[Migelito]

Hi,

I wrote here recently that I had an issue with a strange warning lights coming and going.

After third time when issue appeared I wasn't able to close the car by remote key and had to use the metal one. Also I could not even start the car for a little while (in about an hour it worked just fine) - the car appeared totally dead.

I made an appointment with a dealer (Bill Jacobs at Naperville, IL) and they diagnosed that my battery is about to die. So had to change it and paid 416$ (200$ battery itself and the rest is the labor). To be honest, they say they would give me a good deal and i did not pay for initial diagnostics by the computer (150$).

So i was wondering was it a robbery or indeed a good deal?? How much the others paid for battery diagnostics and change?

[AddictedToBavarian]

I've heard the $400s too for battery and labor. My maintenance warranty ends in February I hope to god I get the battery changed by then under the 4/50. That is ludacris.

[Migelito]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

I've heard the $400s too for battery and labor. My maintenance warranty ends in February I hope to god I get the battery changed by then under the 4/50. That is ludacris.

they said batteries normally run for anywhere from 4 to 5 years but mine lasted for a little over 3 years... They mentioned mined died because i had a loose cable on "+". I don't know if that was true though.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

I've heard the $400s too for battery and labor. My maintenance warranty ends in February I hope to god I get the battery changed by then under the 4/50. That is ludacris.

Not going to happen. Batteries are considered wear items and are only covered for a very early failure.

[90rr]

They mentioned mined died because i had a loose cable on "+"

complete nonsense !

[Migelito]

Originally Posted by 90rr

complete nonsense !

the "technical" detail on that was: the alternator was frying the battery because the computer thought the battery was not producing the right output voltage signal (they even wrote in a receipt that one cell was dead because of a loose cable blah-blah)

[Saintor]

I'll get a 120$ battery (3-years full replacement warranty), install it myself and won't register it. It has 4 years 55000 miles now. A 2006 325i owner got 190000 miles out of the original one.

[gos]

The part for me was in the $145 range (my car uses the 90AH one) plus labor. Total was about $315-320, if I remember correctly. Lasted 4.5 years from date of delivery.

[ndog14]

To properly change the battery yourself after it dies once it will cost about $400 because the car will go into limp mode. To get the car out of limp mode you need a special tool, found here (http://www.bavariantechnic.com/buy.aspx), it is the $287 one. A DIY can be found here http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1575954

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by ceb

Not going to happen. Batteries are considered wear items and are only covered for a very early failure.

[Magic-Man]

Too lazy to just buy & install yourself?

[Turkeybaster115]

Bill Jacobs is a good BMW dealership, and I've had great experiences there. Brett Nordmeyer is a great guy to deal with there. Their prices like all dealerships for some things can be too ridiculous, however, this particular dealership, unlike most is open to bargaining, so if you had asked for a slightly cheaper price, I'm sure they would have given it to you. As for Batteries for this vehicle, I just put in Duralast 49DL from Autozone. Just make sure you keep your receipt and have it tested annually, and change it during the 2-year warranty if it goes bad.

[Migelito]

Originally Posted by Turkeybaster115

Bill Jacobs is a good BMW dealership, and I've had great experiences there. Brett Nordmeyer is a great guy to deal with there. Their prices like all dealerships for some things can be too ridiculous, however, this particular dealership, unlike most is open to bargaining, so if you had asked for a slightly cheaper price, I'm sure they would have given it to you.

Where have I been before to ask and you to answer? I had a deal with Brett there
Apart from that, they waived the cost for computer diagnostics for me (150, as i said).

[fdriller9]

Originally Posted by Migelito

Hi,

I wrote here recently that I had an issue with a strange warning lights coming and going.

After third time when issue appeared I wasn't able to close the car by remote key and had to use the metal one. Also I could not even start the car for a little while (in about an hour it worked just fine) - the car appeared totally dead.

I made an appointment with a dealer (Bill Jacobs at Naperville, IL) and they diagnosed that my battery is about to die. So had to change it and paid 416$ (200$ battery itself and the rest is the labor). To be honest, they say they would give me a good deal and i did not pay for initial diagnostics by the computer (150$).

So i was wondering was it a robbery or indeed a good deal?? How much the others paid for battery diagnostics and change?

Sounds like the + cable behind the fuse box is faulty. There is a TSB out for it. Check with your dealer and see if your VIN falls within the range affected.

Originally Posted by 90rr

complete nonsense !

Originally Posted by Migelito

they said batteries normally run for anywhere from 4 to 5 years but mine lasted for a little over 3 years... They mentioned mined died because i had a loose cable on "+". I don't know if that was true though.

This is most likely related to the TSB I mentioned above.

Originally Posted by ndog14

To properly change the battery yourself after it dies once it will cost about $400 because the car will go into limp mode. To get the car out of limp mode you need a special tool, found here (http://www.bavariantechnic.com/buy.aspx), it is the $287 one. A DIY can be found here http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1575954

You don't need a bav tool. You can do battery registration with the OBDII cable you use for coding. I beleive you can use INPA to register the battery.

Cables are now around $60. I got my cable for $37 (for the cable) and $10 for the R232 to USB adapter. My setup only works for PRE 03/'07 builds though.

[Migelito]

Originally Posted by *********

Sounds like the + cable behind the fuse box is faulty. There is a TSB out for it. Check with your dealer and see if your VIN falls within the range affected.


This is most likely related to the TSB I mentioned above.

It seems like i have to go to bill jacobs one more time to clarify that. Thanks, fdriller

[ceb]

What's with all the battery threads all of a sudden?

However, the prevailing attitude of "just throw in any old battery and don't register it" just validates my reasons never to buy a used BMW.

These cars are expensive to maintain. If you don't want to do it properly then buy a ten year old Camry.

[benzo23]

I bought the oem battery for cost at 125 and paid a tech there 20 bucks on the side to register it for me. It's not what you know it's who you know

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by *********

You don't need a bav tool. You can do battery registration with the OBDII cable you use for coding. I beleive you can use INPA to register the battery.

Cables are now around $60. I got my cable for $37 (for the cable) and $10 for the R232 to USB adapter. My setup only works for PRE 03/'07 builds though.

OBDIII cable and software is not "plug-n-play" I tried doing this and wound up selling it on here for a loss. Get a BT Cable, see my sig, that is supposedly plug and play.

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by ceb

What's with all the battery threads all of a sudden?

However, the prevailing attitude of "just throw in any old battery and don't register it" just validates my reasons never to buy a used BMW.

These cars are expensive to maintain. If you don't want to do it properly then buy a ten year old Camry.

Probably because the E9X series BMW is just now hitting the age where batteries start to fail.

There has been no evidence that failing to register in any way harms the car. All it will do is MAYBE cause the new battery to be over charged and prematurely die. The worst that can happen if you buy a used BMW that had a battery replacement without registration is you put in a new battery and have it registered.

[805beemer]

Right before I bought my car the owner told me he just replaced the battery for $400 because the car sat for 2 weeks and completely killed the old battery. I don't remember if he told me or I read somewhere that using a different battery or not registering it can cause the battery to explode in your trunk. Have know idea if that's true or not, but better safe than sorry. I was surprised when i checked out the battery how big it was and all the electronic crap on top of it. So anyways $400 seems to be the going rate for dealer replaced batteries.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

Probably because the E9X series BMW is just now hitting the age where batteries start to fail.

There has been no evidence that failing to register in any way harms the car. All it will do is MAYBE cause the new battery to be over charged and prematurely die. The worst that can happen if you buy a used BMW that had a battery replacement without registration is you put in a new battery and have it registered.

Do a search on battery registration. You will find many tbreads that show that failure to register your new battery results in much more that just premature battery failure.

[galahad05]

The guy on that exploding battery thread had bought the wrong KIND of battery. His car computer was expecting a standard, but the guy put in an AGM-style battery instead. Or was it the other way around?

In any case, this can be done, but it requires more than a "register it with the computer" process--you have to tell the computer that it's a different kind of battery.