1stgen8

Just wondering if anyone ever had this problem. After making several trips to the dealer for an airbag light I was told I have a bad (+) main battery cable or safety terminal as they call it in the parts guide. The service advisor said it is a common problem but something that does not fall under a BMW recall. He said if my vehicle were still under warranty they could replace it but since I'm at 54k it would be my responsibility. I did buy an extended warranty thru GE but they will not cover the battery and/or cables. It costs around $600 to fix. The cable is $289.62 and they want to charge me $280 for labor. I find the labor charge a bit excessive when the repair manual says the part can be replaced in .8 hrs which is approx 48 mins.

kxmills

Have you considered doing it yourself?

1stgen8

It's really not an option cause I don't have the means to clear the code after the install. I was also told a diagnostic test has to be done to ensure everything is working properly.

ehssan_alkhiyami

I've got the same problem now , I can change it myself and I can have the car rested by the garage , but I'm not able to find it on the BMW part cataloge , I have a 2006 BMW M5 ,, anyone knows how to sort it out ...

thank you ..

parmblagan

hi guys, i have the same problem and it is FxxxxxG FUSTRATING!!

the lead isn't difficult to change but you do have to go into the dealer a specialist to get the airbag and seatbelt lights turned of.

i'm bsed in the Uk and purchased the lead from the dealer for about ?79.99 +vat or there abouts, had it fitted through a independant BMW garage and they tried to turn the lights of. at first they cold turn the lights of, and rold me that the lead was faulty and go back to the dealers and get an exchage.

so of i went to the dealers and order a new one, but when i went to exchange it i was told that they," want to test the old one first and it has to be on the car, therfore book your car in. And if we find the lead is faulty we will car out the work FREE of charge, but it is very rare that a lead is faulty and maybe your BMW independant garage has fitted it properly or coded the lead to the car. If we find that lead is ok, then you will have to pay us ?116 +vat/per hour and it takes 2 hours to get you car put on the computer to find the fault"

i ended up buying a new lead have installed from BMW themselfs, and i still have the other one which i think is fine, but i think it is prober;ly better to get it done of the dealers as they have all the correct equipment to code the lead up.

if however you decide to go through a indepenedant garage, get them to buy the lead for you, so if they mess it up, they will have to replace it.

as a result i'm ?79.99 +VAT (for lead) + ?60 (fitting) down

1stgen8

That kinda sucks. I'm going to have the dealer do it for $570 in about a week or so. They reset my light so I got atleast a week before it comes back on. My friend who is a service advisor at the local dealership said if they do it the part comes with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty plus they will give me a loaner for the day. I think that's worth having the dealer do it cause an independent shop will not give me a two year warranty or a loaner.

luigi524td

I suggest you have a chat with the Service Manager at the Dealership. Seems to me that a mere 4K out of warranty for a problematic repair that had you in the shop a few times already should get you some financial consideration. Perhaps suggesting that you cover the part cost (minus club/forum discount of course) and they cover the labor ... or visa versa.

Stress the point that it already cost you time and money to properly diagnose an important safety system (battery link and air bag warning light). BTW, that, IMHO, is a serious fault, should be reported to BMW, and may warrant a TSB (Anyone aware of one?).

ehssan_alkhiyami

anyone have an idea what's the part number of the battery terminal . ?

i've heard from thet guy in the garage is that it's a cable runs from the front till the end of the card and they have to remove the seats and the al the side panels to be able to replace it , there is no coding for it , only reseting the faults will be enough but it require the GT1 computer to do so ,

1stgen8

Part # is 61129176950