kobefans

So my battery died 2 times last week and bmw assist had to come boost me for 2 times.

After that, every time I start my car, it will display a warning msg that tell me to increase battery charge, it is discharging. Also I have to reset time every time i start my car.

i took my car into the dealership today hoping to replace it under warranty.

After few hrs the service lady called me saying that it will not be covered under warranty. the reason is: they pulled the data from the car's computer. For the last 7 days, I drove 388kms and started the car for 111 times.. and 92 of the 111 times, it travels less that 5 kms, and it's the reason the battery died !!, and it cannt be recharged anymore.

First of all, i think the 111 times is kinda bullshit, how is it possible for me to start the car 111 times in one week? and 92 of them i travelled less than 5 kms? Even though during the 2 times my battery died, i did tried push the button a lot hoping to restart the car, but it CAN'T be the reason it drainned battery.

I kinda need some advice for this one, what should I do to have this resolved? I want them to replace under warranty, otherwise I have pay them 480 cdn dollars , which is like 450 us to just replace the battery, and the service ADVISED me not to buy battery from other party, cuz the 5series's batteries are all "registered"...

any help is greatly appreciated guys!

swajames

You, Sir, appear to be on the receiving end of some quite extraordinary levels of bullshit.

1) Your driving pattern is of absolutely no concern to either BMW or your dealer
2) Your driving pattern is far from unusual
3) Your battery is not "registered" to the car in any way, shape or form
4) A reasonable replacement from Kragen etc will work just as well as the factory battery (and based on your luck, probably better)

Given the above, assuming your car is still in warranty I'd be inclined to push for a replacement. BMW replaced one of mine under warranty after it failed in a similar manner to yours.

Good luck!

vkhong

BMW NA will not warranty dead batteries if the vehicle is driven for extremely short distances each time or less than 7500 miles a year. For such garage queens, I recommend that the owner purchase a battery tender from their BMW parts department as insurance. It'll also be harder for BMW to deny a dead battery claim if the owner could prove that a BMW battery tender was purchased and used.

kobefans

well, as you can see, they pulled data from the last 7 days which i travelled 388 kms... which is average over 50 kms per day. ( sorry, im in Canada ). They bascially are giving me that crap for not replace my battery under warranty

swajames

No one agreed to these terms when they bought their car... More to the point - they appear nowhere in the manual or in the service and warranty information booklets.

Push hard, and you'll get it under warranty. I know, as I got one - and at that point, I was tracking under 7500 miles per year.

08white

sorry to hear that, i am in the same situation
BMW dont want to cover my battery for less than 7500 miles per year, i complainted to BMW of NA already, and will try different dealership next week

swajames

Guys, this requirement doesn't appear in your warranty... They're blowing smoke...

0149

BMW needs to take responsibility for their substandard electronics.
This is probably another computer glitch.

I think the pecking order for BMW engineers is:

1. Suspension engineer
2. Braking engineer
3. Engine designer
4. Transmission engineer
5. Cupholder designer
6. Computer programmer

I think if they are put in the doghouse, their punishment was to design anything other than powertrain.

BMW clearly has no grasp of software, or what needs to be put in fault-tolerant hardware.

Otherwise, we would get the Omron multivalent logic controllers which Lexus and VW use, which are excellent.

Note that BMW has tried to launch an open source initiative for software, which may be their way of admitting failure.

The battery is a symptom of a larger problem, and so long as we take the crap, and keep buying, they don't feel the pain, we do.

Escalate this issue, and get your $50,000+ dollars' worth.

vwvwvw

This is an absolutely horrible way to treat a customer. The accusation of starting the car over a hundred times in a week is ridiculous. What a load of garbage.

We do have options here- there are other car manufacturers available when buying the next car.

08white

agree, i will complaint more to BMW of NA, but one person of word is not enough
if anyone of you guys have issue with your battery, you should complaint to BMW,