[MGT81]

Just wondering what other people’s experience with battery life on their vehicles has been? My 2008 335xi is still on the original battery which is impressive, considering that it’s lived through 11 Canadian winters, though always garaged. Last week I had the low battery light come on and the car was doing a few weird things (halos not coming on, interior light brightness dimmed to midway, mileage screen not displaying on startup).

Coincidentally my vehicle was scheduled to go in tomorrow for the blower motor recall and the dealer cost for a battery replacement was actually a dollar less than my usual BMW indie specialists, so I figured I’d just get it done at the dealer. I figure 11 years on the original battery is pretty good. Now my car is back to normal with none of the weird things that were happening before. Wondering if the battery is ok, but at this point I’m leaning towards just replacing it as proactive maintenance.

Just wondering what the rest of you have experienced in terms of battery life on your E90s?

[Jesda]

I think mine -might- be the original? 2008 model year. I do a ton of highway driving, sometimes 500+ miles at a time, so maybe that's why.

This thread is a good reminder to have mine replaced just in case.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Yes, though you're on the higher end. This type of battery longevity is a positive benefit of the more complex charging system introduced in the E90. My original battery lasted about 8 years.

[335xs2dinan]

OP - my 2008 335xi had its battery lasted 9 years. My mothers 2006 ML500 battery lasted around 13, years just replaced this past fall. Pretty easy to change battery on your own though, probably a lot less than dealer tgoo

[MGT81]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Yes, though you're on the higher end. This type of battery longevity is a positive benefit of the more complex charging system introduced in the E90. My original battery lasted about 8 years.

Thank you, that’s good to know! Kinda thinking it might be about time to just do it anyway.

[tlow98]

I’m 2009 original as well. If you’re having some electrical issues then likely best to let BMW scam for codes and replace either the alternator or the battery. Fair chance it’s one or the other.

Sounds like a decent price on the battery. Good news

[mhobryan]

2010 328i w/ build date of Oct 2009. According to scanner, original battery.

[nsjames]

mine had an original 07 dated battery when I bought it in 2017. It worked fine. I only replaced it because I was literally driving across the country through remote places and was uncomfortable with a ten year old battery.

turns out the starter is what let me down.
lol.

[ahlbe1cl]

Mine lasted 8 years. I dont know the history of the battery beyond when i purchased the car a year ago. I would suspect that driving habits have a lot to do with battery life. I'm no expert but i suspect that someone who drives alot vs. someone who rarely drives the car will have experiences at the opposite end of the spectrum.

I would venture a guess that batteries prefer to remain full, in which the well driven car would get more years out of a battery.

[apexit4]

Dont forget that you need to program the new battery after replacement if your car has IBS. IIRC, the car uses different charging profiles depending on where the battery is in its life cycle.

Also, make sure to get a battery with the same amp hour rating. Otherwise you will need to do additional coding to adjust for the difference.

[only1harry]

On my 2011 335i the battery lasted 7.5 years but I killed the battery being stupid (won't get into that) so it would have lasted much longer, because I don't notice any difference in how the car drives between the old battery and the new DieHard I got today. Anything over 5 years in today's cars is really above average, and 7 years or longer is exceptional for a battery, so that's 1 thing BMW got right besides the engine itself - but that does NOT include anything that attaches to the engine.

[delmarco]

If you live in a warm to hot climate and daily drive your car then batteries can easily last that long. However places where there exists long periods of cold Winter months (Wisconsin) and/or extreme temperature swings (80 degrees on Monday then 20 degrees on Tuesday) during Autumn/Spring months (New York) will kill off your battery sooner. Especially if you do not daily drive your BMW.

The issue with our cars and batteries is batteries ain't cheap ($200 to $250) and replacing them can be complex and convoluted to DIY.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by delmarco

If you live in a warm to hot climate and daily drive your car then batteries can easily last that long. However places where there exists long periods of cold Winter months (Wisconsin) and/or extreme temperature swings (80 degrees on Monday then 20 degrees on Tuesday) during Autumn/Spring months (New York) will kill off your battery sooner. Especially if you do not daily drive your BMW.

The issue with our cars and batteries is batteries ain't cheap ($200 to $250) and replacing them can be complex and convoluted to DIY.

I put a made in the USA East Penn battery with a higher AH rating than stock in my car for $130.
3 year free replacement.

you're doing it wrong.

[Efthreeoh]

The original battery in my 1999 F150, which was not a daily driver, lasted 15 years. My 1999 Honda Valkyrie battery lasted 16 years, but I kept in on a battery tender most of it's life.

[MGT81]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Considering that I live in Canada and we’re in the middle of winter right now, I’m thinking I’m gonna get it replaced today.

11 years on the original battery seems pretty good to me. May as well do it proactively.

[apexit4]

Originally Posted by nsjames

I put a made in the USA East Penn battery with a higher AH rating than stock in my car for $130.
3 year free replacement.

you're doing it wrong.

Not everyone has access to batteries that cheap. I think the price you paid for yours is more of an outlier rather than the norm. Warranties that long are becoming more common though.

Does your car have an IBS? If so, did you code it to account for the higher AH rating?

[David0ff]

my old e90 323i 2008 kept running on original battery until 220K kms, sold it last year in 2018... very impressive, and Canadian winters are not easy on batteries.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by apexit4

Not everyone has access to batteries that cheap. I think the price you paid for yours is more of an outlier rather than the norm. Warranties that long are becoming more common though.

Does your car have an IBS? If so, did you code it to account for the higher AH rating?

available at any sam's club under the duracell name.

yes IBS, and yes I used NCSexpert to code and register using the guide found here.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by nsjames

I put a made in the USA East Penn battery with a higher AH rating than stock in my car for $130.
3 year free replacement.

you're doing it wrong.

They don't make one for our cars, but I love Costco batteries for our other cars. I tested one for my wife's SUV and it showed 950CCA. I was like dang! Then I realized it was almost 70 F not 0F lol

Interstate baby, the three stooges might want $143 ($178 if you don't do it online) for my wife's group 48/H6 and Costco gets $116, and it's quality imho...

[John 070]

Originally Posted by nsjames

available at any sam's club under the duracell name.

yes IBS, and yes I used NCSexpert to code and register using the guide found here.

I had the dealer do mine for $280. They charged me $199 for the battery and the rest was labor. I remember asking about AGM and it would have been $150 more, they said it's coding not just programming...This was 2012, maybe it's more now.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by delmarco

If you live in a warm to hot climate and daily drive your car then batteries can easily last that long. However places where there exists long periods of cold Winter months (Wisconsin) and/or extreme temperature swings (80 degrees on Monday then 20 degrees on Tuesday) during Autumn/Spring months (New York) will kill off your battery sooner. Especially if you do not daily drive your BMW.

The issue with our cars and batteries is batteries ain't cheap ($200 to $250) and replacing them can be complex and convoluted to DIY.

Actually, heat is a major killer of batteries, the cold just shows the symptoms.

New batteries don't like excessive charging, hence the IBS adding life to the battery.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by apexit4

Not everyone has access to batteries that cheap. I think the price you paid for yours is more of an outlier rather than the norm. Warranties that long are becoming more common though.

Does your car have an IBS? If so, did you code it to account for the higher AH rating?

You can get some pretty sweet deals at autozone on occasion.