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      11-12-2014, 02:30 PM   #1
Hitz780
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Exclamation Increased battery discharge!

Hey guys,

Has anyone had issues with this error message?

It all started when the weather started getting colder.
I looked into another thread and read up on it, but now my HUD stopped working completely and the car doors won't open when I grab the handle. Wtf!?

I know it sounds like a first world problem but when you pay a lot of money for a vehicle, you'd think this doesn't happen often.

Locking the doors is 50/50, when I touch the handle it either works or I get absolutely nothing.

So frustrated.
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      11-12-2014, 06:36 PM   #2
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I got this message last night and put a battery tender on overnight. The cold zaps batteries. If you're under warranty, you might take it to the dealer - it's covered equipment here in the U.S.
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      11-12-2014, 08:09 PM   #3
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Alternative: just like above post, try the battery charger/tender route first.
Make sure you have a quality smart charger or an OEM charger/tender.
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      11-13-2014, 06:59 AM   #4
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2011? Yep might be time for a new battery depending upon usage.

As the others said, purchase a good charger, CTEK makes a nice one on Amazon for about $60 shipped.
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      11-13-2014, 08:28 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CFoote View Post
2011? Yep might be time for a new battery depending upon usage.

As the others said, purchase a good charger, CTEK makes a nice one on Amazon for about $60 shipped.
Yes, I have a 2011 X6 M
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      11-14-2014, 08:32 AM   #6
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Yes, I had it last year. Went to dealer twice (no biggie since it on the other side of the street to my work) and they eventually replaced the 'smart battery cable' which sounded hokey.

Bingo, as soon as it got cold last week, I got the message again. It has to be the battery so I am taking it in Monday. I'll let you know.

This disables Comfort Access or at least makes it sporadic. My wife locked the keys in the car while it was running and we put it down to this issue.

It's the battery. If you charge it and it happens soon after, lobby for a new one.
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      11-24-2014, 04:41 PM   #7
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Update, I got a new battery under warranty.

If the problem comes back I'll let you know.

Steve
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      11-25-2014, 11:17 AM   #8
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Had my battery replaced Friday as well. Still slow-starting first thing in the morning and after sitting 6+ hours though... wondering about the fuel injectors.
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      11-25-2014, 04:36 PM   #9
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I used to get this on my 2009 M3. Also made the comfort access jumpy. Dealer gave me a lot of flack about changing the battery even though it kept happening whenever the temp dropped.

Very disappointing that such a cross-platform issue apparently hasn't ever been fixed.
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      11-26-2014, 01:36 AM   #10
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My service advisor asked me if I take a lot of short trips. I think that is the corporate line for this problem. I said "Yes...so? I take short trips in all my cars".

The goal is to get a new battery. That is the problem. Not the smart cable or taking short trips.
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      12-01-2014, 05:29 PM   #11
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Just got the same light. Drove to dealer left 50 minutes later with brand new free battery. great deal cause Im about to go out of warranty
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      12-01-2014, 07:16 PM   #12
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Modern BMWs (and Minis believe it or not) have a huge draw on the battery*. The short trips do not help, but as noted, should not matter (you just use your battery more). Ultimately BMW has been replacing the batteries (they didn't at first and got a lot of heat over it). I do also recommend the CTEK charger** especially if you are gone for a week or so during the winter.

*Had the battery replaced on my 2011 X6 50i as well as our 2010 Clubman S
**I "think" the battery on the X5/X6 is an AGM type battery and that is a different setting on the CTEK. Check with your dealer to see if you have this type of battery before charging.
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      12-09-2014, 04:05 PM   #13
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I saw this message on and off for about 2 weeks but it went away. I'm going to the deal this weekend to see if they would give me a new battery.
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      12-10-2014, 11:07 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitz780 View Post
Hey guys,

Has anyone had issues with this error message?

It all started when the weather started getting colder.
I looked into another thread and read up on it, but now my HUD stopped working completely and the car doors won't open when I grab the handle. Wtf!?

I know it sounds like a first world problem but when you pay a lot of money for a vehicle, you'd think this doesn't happen often.

Locking the doors is 50/50, when I touch the handle it either works or I get absolutely nothing.

So frustrated.
Replaced battery. No more fault message.
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      01-04-2015, 05:41 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by igorbmwx6 View Post
Replaced battery. No more fault message.
I just dropped off my 2011 X5 50i for this exact problem. I want a new battery.
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      02-01-2015, 08:33 PM   #16
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had this problem on and off always seems to happen during the cold months not sure if it was because heated seats, heated steering or if its because i push the car hard and its runs the radiator/fan to cool.

anyhow with 42k miles and 4+ visits in the past 4 years they finally replaced the battery last month. 4 weeks later i'm having this issue again... errr
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      02-01-2015, 11:23 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by novablackm3 View Post
had this problem on and off always seems to happen during the cold months not sure if it was because heated seats, heated steering or if its because i push the car hard and its runs the radiator/fan to cool.

anyhow with 42k miles and 4+ visits in the past 4 years they finally replaced the battery last month. 4 weeks later i'm having this issue again... errr
Possibly you have a problem with your alternator in this case. I had same problem, once replaced battery (DIY), have not ever seen it again.
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      02-02-2015, 06:24 AM   #18
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My 2010 X6M with 126,000 miles had the same warnings last fall.

$500 and a new battery fixed the problem. If you are still under warranty, push hard to get this replaced.

Good luck.
J
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      02-02-2015, 01:52 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jalndrs View Post
I just dropped off my 2011 X5 50i for this exact problem. I want a new battery.
The N63 recall includes a new battery.
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      04-05-2015, 07:09 PM   #20
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I think my Comfort access is the problem for my high battery drain, my rear handle is warm to the touch and only half of the CA is working.
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      05-12-2015, 12:47 PM   #21
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I saw this thread a while ago and keep forgetting to reply. I had the same battery discharge message pop up on my 35i and had to take care of this outside the warranty. I took it to my local dealership and got a quote; can't remember the exact number but I do remember it being significantly more expensive than a local Dinan shop. So I took it to Dinan and paid $421.22.

This price included switching to an AGM battery, which was done at my request. Dinan would have been content to switch to a conventional battery at $270, but the dealership had recommended the AGM battery because of the discharge issue. It might be a comfort access thing, or it might be related to the V8's same problem, which apparently is a combination of the engine being engineered to charge the battery only when coasting and a fan having to run when the car turns off in order to cool down the big V8. Unbelievably, the V8 apparently has to change its battery with every oil change! See: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ns-bmw-n63-v8/

The battery was switched out in November 2014 and although I haven't had a discharge message since, I have experienced occasional odd electrical gremlins, like the mirrors resetting themselves. Hasn't happened in a while, so I'm wondering if that's a product of cold weather.

Anyway, hope that info helps you or anyone else dealing with this problem.
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      06-01-2015, 09:57 AM   #22
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Wow, I searched and found this thread due to an odd experience yesterday while camping, with my 2012 X5 50i.
First let me say I have gotten no Battery warning message of any kind. However I did check the voltage on what I assume is my original battery before going camping for the weekend, due to some of these stories. It was at 11.9v, pretty low, but I was getting no issues at all. I did throw the charger on it for 20 mins at full power (12amps) just to give it a boost.

Drove out there no prob. When beginning our return trip, I started the car and noticed my seat & steering wheel were not in the right position. Then I noticed my radio presets were all gone - but two different satellite channels showed instead - wtf? My mirrors and blinker preferences were also changed.
My first thought (having read about some of these issues) was the battery was getting low. But my comfort access is working fine.

Was thinking about this on the drive home... Earlier that morning I had of course unlocked the car using the remote so we could go canoeing. Drove it to the water, and back, .25 miles each way. Then took family to pool and came back to site so I could pack up all our gear. I turned the radio on and opened the tailgate and listened to the radio while packing for a couple songs, then it automatically turned off (it does that normally I believe).
Finished packing and got in the car, key in pocket, started off and this is when I experienced the above issues.

Later my wife said her key (which she has NOT used yet as car is new to us) was in a bag that I packed in the car. It crossed my mind that perhaps the button on that key was pressed during packing and
set the vehicle to her key's settings.... Since the radio presets were Not entirely wiped out, but actually changed to two different channels, this would make sense. I never pressed a button on my key after that, I just got in the driver's seat with it in my pocket and drove. Perhaps her key being in the vehicle (although it was in the back cargo area) never let it sense my key alone, so it did not switch back to my settings...

What I think I need to do is perform some experimentation tonight with both keys. The problem is, on the way home, I had set all the preferences back to what I wanted, so if indeed the car was operating under her key it will be difficult to now see a difference in the keys! I did NOT re-program all my satellite radio presets, however, so that may be the one thing I will be able to see a difference in between keys... if those are in fact set differently by key.

Sorry for the long post, I guess what I want to ask is, has anyone found they needed a battery WITHOUT getting an actual Battery warning message?
And is comfort access almost always the first feature to show signs of wackiness when battery is low?
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