[stvding]

First time this happen to me. I park my car in my condo underground parking( 7 degree Celsius) for 2 days. When i go to me car try to pull the trunk handle to open lid with key in my pocket, it won't open. I press the button on my key, it opens. When I turn on ignition, idrive shows me high battery discharge!? But i can turn on engine.

My car is a bit over 3 yrs old. Back in September, dealership did full inspection as a 3 yr service requirement. It shows battery at 70% charge. But they didn't replace it. On phone, battery needs replacement when it holds less than 80% charge, what about car?

Is battery covered under 4 yr bmw factory warranty here in Canada ??

[pokerface]

Pretty sure it's not covered.

I don't know what your driving habits are, but short drives and heavy electricals do impact these cars. Have you tried a battery charger?

[stvding]

Originally Posted by pokerface

Pretty sure it's not covered.

I don't know what your driving habits are, but short drives and heavy electricals do impact these cars. Have you tried a battery charger?

I think short trip is the cause.

[CraigiT]

I had the same issue the other day, where i did not drive my car for 4 days. After stoping at the store, i went back in the car and the battery discharge warning was gone. I have not return.

[Vinboyblue]

Happened to me once, I was washing my car and had the music on full blast for like 2 hours. Luckily I was able to start it, after getting the same battery discharge message. Took the car for a quick spin and everything was back to normal. I have also heard cases of battery discharge when its extremely cold -20 to -30.

[DrifterX]

This has already happened to me a few times last year when it got cold - my car was only 1.5 years old... it can mean a few things.
- You're not driving far distances for the battery to charge sufficiently without discharging while parked. BMW vehicles don't recharge the battery like traditional vehicles due to emissions. The ECU will engage the alternator while coasting, braking, and sometimes highway driving - in effort to save fuel
- Something is draining your battery while the car is parked. Disable your location services or other ConnectedDrive features. Worst case you may have an electrical issue but I doubt it
- With Cold temperatures, the car will see dropped voltage from the battery; hence you're seeing the message - especially combined with the first bullet point (your driving pattern)
- Finally, it could mean it's already time to replace your battery which would definitely suck. It's a wear and tear item so I don't think it's covered under the warranty

It's recommended to trickle charger your vehicle in winter every month or so - this will help the battery keep topped up which is good for AGM batteries. I plan to do that this year since I got lazy last year - although I'll be driving my car more often now so I don't know if I'll still see that message.

[stvding]

Originally Posted by DrifterX

This has already happened to me a few times last year when it got cold - my car was only 1.5 years old... it can mean a few things.
- You're not driving far distances for the battery to charge sufficiently without discharging while parked. BMW vehicles don't recharge the battery like traditional vehicles due to emissions. The ECU will engage the alternator while coasting, braking, and sometimes highway driving - in effort to save fuel
- Something is draining your battery while the car is parked. Disable your location services or other ConnectedDrive features. Worst case you may have an electrical issue but I doubt it.
- With the first bullet and cold temperatures will drop the voltage and your car will see this as battery drain
- Finally, it could mean it's already time to replace your battery which would definitely suck. It's a wear and tear item so I don't think it's covered under the warranty.

It's recommended to trickle charger your vehicle in winter every month or so - this will help the battery keep topped up which is good for AGM batteries. I plan to do that this year since I got lazy last year - although I'll be driving my car more often now so I don't know if I'll still see that message.

Must be the first one. I drove next to nothing during the week these days since I moved next to my office.

[bimmerdriver2]

My X2 was parked for more than two weeks and there was no problem at all starting it, nor was there a warning message about the battery.

[canukgtp]

Yeah I had that issue with the 2011 E90 and the 2014 F31...short city trips all the time didn't recharge the battery enough, so once or twice a winter I would put the trickle charger on for a night to top it off...

[DrifterX]

Originally Posted by bimmerdriver2

My X2 was parked for more than two weeks and there was no problem at all starting it, nor was there a warning message about the battery.

The battery charging behaviour is changed over time to account for battery degradation over it's lifespan, one of the reasons coding is required on BMWs to sort of reset the algorithm for a new battery. Depending on your driving habits over the years and how your vehicle is parked (especially in the cold climate), you're more likely to see this message on a 2-3 year old vehicle vs. a newer vehicle. I assume your X2 is no more than a year old.

I think I ended up accelerating this scenario on my F30 because I was using parking recording with my front + rear dash cams (hard wired) for a good year or so until I started driving it less. I set the dash cams to stop recording when the battery hit 12.1V while parked but even then, I noticed the dash cams would shut down sooner compared to when I first installed them. They used to record for 10+ hours before hitting the voltage cutoff then eventually they wouldn't even stay on for more than 1 hour so I stopped parking recording altogether last winter. I'm actually going to externally charge my battery soon and start parking recording again to see how much of a difference that made.

Anyways - I went a bit off topic but PSA from me is don't do parking recording on BMWs unless you have a battery pack, otherwise you'll put a toll on your AGM battery

[stvding]

Originally Posted by DrifterX

The battery charging behaviour is changed over time to account for battery degradation over it's lifespan, one of the reasons coding is required on BMWs to sort of reset the algorithm for a new battery. Depending on your driving habits over the years and how your vehicle is parked (especially in the cold climate), you're more likely to see this message on a 2-3 year old vehicle vs. a newer vehicle. I assume your X2 is no more than a year old.

I think I ended up accelerating this scenario on my F30 because I was using parking recording with my front + rear dash cams (hard wired) for a good year or so until I started driving it less. I set the dash cams to stop recording when the battery hit 12.1V while parked but even then, I noticed the dash cams would shut down sooner compared to when I first installed them. They used to record for 10+ hours before hitting the voltage cutoff then eventually they wouldn't even stay on for more than 1 hour so I stopped parking recording altogether last winter. I'm actually going to externally charge my battery soon and start parking recording again to see how much of a difference that made.

Anyways - I went a bit off topic but PSA from me is don't do parking recording on BMWs unless you have a battery pack, otherwise you'll put a toll on your AGM battery

How will these battery packs hold up for summer time when u park outside? Will they explode in the car due to extreme heat?

[DrifterX]

Originally Posted by stvding

How will these battery packs hold up for summer time when u park outside? Will they explode in the car due to extreme heat?

These battery packs have operating temps from -10 ~ 65°C and have built in protection. You'd install them in a shaded area like in the trunk, underneath the seat, arm rest, or behind the glove box. I'd say it's very unlikely for it to explode with the car parked in the sun on a hot day.

Check out Cellink Neo or Blackvue B-124 - they're expensive but they're dedicate for this type of use.