[ArchiProf]

My 2012 E92 335ix 6M has less than 4000 miles on it. This morning I was greeted by a warning light showing a car on a lift. Checked it out and got a "battery is discharging when car is stopped" message. Temperature was about 32 degrees.

Some other threads (here and elsewhere) relate to this but were mostly about older batteries, different models of cars, and so forth.

I bought the car new in May 2012 and have not had any issues with this before. I drive to/from the office about three to five times a week (10 miles RT) and often on the weekends. Nothing has changed with my driving habits and this is certainly not the coldest temperature the car has experienced. The car has nav, the premium package and M Sport packages but does not have CA.

Thoughts?

[vapore0n]

Take the car for a ride.
I got that message after the car was sitting for a while. Have also gotten it after detailing it, which is keep doors open for long periods.

Or just take it to the dealer. It's free check and they'll just charge it

[mr_milo]

I've had similar issues with my car / battery. At first they told me I needed to lock my car so that it could go to sleep faster. They charged the battery and called it good.

Then a month later I was driving to the store, got a call and was just about to hang up as I parked. I parked the car, turned it off (while still on the phone), as I was saying my goodbyes, when about 10-15 seconds after shutting off the car I hear a gong and the display shows "Battery charge level low!". Surprised since the battery was just charged a month ago, I grab my phone to take a picture. Not a second later the car completely shuts off. Time from ignition off to car shutting down was 30 seconds to one minute tops!

This car wasn't even 2 years old at the time and it's a daily driver. After taking it to the dealer I was told my "driving profile" doesn't allow the battery to fully charge. It was then suggested that I buy a trickle charger for my less than two year old, 20K mile BMW since driving 9.7 miles (about 21 minutes) each day to and from work, simply isn't long enough to charge the battery fully.

I'm really pissed since I never had a problem with my Audi A4 in the four years I did the same commute and that car's battery was at least 4 years old. Somehow this commute seemed fine for the first 1 year & 10 months in the BMW since that's how long I had the car before I got my first low battery warning. The dealer charged the battery at that time but then less than a month ago I get another low battery warning. WTF?

I did a little research and I think it's a problem with BMW and how they charge the battery. BMW's Brake Energy Regeneration apparently only charges the battery "when you take your foot from the accelerator or apply the brake", therefore even if you are driving the car it may not be charging the battery!

They even acknowledged that "today's vehicles require much more electrical energy than older models, due to the much wider array of electric and electronic on-board comfort and safety systems", yet they think allowing the generator to only be active at certain times somehow makes good sense????

I haven't gotten a response from my dealer yet so I may soon be asking BMW USA directly.

[Overspooled]

I get the exact same thing. Image of the car on a lift and then it says, battery discharging when car is stopped and also battery charge level bellow minimum. It's been saying that for the past 2 weeks. Today I was cleaning the interior of the car and had some music playing and I kept getting the message and then the car would shut off. Obviously it discharges the battery when not driving and listening to music but it should drain it completely. I personally think its the cold doing that but it did it today and the car was in the garage...

[Surly73]

IMO, stop asking on the forum and take it to the dealer.

Messages about low battery, battery at minimum can be from short trips and sitting parked too long. Messages about high discharge while parked are different - the car has DETECTED that something isn't going to sleep and is drawing too much current. It will have logged the faulty device and the dealer will replace it.

Just take it in, let them fix it.

[ArchiProf]

Thanks for the info on your experiences.

On taking it to the dealer, if it were just a short simple trip, that would be fine. However, in my case, it is not so short and simple. Being new to BMW and reading many of the helpful posts here, my choice was to see if this was a "common" occurrence. I would rather read posts such as these than four+ pages on whether or not some girl is going to paint her car.

[DASHOCKER]

i actually had this happen two days ago. i did not drive the car for an entire week prior to this happening. i have an appointment with the dealer to check things out.

[ctuna]

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...hlight=battery

These cars are battery hogs.
This has been a problem long before regenerative breaking .
There has to be an alternator in there as well there is no way
regenerative breaking would be enough is there? I imagine they put that in to compensate for the added load of the electric water pump and now electric steering assist in the F30.

You pretty much have to buy a battery tender .
Such as a Ctek 3300 or better.

[mr_milo]

Originally Posted by ctuna

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...hlight=battery

These cars are battery hogs.
This has been a problem long before regenerative breaking .
There has to be an alternator in there as well there is no way
regenerative breaking would be enough is there? I imagine they put that in to compensate for the added load of the electric water pump and now electric steering assist in the F30.

You pretty much have to buy a battery tender .
Such as a Ctek 3300 or better.

WOW, thanks for that link! In my quick scan of it, it sounds similar to issues I am having. I swear I would have never purchase this car if I had know that driving 9.7 miles, about 21 minutes with a mix of city streets and freeway, each day to and from work (about 19.4 miles / 42 minutes a day total) would give me such problems! I never had this issue in my Audi and my wife, with a similar commute, has no issues with her 2009 CRV.

Am I the only one that thinks buying a trickle charger for daily driven $50K+ car is just crazy??? I haven't had a chance to discuss this with the general manager yet but really hope it doesn't need to go further. This really seems like a simply software change that BMW USA CAN make to remedy this issue. The question is, what will it take to do so? My family is already telling me this would make a very interesting news story for one of those "on your side" news investigations.

[BOBKUR]

Originally Posted by ArchiProf

My 2012 E92 335ix 6M has less than 4000 miles on it. This morning I was greeted by a warning light showing a car on a lift. Checked it out and got a "battery is discharging when car is stopped" message. Temperature was about 32 degrees.

Some other threads (here and elsewhere) relate to this but were mostly about older batteries, different models of cars, and so forth.

I bought the car new in May 2012 and have not had any issues with this before. I drive to/from the office about three to five times a week (10 miles RT) and often on the weekends. Nothing has changed with my driving habits and this is certainly not the coldest temperature the car has experienced. The car has nav, the premium package and M Sport packages but does not have CA.

Thoughts?

Did you have the heated seats on.

[gpb]

Originally Posted by mr_milo

I swear I would have never purchase this car if I had know that driving 9.7 miles, about 21 minutes with a mix of city streets and freeway, each day to and from work (about 19.4 miles / 42 minutes a day total) would give me such problems!

You shouldn't have to use a trickle charger with this type of driving. For a garage queen that only gets out every other weekend then yes, but for a daily driver to show this problem there's something wrong with the battery or charging system. Yes it's WAY early for a battery to die, but it happens. (personal experience, non-BMW year old car)

Have you put a voltmeter on the system (use the jump start contacts under the hood) to see what the voltage is showing while idling?

Either way get it to the dealer to fix it. This is not normal.

[mr_milo]

Originally Posted by gpb

You shouldn't have to use a trickle charger with this type of driving. For a garage queen that only gets out every other weekend then yes, but for a daily driver to show this problem there's something wrong with the battery or charging system. Yes it's WAY early for a battery to die, but it happens. (personal experience, non-BMW year old car)

Have you put a voltmeter on the system (use the jump start contacts under the hood) to see what the voltage is showing while idling?

Either way get it to the dealer to fix it. This is not normal.

I fully agree! It's been at the dealer twice and the second time they basically dismissed it as my problem since "my driving profile show that my driving habits don't allow the car to fully charge the battery". My SA / dealer suggested (on my invoice / service paperwork) that I purchase and use a trickle charger.

I think this is a defect of some sorts and ArchiProf and I are having similar problems.

[BOBKUR]

[QUOTE=mr_milo;13763675]I fully agree! It's been at the dealer twice and the second time they basically dismissed it as my problem since "my driving profile show that my driving habits don't allow the car to fully charge the battery". My SA / dealer suggested (on my invoice / service paperwork) that I purchase and use a trickle charger.

I think this is a defect of some sorts and ArchiProf and I are having similar problems.[/QUOTE

If you park in your garage have you tried to lock your car when it is parked. Some say this will make a difference since the electronics are shut down when the car is locked.

[shata]

Like mentioned take it for ride and see what happens, if not take it to dealer its still under warranty right?

[1chanc3]

Originally Posted by mr_milo

I fully agree! It's been at the dealer twice and the second time they basically dismissed it as my problem since "my driving profile show that my driving habits don't allow the car to fully charge the battery". My SA / dealer suggested (on my invoice / service paperwork) that I purchase and use a trickle charger.

I think this is a defect of some sorts and ArchiProf and I are having similar problems.

I know earlier you said that it's difficult for you to find a dealer, but I would try another dealership and see what they say. Believe it or not, different dealerships will treat/diagnose problems differently, some better than others. I would try another dealership if its in your capabilities and see what they say.

[DrRockSalt]

Originally Posted by mr_milo

I fully agree! It's been at the dealer twice and the second time they basically dismissed it as my problem since "my driving profile show that my driving habits don't allow the car to fully charge the battery". My SA / dealer suggested (on my invoice / service paperwork) that I purchase and use a trickle charger.

I think this is a defect of some sorts and ArchiProf and I are having similar problems.

This must be a trend at dealerships. When I had mine in for recent service, they were telling someone next to me that he'd need a trickle charger for a battery problem because he wasn't "letting the car charge enough."

When I tried to get them to fix my heated steering wheel, they just blamed it on me not driving enough (I do). I had to send them a copy of the TSB before they'd do anything on it.

I think "BAD GAS!" and "You don't drive enough" must be the #1 and #2 excuses for dealerships not to fix anything.

[mr_milo]

Originally Posted by 1chanc3

I know earlier you said that it's difficult for you to find a dealer, but I would try another dealership and see what they say. Believe it or not, different dealerships will treat/diagnose problems differently, some better than others. I would try another dealership if its in your capabilities and see what they say.

That was ArchiProf.... I have already had my car at two different dealerships and at one of them twice. Trying to talk with the general manager before I go to a third dealership and just say FI & call BMW USA. At my last visit, I requested to speak with the service manager via an email to my SA. That email was a couple days before my scheduled appointment but once I got there the service manager wasn't available.

ArchiProf - Did you get anywhere with your issue?

[ArchiProf]

I finally had a chance to talk with a guy at a dealership. He said the battery was fine and there was "nothing wrong" and that what could have happened was that I had a number of short trips with all the electric "extras" on (lights, nav, radio, heated seats, defroster, and so forth) and that drained the battery enough for the warning to appear. I might add that the heated seats and defroster were on for all of about two minutes of the ten minute one-way commute and only on the morning segment.

It has not happened again and so he might have been correct. But is does seem peculiar that this would happen in my BMW as it has never happened in my 20 year old Pathfinder on the same commute (it has all the electrical items mentioned above except nav) nor my spouse's Volvo (same electrical items). I do understand the difference in the electronics-related technology in the BMW v. the old Pathfinder but the Volvo is relatively new.

Still love the car regardless!

[Sam335ix]

Never happened to me... Only time I saw the warning was when my car was being coded. Talking about battery issues, how many of you run the car with lights on during the day?

[ArchiProf]

I have my car set to keep the AE on all the time and the headlight to come on when the daylight begins to fade. Having some kind of lights on during the day is a safety feature as far as I am concerned and should be required on all cars, especially with all the idiots who do not turn their lights on when raining (state law by the way) or even at night!

[Surly73]

Guys:

A message indicating excessive discharge while the car is *OFF* has absolutely nothing to do with how short your trips are, whether the heated seats and angel eyes are on while you're driving, what the idle voltage is etc...etc... This means that there is parasitic drain on the battery when everything is supposed to be off - improperly installed stereos or nav, module faults, software bugs, malfunctioning IBS (a false reading) or whatever.

There are different messages to indicate that the car thinks the battery is weak, or discharged too much to play your radio with the car shut off, or run your heated seats at the moment. Those are different messages which CAN be caused by short trips, improper charging, failure batteries, bad wiring etc....

These are completely different types of codes/messages and anyone starting a thread or commenting must be tuned in to which type of code it is. "It says something about the battery" isn't going to cut it - there IS a difference.

[ArchiProf]

Well that certainly clears up everything!

The warning description in iDrive said "battery is discharging when car is stopped" and it has happened once in almost a year (just over 4500 miles now). No mods except black OEM kidneys. Dealer said nothing is wrong, just an anomaly perhaps due to the things I mentioned.

If it ever happens again and there is a specific reason found I will be sure to post it here.