02-27-2014, 04:00 PM | #23 |
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I have noticed that my dealer automatically puts a car coming in on the charger when in for service.
I leave my car in the heated garage and drive longer (200 or so) trips every 2nd week so I haven't gotten any messages. Only the short "pre heating" message when starting in the cold, but thats only the diesel I think. Its only 1-2 seconds. Curious to see what mode people are in who get these warnings. Would being in eco pro mode favor recharging the battery?
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01-07-2015, 09:25 PM | #24 |
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Had this warning today. I had not been using the rear defroster, the heated seats or steering wheel. Yes it was cold (-21). Most of my drives are about 60km. The car is on a trickle charger tonight. Hopefully that will fix it.
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01-08-2015, 10:45 AM | #25 |
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Same issue's
I too started getting this low charge warning a few days ago. Parking it outside and the cold weather seems to have really done a number on this 328d.
Drove the car roughly 100km on the highway hoping to charge the battery back up. This morning same problem, infact my car doors would not unlock. I manually unlocked the doors and drove the car straight to the dealership. According to the service adviser, they are going to do an electrical diagnostic to determine if i have "negligently" drained the system. If they deem the usage to be "normal" they will replace the battery for me. If not, i have to pay to have this fixed. He also told me i shouldn't even be running the radio for more than 20 minutes without the car on. That sounds a bit odd to me, but i don't do that either way. This is a work vehicle, that see's roughly 1500km/month. 95% of the time i'm driving in Eco mode, does that charge the battery as well? This is a 6 month old car and my first bmw....wtf now i'm waiting for a phone from the dealership. I too suspect the cars charging system is not adequately designed. Throw in a bigger battery, a better alternator and you don't have this problem. I've read suggestions to plug this car in. Screw that. To be honest, if i wanted to plug a car in i would have bought a Tesla. |
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01-08-2015, 02:56 PM | #26 |
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I got the same problem after a -24c cold start. I had a long drive to do but it seem like 30 mins later everything was fine when I restarted the car. But as many have said in here this shouldn't happen in a 50000$+ car! Never had this problem in my 9995$ pontiac...
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01-09-2015, 08:40 AM | #27 |
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I've never had any problems and my car is parked outside all the time. My daily commute is ~15km each way since I drive to the public transportation parking lot.
Defrosters, seat heaters, wheel heaters, and heating are all cranked up as soon as I get in the car and stay on for the entire duration of my drive. |
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01-09-2015, 09:21 AM | #28 |
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I've had this problem once this winter but a 40 minute drive dispatched the issue.
This is pretty much the fate of modern cars. If you had a car built in the early 2000s it was built from mostly with 20 year old tech. If you had a car but from 2008-9 on the tech is 10 years old or less. In-car computers are a good example. Previously specially built machines they are now on par with laptop computers with full blown operating systems, hard drives, memory, etc . Laptops are powered by lithium batteries and charged often. Your car? Lead acid batteries charged a little bit each day. So a 100 year old tech is powering 10-15 year old tech. And that's just one system. Your new BMW is so complex that the traditional control network of devices may be replaced with a network more akin to a typical office rather than a car. There are just so many devices. The answer might be to add a second battery but most manufacturers will avoid fixing annoyances unless customers get really ticked off. If you already trickle charge your car, welcome to the future. Most car owners will be joining you soon enough. |
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01-09-2015, 01:37 PM | #29 |
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Just like the plastic trim parts on the F3x cars, BMW has gone cheap on us. The battery is not up to the job. They need to create a cold weather edition of the car using the battery from the public service vehicles.
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01-09-2015, 02:54 PM | #30 |
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I live in a very cold and snowy part of ontario. My car stays outside for a few days at a time and when I need it, I end up clearing at least a foot of snow off it. My drives are usually 15 minute long and then the car sits for another eight hours before I start it again. I always use rear defrost, heated steering and heated seats, charge my phone and blast the stereo. Knock on wood haven't had any warnings yet and it starts up normal. It's puzzling that some have a problem with the battery and done don't.
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01-12-2015, 12:06 PM | #31 | |
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I received my car back from the dealership. Electrical diagnosis revealed battery had been depleted. They hooked it up to a charger over the weekend. Covered under warranty (as it should be) Tech told me to grab a charger and plug it in overnight every so often and I won't have this problem. It's a design flaw, I think eventually it'll happen to everyone. Too much parasitic drain on these cars. |
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01-12-2015, 06:39 PM | #32 | |
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01-12-2015, 10:56 PM | #33 |
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I have had the same problem for the second winter in a row. Charge it overnight and then leave it at work the next day at -20 -> battery warning, comfort access won't work etc. It's absolute crap. My buddy got rid of his 550i GT because of it.
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01-17-2015, 07:26 AM | #34 |
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Battery woes continue.
On Wednesday I drove 150km on the highway. It was cold, but I did not use the heated seats, steering wheel or the rear defroster. When I got home, I parked it in my garage and plugged it in (battery tender). I did the double press on the ignition button to shut everything down immediately. It did not get below -11 in the garage. Friday morning, no comfort access, low battery warning. Took the car to the dealer. Got some bs about things have been better lately on the battery discharge issue. First available appointment -- January 30. I suspect that there is a firmware fix. I will post after I get the car back. |
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01-18-2015, 11:24 AM | #36 |
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I read that the Intelligent Battery System cable and sensor (61219306405) have been updated since my production date and may need to be replaced (61219322900). I will ask my SA when the car goes in at the end of the month.
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02-07-2015, 10:03 AM | #37 |
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My battery warning message appeared two weeks ago when I parked my car outside during a couple of very cold nights. I took it to the dealership where they told me that they were going to update the car software in order to lower the threshold for the battery charge warning message to appear.
Next day my car was ready, battery charged overnight and software updated. We'll see how it goes. I wonder if with a lowered threshold my battery would now go from "OK" into "sudden death" mode ?! The nice thing about the software update is that now I get a message in the instrument cluster indicating when my heated steering is connected or disconnected (Only when you press the button, it doesn't stay on though).
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02-07-2015, 05:19 PM | #38 |
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Need to rethink the charging issue
This battery issue has to be thought of in a totally different light than previous experience.
It is probably true that the cold weather is the major factor here - but only because we are using much more power in cold weather and we also tend to have short trips. BUT - contrary to some comments this is not because BMW are putting in cheap batteries or alternators. In fact they are now installing higher capacity alternators and AGM batteries. The real issue that is causing confusion is due to the need to meet better fuel economy - and the process of braking regeneration. The energy management system is designed so that when you are coasting or braking all fuel is cut to the engine and it is the forward motion of the car that keeps the engine (and alternator) rotation. It is at that point that the alternator is activated to provide full charge voltage to the batter. So it charges with no fuel usage. BUT - so that this can function the batter must be able to take that charge (if even for a few seconds). To take a charge the batter must not already be fully charged - therefore the system never fully charges the battery in normal driving conditions. - Basically normal driving charges the battery between 60 & 80 %. - The system also tries to prevent charge from getting below 40% so that there is always enough power left in the battery to allow it to start the engine. - To keep this balance it performs many tricks - reducing the power to various accessories according to a very complex set of rules, and increasing the output of the alternator when required (including raising the idle speed if required). But as mentioned above it does not do this beyond the 80% charge state. - Since batteries do need the occasional full charge there is a timed program that does give them a full charge. I do not know the details of when it does that. BUT all that does leave us very vulnerable in cold weather - especially when we treat our cars like we did years ago when they used much less power. Bottom line - it is almost necessary to hook up a charger to at a frequency determined by your use of the car. Some people do it once a month - my dealer said some people are putting a trickle charger on every day. Personally I am not a fan of always having a charger on the battery. I use a 3 stage intelligent charger and hook it up every 1-2 weeks - depending on how the car has been used. If I am ever sitting in the car adjusting settings, etc then I connect the charger. This is an issue that BMW is struggling with. The additional charging system is one way they are trying to address this. I think they should be providing this as standard in any country that has winter conditions. BUT - I do think BMW are being very narrow sited when they advise owners to take the car for a long drive. That does waste fuel and is directly against the concept of environment protection. It also does not work well due to the fact that the battery is still not fully charged in those conditions - but I suspect the people that are putting out that advise have not even bothered to learn how that system works. Hope that helps. Cheers Jim Cash |
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12-16-2016, 01:40 PM | #39 | |
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Some clarifications are needed, took me a bit of research to understand it is both a user, design and information related error. First, it is -30 to -40 in Quebec right now. Death in 15 min if not ready. Drove the car 20-30 minutes, sometimes even 10 min idle it still needs 15 min driving to warm up. All manufacturers are affected, cars not starting, but Europeans generally have another issue: - THE TRUNK LOCATION OF THE BATTERY IN SUB -10C MEANS IT NEVER CHARGES. A normal thing - Front battery location, heats up with engine. - Audi Volvo BMW etc, are rear, and the trunk remains permanently cold unless in a heated garage. Even then, it will only charge until such point the battery becomes too cold. SOLUTION- AND THANK ME LATER - is to lower the ski trap or easy access and heat up the trunk as well- PROBLEMS GONE. Yes, I still use the charger below -15C (it is twice as cold now); At -20 needing 10 hrs to make it back to 80%. Imagine -30? Owners are not aware that their COLD battery does not charge in the cold, and need to warm it up. Why do some owners experience more issues? - Fully equipped cars, with heated seats etc, will drain multifold faster those first 20minutes than base models. Those batteries will rarely reach 60% even with daily driving. - Indoor heated garages, and those parking at work in heated garages also charge their batteries most of their ride - Outdoor parking, as mine, means that the battery is brutally abused just sitting. Lost batteries on Hondas every 3 years, be it it always warmed up quickly due to front location. My current BMW is far healthier thanks to vital knowledge. So, offer cabin temperature to your trunk, and give your battery a chance to charge. Trickle charge as well, as sub < 20min rides do not charge your battery in -10C or lower. Driving 100kms just to charge is silly- and a sealed trunk makes no difference. Indeed BMW has trouble advising owners. Battery issue symptoms: warning, EPS loss, lights working weirdly, etc. Last edited by Musashi; 12-16-2016 at 01:46 PM.. |
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