I have a unique issue in my 08 535XI., at least I think it is unique. I often get the Excessive Battery Discharge error come up On my iDrive. The time resets as does the trip computer however I never have an issue with starting the car and it always starts up fine. My understanding is that parasitic battery drain will drain the battery completely until the battery is dead. Are there any common items to look at given the symptoms I described? Or could my car have any of the typical parasitic battery drain issues?

 

When was your battery last replaced ? And yes you could have a parasitic drain. Way to check would be t check the draw when the car goes to sleep

 

Thanks for the reply Jason. I bought my E61 in January 2015 and The battery has not been changed under my ownership. No telling how old it actually is.

I will check the draw after the battery has gone to sleep.

 

That's a pretty old battery for an E61.

 

I agree. I am happy if I get three years out of a battery. Its a wear item and 200$ over 3 years isn't that much to spend for electronics reliability's sake.

 

Thanks Gents. I don’t drive many miles per year (< 4K miles) but I guess that battery life is not necessarily tied to miles driven

 

Any recommendations for a new battery? I will just order the Odyssey from FCP Euro if there really is not one that is any better than the others

 

I currently have a duralast in mine for the last year and a half or so.

No issues.

 

Is 95R the correct group size for our touring?

 

Do you have any other gremlins in the tailgate area?
I wonder if some intermittent battery drain is due to intermittent shorts in the tailgate wiring.