# Dead Battery? Battery Replacement?



## anE934fun (May 10, 2008)

Diesel Power said:


> I sent a certified letter to BMW NA and have received to phone calls.


When and to what address? If not to the address specified in the warranty booklet in the manual package, the clock hasn't started ticking. Did your letter ask for assistance in resolving the problem your dealer was attempting to resolve? There is a process you have to follow to be able to claim the lemon law remedy. Each state has slightly different variations. You have to dot all of the i's and cross all of the t's. Otherwise it is no tickie no washie.

EDIT: If you have done all of the things that NC requires you to do, once you have met the threshold (number of days after BMW NA has received the written request or whatever), then you can start the lemon law proceeding (request for arbitration or whatever is provided for in the NC lemon law). You don't need BMW NA to call you and attempt to make nice on you. You need for them to either fix your car, give you a replacement car for no additional cost or refund your purchase price less allowance for use up to the first failed repair.


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## scrimshawdds (Aug 6, 2011)

Love my 2009 335D but continually got "increased battery drain" notices after 12,000 miles if not driven for two days. Dealer didn't find anything wrong and said "just drive it every day". At 22,000 miles the battery was dead after not being driven over the weekend. Dealer said a new battery was needed and would be over $800. Their diagnosis was that because of the optional $500 convenience access feature the computer was constantly vigilant for the return of the keyless locking module and as a result was constantly draining the battery even though the doors were locked. I needed to shut it down, not just lock it. The instruction manual has instructions for shut down that I had never read. My salesman taught me everything I needed to know but that. When the service manager told the sales manager and the salesman what was happening they very graciously intervened and decided that a new battery would be "no charge". The computer memory showed that I had never shut it down the entire two years I drove it. I have never been more impressed by a car or an auto dealership in every respect.


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## riskybz (Sep 23, 2010)

Please describe the "shut down" process. It was never shown to me either
Thanks


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## stoked335d (Jan 4, 2010)

I have no idea what this shutdown process is nor my salesman told me about it. My D was parked for a month last summer when I was out of the country and had no issues starting when I came back. Sometimes I don't drive for 5 days (use subway for commuting) and no start up issues or warnings. 1/2010 built, 10500miles.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

riskybz said:


> Please describe the "shut down" process. It was never shown to me either
> Thanks


I'd like to know as well. My car often sits for months and sometimes locked but usually unlocked, never had a battery issue. For example it sat for all of May, June and most of July of this year and started right up when I needed to use it in late July. I have heard what sounds like a computer shutting down in it after it sits for awhile just like I hear it power up if I open up a door after it has been sitting a long while.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

I will be interested to know as well. I am putting car in storage for a month. I will make sure to shut it down once it enters storage


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## Alpine300ZHP (Jan 31, 2007)

riskybz said:


> Please describe the "shut down" process. It was never shown to me either
> Thanks





stoked335d said:


> I have no idea what this shutdown process is nor my salesman told me about it. My D was parked for a month last summer when I was out of the country and had no issues starting when I came back. Sometimes I don't drive for 5 days (use subway for commuting) and no start up issues or warnings. 1/2010 built, 10500miles.





Snipe656 said:


> I'd like to know as well. My car often sits for months and sometimes locked but usually unlocked, never had a battery issue. For example it sat for all of May, June and most of July of this year and started right up when I needed to use it in late July. I have heard what sounds like a computer shutting down in it after it sits for awhile just like I hear it power up if I open up a door after it has been sitting a long while.





bimmerdiesel said:


> I will be interested to know as well. I am putting car in storage for a month. I will make sure to shut it down once it enters storage


Guys a few things you should know about this and the shut down process. First, the guy/gal who posted this stated he/she has comfort access. This makes sense. If you do not have comfort access then forget about this problem because you shut down when you remove the key from the slot. If you do have comfort access, then I can see how a module failure would prevent the car from shutting down. On comfort access cars the shut down is accomplished by holding the start/stop button until all electronics power off. Many people, on comfort access cars, just press the button quickly to shut off the motor, but the radio/I drive, ect still stays on until they exit the car and shut the drivers door OR until the car automatically shuts itself down. It looks like sometimes these cars are not shutting themselves down if you do the quick push of the button to turn the motor off (either the feature tied to the drivers door or the auto shut down is failing to do its job). To prevent this problem make sure that you press and hold the button until all electronics shut off and then exit the car (locking or leaving car unlocked has no effect on the shut down process....it is supposed to work if the car is left unlocked and key is away from the car). This is the shut down process. Slightly off topic....I have one car with comfort access and one car without...to me CA is more trouble than it is worth if it fails to work properly. I prefer non-CA cars myself.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

Thanks Alpine I have comfort access and usually I do make sure my start/stop button and Gear light are off. From your explanation it seems those are indicators for shutdown.


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## GB (Apr 3, 2002)

Although it's just wishful thinking at this point a good 'ole key would be so much better then the stupid start/stop button! At least without CA it would...but it sounds like CA has it's own set of potential headaches.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

GB said:


> Although it's just wishful thinking at this point a good 'ole key would be so much better then the stupid start/stop button! At least without CA it would...but it sounds like CA has it's own set of potential headaches.


I like the idea of not having to put key in slot. Specially in BMWs u put key in slot and then push button. With CA get in and go. But I know with time it will become big headache.


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## railroader (Apr 12, 2010)

Alpine300ZHP said:


> On comfort access cars the shut down is accomplished by holding the start/stop button until all electronics power off. Many people, on comfort access cars, just press the button quickly to shut off the motor, but the radio/I drive, ect still stays on until they exit the car and shut the drivers door OR until the car automatically shuts itself down. It looks like sometimes these cars are not shutting themselves down if you do the quick push of the button to turn the motor off (either the feature tied to the drivers door or the auto shut down is failing to do its job). To prevent this problem make sure that you press and hold the button until all electronics shut off and then exit the car (locking or leaving car unlocked has no effect on the shut down process....it is supposed to work if the car is left unlocked and key is away from the car). This is the shut down process.


Thank you for putting this information out Alpine! I've had the "IBD" Increased Batt Discharge message about 7-8 times; generally after a period of 4-5 days no driving. Had the car "checked" by the Center at the same time I got that reflash called for the older 335ds. They could not find anything "wrong" other than to tell me to drive the car more frequently, like others here have posted. I have a couple of observations about it-- it only takes a short drive, say 15-20 miles on the freeway to lose the orange triangle and soft warning. These messages don't show up as a hard fault yet for me. I have taken to using the 1.25 A trickle charger during these periods of non-use, and that seems to keep the warning away.

But now (thanks to your post) I understand how to perform the shut down for comfort access cars, which I have. CA can be a pain, but I do like the feature of starting without inserting the fob, and having all four doors open with a touch of the front passenger door handle. I just need to drive the car more, too.


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## scrimshawdds (Aug 6, 2011)

*335D Excessive battery discharge*

The dead battery in my 2009 335D with Convenience Access was due to hardly ever locking it for 2 years and never shutting down the ignition and electronics unless it was locked. I live where the only time the car was locked was when it went to the big city, Kona, once every 2 weeks. That means the computer was almost never off for two years. Even if parked in a locked garage the doors need to be locked and the remote out of range or it's wide awake. 
Steps to shut down ignition and electronics: 3 choices
1. Hold start/stop button for 3 seconds and everything shuts off.

2. Press start/stop button and engine shuts off. Press it again and the electronics shut off.

3. Press start/stop button and engine shuts off. Get out of car and lock car with hand on door handle ridges and the electronics shut off.

I hope that locking the door with the remote control also shuts down the electronics but at $800 a battery every 2 years, one of the above is a better choice. The reason I never read the above in the owners manual is that it's not in there and thats why the first replacement was no charge.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

I really do not care for cars with CA. Every time I rent a car with a FOB I jumble around trying to figure where do I insert the dam think. So then you have to set it down someplace or just keep it in your pocket and when you get out have to remember where you put the dam thing.

Much prefer my key(fob) being inserted someplace and then pushing the start/stop button.

Call me old fashioned.

Now my company is going start requiring some sort of a fob to work on our computers.:dunno:


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