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      01-28-2012, 09:36 PM   #23
northX3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Extreme Justice View Post
I agree, why do people think it's Normal to add a battery tender to a $60,000 vehicle. Never had to add it to any of my other vehicles.
Well, it's probably cheaper to recharge the battery at -30C with a trickle charger than with a gas-burning alternator... I do agree that it is a design flaw, but it's not as bad as it seems. You only have to plug it 4-5 times per winter, and you still get the economic 35i to run for 12-13L/100km with having to run the alternator all the time

It's like paying for a block heater for a $100 000 car. Might sound stupid, but if you get better fuel economy for short runs at -30C, it may become a good deal...
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      01-28-2012, 09:55 PM   #24
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NorthX3 - Got the same problem last week. I live 2hrs north of you in Saguenay and got the message. I bought a 12A charger at Canadian Tire and used it twice so far. The only thing I noticed is that after using the charger, I get a message saying there was excessive discharge while the car was off. I get that for the first start, then shut it down, and it does not come back. I don`t know if that is because I have a different circuit and the car notices it... Anyway if there is a fix I will go for it. Let's keep a record of that.
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      01-28-2012, 10:59 PM   #25
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Same message here. Only at the first start-up after charging overnight. It only displays the message if your battery is near-dead prior to charging it (it won't display if you plug in the trickle charger if your battery is around, say, 60%)

Let's keep a record. 20+ Canadians having "trouble" with the alternator --> battery system. Maybe BMW Canada should help us more ? My local stealership (the terribly poor BMW Ville de Quebec) said I was the first one with this problem. Call me sceptical.
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      01-29-2012, 06:59 AM   #26
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Wouldn't a simple software fix from BMW fix the issue?
Anyone in a cold country outside North America have this problem?
Makes me wonder if they did the extreme cold weather testing in Miami.
Stay tuned. First the spare goes out the window. Next will be the alternator completely in the name of "efficient dynamics."
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      01-29-2012, 11:58 AM   #27
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I wonder whether frequent discharges in the X3 like this shorten the batteries' lives?
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      01-29-2012, 07:56 PM   #28
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Thanks. So this battery should only be replaced with another BMW battery, or other manufacturers make similar fancy batteries?
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      01-29-2012, 09:40 PM   #29
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Wow. Thanks. Didn't know the system needs a reset after a battery install...
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      01-30-2012, 07:58 AM   #30
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Battery Charger

Our X3 sits for much of the winter due to my parent's travel. I bought a Noco Genius G3500 charger based on the reviews on Amazon and have been impressed with its performance. It can charge a variety of batteries as well as AGM (which I did not realize the X-3 had until reading Lotus 7's post)
http://www.amazon.com/NOCO-G3500-Aut...7931568&sr=8-1

-Nikhil
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      01-30-2012, 08:28 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus7 View Post
The battery used is designed for many discharge cycles. BMWs with "efficient Dynamics"
Hi Lotus7 - Does the "efficient Dynamics" means start and stop technology only? Do US spec 28i have ED? I know it has Brake Energy Regeneration.
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      01-31-2012, 10:05 PM   #32
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Well we're going to be coming up to 3 weeks without our 2011 X3. Still in a "Holding Pattern". At least the North American rental car we have runs. How long should on wait? Any ideas on what options are available since the dealership will have had it longer than we have owned it? Do we have any recourse since we bought it outright and we are not paying BMW monthly payments.
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      01-31-2012, 10:16 PM   #33
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You could always move the car off the lot to the Municipal road allowance in front of the dealership.

Place a large sign on the car "car does not run, BMW cannot fix" and I'm sure the Dealer will have a fix within hours. (likely your friendly by-law enforcement officer).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Extreme Justice View Post
Well we're going to be coming up to 3 weeks without our 2011 X3. Still in a "Holding Pattern". At least the North American rental car we have runs. How long should on wait? Any ideas on what options are available since the dealership will have had it longer than we have owned it? Do we have any recourse since we bought it outright and we are not paying BMW monthly payments.
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      01-06-2014, 11:39 AM   #34
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Battery Discharge Warming in Cold Weather Alberta

Quote:
Originally Posted by Extreme Justice View Post
So we have had our 2011 X3 for 3 weeks. It has now been sitting at Bravaria BMW in Edmonton for 2 weeks ( along with apparently 7 other X3's). We're told it has to do with a Relay, but there not sure how to fix it. Apparently in cold temperatures this relay tells the computer that the battery is dead and shuts everything down. So we've been driving a rental as BMW had no loner cars (BMW covering cost of rental, but not $25 day Insurance). When do we say enough is enough? Service Advisor states will call with updates but doesn't. We are getting fed up.
I see many X3 owners are having this same bad experience. I took mine as well back to Bavaria BMW In Edmonton, Alberta and they ended up just telling me it was a bad battery and then charged me an arm and a leg to have a new one installed and programmed (the car is less than 2 years old folks!). STILL I get the "Vehicle Battery" warning... "Battery Heavily Discharged". WTF? How can this be?!! Extreme Justice, did you ever get a resolution to your issue at Bavaria BMW?
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      01-08-2014, 07:04 PM   #35
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Battery Tender Junior

See...
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...mw+agm+battery.

Hope the link works, if it doesn't just search Amazon for Battery Tender Junior. When I bought mine, I got it through Derby Cycle in Kentucky. They were cheaper than Amazon at the time.

I have used one of these for a 1979 Corvette that sits in my garage all winter. The current battery is seven tears old, an AC Delco. I go to Florida for six months. However I spent twenty months away one year. The Corvette sat unused through two Chicago winters. When I came back, the battery started the Corvette after two tries. Had to keep pumping the pedal to get gas to the carb. Takes a lot of power to turn over a 350 cu. in. (5.7 liter) engine.

I have saved the cost of at least two new batteries by using Battery Tender Junior. Product description say it is safe for AGM batteries. You buy at your own risk.

I got my information from a mechanic that stores a Harley Davidson and a Corvette through the winters. He has one for each. He told me to get the Junior model. I didn't need the higher priced regular model. Warranty is for five years. Read reviews and Q&A on product.
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      01-09-2014, 08:00 AM   #36
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Battery Tender makes a great product. I use the standard size Battery Tender and it's worked great for years. Used on my wifes X3 couple days ago in fact, brought it's low voltage up in less than an hour.
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      01-09-2014, 07:43 PM   #37
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X3 Dead Battery Club

I am now a member .... After having previously owned 4 BMW 3 coupes, I bought a 2011 X3 35i with only 28000kms two months ago. Everything was as expected until a couple of days ago. The extreme cold weather hit southern Ontario (-24C) and after parking in our company lot all day, I went to start it for the home trip (only about 5 km) and the "Warning - battery discharge" notice came up, but it started, and also the "Drivetrain malfunction" message??? It seemed to run OK so I thought well just a little running should charge it back up. Stopped at a grocery store for about 20 min and then when I pressed the start button, it turned over fine but would not start then said "reducing electrical services" and then it was dead. Had to call roadside assistance for a boost. it started up fine. Went home and put it on charge (under hood) with a quality charger which said the battery was at 80%, at a 2 amp charge rate it only took about 2 hours to get to 100% and 14.7v. No problems today except I checked the battey when I got home and it was down to 12.1V after locking, so put it back on charger which said 50% - charged up to 100% in 2 hours.
So, I've been reading the other posts and seen at least 5 different theories why this problem exists - in no particular order:
- parasitic electrical leak in circuit after "locking shutdown"
- faulty PDM unit (condensation freeze/thaw)
- vehicle needs to be driven at least 30km/day (hahaha)
- battery capacity under sized for loading requirements by BMW
-"Energy Dynamics" - alternator does not charge battery until near dead to "save fuel"
- electrical loads on modern cars means more load on battery systems - duh? install bigger battery maybe?
- cold weather???
- excuse #XXX

So, I have heard the "fixes" trickle chargers etc, and will probably need to monitor my battery periodically and charge as required, but where is the responsibility of the manufacturer? This problem is being seen all over the world in cold or warm weather - where was the testing done?
-
-

Last edited by Dano X3; 01-09-2014 at 07:59 PM..
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      01-09-2014, 11:40 PM   #38
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Is there a way to charge the battery through the cigarette lighter outlet to avoid having to open the hood?
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      01-10-2014, 08:38 AM   #39
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The more option boxes you check, which adds more gadgets, the more potential for a parasitic draw. All batteries across all manufacturers will perform poor in these freezing cold temps. However most cars don't have the logic to kill accessories to ensure you are able to start the vehicle, yay for BMW. At the end of the day though, there are a thousand reasons why a battery may have reduced voltage.

I also think this is just a product of the times. battery technology is always increasing and eventually we'll all probably have smaller, lighter Lithium Ion batteries that perform better in the cold. But at the same time, manufacturers will keep adding new technology that will strain these new batteris. Unfortunately, today our conventional batteries, which are prone to extreme performance loss due to cold, are forced to sit all alone in the cold trunk. The battery location just exasperates the issue.

Regarding the recharge via lighter, I have no idea on a BMW. I've used this method in the past on early 2000 model GM vehicles and it has worked. BMW might have some safety switches in place to prevent this method of recharging. For what it's worth, the charging posts under the hood are very easy to access and well marked.
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      01-28-2014, 09:27 PM   #40
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I'm trying out the NOCO G7200 on my X3 tonight. It started from 25% and rose rapidly to 50, 75, and now it's in the 75 - 100 mark. The lack of driving (8800 kms in a year) and the cold does cause some changes in the car's behavior. Certainly not the warnings / errors that others have been getting, but I''ve seen the sluggish cranks, refusal to go into ASS, and the car not powering up the accessories immediately (or even shutting down accessories if it does manage to go into ASS).

First time trying a trickle charger so will see how it turns out tomorrow.
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      01-28-2014, 09:54 PM   #41
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I refuse to install a trickle charger on a $70k car.

If my car every fails to start because of a battery issue I'll deal the car on a Acura.

There are absolutely no excuses for mickey mouse engineering on a premium car.
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      01-29-2014, 05:43 AM   #42
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I understand your perspective. It is ridiculous that they've used bleeding edge technology that is not as reliable and sold to users that may not be able to handle them accordingly (I'm no mechanic but I probably know enough to "get the idea"). We are guinea pigs.

I was expecting to hear about this in the competition's forums since the other makers have followed suit with AGM, stop start etc... but the chatter is certainly much less than what we read about on this bmw forum and the other bimmer party... so wonder why that's the case...

Last edited by pokerface; 01-29-2014 at 11:35 AM..
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      01-29-2014, 06:04 AM   #43
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As BMW sell the X3 as a winter "sports" UV I think they are not "entirely" to blame as the issue is as much about the usage pattern of the car.
All batteries perform worse at low temperatures and also the current draw will be higher during cold starting. I think it is the short trips that are killing the battery - without a extended charging run the eventually any battery will fail.
It has been said that the charging system does not fully charge the battery to leave capacity to feed in power from the regen braking etc, not sure I believe this as that sounds a strange way to look after a battery.
I do think that all the additional electronics consume a lot more power than previous cars and hence why many are saying it has never been a problem before.
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      01-29-2014, 11:07 AM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lbjgh View Post
I refuse to install a trickle charger on a $70k car.

If my car every fails to start because of a battery issue I'll deal the car on a Acura.

There are absolutely no excuses for mickey mouse engineering on a premium car.
What is the rationale for that viewpoint?

I've no problem with trickle charging my $110k (£60k GBP) BMW. Have done so as a matter of course this winter, as I don't use the car too many miles through December time.

I've done it with other cars over the years, including BMW, to prevent any issues.

Can't see the problem, if my driving profile gets near to what I believe is leaving my battery partly charged.

Certainly wouldn't consider selling my car because the battery needs a proper charge. I'd see that as "cutting my nose off, to spite my face".

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