[PS.08]

So, I dropped my car off this morning to be serviced before I tuck it away for the winter. Got a call from the dealer saying my battery is operating at 45% capacity and they recommend replacing it. The car is not a daily driver, but is connected to a trickle charger 99% of the time.

Any ideas if the charger somehow damaged the battery, or faulty battery to begin with? I've owned the car since new and never had any issues or faults show up in idrive.

Any help is welcome. Cheers!

[DanG]

The average life of a BMW battery is three to five years. So a replacement would not be unusual.

[Golden3ye]

I have been preparing for a battery replacement in the near future. Anyone getting a non OEM battery? Wondering if there is issues with a light weight battery.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Golden3ye

I have been preparing for a battery replacement in the near future. Anyone getting a non OEM battery? Wondering if there is issues with a light weight battery.

Just remember you need to code in a new battery replacement.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by DanG

The average life of a BMW battery is three to five years. So a replacement would not be unusual.

Curious where you get that? I was at 10 years and counting on the original battery in my 135i before it got totaled (and it had never been on a trickle charger).

Even here on Bimmerpost, multiple threads about long battery life:

Is it normal for a battery to last almost 11 years?
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1574221

Amazing battery life (OP got 11 years)
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1558352

Average Battery Life ("dealer said 7-8 years for AGM")
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1883659

[DanG]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Curious where you get that? I was at 10 years and counting on the original battery in my 135i before it got totaled (and it had never been on a trickle charger).

Even here on Bimmerpost, multiple threads about long battery life:

Is it normal for a battery to last almost 11 years?
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1574221

Amazing battery life (OP got 11 years)
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1558352

Average Battery Life ("dealer said 7-8 years for AGM")
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1883659

https://www.bmwofstratham.com/how-lo...t-stratham-nh/

[KevinC]

It'a a good Varta AGM battery and should last longer than 3 years. The fact that our batteries are trunk mounted protects them from heat/cold extremes and that helps too.

I'd get it tested at any auto supply shop and make sure it's really that weak. Smells fishy to me.

EDIT: Also, AGM batteries hold a charge a LOT longer than a flooded battery. You might not need to keep it on a trickle charger. How often does it get driven?

[Reddevils7]

I agree seems a little suspicious your battery died so early. I still need to confirm as I never saw it on the reported history but I'm pretty sure my E92 I just bought it running the OEM battery and it's 13 years old. Granted the car only has 19k miles and sat on a trickle charger when not driven but it's still very old. Only when I first got the car I got a battery message on startup but since actually driving it it's never once come back. I used bimmer link app to also check battery health and no issues. The CS is at most 4 years old so it should still be pretty healthy. I stored mine for the winter and put it on a ctek. It also has another option on the charger to just recondition the battery too. Might not be a bad idea a snag one on Amazon and let it run a proper cycle and recheck the battery. That'll be significantly cheaper than buying a new battery too

[NYNick]

I left my car in the garage for a few months without a tender. It died. I tried to start it and re-charge it to no avail. I was finally able to jump the car and drive it for a bit.

I happened to have a service appointment coming up. The car started fine and I asked them to check the battery while it was at the dealership. It tested fine and hasn't given me any trouble since.

Who knows?

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by PS.08

So, I dropped my car off this morning to be serviced before I tuck it away for the winter. Got a call from the dealer saying my battery is operating at 45% capacity and they recommend replacing it. The car is not a daily driver, but is connected to a trickle charger 99% of the time.

Any ideas if the charger somehow damaged the battery, or faulty battery to begin with? I've owned the car since new and never had any issues or faults show up in idrive.

Any help is welcome. Cheers!

I recently inquired about this, and did a mountain of research on it.

The battery in the M2 should last a MINIMUM of 6 years under normal use. I wouldn't call a trickle charger normal use, but it should suffice.

The big deal is, this car will give MANY faults MANY times before replacement is necessary. Some guys have the low voltage faults for months, so the general consensus seems to be to leave it until you have faults, and for those in colder climates CERTAINLY don't replace it in the Winter when you're not driving the car. Wait until the Summer for sure.

Lastly, the battery is made by Varta not because it's special, but because it's the ONLY battery manufacturer in Germany, so all the German cars have them.

[AUSf22]

Hmm that is a bit strange! My F30 battery lasted 9 years until it finally required changing. It did require a recondition (with my ctek charger) every now and then towards the end but I prolonged it's life as long as possible.

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

Lastly, the battery is made by Varta not because it's special, but because it's the ONLY battery manufacturer in Germany, so all the German cars have them.

VW puts all kinds of funky batteries in their cars, even the ones built in Wolfsburg. My last Golf R had an Exide turd that died right at 24 months.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by KevinC

VW puts all kinds of funky batteries in their cars, even the ones built in Wolfsburg. My last Golf R had an Exide turd that died right at 24 months.

That's interesting that they would import the battery.

[PS.08]

Appreciate all the feedback! Picked my car up from the dealer last night. Turns out it was a faulty battery. To my surprise, they decided to replace it for free…an early Christmas miracle

[Reddevils7]

These smart batteries in our cars turn off once the voltage gets to a certain level. It then needs to be jumped or trickled back in order for the computer to let you start the car. There's like a smart chip in the battery circuit I believe and it's there to exactly prevent these types of things where the battery completely dies beyond recovery. The wordage may be incorrect so someone correct me but I think that's the basic logic behind it.

[Reddevils7]

Originally Posted by PS.08

Appreciate all the feedback! Picked my car up from the dealer last night. Turns out it was a faulty battery. To my surprise, they decided to replace it for free…an early Christmas miracle

Yes, faulty battery makes much more sense. That will prematurely die and BMW does do replacements under warranty. My dad's F10 550 had it replaced twice for that reason from new. But whoever was saying that it's normal for these batteries to be replaced every 3-5 years, that I disagree with. Glad you got the issue sorted

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

That's interesting that they would import the battery.

Made in Spain. They use Varta too but I didn’t hit the battery lottery. I suspect the need multiple suppliers due to volume.

[E46M3forRay]

Originally Posted by NYNick

I left my car in the garage for a few months without a tender. It died. I tried to start it and re-charge it to no avail. I was finally able to jump the car and drive it for a bit.

Did you lock the car before walking away ?