[simarddominic]

It's a very wide spread trouble...hope that BMW will fix this ASAP because in my case, if the car work like this, it would be unusable. (Below 5 KM short trip to work 4 days/week + cold winter)

[Bassthe1st]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

Took it to the dealer last week. Naturally, the days preceding my visit it didn't give me this notice once in 7 days, while it did it 4 times the previous 7 days. Go figure.

They tested it, said the battery was fine and couldn't replicate the issue. Had it sitting for hours and did various tests over 2 days and nothing. They said maybe try not leaving my ipod plugged in and to keep an eye on it and they'll revisit if it starts happening again.

Naturally, nothing for a couple days (hadn't had it go off in over a week). This morning boom, back again. Didn't dip below 40 last night and was in the low 50s this morning. Think it has nothing to do with the cold (or my ipod as it was disconnected).

They said my battery was at 70% when I brought it in and held a charge after with no issue. Did mention my short trips (95% of my normal trips are under 15 miles each way) could be an issue. No clue why it would pop up after a year of not changing my driving behavior or stop with nothing changing then start up again.

Basically, I've got nothing solved and hate taking it to the dealer.

Looks like the same issue as mine. Every once in a wile the battery will have a massive drain and the recharge with my normal commute.

[tdizzle]

Originally Posted by Bassthe1st

Looks like the same issue as mine. Every once in a wile the battery will have a massive drain and the recharge with my normal commute.

Had it pop up again this morning. It was 50 degrees.

Ipod unplugged, normal commute, nothing different than normal.

Best part was ASS kicked in within 2 mins and < 1 mile of my commute. How logical is it if it turned off electrical devices to conserve what it thought was potentially a low battery then almost immediately decided it had enough juice to activate ASS at the first red light I come up to (and every one there after).

[anthon.a]

I have the same problem..... but I'm not letting the dealer off the hook

Bought my car at the end of October, started getting the message in early December. at first I let it go cause they told me the message would go away after a few days of longer driving... Until I lost heating! (front defrost works though!)

First visit to the dealer: They ran a test stating everything is fine. ( I don't do enough driving, car has too much electronics, bla bla bla...)

Next day (and 100km later) I left for a 10 day vacation and left the car in my garage at +10c.
upon my arrival, I get a battery low. bring it back they state the IBS is defective and change it. leave the dealer, do 300km, leave the car in a unheated underground (-10c) for 3 days and then head back home (300km) .

next day on my way out of work... bam... discharge again! wow... 300kms wasn't enough to charge the battery!!?

what kind of Alternator did they put in this car!
And while I'm driving the alternator isn't strong enough to run all the car accessories AND charge the battery?? WTF!

[Jimbert]

OK, I understand now. My BMW is one of those new plugin models. I just have to plug it into the charger when it's too cold for it.

[Slalom]

Clearly this is a design flaw. My E70, E53, E91, E92, E36 and E30 did not have this problem. The F3x has a lot of draw, but I suspect that the engineers did not do enough cold weather testing. Remember, where they live you can't even buy windshield washer fluid that is good past -20c.

The solution is to use a higher capacity battery. BMW even has the trim pieces for one - they are currently only offered on the "unmasked official vehicles". You lose the little storage area on the right-hand side of the trunk, as the larger capacity battery takes more room. As they have done for Switzerland, BMW should offer a cold weather package for Canada and the Mid-West.

For now my battery tender is attached and my car is going into the shop when they can take it - apparently the phone has been ringing off the hook as every F3x owner seems to be having the same trouble!

[simarddominic]

Because I only have 2 miles trip/day in the week's days, I had the recharge battery msg one time in a very cold day last month. Probably the use of the heating steering and seats don't help for that...

I buy a Genius G3500 charger. ( http://www.geniuschargers.com/G3500 ) AGM battery option included. Great charger and cheap ! Use it 1 or 2 time a week and all is now A1 ! Never had recharge msg again (and this week we had -40 C !)

For Canadian buyers, go to Canadian Tire

[pdawgped]

Same issues as everyone else... I drove the car straight to the dealership.
Service adviser tells me they are going to do a diagnostic and determine if i drained the battery due to "normal use" or not. And i could be looking at $400+ to replace the battery.

After reading these posts. I will raise a shit storm if they try and charge me. Car is 6 months old.

[Bassthe1st]

The found the issue with mine. It was the module reading the battery that was deffective. Was reading 30% when the battery was at 80%. They changed it and I've been ''low battery'' free for a month and a half!

[Stoofpilot]

I dont think it is temperature driven. I have a 2013 328i and they have a problem with the IBS cable that tells the alternator how much to put out. They have a replacement cable. They can check it out. I had the same problem.

[Fat Panda]

I didn't read the whole thread, but I will comment as I have been having this issue, and my BMW dealership has acknowledged the problem. I am also in the GTA area, and have been experiencing these arctic temperatures.

Recently I have been having the battery discharge/low battery on my F32. My girlfriend's F30 has been also having the same issue. It just happens that I was due for an oil change at BMW. The BMW techs took a look and found nothing wrong with the physical battery. The only issue was that BMW sets the battery low warning indication at 85% capacity. The dealership recommends lowering the warning level to 65%. So I have to go back on another day to have it reprogrammed.

[mastereh]

Hey Folks so I got my brand new BMW 328 yesterday and today when I started up the car I got the same message "Vehicle Battery Charge low"

I'm really confused by what is causing this and how do I prevent it?

Thanks.

[mastereh]

Do you guys have an external charger? All day today I've been getting this message when I shut off the car.

[mastereh]

I'm actually wondering if maybe I'm getting this bc my car was sitting for so long out in the cold. It hasn't been driven a lot it's just got 200km on it and maybe I just need to drive it more so that the battery can get a full charge.

[Ali Shiralian]

Never seen a message like this on my F30, and this morning the temperature was -29C. Went to get a cup of coffee from timmies, had every heater functions to the max plus the rear defrost. I just let the car warm up for ten minutes before I drive off. Drove it home this afternoon and no warnings. The ASS function was off all along and even if it wasn't , I'd have turned it off anyways. Btw my car stays outside all winter

[34.50]

I didn't see it all last week, but this morning was especially cold (-15 f). I keep my car garaged, and car indicated it was 17 f when I started the car, but as I started driving, the sensor adjusted to -15 f.

I didn't get the message when I started the car, but after driving 3 miles to work and turning off my car, I saw this warning. I then took a 10 mile commute, still got the warning again. I then had a 16 mile commute, still got the warning. I then took a 10 mile commute, and still got the warning as I came shut off the car in my garage.

So, in total 36 miles for the day off and on. I used my seat heater and heated steering wheel on my initial commute to work, but I didn't use anything for the rest of the day.

[mastereh]

I spoke with my sales rep; he advised me (after consulting service) that I should go on a LONG drive in Eco mode and this should go away.

If that doesn't work then bring it in and they'll resolve the issue.

I saw the message all day today; it wasn't even that cold in the Toronto area...

[Bassthe1st]

Originally Posted by 34.50

I didn't see it all last week, but this morning was especially cold (-15 f). I keep my car garaged, and car indicated it was 17 f when I started the car, but as I started driving, the sensor adjusted to -15 f.

I didn't get the message when I started the car, but after driving 3 miles to work and turning off my car, I saw this warning. I then took a 10 mile commute, still got the warning again. I then had a 16 mile commute, still got the warning. I then took a 10 mile commute, and still got the warning as I came shut off the car in my garage.

So, in total 36 miles for the day off and on. I used my seat heater and heated steering wheel on my initial commute to work, but I didn't use anything for the rest of the day.

Even if the battery is charged the car will need to sit for 4 to 6 hours for the message to go away.

[34.50]

Originally Posted by Bassthe1st

Even if the battery is charged the car will need to sit for 4 to 6 hours for the message to go away.

You must be right because I didn't get the message at all today.

[mastereh]

So today no messages at all. Lets see what the next few days bring.

[realmnm]

I had my 2014 F30 /w (comfort package) for just over a year. For the most part of February, the weather was in the -30 in Toronto. I started getting "Low Battery", "High Battery Discharge" every 2-3 days. My driving pattern has been the same for the past year. Reading this forum, I tried a few things before wanting to bring to the Dealer to take a look.

1) Drove in Eco mode on the highway for about an hour. (Battery low still remained)
2) Bought the Deltran Battery Tender (I was charging the car every 2-3 to get rid of the message)
3)Moved our keys to the other end of the house to avoid the comfort access proximity staying awake. (Looked promising, went 4 days without the warning. Weather also got warmer)

Long story short, brought the car to the dealer last week.
Upon first diagnosis, the SA advised that the battery appears to be in good condition, but I'm considered a bad profile driver for making too many short distance trips. My driving profile voids a replacement battery if I'm found to be at fault.

They performed a more in-depth scan and found that one of the battery cell was dead. Apparently the IBS kept saying the battery is good.

They replaced the battery and IBS cable under warranty. Been a week and I haven't seen the message yet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[RollingLower42]

Id like to chime in...

My ride has been getting this message probably every other day and is a daily driver..

BMW changed my battery recently and I got a brand new battery..

Not even a day later I am still getting the same message

WTF

I am in so cal, it's a little chilly in the morning sometimes but I do not think that has anything to do with it