[DanG]

How long are peoples batteries lasting?

I am thinking about replacing mine at 5 years just as a precaution.

[MASHCT]

Originally Posted by DanG

How long are peoples batteries lasting?

I am thinking about replacing mine at 5 years just as a precaution.

I actually just replaced mine February - right at 5 years/50K. The car was telling me the battery was not charged sufficiently and to "drive the vehicle" to charge the battery. After a few times of that happening, and realizing the car was 5 years old & 50K miles, I figured the battery needed replacing.

So off to AutoZone I went to get me a new battery.

Methinks you will get similar messages when it's time to change. Not saying the battery won't just die out on you, but I am gonna guess the car is smart enough to tell you something's up before it flat-out dies.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by DanG

How long are peoples batteries lasting?
I am thinking about replacing mine at 5 years just as a precaution.

With the battery registration and IBS, seems pointless to replace early as a precaution. My 135i original battery was still going strong after 10 years in the Northeast (unheated garage with no battery tender). Car got totaled, so I never got a chance to see how long it would last.

That said, I do have a trickle charger on the M2, only because the car sits for weeks at a time (and over winter months), whereas my 135i was driven daily.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by MASHCT

I actually just replaced mine February - right at 5 years/50K. The car was telling me the battery was not charged sufficiently and to "drive the vehicle" to charge the battery. After a few times of that happening, and realizing the car was 5 years old & 50K miles, I figured the battery needed replacing.

So off to AutoZone I went to get me a new battery.

Methinks you will get similar messages when it's time to change. Not saying the battery won't just die out on you, but I am gonna guess the car is smart enough to tell you something's up before it flat-out dies.

I have had the “Drive the vehicle” message several times already.

Did you have to do anything to get the Auto Zone battery recognized by your M2?

[Oliv]

Originally Posted by jkoral

With the battery registration and IBS, seems pointless to replace early as a precaution. My 135i original battery was still going strong after 10 years in the Northeast (unheated garage with no battery tender). Car got totaled, so I never got a chance to see how long it would last.

That said, I do have a trickle charger on the M2, only because the car sits for weeks at a time (and over winter months), whereas my 135i was driven daily.

13 years on the original battery on my ex-335i, no issues
Well TBH battery was good but IBS unit went haywire after a collision (deer), as a consequence it shorted the battery and put the car on fire, totalling it...not the battery's fault

Still changing it after 5 years is overkill

[MASHCT]

Originally Posted by DanG

I have had the “Drive the vehicle” message several times already.

Did you have to do anything to get the Auto Zone battery recognized by your M2?

I got a Die Hard battery - it's slightly smaller than the OEM one. I used the Carly app to mate the battery to the car - was easy. I don't remember the steps, but it walked you right through it. Nothing intense at all, it does all the work.

[///M TOWN]

I replaced mine at the four year mark

I do plug mine in but I just think my battery was done and ready to be replaced

As long as you're driving it I don't see any reason why you couldn't get five years out of it

However if you're having to buy one I don't think I would buy a factory battery

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by Oliv

13 years on the original battery on my ex-335i, no issues
Well TBH battery was good but IBS unit went haywire after a collision (deer), as a consequence it shorted the battery and put the car on fire, totalling it...not the battery's fault

Still changing it after 5 years is overkill

Not if you park outside

5 years is amazing if parking outside

[WedgeSalad]

Originally Posted by ///M TOWN

Not if you park outside

5 years is amazing if parking outside

Excuse my ignorance, how does parking outside affect battery longevity?

[M Fifty]

4.5 years so far.

The car sent me text messages to say the battery needed charging during the Lockdown we had in Spring 2020, but otherwise okay.

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by WedgeSalad

Excuse my ignorance, how does parking outside affect battery longevity?

Burr… 🥶

Batteries hate cold weather

[Tag]

For me they typically last 5~6yrs, but once I started putting them on a tender once a month as preventative maintenance they last longer than I own the car.

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by Tag

For me they typically last 5~6yrs, but once I started putting them on a tender once a month as preventative maintenance they last longer than I own the car.

Yeah mine is almost always plugged in 🔌

[F87source]

Originally Posted by DanG

I have had the “Drive the vehicle” message several times already.

Did you have to do anything to get the Auto Zone battery recognized by your M2?

If the AH rating of the battery is one of the options the car has (and it has a vast amount of selections) then it will not be a problem.

So OEM battery replacement just register, smaller battery size code then register iirc.

[jefe2000]

I'm probably one of the few M2 drivers that uses the auto stop/start feature; I wonder how that'll affect overall battery longevity. I also leave the car in gear as I slow for a stoplight and let the EfficientDynamics gauge stay in the blue for as long as practical before coming to a stop and shifting to neutral.

So if I had to guess, between auto stop/start and the EfficientDynamics battery charging (if that's the right word?), my battery is probably cycling more often and will last consequently shorter amount of time.

[PackPride85]

I replaced mine at 5 years 40k miles with a diehard before my first track event. Didn't want to have issues while at the track.

Measuring voltage at the battery in the car it was down to 11.8 at full charge. Turns out this car has a large parasitic load when off as when I retested battery out of the car during replacement, it went up to 12.2. Probably had another year or so left on it but doing more track events now it's piece of mind.

[TMR013]

Thanks for the post. Have been wondering about this myself since I just passed the 4 year mark. In my 135 I had to replace every 3 years like clockwork. Live in Phoenix, summer is brutal on batteries. But so far no issue in the M2.
Glad at least some people are getting warnings. When my 135 batteries went, it was like 1 slow crank start, then dead, or nothing at all. Really annoying