G530

Dropped off 535i to crevier and got hit with a $160 estimate cost to diagnose increase batterry discharge error. Howeveer, free warranty coverage if there is a system leak or defect some where. SA looked at fender and made accusation that bodyshop might have left battery on etc... How did he know this? Do they bother checking carfax or was it a bluff? He was correct about the fender bender thou. This would be an unlikely cause b/c that was 9 months ago the bodyshop had it. The window tint installer cud have drain batt too, that was also over 6 months ago.

IBD is only recently over the last 3 weeks. They said they have a black box (smiliar to airplane) that logged daily commute distance that help them determine if battery is adequately recharged daily and warranty may not cover if driving distance is too short. Isn't that insane? where is the privacy in this day and age? I feel like I am at their mercy at this point. Has anyone faced similar situation with a dealer?

Thanks.

08white

BMW told me that they dont cover battery if i drive less than 7500 miles per year

pukka

You sure he didn't punk you?

Seriously, anyone with bodyshop experience can look at car and tell if body work had been done to it. Takes a keen eye but its definitely possible.

JeffNNJ

The reason is fairly simple. If the vehicle isn't driven regularly, the battery charge isn't maintained and the battery can fail. There is no getting around this because it's simple physics. If you don't drive regularly you should keep it hooked up to a battery charger. We had similar problems at my last dealership with many of the cars that sat on the showroom floor for extended periods of time. And no, BMW did not pay for replacement batteries for us either. The dealership had to cover the costs.

G530

so SA 'waived' diagnostic cost of $160 to build clientele. Said they found key was left in ignition for extended time but wouldn't/couldn't provide specifics on datetime occured. It's possible window tint installer might have done this. So basically a crafty SA/dealer can say anything to deny warranty claim. Can you fight them?

NextLevel530xi

Ask to see the report.

G530

Report

TAGGED as Unfavorable driving profile.

30G-F shutdown due top too many wake-ups...is this Bimmer's short comming?

Short test found various undervoltage faults...I could've told them that for free.

Long parking periods...Yes, lonesome self at the used car lot before I adopted

Short distance runs...guilty, cheaper to trade cars than homes

Cleared fault memory...Not really, same datetime, trip reset return same day after car was picked up
No draw present at this time...???

I grew up hearing about BMWs and their weakness with electrical. Now, I am living da life!

I've searched a posts here re: 30G-F, trickle battery charger seemed to help some members. Can anyone tell me what kind of battery are on the 2008 535i? Wonder if this for lead-acid battery will do the job? http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...LAID=155761151


I'd also like to consider lightweight battery but the cold cranking amps is too low.
http://www.europeanautosource.com/in...a&filter_id=23

Has anyone upgraded lighter batt with same juice?

More thanks!

spandex

You don't really need much of a 'black box' to do this. There are lots of modern cars that record total number of ignition cycles and that, combined with the mileage, would give you a very good idea of the type of usage the car has had. I was at an independent Porsche dealers a while ago and one of the guys there had a laptop hooked up to one of their cars to show a potential buyer the (particularly low, in this case) number of ignition cycles. It just helped him back up the claim that the car had had an easy life, with plenty of motorway miles.