[M5Beast_NYC]

This morning i got this message on the display when I shut off the car at work. My normal daily drive is about 50-60 miles a day one way.

I noticed the car started a bit weak this morning due to the sub freezing temp here in the north east (1deg F), which is normal. This morning's drive was 50 miles from home to work and I would think that my battery would be fine by the time I got to work so I was very surprise to see this message.

My question, have anybody got this message? I have an appt with the dealership this friday. how long can I drive with this message on? Am I at risk of stalling?

[martin mustang]

Normal if your car was stand still for few days, had it once with my wife X3 after coming back from 2 weeks away, all you need to do is go for a good drive to recharge it back to normal level like when used on a regular basis!

[The Beast]

How old is the car?

Had it on my X5 and ended up changing it as it would not hold the charge any longer despite me trickle charging a few times to top it up. Should be fine to drive, I drove mine for weeks before replacing. The car starts to shut off certain functions to preserve the battery, such as switching off the radio and heating as soon as you hit the stop button...

[M5Beast_NYC]

Originally Posted by The Beast

How old is the car?

Had it on my X5 and ended up changing it as it would not hold the charge any longer despite me trickle charging a few times to top it up. Should be fine to drive, I drove mine for weeks before replacing. The car starts to shut off certain functions to preserve the battery, such as switching off the radio and heating as soon as you hit the stop button...

My car is a 2012 535i xdrive with nav. The car sat all weekend long so that could explain it. I thought that driving it for 50 miles and about 50 mins would recharge the battery to operating level. Ill be driving another 50 miles home but long this time as I will hit more traffic and lets see if I get this message again.

Thanks!

[Noggie]

I go away for work for 4 weeks at a time, and every time I come back I get this message, the car don't start as easy the first time, but after a 15 minute drive I never see it again. No issues with AC, stereo or any other systems.

Last time I got home I unlocked the car, popped the hood and put my charger on it over night.
Still had the alarm pop up, but I guess it may have been activated when I unlocked it to put the charger on.

My car sits in a heated garage and never see freezing temperatures when parked.

[Ben2k9]

Originally Posted by Carbonm3ny

My car is a 2012 535i xdrive with nav. The car sat all weekend long so that could explain it. I thought that driving it for 50 miles and about 50 mins would recharge the battery to operating level. Ill be driving another 50 miles home but long this time as I will hit more traffic and lets see if I get this message again.

Thanks!

common issue for this vehicle. if it keeps it up take it to dealer for a free new battery (if still under warranty)

[CJPatel]

About 6 weeks ago I had the same problem literally the day my warranty expired and they wouldn't replace the battery. I charged it up full using a trickle charger, and it worked great. Then today started giving the same notice. It is unsually cold in the north east though, hopefully warmer temps will keep the battery going strong.

[AP]

Had it once when the car had been left for 3 weeks. Started ok and no reoccurrence.

[Grover432]

Originally Posted by Carbonm3ny

My car is a 2012 535i xdrive with nav. The car sat all weekend long so that could explain it. I thought that driving it for 50 miles and about 50 mins would recharge the battery to operating level. Ill be driving another 50 miles home but long this time as I will hit more traffic and lets see if I get this message again.

Thanks!

I think it depends on the type of drive. If it is stop and go in traffic, you won't get much of a charge. If driving at freeway speeds with some coasting, it will charge. If that is your type of drive and you battery didn't charge, you either have a problem with the charging system or the battery. My car was delivered with a dealer installed charger. I plug it in overnight once or twice a month and so far no warning lights on my 16 month old car despite the bitterly cold temps here (-30C).

[493263]

From a lot of experimenting, you can quickly charge your battery if you do the following:

For the highway:

1. Do not use cruise control
2. Don't follow people too close and let the alternator slow the car rather than brakes
3. Let go of the gas going downhill
4. If it's rush hour, use sport mode to increase rpm.

For the city

1. Always use sport mode(under 45mph, car determines when to charge by rpm when you let go of the gas)
2. Instead of hitting the brakes, manually lower the gear
3. Don't crank the volume

[Bbb34]

From my personal experience, this is low temperature related issue. That said, it could be your battery is really low and needs replacing, maybe different than what I experienced.

At around -20 Celsius or below when my car is left outside overnight, I get "Vehicle battery charge low" warning in iDrive, so slightly different than what you're seeing. And no, it doesn't go away, doesn't seem to charge the battery by driving for longer periods of time until temperatures rise above -15 Celsius, in which case it goes away, but leaves the traces of this warning in the key fob, which can be scanned on dealership visit.

Talking to the service manager, after they confirmed my battery was fine, and nothing but cold weather was draining it, I got "well Sir. these cars just don't like cold" (I jokingly said that I missed that particular warning line in 5 series brochure, cynical as I sometimes may be)

Then I was told that BMW sets the warning to come up when battery charge drops below 80% and that all local customers (have a friend with brand new X3 who confirmed it) go through this on super cold days and dealership recommendation is to install trickle charger and plug in the car overnight during super cold days to prevent this. Dealership also gave me brand new (5K km) 320xi loaner, and by the time I got to work and parked it, same warning popped up in iDrive on that car (was sitting on their lot overnight).

So (grudgingly) I played along, had the trickle charger installed in my trunk, and indeed this seems to work, no warning on super cold days if trickle charger is used to prevent battery from draining.

The issue I have with this, besides obvious having to shut my trunk close with electric cable hanging out, is that I'm forced to plug in my car (not in cool Tesla/electric car way ) and somewhat follow forecast if I want to avoid the warning. Another issue I experienced when not plugging it in is warning + car is shutting off some of the functions due to the warning. Things like fans/heating and who knows what else wont' work - though window defrost still works and heats up the car, fans won't work on any other setting. This apparently is done in order to protect the battery and electric system in the car, which might be considered "good design" but clearly makes this a warning you can't simply ignore and wait for warmer days.

Yes it's cold, crazy cold where I live for a month or two a year. And I get that this car is loaded with tech, but I find this clearly to be some sort of design flaw. What if I'm visiting someone who doesn't have outlet available for few days, what about ski resorts... etc.

So, again, maybe not the same issue you're seeing, but if anybody out there is aware of some sort of solution/fix that BMW has come up with in the meantime, besides "install a trickle charger" I'd like to hear about it.

[493263]

Temperature does have a significant effect on battery capacity and performance. However, it shouldn't cause a "charge battery" warning if your battery is full.

My car had the warning 2 days ago after it sat for a week without use. I took it to work yesterday in sport mode and it went away. It's even colder today and no battery warning is tripping.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by 493263

Temperature does have a significant effect on battery capacity and performance. However, it shouldn't cause a "charge battery" warning if your battery is full.

My car had the warning 2 days ago after it sat for a week without use. I took it to work yesterday in sport mode and it went away. It's even colder today and no battery warning is tripping.

Thanks, but I tried that, believe me, even tried running errands after work, driving for longer periods of time (most of the time I'm in sport mode anyway) and it did not help. However the day temps got up above -15C the warning went away. Did not have to "drive to charge" on those days.

This is what invoice from dealer said: "Checked for faults with insta. multiple faults for voltage systems. Performed energy diagnosis, battery OK and no other issues. Warning probably related to excessively cold temps lately. As per PUMA measure 57245975, performed complete vehicle programming including complete encoding to address sensitivity of check system. R/T all OK this time. Installed trickle charger to maintain battery life"

They also assured me that they checked, and nothing else (internal) draws the power from the battery and that there is no need for battery replacement.

[cdmulders]

Bbb34 - my experiences and conclusions mirror yours. I like your use of 'Sport Mode' with your 6MT. Isn't every day a Sporty day for you?

[cdmulders]

Originally Posted by 493263

From a lot of experimenting, you can quickly charge your battery if you do the following:

For the highway:

1. Do not use cruise control

493263 - I understand and support all of your recommendations to increase charging of the battery except for the first one. Is the logic that by not using cruise control someone will be more likely to be on and off the throttle, therefore increasing charging by getting more of the regenerative cycle to happen during the off-of-the-throttle periods?

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by cdmulders

Bbb34 - my experiences and conclusions mirror yours. I like your use of 'Sport Mode' with your 6MT. Isn't every day a Sporty day for you?

Ha, that's very true, it honestly is. I'm taking that "longest way home" regularly.
I mean as sporty as 2 ton. RWD sedan can be, which with DHP is plenty for my needs.

Glad to hear you're having similar experience....well, not "glad" that we're experiencing this , but at least it's not "just my car". It truly annoys me that I have to plug it in every now and then.

[493263]

Originally Posted by cdmulders

493263 - I understand and support all of your recommendations to increase charging of the battery except for the first one. Is the logic that by not using cruise control someone will be more likely to be on and off the throttle, therefore increasing charging by getting more of the regenerative cycle to happen during the off-of-the-throttle periods?

I forgot you are in Canada. Good luck lol.

[Grover432]

Originally Posted by Bbb34

From my personal experience, this is low temperature related issue. That said, it could be your battery is really low and needs replacing, maybe different than what I experienced.

At around -20 Celsius or below when my car is left outside overnight, I get "Vehicle battery charge low" warning in iDrive, so slightly different than what you're seeing. And no, it doesn't go away, doesn't seem to charge the battery by driving for longer periods of time until temperatures rise above -15 Celsius, in which case it goes away, but leaves the traces of this warning in the key fob, which can be scanned on dealership visit.

Talking to the service manager, after they confirmed my battery was fine, and nothing but cold weather was draining it, I got "well Sir. these cars just don't like cold" (I jokingly said that I missed that particular warning line in 5 series brochure, cynical as I sometimes may be)

Then I was told that BMW sets the warning to come up when battery charge drops below 80% and that all local customers (have a friend with brand new X3 who confirmed it) go through this on super cold days and dealership recommendation is to install trickle charger and plug in the car overnight during super cold days to prevent this. Dealership also gave me brand new (5K km) 320xi loaner, and by the time I got to work and parked it, same warning popped up in iDrive on that car (was sitting on their lot overnight).

So (grudgingly) I played along, had the trickle charger installed in my trunk, and indeed this seems to work, no warning on super cold days if trickle charger is used to prevent battery from draining.

The issue I have with this, besides obvious having to shut my trunk close with electric cable hanging out, is that I'm forced to plug in my car (not in cool Tesla/electric car way ) and somewhat follow forecast if I want to avoid the warning. Another issue I experienced when not plugging it in is warning + car is shutting off some of the functions due to the warning. Things like fans/heating and who knows what else wont' work - though window defrost still works and heats up the car, fans won't work on any other setting. This apparently is done in order to protect the battery and electric system in the car, which might be considered "good design" but clearly makes this a warning you can't simply ignore and wait for warmer days.

Yes it's cold, crazy cold where I live for a month or two a year. And I get that this car is loaded with tech, but I find this clearly to be some sort of design flaw. What if I'm visiting someone who doesn't have outlet available for few days, what about ski resorts... etc.

So, again, maybe not the same issue you're seeing, but if anybody out there is aware of some sort of solution/fix that BMW has come up with in the meantime, besides "install a trickle charger" I'd like to hear about it.

BMW has an integrated model that includes a port under the front bumper for plugging in. Very neat installation and barely noticeable. About $500.00 in Canada.

Just remember to unplug before you drive off.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by Grover432

BMW has an integrated model that includes a port under the front bumper for plugging in. Very neat installation and barely noticeable. About $500.00 in Canada.

Just remember to unplug before you drive off.

Wish I knew about this before I had one installed in the trunk, thanks anyway.
Although given your other comment, I can totally see me forgetting to unplug it on that cold morning when running late, so maybe cables hanging out of the trunk are "better" .

Originally Posted by 493263

I forgot you are in Canada. Good luck lol.

Hey now it's a great place to live, but yeah, it gets really cold every now and then, that will affect your battery.


Oh, and today is bitterly cold, and I haven't used trickle charger in over a week, and guess what, no warning.
So it seems that it doesn't have to be used "every time" temperature drops, just "every now and then.... I'm still experimenting with this solution.

[bkM3]

i got the same message and am also in NYC. it must be the cold weather coupled with the fact that ti doesnt get driven much during the week. wife just drove it 50 miles to jersey, hopefully that will take care of it

[Grover432]

Originally Posted by Bbb34

Wish I knew about this before I had one installed in the trunk, thanks anyway.
Although given your other comment, I can totally see me forgetting to unplug it on that cold morning when running late, so maybe cables hanging out of the trunk are "better" .



Hey now it's a great place to live, but yeah, it gets really cold every now and then, that will affect your battery.


Oh, and today is bitterly cold, and I haven't used trickle charger in over a week, and guess what, no warning.
So it seems that it doesn't have to be used "every time" temperature drops, just "every now and then.... I'm still experimenting with this solution.

While I realize my car is only 15 months old, I've only seen the battery message once and it was after the car was in for service. I plugged the car in overnight and haven't seen it again. We go away for 2 weeks at XMas every year, so I leave the car plugged in while we are away. I also plug it in overnight, once a month (when I remember) and I haven't seen a message.

After pulling the plug receptacle off its mount the first time, I tied a fluorescent shop rag around the cord and I leave a post it note on the shift lever.

When I first bought this car, I was shopping different dealerships and each had a different PDI charge. Many were higher and they explained it was because they included a BMW supplied trickle charger. I thought it was ridiculous that a new car needed ongoing battery help, but I guess that is just the way it is. On the positive side, for those who use the ASS system, I've found mine works even when it is -17C as long as I am coming from a heated garage (which mine is) and the battery has a good charge. So on those mornings after I've had the car plugged in, the ASS will work in traffic on the way to the office.

[millerz1897]

Originally Posted by Carbonm3ny

My car is a 2012 535i xdrive with nav. The car sat all weekend long so that could explain it.

Have the same car with the same frustrating problem. Internet posts on the subject are legion. A related message is "Battery discharging while stopped."

Suspected causes:

• True mechanical failures (possible)
• Car electrical under-designed (probable)
• Fob activation from the home (seems unlikely)
• Improper shutdown (got to press stop twice, possible)
• Driver behavior / short trips (reasonable in some cases like mine)
• USB device vampires (Ridiculous: Yes dealers have said an ipod 1/2oz battery can bring down a 40lb AGM batery)
• Extreme cold weather (probable)
• Aftermarket vampires (possible)
• Combination

My current front-runner is that the climate control fan continues to run and other non-visible systems are not properly shutting down with the ignition.

Most posts, though not all, report major hassles with the dealer and not a lot of help from our Bavarian Masters.

My solution was to give in and get a trickle charger and "top off" the battery about once a week. It is ridiculous on a 3 year old $65k+ car but I'll know better next time.

BTW: For everyone who cares the BMW solution is a re-branded Delran Battery Tender Plus High Efficency and it works just fine. However, had I to do again I would have spring for the 5A model (the BMW model smaller is 1.25A) or gotten something more elaborate with more diagnostic capabilities.