[Jeff1024]

I woke up to a dead battery in my 2015 F150 which got me thinking, my 2015 M235 cant be too far behind. Ironically the truck is a 94R/H7 AGM battery just like the BMW. If only they came in two packs lol.

Anyway, I have the correct software and ODBII adapter to code the battery replacement in the F150. I dont have anything to code the BMW.

What are my best options? I have not really seen a DIY battery replacement thread, but have seen mentions of Carly being a good coding software, but have also seen that it cant code the battery replacement for a F22?

Just trying to plan ahead since it cant be far off. Thanks guys.

[Rich.Wolfson]

Originally Posted by Jeff1024

...What are my best options? I have not really seen a DIY battery replacement thread, but have seen mentions of Carly being a good coding software, but have also seen that it cant code the battery replacement for a F22?

I am looking to change my battery in my 2014 M235i. 5 years seems to be the right time. I see that the OPTIMA H6 Car Battery, yellow top, seems to be a direct fit but it's a deep discharge battery and that seems counter intuitive.

What other options are there? It looks like the 61-21-7-639-053 heavy duty is discontinued and the 61-21-7-598-775 is cheaper than the OPTIMA but I have had good luck with OPTIMAs in the past.

Carly should easily take care of the coding so that is no problem.

Any wisdom is appreciated.

///Rich

[Rich.Wolfson]

Originally Posted by Rich.Wolfson

I am looking to change my battery in my 2014 M235i. 5 years seems to be the right time.

After looking online for information that was scarce, I decided to go with the ODYSSEY 94R-850 as recommended on the ODYSSEY website. I ordered it from BatteryMart and it arrived in two days despite only choosing free economy delivery. It was $225 all in. BatteryMart cannot be beat as the dealer price for the battery and install is $430 and at worst it's a half hour, VERY easy job to replace.

But when I looked that the battery in the M235i coupe, it looked a bit longer than the delivered ODYSSEY. The one in the car was 13.87” long with the new one only 12.36". Could my coupe have had someone put in the battery for the convertible? I bought it as a CPO and had no reason to think the battery in there is not the one that came from the factory. But more importantly, how will the shorter battery be held down?

It turns out that the mounting point for both the coupe and convertible (shorter and longer) battery is there so the hold down for the shorter battery is no problem. The specs on both batteries are close at 850 CCA but the new ODYSSEY is only 80Ah while the installed OEM one is 92. Note that the OEM battery spec'd for the 2014 M235i is also 80Ah with the 92Ah battery that is in there being discontinued.

Switching the batteries is simple with simple tools and 10 minutes. I have Carly and it coded with no problem although I am not sure what coding and registering actually does. The car started fine after the switch before coding with no codes thrown. But that is done.

So, what did I learn and what can you learn from my experience? There are some choices for batteries. OEM, Optima, ODYSSEY and some others. The ODYSSEY is made in the USA and I went with it although I have had good luck with Optima in the past, there was enough on the net to get me to think the ODYSSEY was the better choice at this time.

But if I had to do it again, I would have gone with the larger, 94Ah ODYSSEY 49-950 instead of the 94R-850 that is now safely bolted in the trunk. Both were the same price so it would have been a no brainer for me.

And yes, I could have returned the 94R-850 to BatteryMart but frankly I don't think it will make a difference as the ODYSSEY seems to be well made and I am sure is more than enough to do the job.

///Rich