[v4257]

Used to get this message when I first got my 2016 M235x in March-17 (6 months used; 2K miles). At first oil change dealer said all was fine. Then warmer weather came and problem went away.

With winter back - am getting message almost every day now (sometimes 2-3x/day). Took it to dealer again today and they said: 'we checked it - battery is fine - there are no leaks - you should get a trickle charger'. Based on my googling - this is the answer almost everyone gets when they go in with this problem.

My standard daily drive is 25 milesx2. Is it unreasonable to expect a $60K car to work without having to charge the battery with a trickle charger each night?

Anyone else have experience with this issue?

[overcoil]

Are u driving w heated seats/steering wheel, rear defogger, headlights, radio plus maybe devices in the accessory power sockets ? Also r u driving in urban slow speed slow rpm traffic ?

[v4257]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Are u driving w heated seats/steering wheel, rear defogger, headlights, radio plus maybe devices in the accessory power sockets ? Also r u driving in urban slow speed slow rpm traffic ?

[1] Yes (except device in accessory socket)
[2] No. Most distance is highway

I am careful to lock the car as soon as park - as I read last yr that the car can stay awake a while otherwise.

[overcoil]

W/o measuring current draw on a 2-series, rear defogger and heated seats can pull a lot of amps.

Try the same commute w/o rear defogger or be sure to turn off rear defogger as quickly as possible - to see if that eliminated warning.

Or try w/o heated seats and rear defogger.

I'm surprised how many cars frm different manufactures run into battery draw issues due to heated seats and rear defogger. Usually the only warning for most cars dead battery and short battery life.

[Tony88]

I used to get this warning almost every day in the cold as well.

I have a 40 minute commute to work all highway, with usually just the heated seat/steering wheel on. I installed a battery maintainer (trickle charger) to go with the oil pan heaters I already have on the car for when the car is parked outside my house and plugged in at night. Seems to have helped quite a bit but I still get the battery warning from time to time.

[Cumberlandjames]

Up until the other day I would have ignored this post but I got a warning, "battery discharged while parked" on my M235 when I went out to start it. I store mine for the winter and start it every couple of weeks. I was very surprised and initially assumed something had failed to shut down and was drawing power. I hooked up a battery charger and because the temp avgs -20 here I put a battery warmer on it. A cold battery is very hard to charge. While wrapping the battery blanket around it, I noticed the Neg. terminal was slightly loose. I tightened it up, warmed the battery and left the charger on for a day and the caution went away. Sounds simple but worth taking a look at the terminals. You might get lucky.

[Joe240]

If you have a dash camera running, specially a dual camera setup like mine that’s hardwired (thinkware f770 front and back), then you will get this message if the car sits more than 6-8 hours. In the cold more like 6 hours. I get this message every morning, but drive my car periodically throughout my work day so don’t get it before the drive home. I also commute ~25 miles each way with all the accessories including my usb for phone.

[mdputnam]

I had a similar problem. But, it was the Top Gauge temperature gauge I bought. Its only connection was the OBDII socket. The car's computer would complain about battery drain if I didn't drive the car every day. One of the pins on the OBDII socket is always hot, so even if there is only a tiny trickle discharge the car's computer will notice it and complain.

[v4257]

I'm the OP. I have nothing connected to the car. When the dealer tested - they said once car is locked and sleeping - they see no electric draws.

They suggested I drive longer. :-) So, I went for a long drive (250 miles x 2). After I stopped - when the temp dropped overnight - car still complained next am.

Then, I got a trickle charger (Battery Tender Jr) and had it on the car for 24 hrs. Trickle charger indicator showed that after 24 hrs - battery was still charging. Car complained when I started it.

Next step, I'm travelling for next 2 days. I'm going to leave the trickle charger on it and see if the battery comes up to full charge (incidentally weather is also getting warmer).

My current guess is the cold temps we've been having in Boston (0F) lower the battery capacity and voltage and the car notices this drop in power and complains. However if the issue does not go away by next oil change (in May) - I will complain more loudly to the dealer.

[aerobod]

I’ve never had a warning on the M240i or any of the other BMWs we’ve owned due to low battery charge, with fairly challenging charge conditions:
- temperatures in the winter down to below -30C.
- normal weekday trips of 20km x2, with at least 5 trips per week below 5km.
- heated rear window, heated mirrors, fan on high, heated seats, heated steering wheel and lights all on at the same time for many journeys.
- average journey speed of 30km/h during the week, so lots of idling.

I would say the car has a battery, parasitic drain or charging system problem if usage similar to the above is not possible.

[v4257]

Originally Posted by aerobod

I’ve never had a warning on the M240i or any of the other BMWs we’ve owned due to low battery charge, with fairly challenging charge conditions:
- temperatures in the winter down to below -30C.
- normal weekday trips of 20km x2, with at least 5 trips per week below 5km.
- heated rear window, heated mirrors, fan on high, heated seats, heated steering wheel and lights all on at the same time for many journeys.
- average journey speed of 30km/h during the week, so lots of idling.

I would say the car has a battery, parasitic drain or charging system problem if usage similar to the above is not possible.

I have to agree with you. I reckon my battery is anemic - and stress (low temp) just brings it to the fore. Under full warranty + maint coverage for 2 more years - so will keep an eye on it for now.

[RadW]

I wonder if you've had any more issues. I have M235i and the only time I had this warning was when I had an always on front and back dash cam. Then I'd get the warning after not using the car for 2 days.

I've since switched the cam to an accessory fuse and never had that comeback again. I do run AC, heated seats and rear windscreen plus an aftermarket amp. I only do 6 miles x2 commute in the week and 20-30 miles on normal weekends. Youtube how to check if you have parasitic drain. Bear in mind the car takes 15 minutes to power down completely after you turned the ignition off.

[v4257]

Originally Posted by RadW

I wonder if you've had any more issues. I have M235i and the only time I had this warning was when I had an always on front and back dash cam. Then I'd get the warning after not using the car for 2 days.

I've since switched the cam to an accessory fuse and never had that comeback again. I do run AC, heated seats and rear windscreen plus an aftermarket amp. I only do 6 miles x2 commute in the week and 20-30 miles on normal weekends. Youtube how to check if you have parasitic drain. Bear in mind the car takes 15 minutes to power down completely after you turned the ignition off.

I continue to get the message from time to time. I never got it in the summer though, only last winter and now again since the cold weather set in.

Next time I'm at the dealership (next oil change) - I'm going to complain again. Something is obviously up - either the battery cannot hold enough charge in cold temp or the car is not charging it right or there is a drain - I'm not sure.

Fortunately - this is the only (minor) issue I have to date. The I-6 and handling more than make up for it. I do like this car. ;-)

[overcoil]

I thought the dealers had a really good diagnostic tool for inspecting battery condition, much more then just a Fluke but a dedicated computer - don't ever think it was part of a trickle charger / booster device. If your cars starting and your not getting weird HVAC or if automatic transmission weird shifting then and if your interior lights aren't pulsing as you give it some gas, then that is positive.
Certainly mention when you take the car in for service.
Also someone mentioned a loose battery connection - that scenario just happened to me on a new car with 2K miles, so always check the basics first.

[MarcoZandrini]

I’m betting the battery has a weak cell. That exasperated by the cold temperatures.

[mleskovar]

I'm betting it's "smart charging". Lot's of posts on this issue and the answer seems to be use a trickle charger at night. That's not an acceptable answer considering the state of technology today. Trickle charging seems to work though. I made the charger hookup simple on my last car and it was still a PITA and we shouldn't have to do it all .... like it was before "smart charging".

[v4257]

Originally Posted by mleskovar

I'm betting it's "smart charging". Lot's of posts on this issue and the answer seems to be use a trickle charger at night. That's not an acceptable answer considering the state of technology today. Trickle charging seems to work though. I made the charger hookup simple on my last car and it was still a PITA and we shouldn't have to do it all .... like it was before "smart charging".

I tried for "smart charging" but did not find relevant content. Would you be kind enough to provide a link?

I only have this problem in the winter and trickle charging does fix it (sort of). I do agree that this is not an acceptable issue for drivers to face in a 60K car in 2019.

But that torque & balance.....lovely :-)

[emtrey]

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1460266

detail thread here. Its a by product of BMW design, not a flaw no matter what the car costs. Get a CTEK mus 4.3 or up maintainer and use it periodically.

There is alot of juice being used by these modern cars. We all have to learn to live with it. My wife had an Infiniti G37 that went dead in 45 minutes if you did not turn it off properly.

First off, find out your battery's current "health". Maybe its already on its way to failing or your alternator is weak. The dealer can run a proper load test and advise you.

ps. Batteries are not covered under warranty or maint. in most cases.

[mleskovar]

Originally Posted by v4257

... I do agree that this is not an acceptable issue for drivers to face in a 60K car in 2019.....

As they say in the computer industry...."that's a feature, not a bug"

[mleskovar]

Originally Posted by emtrey

.... Its a by product of BMW design, not a flaw ....

You've got to be kidding...... right? I'm sure they didn't intentionally take a step backward in battery health to save a minuscule amount of gas as a trade off. It's a design flaw. The cure is worse than the disease in this case and it's a major annoyance to manually intervene to correct the new problem. What about the people that don't have access to power for the charger? Their fault? Tough luck? This isn't a BMW specific problem BTW.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by mleskovar

You've got to be kidding...... right? I'm sure they didn't intentionally take a step backward in battery health to save a minuscule amount of gas as a trade off. It's a design flaw. The cure is worse than the disease in this case and it's a major annoyance to manually intervene to correct the new problem. What about the people that don't have access to power for the charger? Their fault? Tough luck? This isn't a BMW specific problem BTW.

I've never read of one instance of where a BMW battery discharged to the point that it wouldn't start the car. Just because you're seeing the battery warning doesn't mean eminent doom is near. The DME is smart enough to start shutting down systems to preserve the cold start. Also, the warning comes on where the battery is falls below 80% thus is ultra conservative in it's setting.

Most people that own these cars live in areas where they have access to a nearby outlet.

[mleskovar]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I've never read of one instance of where a BMW battery discharged to the point that it wouldn't start the car. Just because you're seeing the battery warning doesn't mean eminent doom is near.....

Come on, use some common sense. If you see a warning are you saying just ignore it? Maybe it's down to 10% charge or 50% charge but you can't tell without measuring it so you have to charge the battery to be safe. Right? And my last 1Series wouldn't start twice until I charged the battery and neither time did the warning show up. Read some forums and you'll find this charge problem happens more often than you think.

Originally Posted by XutvJet

...Most people that own these cars live in areas where they have access to a nearby outlet....

So don't buy a BMW if you lack access to a charge outlet? BS

Originally Posted by XutvJet

.... Also, the warning comes on where the battery is falls below 80% thus is ultra conservative in it's setting..

Quoted from a BMW document on the IBS and battery:

• Startability limit is approx. 30% state of charge at 15 °C.
• Startability limit is approx. 50% state of charge at -15 °C.

The battery is replacing the cooling system as the weak point for BMW.