[UA_civ_eng]

Looking to see if anybody here has gone with a non-BMW battery for their car and what their experience has been like. I think my battery is going to need replacing soon and I'm definitely not wanting to pay $400 or $500 for one from BMW. Please share any info you may have.

[TJBentley]

I was in your situation about two months ago. Was a hassle trying to find one to be honest so I just ended up buying one from BMW for around $280 or so, and taking it to an Indy BMW shop to have it installed and registered. Pricey but saves you the hassle honestly.

[UA_civ_eng]

Originally Posted by TJBentley

I was in your situation about two months ago. Was a hassle trying to find one to be honest so I just ended up buying one from BMW for around $280 or so, and taking it to an Indy BMW shop to have it installed and registered. Pricey but saves you the hassle honestly.

Thanks for the info. Was the $280 from a dealership? If so, that's not as bad as I thought. When you say registered, do you mean for a battery warranty?

[TJBentley]

Originally Posted by UA_civ_eng

Thanks for the info. Was the $280 from a dealership? If so, that's not as bad as I thought. When you say registered, do you mean for a battery warranty?

Yes it was from a dealership I have a 2012 528 not sure if yours is a 550 as it might be more money. It was around $280, could have been $300 not sure. And when you replace the battery your need to have it registered which is pretty much letting the car know you're putting in a new battery. As the battery ages the car pulls more current from the battery so if you put in a new battery without registering it, the car will think it's the old battery and it will kill the new battery way quicker.

[Teddylongtooth]

Originally Posted by UA_civ_eng

Looking to see if anybody here has gone with a non-BMW battery for their car and what their experience has been like. I think my battery is going to need replacing soon and I'm definitely not wanting to pay $400 or $500 for one from BMW. Please share any info you may have.

I paid $549 to have my battery replaced in March by the dealer which included the registration. The 550 uses a 105Ah AGM and the 528 is 90Ah AGM I would just get it form the dealer, we have too much electrical to skimp on the battery. Also I was just like you and didn't want to pay the dealer but I couldn't find a suitable replacement anywhere, if I did they wouldn't ship. The battery in our car is a beast of a battery and not what you would find in a Honda or even a full size Chevy truck, it's weighs 65lbs and has more power than most car battery's do. So don't feel like your getting screwed it's a bad ass battery.

[Surly73]

Dealer batteries aren't any better than a high quality alternative. The NA dealer network does not use the same manufacturer that the German factory does. There are only a few companies that make batteries and hundreds that throw their sticker on them.

A couple of years ago my research concluded that East Penn/ Deka makes some of the best batteries out there and they make a line of OEM perfect batteries for Euro cars. It doesn't matter whose sticker is on it, it's who makes it

Get the proper size and shape replacement AGM battery and make sure to get it registered when you replace it and drive on....

[Teddylongtooth]

This is the closest AGM battery I could find and it out specs the stock battery, these are the best batteries you can get and they are not made by someone else. You can get a post kit for it to put your stock connectors on it.

Link,
http://skyhighcaraudio.com/xs-power-xp3000/

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by Teddylongtooth

This is the closest AGM battery I could find and it out specs the stock battery, these are the best batteries you can get and they are not made by someone else. You can get a post kit for it to put your stock connectors on it.

Link,
http://skyhighcaraudio.com/xs-power-xp3000/

Not sure about the "not made by anyone else" comment. Not many people can tool up to build a battery factory.
Regardless, make sure that whatever you choose has the same plastic shaping that will work with factory hold down hardware and, obviously, terminals

[Teddylongtooth]

[QUOTE=Surly73;18926723]Not sure about the "not made by anyone else" comment. Not many people can tool up to build a battery factory.
Regardless, make sure that whatever you choose has the same plastic shaping that will work with factory hold down hardware and, obviously

Cool story

[Teddylongtooth]

Using info from the battery expert in this thread I was able to find this battery from deka.
Link,
http://www.batteriesasap.com/9agm95r.html

[UA_civ_eng]

I still haven't gotten around to replacing my battery. It is definitely close to needing it though. I had to give it a good charge before having it flatbedded to the dealer yesterday for what I think is bad injectors. I am definitely going to go non-OEM and have it registered by an independent shop. I have actually had pretty good luck finding a number of made-for-our-cars replacements. My intentions were to register it myself with ISTA/D (Rheingold), but I have been super busy lately and haven't had the time to get the software working on my computer yet.

[mko9]

The battery on my 535i is limping along on it's last legs. The recent cold weather is not helping. Can anyone confirm what size/shape battery we have? It seems to be an H8? The OEM battery is apparently an Exide (at least in the US), which can be had at Home Depot of all places.

For reference, I have a base model 535i. The battery in there has 800 cold cranking amps (CCA), and 80 Ah.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by mko9

The battery on my 535i is limping along on it's last legs. The recent cold weather is not helping. Can anyone confirm what size/shape battery we have? It seems to be an H8? The OEM battery is apparently an Exide (at least in the US), which can be had at Home Depot of all places.

For reference, I have a base model 535i. The battery in there has 800 cold cranking amps (CCA), and 80 Ah.

IMHO I would upgrade to the 105 Ah battery. That said, wherever you can find the AGM battery should be just fine. There's nothing special about the factory battery.

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

IMHO I would upgrade to the 105 Ah battery. That said, wherever you can find the AGM battery should be just fine. There's nothing special about the factory battery.

Ditto.

If you change the capacity (Ah rating), you should get the car coded for the new capacity. This is the same as any other coding (fold mirrors, no seatbelt warning, auto window close enabled etc...). You can change the coding for the battery capacity at any time, but I would personally try to do it right before registering.

If you replace the battery, you must register the new battery. This tells the car that you've replaced it with a new battery, and to reset all of its learned trending information about the age and performance of the battery.

If you're DIYing, bench charge the new battery before installation if you can.

As for brand - I've grown to like East Penn/Deka batteries, which are branded by many other battery brands. They fit well, perform well, don't leak (doesn't apply to AGM) and last a long time.

Deka has an "Exact fit OEM" line for Euro cars:
http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com...Flyer-0379.pdf

A dealer locator will give you an idea where you can buy batteries made by East Penn - thought they may be re-branded by whomever.

[mko9]

Originally Posted by Surly73

Deka has an "Exact fit OEM" line for Euro cars:
http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com...Flyer-0379.pdf

Yes, but which one is the "exact fit"

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by mko9

Yes, but which one is the "exact fit"

Look up your car in the application guide. I believe it's the H8.

[jmiseo2008]

FYI - BMW is running a $30 Mail in Rebate until 2/15/18 on batteries purchased at the parts counter or installed by the service dept. Check BMWRebateOffers.Com

Believe it or not, I got a battery from my local parts counter for $168 (after BMWCCA discount). Factor in the rebate and you really can't go wrong. I performed the registration myself with Schwaben's BMW/Mini Scan Tool (ECS).

[yogi]

Originally Posted by jmiseo2008

FYI - BMW is running a $30 Mail in Rebate until 2/15/18 on batteries purchased at the parts counter or installed by the service dept. Check BMWRebateOffers.Com

Believe it or not, I got a battery from my local parts counter for $168 (after BMWCCA discount). Factor in the rebate and you really can't go wrong. I performed the registration myself with Schwaben's BMW/Mini Scan Tool (ECS).

Sweet I have that tool!