Dave242GT

First post on the forums. Have been lurking for a few years, thanks to all contributors for the wealth of knowledge that I've gained since taking ownership of my 2006 530xiT four years ago. Former Volvo nut, now converted BMW nut with the 530xiT and my recent addition a 2017 X5 in the garage.

Anyone have an H9/95R battery installed in your E61?

The previous owner of my car installed a Bosch S5533B battery (Size 49, 81Ah) about 6 months before I purchased it from him, stated that it wasn't registered when installed. Looks like I'm due for replacement thanks to temperatures below freezing last week in upstate NY, car wouldn't start. Charged up the battery and used my Foxwell NT510 for battery registration info, reports that the car is registered for a 110Ah battery. Contacted the local dealer to quote me on a replacement and he said the 61212353810 (90Ah/720CCA) is a direct replacement...he also had a 110Ah battery available 61212357334 (110Ah/850CCA) but wasn't listed for the E61 as an option and stated that the 110Ah battery was a little more than an inch longer, ~15 3/8" (top of case) than the 90Ah direct replacement.

I'm motivated to get a 110Ah battery to avoid the registration/coding cost since the NT510 can only register batteries of the same Ah specification, plus having the extra power for our bitterly cold winters will give me more confidence that the car will start. From my forum searches there are many references to the Autozone 95R-DLG which is 15 9/16" long (likely measured along the bottom of the case) but I was unable to find any posts that explicitly state "E61", only E60. All of the local DIY auto stores say "It fits" but there is no differentiation between the sedan/wagon when I enter the vehicle information. The battery well of my car does look like it has enough space but it looks really tight to the point where I need your personal experience installing these physically larger batteries.

Dealership is giving me competitive pricing on both batteries. I've had poor experiences with aftermarket in the past so prefer to go through them.

Thanks!!

JayArras

In that case, why stress over it?

Let them install it and be done.

Dave242GT

The competitive pricing was on the battery itself. My time costs a lot less than what the dealership would charge to install and register, my estimation $200 to $250 on top of the cost of the battery. Installation took all of 30 minutes in my driveway, another 5 minutes to register with the NT510.

For what it's worth another data point to emphasize the need to register the new battery to increase its longevity... as I mentioned in my original post, the old S5533B Bosch battery was 81Ah and lasted 3.5 years with mix of long and short trips in any given week, car was thinking it had a 110Ah battery in there. When I pulled it out max charge percentage was ~60% even after charging it overnight. To answer my question, the larger battery (H9/95R) does fit into the E61 battery well just fine just like Autozone said it would. Now to pickup a battery tender which will hopefully extend its life.

One last thing, the 61212357334 battery which I purchased is lead-acid and is black. Parts guy said its the only one to his knowledge that breaks the black-->AGM, white-->lead-acid color coding.

Dave