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      04-10-2014, 01:55 PM   #1
Hotpockets
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Drained battery at 4,800 miles! : (

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We received my wife's 2014 xdrive 35i back in late December.

We've loved it ever since (our 2nd X5).

Yesterday, she's driving it and a battery alert pops up (yellow version). Saying some functions of the car have been turned off to reduce power consumption, and that she should drive it a long distance to help.

Then an hour or so later, a red version of the same alert says for her to pull over and have it towed to the dealer. She turned it off, waited a little bit, and now it's just the previous yellow version.

She's taking it to the dealer now. If anyone has an advice, please let me know.

I'll report back once I have more info.
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      04-10-2014, 04:32 PM   #2
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Probably just a bad battery. It happens.

Dealer will run a test machine on it and if the results say the battery is bad they will install a new one for you.
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      04-10-2014, 07:25 PM   #3
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Could be a bad battery which could have been stressed by drivers behavior. If your wife drives many short trips while utilizing the seat heaters, steering wheel heater defroster, you drain enormous amounts of power from the car. If you don't drive long enough or at a decent speed, your car will never really charge the battery. I should know, I went through 3 batteries in 2 years due to the 2 mile commute. The dealership gave me a BMW charger to help the issue. In the winter, I charge the battery for about 12-24 hours every 1-2 weeks. If I don't do this I am guaranteed a battery discharge warning. It really sucks but that is the price I am willing to pay for the x5.
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      04-10-2014, 11:43 PM   #4
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Do You use auxilliary heating, that drains the battery Very quickly. Maybe Your battery loader is shot.
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      04-11-2014, 12:36 AM   #5
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Don't leave the key in the car when it's parked either.

Long drive (hour or so) will recharge it. Had this happen on our previous car ('11 X3). Drove it around for an hour and told my wife to stop leaving her purse/key in the car in the garage. Never happened again.
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      04-11-2014, 03:23 AM   #6
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Had somehow the same problem on my Porsche 911 last year : during winter I didn't drive enough, I drove it again in March (few km), then I stopped and when I tried to go back home, I ran out of battery and couldn't start the engine : all warnings alerts were blinking. I had to call Porsche assistance to tow it to the garage. Well actually there were also a real defect in one sensor, making it draining the battery. Also, on 911 (991) the battery is a li-ion battery : smaller and lighter but weaker power.

The best way to avoid this is to use a charger at home if the car is not used for an extended period of time.
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      04-11-2014, 06:00 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by w4termelon View Post
Had somehow the same problem on my Porsche 911 last year : during winter I didn't drive enough, I drove it again in March (few km), then I stopped and when I tried to go back home, I ran out of battery and couldn't start the engine : all warnings alerts were blinking. I had to call Porsche assistance to tow it to the garage. Well actually there were also a real defect in one sensor, making it draining the battery. Also, on 911 (991) the battery is a li-ion battery : smaller and lighter but weaker power.

The best way to avoid this is to use a charger at home if the car is not used for an extended period of time.
Porsche advises battery charger/maintenance if undriven for a week.
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      04-11-2014, 06:54 AM   #8
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Yeah I know, That s why later I bought a battery charger.
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      04-11-2014, 11:51 PM   #9
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These are good points, it's not a BMW issue it's a normal battery thing (coupled with a lot of tech burning battery life quicker than older cars). When I used to have motorcycles, I had to use a trickle charger to keep the battery alive through the winter when it sat idle for a couple months.

That said, man, having to do it just for a week away/idle is just nuts! Why is that?
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      04-12-2014, 04:03 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisny View Post
That said, man, having to do it just for a week away/idle is just nuts! Why is that?
I think this issue generally has more to do with short trips than sitting idle for a week, although the two together definitely will combine to cause battery problems come up sooner. It's not unusul for people who have battery problems to be told by BMW they are taking too many short trips and recommend either longer trips or a battery maintainer.
I've never had problems leaving my key in the car in my garage. And I've never had problems leaving the car idle for a week. But I have used a battery maintainer in the winter when I may not drive it for a month or two. For anyone who is going to use one, it is important to differentiate between a battery maintainer, and a battery charger. You can hook up a maintainer for as long as you want, and it will take care of itself without burning out the battery. A typical battery charger, even on trickle charge, if left on too long, will cook a battery.
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      04-12-2014, 08:11 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticBlue
Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisny View Post
That said, man, having to do it just for a week away/idle is just nuts! Why is that?
I think this issue generally has more to do with short trips than sitting idle for a week, although the two together definitely will combine to cause battery problems come up sooner. It's not unusul for people who have battery problems to be told by BMW they are taking too many short trips and recommend either longer trips or a battery maintainer.
I've never had problems leaving my key in the car in my garage. And I've never had problems leaving the car idle for a week. But I have used a battery maintainer in the winter when I may not drive it for a month or two. For anyone who is going to use one, it is important to differentiate between a battery maintainer, and a battery charger. You can hook up a maintainer for as long as you want, and it will take care of itself without burning out the battery. A typical battery charger, even on trickle charge, if left on too long, will cook a battery.
I was referring to the Porsche recommendation above...

Good point about the battery maintainer (trickle charger) vs full on charger..
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