would'nt change the battery as they said it was ok!
What part was changed on your car?? also the check was made under the AUC. but now thats run out i have named component warrenty. do u think i would still be covered considering their theory is bull as i've done longer trips??

Hi, sorry for delay in replying (been at Silverstone for MotoGP!)

The part that was changed was '6575055-Emergency current siren with tilt'.
I have just taken out the extended warranty (top version) and apart from the £100 excess it was all FOC. The bill if I had no warranty would have been £413.00!

The dealer had the car for about 4 days so was able to properly test everything.

Tippo · 06-22-2010, 01:33 PM

LOL Just thought it's a good job I don't have Effecient Dynamics stop start tech on my car otherwise the battery would have died a long time ago. The more I think about the BS response I had last week the less I am liking BMW. Back to an Audi next time maybe.

Tippo · 06-28-2010, 01:39 PM

Filled in and sent back a questionaire today. Mentioned the comments made about not driving enough miles and made it clear that I did not believe this to be the case. Will anything come of it I doubt it but then again if my battery dies again in say 4 months time when I am out of AUC warranty then maybe I can state that this should have been sorted at this point in time. Maybe....

06-15-2010, 06:07 AM	#1
Tippo Second Lieutenant 6 Rep 254 Posts Drives: Mk2 TT V6 quattro Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Midlands iTrader: (0)	Dead battery What could drain the battery so heavily on these cars? My battery turned out to be dead yesterday AM. The car is still under AUC warranty so the assistance people came out no probs. He charged me back up. Reckoned my 150 mile a week use is not enough, is this the norm for E90 saloons? Never had an issue like this before. The car was brought last September it was registered in March 2006 and only done around 46k miles when I got it. So perhaps the battery had never got a good charge up over its lifetime maybe? Bizzare really.
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06-15-2010, 07:35 AM	#2
robsdesk Enlisted Member 0 Rep 32 Posts Drives: E92 320d M Sport Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London UK iTrader: (0)	If 150 miles / week isn't enough then I'm surprised I've not run into problems yet. Mine sits at home all week (train for work) & probably does no more than 40 miles over the course of an average weekend. The odd longer trip here and there, at just over 4 years old I wouldn't be that surprised if the battery was past its best, perhaps that combined with low charge times isn't helping.
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06-16-2010, 04:57 AM	#3
Tippo Second Lieutenant 6 Rep 254 Posts Drives: Mk2 TT V6 quattro Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Midlands iTrader: (0)	Well if it happens again within the next 3 months then I expect BMW assist to replace the battery with a newer one. End of. Searched the site and found some US owners had dodgy negative terminal connections so maybe it was that. Never had an issue like this on previous cars, last year my last car, an Audi TT was parked up for six weeks due to a broken wrist injury. Turned it over a couple of times but had no issues then on that car. Started first time no probs.
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06-16-2010, 05:04 AM	#4
SteveF1 Captain 27 Rep 626 Posts Drives: BMW 320D M Sport Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Manchester iTrader: (0)	I've got the same car as yours, registered on the same month with the same 46k miles on it when I bought it. I do roughly 80 miles a week but the journey does include ten mins of motorway running but I've had no problems with the battery. Unless my cars previous owner has had a replacement battery (which I doubt) then it appears an issue with your motor as opposed to a lack of mileage problem. Plus, what a dumb excuse, these aren't supercars or F1 cars that are living things that need feeding exotic minerals, these are common or garden BMs that should be able to sit idle for weeks and start with no problems, never mind not start because you haven't travelled 150 miles in a week. Full of.......
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06-16-2010, 05:15 AM	#5
Tippo Second Lieutenant 6 Rep 254 Posts Drives: Mk2 TT V6 quattro Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Midlands iTrader: (0)	Yeah major BS alert going on here. Usually have a 55 mile return trip on the m'way each week so would expect that to keep it charged up on its own imho. Well fingers crossed it won't happen again then I guess.
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06-16-2010, 06:00 AM	#6
matlough First Lieutenant 32 Rep 393 Posts Drives: 335i Saloon Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Hampshire - UK iTrader: (0)	Take it to the dealer and get them to check for error messages....was having the same problem, turns out that the alarm was draining the battery too much. Part replaced and (touch wood) no more problems. __________________ Current: AW F20 M135i :-) Past Masters: E90 335i with Evolve / Honda Accord Type R / Prelude VTI / Prelude 2.2 Vtec
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06-16-2010, 11:21 AM	#7
Tippo Second Lieutenant 6 Rep 254 Posts Drives: Mk2 TT V6 quattro Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Midlands iTrader: (0)	Hi matlough How many times did yours end up dead? Did it happen every few months or something?
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06-17-2010, 03:05 AM	#9
Tippo Second Lieutenant 6 Rep 254 Posts Drives: Mk2 TT V6 quattro Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Midlands iTrader: (0)	It is still under AUC warranty so if it happens again then will call the assistance people out. Did not get any low battery warnings at all though. Did note that when the assist guy was working on the car he was setting the alarm off every now and then so maybe he was actually replacing that dodgy part after all. Still does not explain the BS I got about weekly milage and use though......
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06-22-2010, 01:33 PM	#12
Tippo Second Lieutenant 6 Rep 254 Posts Drives: Mk2 TT V6 quattro Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Midlands iTrader: (0)	LOL Just thought it's a good job I don't have Effecient Dynamics stop start tech on my car otherwise the battery would have died a long time ago. The more I think about the BS response I had last week the less I am liking BMW. Back to an Audi next time maybe.
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06-28-2010, 01:39 PM	#13
Tippo Second Lieutenant 6 Rep 254 Posts Drives: Mk2 TT V6 quattro Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Midlands iTrader: (0)	Filled in and sent back a questionaire today. Mentioned the comments made about not driving enough miles and made it clear that I did not believe this to be the case. Will anything come of it I doubt it but then again if my battery dies again in say 4 months time when I am out of AUC warranty then maybe I can state that this should have been sorted at this point in time. Maybe....
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