AchtungE60

So just as the poll asks. In addition to selecting an answer, please tell the issue you've had. Myself, I have seen at least 10 posts where people had their car in for the battery recall and have had issues after that. I believe these things are directly related to some things they are doing. A bimmer owner for over 10 yrs and many different bimmers I can tell you right now that each bimmer is different and needs to be treated differently. The vehicle needs to be studied up and down before attempting work on it. I do not have faith in the $tealer to work on my vehicles like I would (unless it was something like a suspension component) or the like, but would like to see how many of you have actually had issues regarding this.

BimmerFan52

Had to replace alternator as voltage regulator went bad on my 545i (85K miles, original alternator). I can't say with 100% certainty that the recall work was the cause, as I didn't leave the dealer lot and experience problems one block away.

The car was in for a repair estimate after running over a road hazard. The recall work was done while the estimate was being done in their shop. The estimate (as usual) was so ridiculously high that I moved it to my normal body shop which does a lot of BMWs. The eventual bill from the body shop came in $5000 less than the dealer (not a typo).

About two weeks after my body shop released it and I had put about 200 miles on the car it began to throw trans, active steering and roll stabilization faults. Having experienced a bad battery before I pretty much knew it was a voltage problem. I plugged in my cigarette lighter socket multimeter (so I could monitor voltage during start up and operation) and saw my voltage swinging from 10.8V to 17V during operation. Having heard that 17V can easily blow out modules I parked it and ordered a Valeo alternator. I also swapped out the water pump, thermostat and belts while I was in there.

Again, not definite that it was the recall work, as other hands were touching it afterwards and the Valeo alterator on the 545i is not known for its longevity, but nevertheless it is pretty coincidental.

balbs

I watched the tech work on my car. They just worked on the cable junction in the trunk. The only add on was taking instrument cluster readings for mileage and topping off fluids under the hood. No problems.

rbcook

I had the recall work done in June. Just before that in April, I had a new Bosch battery installed and coded at an indy in Dallas. Since then, I've had a few indications of low battery charge between driving - a few really exaggeratedly slow starts . So I've been checking the battery voltage before starting and it varies between 11 and 12 volts - low! Are the issues related - who knows? Car is 08' 528i with 65k miles - daily driver 30+ miles daily.

MORI3L

Which battery did you install? Is it the Bosch 49-850B? I'm a little curious about what issues I might have with this battery. Oh also...my battery died a couple months after the recall that's why I had to install the Bosch one.

crypto

Had mine done a few months ago.. no issues..

BimmerFan52

What is the alternator output after 30 seconds and then 5 minutes into driving? Your voltage regulator may be going.

tonyb635

I was going to hold off or just skip it based on some off the comments I've read. When I had a malfunctioning HPFP last month and took it in for the repair, they performed the recall. I had actually forgotten about it. Since then, nothing strange at all.

rbcook

Bosch battery I had installed was the S5533B - Size 49 - Bosch Part #0 092 S55 33B. Supposedly their "five star" battery - it has a picture of five stars on it

In regards to the voltage regulator possibly going bad: I have been checking the voltmeter plugged into cigarette lighter when sitting, starting, and driving. Usually right around 12 volts before starting, with minimal load(radio and lights only). Once started, it takes about 10-15 seconds for the alternator to get the voltage up to 13.8 or so. While driving or idling, it is usually around 13.8 or 14, no higher. When braking, it usually drops to about 13.2, but no lower. My voltmeter is kind of a cheapie little device, so I don't know how accurate it truly is.

BimmerFan52

That sounds about right - 13.8 to 14.1 is good during alternator operation. Strange you are experiencing low battery voltage.

I guess your next step would be to make sure the new battery doesn't have a bad cell.

Then maybe search for a parasitic drain - you might want to measure the voltage with a multimeter just after you get home and turn it off, then again in the morning. If it has dropped overnight then something might be staying during the night and pulling the battery down (some have experienced LCI comfort access door handle faults draining batteries).