Dead Battery

[MJockey]

After letting my new (new to me) 1M sit for a week I went out to stone dead battery. After charging the battery for a 1/2 hr, I was able to start the car. I took the car to the dealer to have it tested. They said it only had 7% of it rated capacity and need to be replaced. Hear the catch, The dealer said the current model battery that is in the car has been discontinued and there is NO replacement model / part# listed. So they sent me home with a loaner car until BMWNA gets back to them with what battery to put in the car.

Has any one else had this problem?

[LeifW]

Man, that's a shame. Keep us posted on the new battery part number/info.

(glad I've been using a battery tender this winnter.)

Leif W.

[ZIPNBYE]

Battery tenders (especially in winter) are a must...given our techno-laden cars and (seemingly) weak-ass alternators. Did BMW never cold-weather test the car?

[tjm129]

I had mine replaced before x mas. I was getting excessive discharge errors, and dealer said I had a bad battery. Had the same problem as you, took a few days for them to get me a new battery, but everything has been all good ever since. Never had a battery go bad on me after only 2 years.

TJ

[LukeM3]

I'm talking to a prospective seller and he's including in the sale a BMW charger.
He said if you don't run the car for a few days the battery will go down, so he keeps it on the charger if he knows he's not going to run it for a week
He said this was advised to him from BMW as well

Get yourself a battery tender or the equivalent from BMW
It's cheap insurance

[Hobbe]

Sorry to hear about your battery problem.
How often do you drive your 1M, and for how long?
The 1M battery is smaller, lighter, and weaker.

I had my 1M parked in a cold garage from end of October to beginning of March (Winter, -15 degrees C). Didn't use any charger.
No problem at all when I started it up for the first time since October.

[MJockey]

Originally Posted by Hobbe

Sorry to hear about your battery problem.
How often do you drive your 1M, and for how long?
The 1M battery is smaller, lighter, and weaker.

I had my 1M parked in a cold garage from end of October to beginning of March (Winter, -15 degrees C). Didn't use any charger.
No problem at all when I started it up for the first time since October.

I just bought the car March 1st, so not much of a driving history, but most trips are 20+ miles. The car can sit for a week or more or get driven more often, depends on the weather.

I was told I need to lock the car even though it is keep it in a garage, too speed up the shut down process. I also think I'll keep the keyfobs stored on the opposite side of the house.

[MJockey]

I got a call from the dealer. After two attempts they have a valid part # for a replacement battery from BMWNA (first # they where given came back as window glass). Bad news is they don't expect it to show up until Wednesday / Thursday. I'll let you guys know what the part # is when I get her back.

[atl_1M]

I was getting multiple discharge errors and I drive my car every day. It took the dealer over a week to get a battery since they said they were on backorder due to the weather etc. This was last month. My car has been good ever since. Hope you get yours sorted out soon.

[1M SUSI]

Our first winter the car sat in the cold garage all season and it was able to start in the spring. Drove the car in the summer and than again put it away for the 2nd winter. In the spring the battery was dead and had to be replaced. lesson learned and this winter she has a battery tender. Fingers crossed she will start up again this spring.

Also the dealer probably sent you home with a loaner because they wanted to play with the 1M. You know "joy rides" Kind of like in Ferris Bueller's day off.

[MJockey]

Got the car back yesterday. The part # of the new battery is 61 21 8 353 811. From now on if I plan on not driving her for a few days I'll throw the trickle charger on it.

[Dackelone]

Get a CTEK trickle charger - they are the best AND they don't cost much. CTEK is also the brand that BMW uses when you buy "their" charger.

[JimD]

I am not fortunate enough to drive a 1M but my 2009 128i sits for a week sometimes and has never been on a charger. I do not have comfort access, I've seen theories it might be an issue but I don't understand exactly how. I don't think a trickle charger is a bad idea but I also don't think it should be necessary.

My daughters old Corolla dies after sitting a few days. It's an old car and a much different car but the test I did would still work on a bimmer. You can get a multi meter at Walmart for about $30 that will measure amp loads - for a few seconds. With the car off, you pull the negative battery clamp and connect it to the car through the multi meter. The current should be well under an amp. Like maybe 1/10 amp. You can google up a better description of this test if you are interested. The point is that batteries die because of high current draw when off. My daughters Corolla draws about half an amp. if it runs daily, or close to that, it is fine. If it sits for a few days, it won't start. A trickle charger would help it but a better fix is to find out why it is drawing so much current. I know which circuit it is on her Corolla but not why it is drawing so much. I need to spend more time on it.

So it could be a bad battery or it could be a high load discharging the battery and potentially ruining it over time. Might be good to check the current draw.

[Win]

Originally Posted by MJockey

Got the car back yesterday. The part # of the new battery is 61 21 8 353 811. From now on if I plan on not driving her for a few days I'll throw the trickle charger on it.

Just got battery replaced by the dealer. Same part 61 21 8 353 811

[bmw1racer]

Definitely get a battery tender.

My daily driver's battery died after 2.5 years and the dealer wouldn't replace it under warranty because "I didn't drive the car enough."

Replacement cost: $636.73.

[TXmtrhed]

For those of you that just got batteries what was the rating on your new battery? I just had mine replaced yesterday with 61212353811 which is a 68 CCA unit replacing the original 760 CCA unit. I can't find a listing for either of these new part numbers.
I doubt this is related to the CCA rating but now my windows don't work properly (won't stop between full up or full down). Took it back this afternoon to the dealer for a quick look but they're still scratching their heads. Will have to take it back in next week.

[RS375]

Originally Posted by TXmtrhed

For those of you that just got batteries what was the rating on your new battery? I just had mine replaced yesterday with 61212353811 which is a 68 CCA unit replacing the original 760 CCA unit. I can't find a listing for either of these new part numbers.
I doubt this is related to the CCA rating but now my windows don't work properly (won't stop between full up or full down). Took it back this afternoon to the dealer for a quick look but they're still scratching their heads. Will have to take it back in next week.

Re the windows.

Not a BMW but on my old car the anti-trap function had to be reset after disconnecting the battery. This was achieved by opening and closing the window and operating the switch in a certain sequence to reset the memory for the limits. I'm not sure if the same applies to the 1M though.

[TXmtrhed]

Follow up on the windows problem. Dealership ending up having BMWNA remote in and completely reprogram the computer. They suspect there must have been some voltage spike during the battery install; my SA had never seen this happen before. Everything works fine now but I lost all my coding.

[RS375]

Originally Posted by TXmtrhed

Follow up on the windows problem. Dealership ending up having BMWNA remote in and completely reprogram the computer. They suspect there must have been some voltage spike during the battery install; my SA had never seen this happen before. Everything works fine now but I lost all my coding.

Good to hear your windows are sorted and I hope you get your coding sorted soon.