markiemark

I had the same thing happen to me here in San Diego last week, '05 525, about 26k miles. The battery was barely starting the car, so when I had it in again for the air bag sensor, I told them to look at the battery issue. They ran some diagnostics and it came back "unfavorable driving conditions". I asked what that meant, they said "you don't drive the car enough". I asked them where it said in the manual that there was some minimum driving distance. They couldn't answer me. They said a new battery was $390. I coughed. I asked if they are custom made one at a time by elves or what, where in the heck to they get batteries for $390? To my surprise, the SA said they get them from Interstate Batteries. I called the local IB store and they wanted $160 for one, $215 installed (I later found another battery warehouse that had one for $85). So I called BMW USA customer support. After explaining the problem to him, he asked me to look at my owner's manual. I didn't have it inasmuch as it was in the car that was in the shop. So he pulled my manual up and found a section somewhere under "battery" I believe and it actually says you have to drive at least 10 highway miles a day. I thanked him and called the SA. I said "I drive it at least 10 miles a day on the highway a day as required by the manual. I can send you a map of the route I take to drop the kids off and school and then drive to the office and the return trip. So unless you can somehow prove I don't drive 10 miles a day, you owe me a battery." I also reminded him that the car had been in recently because the cd and radio would still play after the car was turned off, which could have contributed to the problem. He of course had to talk to his boss. They called back and said "as a courtesy we will replace your battery." I said I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth but I didn't want a courtesy, that it should be replaced under the warranty. I got the new battery, but it still says "courtesy" on the repair order. I don't know why they fight us so much on this stuff, you really have to push and push to get some things covered and other things they do with no questions (the driver side door arm rest has some rubberized covering and it was wearing off and they said "no problem, it's covered"). Anwyay, see what your manual says and then tell them you followed the requirements and don't let up.
Mark

Rizbel

At 43K miles, May07, battery was diagnosed with bad cell and was replaced with a new one. My cost- $0.00 under warranty. I love BMW of San Diego .

545iBMW

Got my car last night.
Here's what they've done:

Complaint - Fix - Remarks
1. Won't start - replaced battery - everything works again!
2. Creaking cluth pedal - lubed pedal - pedal is softer and smoother now, car feels different
3. Car shakes at 40 or so mph (I thought it was misalligned or tires are unbalanced) - put air on tires and put right air pressure - stupid me, I should check my tire pressure more

Stuffs they did that I did NOT request
1. Replaced oil and oil filter
2. Replaced windshield wiper
3. Checked brakes

Stuff they didn't do
1. They forgot to reset the car's computer for next oil change (how do I reset this by my self?)

So far so good.

Total money paid: $0.00
Smile on my face when I drove home last night: Priceless!

hondik

OK guys I have the same problem - and now my car died totally, jump start doesn't work. Had the car towed to the dealer..
I got 40k miles only..

08white

BMW battery sucks, i had same problem, they said if you drive less than 7500 miles per year, they dont cover, i pushed hard, called BMW of NA etc, then they charged up, so far it is ok

rpierce

I had the same problem. Bmw says they only cover the battery under the original warranty. Wanted 445 dollars for a battery. Needless to say i want to autozone and got a battery for half the price.