TAmes

Hi all,

I recently took my 2010 550i into the dealer to examine some high battery drain error messages I've been getting. My SA ran an "energy diagnosis" on my car and discovered that there was three occurrences saved in the DME in which the draw on the battery was greater than 80 mA for more than 2 hours. He then tested every individual electronic module to see whether any were not "sleeping" properly upon shut down, and found no faulty modules.

My SA's theory is that the three occurrences of a high battery drain are related to my comfort access key fob being located too close to my parked car, which prevents the car from sleeping properly. I believe this could have happened when my car was being hand-washed and waxed, which generally takes about two hours.

I'll ask the person who washes and waxes my car not to carry the key on his person, but it sounds as though the key actually needs to be out of range, so that the comfort access module isn't communicating back and forth with the key fob, and the other electronic systems in the car aren't staying on.

Does anyone know how far away my key fob needs to be kept in order for it to be "out of range"? Alternatively, is there any way to temporarily shut off comfort access while my car is being washed?

Thanks in advance for any insights, and apologies for the length of this post.

-TA

KREED_550i

I always have my key in my pocket while in the car. I've run in the house, grocery store, car washes, etc with no problem.

Gilgorm

When I wash my car with the fob in my pocket the car alternately locks and inlocks over and over again as soon as water touches any handle. My dealership didn't believe this until they tried it with cars in for service and found that most but not all of the cars did the same thing if the fob was in a pocket. If my daughter holds my hand while the fob is in my pocket, the car will unlock if she touches the handles.
To eliminate the problem I just leave the fob about ten feet away and the problem is eliminated.
Not aware of any way to turn off the Comfort Access.

healthservices

I wonder how far the key has to be away from the car. The key is maybe 20 feet away from my car most days.

pukka

When washing/detailing your car, either insert the comfort access fob in the ignition or leave it at least 5 feet away. If the key is in the ignition its impossible to lock the doors from the outside.

Just remember where you leave it and make sure it doesn't get wet.

TAmes

Thanks for the reply. My question is whether keeping the comfort access fob in the ignition or 5 feet away keeps the car "awake" for the duration of the car wash. This is what my SA is saying, so what I'm wondering, in short, is how far the key fob needs to be away from the car in order for it to "sleep" properly -- and not drain the battery.

pukka

Should be anywhere outside the cabin. The next time you have your car running move the key fob outside the cabin. Once it's out of range the idrive will alarm telling you it doesn't sense the key. If it can't sense the key at this distance, then the car should have no problem "sleeping". It shoudn't be more than a few inches...maybe a foot or two before the alarm goes off. This itself is a design flaw because awhile back somebody posted they left their key fob ON TOP of the car and drove off and the car couldn't tell the difference as long as the key fob didn't fall to the ground.

For the record, I've left my key fob on a workbench in my garage for several days (car sitting about 5 feet away) and the car "slept" fine.

Keeping the car in the ignition probably will keep the car from going to sleep.