[TJBentley]

Hey guys I just received a depressing call from the dealership who states my car that is now in cpo warranty needs a new battery. They told me is over $500 for the battery and more for labor and programming. Total was about $750~ I'm still in shock! I told them no thanks and I have to pay $150 diagnostic fee regardless. I've searched for this topic on the forum but can't seem to find an answer. What's the direct replacement for my 2012 528 xdrive? What are my options?

[TJBentley]

Took a look on realoem.com found these two part numbers

battery from exide 61217628740
Battery, east penn 61217648317

Looks like the battery from East Penn is a little cheaper. Cheapest I found was around $205 online. Are there any other alternatives that would work that aren't OEM?

[lsturbointeg]

Holy Crap! That's pricey but I guess it's because it's BMW!

[The Beast]

$205 sounds about right, you can replace it yourself it's really not very difficult. You then need to get the battery coded to the car, basically tell it you have a new battery, what the output of the battery is and at what mileage it was installed. This then ensures longevity of the battery as the alternator adjusts the charge profile as a battery ages, not doing this will mean the battery dies quickly.

My battery went on my previous E70 and I changed it myself and got a local coder to program it. Cost me less than half what BMW wanted.

[TJBentley]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Holy Crap! That's pricey but I guess it's because it's BMW!

Cost of driving the "ultimate driving machine" lol I guess

[TJBentley]

Originally Posted by The Beast

$205 sounds about right, you can replace it yourself it's really not very difficult. You then need to get the battery coded to the car, basically tell it you have a new battery, what the output of the battery is and at what mileage it was installed. This then ensures longevity of the battery as the alternator adjusts the charge profile as a battery ages, not doing this will mean the battery dies quickly.

My battery went on my previous E70 and I changed it myself and got a local coder to program it. Cost me less than half what BMW wanted.

Thanks for the reply man. I remember I changed my battery in my previous e60 but there was no reprogramming needed at that time. But yes hat quote the dealer gave me was exceptionally high. I called other dealerships that wanted $350 for the battery plus installation and programming. Less than the other dealership and just to think I drive over an hour to this dealership because I bought my car there. I try to be loyal to them and they overprice me lol SMH

[gatorfast]

I had AAA replace the battery on my M3. It was about $180 installed and comes with a 3 year warranty. There are mixed opinions on having it coded but in my experience (and per the advice of my service advisor) it's not necessary.

[BavariaExclusive]

Yeah that's what happens when you keep a BMW after 50k miles. The day BMW stops offering pre paid maintenance. That is the day I go and buy myself a Toyota Camry. Depends how well you deal with the BMW service staff. You can get away with allot of stuff. Their service is what keeps me coming back to them. So far I had no problems such as that because I don't lease more than 3 years.

Originally Posted by TJBentley

Hey guys I just received a depressing call from the dealership who states my car that is now in cpo warranty needs a new battery. They told me is over $500 for the battery and more for labor and programming. Total was about $750~ I'm still in shock! I told them no thanks and I have to pay $150 diagnostic fee regardless. I've searched for this topic on the forum but can't seem to find an answer. What's the direct replacement for my 2012 528 xdrive? What are my options?

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

I had AAA replace the battery on my M3. It was about $180 installed and comes with a 3 year warranty. There are mixed opinions on having it coded but in my experience (and per the advice of my service advisor) it's not necessary.

Its is necessary, especially so the older the last battery was.
The charging system changes its charging profile as the battery gets older and the intelligent battery sensor also changes its diagnostics profile.

If you dont register the new battery you can (and many have) get many random electrical anomalies and warnings over time.
The new battery will also not get properly charged if the previous one was quite a bit older.


There are a couple battery coding products and Apps available on the market that will easily code a battery of the same size to ones car and do it much cheaper than the dealer.

Its more complicated when you actually change the battery size.

[The Beast]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Its is necessary, especially so the older the last battery was.
The charging system changes its charging profile as the battery gets older and the intelligent battery sensor also changes its diagnostics profile.

If you dont register the new battery you can (and many have) get many random electrical anomalies and warnings over time.
The new battery will also not get properly charged if the previous one was quite a bit older.


There are a couple battery coding products and Apps available on the market that will easily code a battery of the same size to ones car and do it much cheaper than the dealer.

Its more complicated when you actually change the battery size.

+1

Two BMW mechanics I know told me that it was necessary to code the battery, local coder only charged me £40 to do this so not worth taking the risk. Especially as I saved £350 by sourcing it independently and fitting it myself.

[gatorfast]

Its definitely not necessary and your car will operate perfectly fine with out the battery coding but if you don't mind spending the extra $100 or so for the peace of mind then go for it.

[djviru]

Has anybody used Advance Auto (Autocraft) or Autozone (Duralast) batteries? (H8-AGM or H7-AGM)

[Bmw doubles]

If you don't code in the battery the new battery will die faster. The car monitors the amperage where it left off at on your on old battery. By putting in a new one in, the previous settings will overcharge the new one and kill it faster. You have to code in the specs of your new battery aftermarket or not. The app BMWhat now has the option to code in batteries or find someone on the forums locally who can do it for you.

Carly for BMW by iViNi
https://appsto.re/us/dHX2B.i


And pair it with this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008UR...ds=elm327+obd2

[OEMonsterz]

Originally Posted by Bmw doubles

If you don't code in the battery the new battery will die faster. The car monitors the amperage where it left off at on your on old battery. By putting in a new one in, the previous settings will overcharge the new one and kill it faster. You have to code in the specs of your new battery aftermarket or not. The app BMWhat now has the option to code in batteries or find someone on the forums locally who can do it for you.

Carly for BMW by iViNi
https://appsto.re/us/dHX2B.i


And pair it with this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008UR...ds=elm327+obd2

This!

The E60 was the same. I don't know whether our cars have the Battery Sensor (sorry forgot the correct name) but basically it tells the battery how much charge it needs.

I'm afraid to say the price is pretty spot on from the dealership and some things are not worth skimping on.

[lsturbointeg]

Wow! All for a battery? Whatever happens to simplicity where all u Ned was a wrench or socket pull the old battery out and plop in a new one and call it a day?

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Wow! All for a battery? Whatever happens to simplicity where all u Ned was a wrench or socket pull the old battery out and plop in a new one and call it a day?

That is all you need! You can buy a Walmart/Sears/AAA battery for a fraction of the dealer price and install it yourself, no coding necessary. Even if the battery does not last as long (which im not convinced the coding will make a material difference) you can buy a second battery and still probably have a few hundred bucks.

[493263]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Wow! All for a battery? Whatever happens to simplicity where all u Ned was a wrench or socket pull the old battery out and plop in a new one and call it a day?

Because of regenerative braking and smart alternators. There's no constant charge anymore. The C(charge/discharge rate) required for batteries are much higher and has to last more cycles. Of course, battery technology hasn't caught up a few years ago when they designed these vehicles.

Profiles allow proper charging and capacity testing. Voltage and amperage doesn't drop in a linear consistent curve. It's different for different chemistry.

If there's one advice about buying batteries for these cars, I would highly suggest you buy OEM batteries. Aftermarket batteries have not caught up yet. The profile stored in your car is based on OEM batteries. Even if you change the starting values of an aftermarket battery, it doesn't have the volt and amp curves for it. BMW only tested their approved batteries and those are the only profiles they have.

If you don't believe me, then check your other devices that uses battery profiles. For example, my Canon and Sony DSLR and MLCs uses profiles to charge batteries and estimate capacity. If you use an aftermarket battery, even if it's the same specs, it won't be able to give you the correct capacity that you have left. It's just based on a curve. If it's not the correct profile for that battery then it won't be able to charge it properly.

[HighlandPete]

Why take the risk of premature replacement battery issues or early failure? Or even oddities with electrical consumer items, for the sake of following the best practice of registering the new battery to the car?

BMW state:

Register battery replacement
After fitting a new battery, the service function 'Register battery replacement' should be run. The battery change has to be registered in order to tell the power management system that a new battery has been fitted to the vehicle. If the battery change is not registered, the power management will not function properly, with the result that Check Control messages may be displayed and functions limited by individual electrical consumers being switched off or having their power consumption reduced, for example.

HighlandPete

[lsturbointeg]

I'm guessing BMW is the only one that can run the "register battery replacement" or can this be done through our menu options?

[493263]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

I'm guessing BMW is the only one that can run the "register battery replacement" or can this be done through our menu options?

No, anybody can do it including yourself if you have the right equipment and software.

[djviru]

Originally Posted by djviru

Has anybody used Advance Auto (Autocraft) or Autozone (Duralast) batteries? (H8-AGM or H7-AGM)

Anybody? Any non-BMW battery?
What was your experience?

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by djviru

Anybody? Any non-BMW battery?
What was your experience?

I've found that well chosen non-BMW batteries are just fine in multiple BMWs. The most recent of which is an E90 which also requires coding (for chemistry and capacity) and registration (at the time of replacement).

There are only a handful of actual battery manufacturers, and a whole lot of people who put their sticker on them afterwards - including BMW.

My past research indicates that East Penn (a.k.a. Deka) make some really good batteries, both AGM and flooded, and they've been my choice for the last few years. Deka even has a line of Exact OE fit batteries for European cars.

The East Penn website can give you a list of dealers (which includes people selling East Penn batteries with different stickers on them) and help select the proper application.

I think that all F10s probably have AGM batteries (usually a black shell on the original BMW battery). If you replace the battery, do the proper registration or have it done for you.