[MtBMW73]

I have a 2013 E92 xDrive with a manual. I broke my hand about two and a half weeks ago so I am in a cast and can't easily shift. So my car has been mostly sitting in the garage.

My wife has used it a handful of times over the past few weeks (mainly on days when I needed a car and could drive hers with an automatic), maybe four or five times, the last time being last Sunday morning (i.e. six days ago). She actually mentioned it seemed to hesitate for a second when starting, but it started and she drove off. On the return, no issues. Each her trips have been maybe 5-10 miles at most, so short trips.

Today I tried to move the car out of the garage, and it wouldn't start. Ignition came on but starter did not turn. I checked the battery voltage with a multimeter and it measured 10.2 V. I've got it hooked up on a charger now.

So my question is if not running the car for a six days is long enough to drain the battery enough to not start it. If not, I have either an excessive parasitic draw or my battery is dying. I replaced the battery in November 2020, so it's less than three years old. I would think the battery should be able to hold its charge for longer than a week, especially in the summer sitting in the garage.

[Daaaaaaaan]

6 days parked shouldn't drain a battery.

But enough short trips will leave the battery losing more juice than it charges. Could also be your alternator isn't as strong as it used to be, but "good enough" if you do enough longer trips.

3 year old battery, with proper install (registered and (if required) coded) should be fine.

[MtBMW73]

Thanks. I’m thinking too much sitting with only short trips and it couldn’t hold its charge. It’s also an H6 so a smaller capacity battery.

My car has no IBS so no coding or registration necessary.

[owdi]

How did you determine your car has no IBS? Every BMW from the last 20 years should have battery management.

If you replaced your battery but did not register it your car is likely treating it like an old battery, and not charging it to its full capacity. Combine that with a few short trips and you'll get exactly what you experienced.

Your car should start after sitting for a month. If you disconnect the battery and garage the car, 3 months. Even 6 months is possible with a good battery and garage with stable cool temperature.

[MtBMW73]

Originally Posted by owdi

How did you determine your car has no IBS?

I looked at the battery and saw it did not have an IBS cable.

Originally Posted by owdi

Every BMW from the last 20 years should have battery management.

That's not true. E9x cars without iDrive or BMW assist were not equipped with IBS. Therefore, no battery registration is necessary.

[lordnikon]

I have the same issue. Pretty frustrating