[Jordster]

This morning was very cold in Toronto.. -27c first thing in the morning.

The car started up fine (although sounded VERY angry about the temp...) and I drove about 10-15 minutes through suburban traffic to my destination. When I went to turn the car off, I got a message that the battery was low and that I should run the engine... So I had to leave my wife and son in the car idling while I took my daughter to her swim class. She sat there 10 more minutes while the car ran.

Afterwards, 30 minutes later, I drove home the same route, and when I turned off the car I got the same message. This time, I left the car idling for at least 20 minutes. When I returned and turned it off, ONCE AGAIN it showed the message.

My car is less than a year old. I've lived in this cold climate and NEVER had a battery on a brand new car give me any issues. Is this a dying battery? Is the X3 just not equipped for moderately cold temperatures? Or Is something actually wrong with the car due to the cold? I don't get it, but now I'm worried that my car isn't going to start due to a dead battery.

Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone have any idea what's wrong?

The incessant rattles coming from everywhere are one thing, but this takes German "reliability" to a new level

[Buzzman]

Here is something I posted last year. It is still accurate today, for my car anyway. To note, I had the same issue with my F30 (2012).

I cannot prove it, but I think it has more to do with a detection issues of some sort, than a low battery. If the battery is cold, it disables a bunch of stuff (note the technical term).

I have had the warning on a few occasions throughout this winter. To test my theory, I never charged the battery, and as soon as the temps go up, the warning goes away and everything is good again. To note, I have never had an issue starting the car even when the temp went down to -35C. The limit temp seems to be around -20C.

When the temp was around -30C, I drove at least 900km in a day and the warning remained. I would assume the battery had enough time to recharge on such a long trip. Then when the temp went up, whaddayya know: Gone.

Finally, in the past week (last year), when I left home in the AM, temp was at -25C and as soon as I reached work, the warning showed up. The temp went up throughout the day to -8C and when I left in the afternoon, the warning was gone, everything worked with the car staying in the parking lot for 12 hours. I doubt it recharged itself...

This is puzzling as hell to me. My dealer installs trickle chargers on every car they deliver, so they know there is an issue somehow. But even when I had the warning last year and I used the charger overnight, it would remove the warning, but it would always come back on cold days as soon as I reached work. So that didn't work either.

As I said, nothing scientific here, this is my experience only.

[midwest 340xi 6sp]

Do a search OP...This has been discussed a lot

I had the same on a few occasions back when I was leasing my 2013 X3. I live in snow country/midwest in the US and we get some very cold sub zero temps here too.

You can toss a trickle charger on it if you want over night, 100% of the time mine went away when the weather warmed. And warmed just a bit.

New battery is not the answer and current battery very likely isn't your problem.

[Tjalle]

I agree with the above, but I want to add:
-the monitoring system obviously detects, what it believe is a discharged battery, when battery is very cold, since capacity is much lower if cold battery. Not the best of monitoring systems.

Note, battery installed in a cold place - even long driving will not heat up battery - if cold ambient.

Also - battery will be reluctant to charge if cold.

Since I have heated garage and trickle charger this is not experience from my BMW, but from product development within the auto industry.

[Peter_R]

The problem does not just arise in cold weather, but happens if the car is used on short journeys in the dark. It also happens if the car is sat for weeks on end and not used especially if the battery is not fully charged first. In the UK we very often see BMW's in the dealership being trickle because of lack of useage. In fact when I purchased my ex demo X3 I found the documentation that showed it was regularly charged and signed for by a technician.

I travel abroad quite often especially in the winter and to solve the battery problem, I have purchased a CTEK charger and it stays connected to the car for the 2 months I am away.

[Jordster]

Thanks for the tips guys. Going to hope it just goes away when the weather gets warm. Despite the threats, it hasn't failed to start.

On another note it's pretty sad having to deal with this in a $50k car.. My last two cars, Civic Si and Mazda3, cost half as much and both have started without issue all winter long in even colder temps :P

It's a good thing this car drives so well or it would be gone!

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Jordster

Thanks for the tips guys. Going to hope it just goes away when the weather gets warm. Despite the threats, it hasn't failed to start.

On another note it's pretty sad having to deal with this in a $50k car.. My last two cars, Civic Si and Mazda3, cost half as much and both have started without issue all winter long in even colder temps :P

It's a good thing this car drives so well or it would be gone!

It is the technology incorporated into the car that makes the car more fuel efficient that gives this battery warning. From what I have heard and confirmed by knowledgeable UK dealers, the normal charging process in every day driving only charges the battery to 80%. In colder temperatures even with the heavy duty battery this throws up the warning. This deficit leaves energy recovery systems to charge the other other 20% up to 100% when braking, so making the car more energy efficient. The Civic Si and the Mazda3 do NOT have this level of technology.

If you wish to get rid of this warning then invest in a CTEK battery charger. If used regularly to charge towards the 100% level,this will get rid of the warnings.

Anyway, you say it has not failed start, so there is no problem.

[ba ba boosh]

I went to work around noon today. -2 degrees F with wind chill. My X3 almost didn't turn over to turn on. It labored for about 3 clicks then finally turned on. Perhaps I need a new battery?

[02420X3]

My 2011 got a new battery this summer. It had no issues with this morning's -10F temps, perhaps a slightly longer crank, but no real issues. I suspect that you'll be buying a new battery for your 2012 within the next year. 4 years seems to be a typical target for our AGM batteries.

[Barbera335]

Originally Posted by Jordster

This morning was very cold in Toronto.. -27c first thing in the morning.

The car started up fine (although sounded VERY angry about the temp...) and I drove about 10-15 minutes through suburban traffic to my destination. When I went to turn the car off, I got a message that the battery was low and that I should run the engine... So I had to leave my wife and son in the car idling while I took my daughter to her swim class. She sat there 10 more minutes while the car ran.

Afterwards, 30 minutes later, I drove home the same route, and when I turned off the car I got the same message. This time, I left the car idling for at least 20 minutes. When I returned and turned it off, ONCE AGAIN it showed the message.

My car is less than a year old. I've lived in this cold climate and NEVER had a battery on a brand new car give me any issues. Is this a dying battery? Is the X3 just not equipped for moderately cold temperatures? Or Is something actually wrong with the car due to the cold? I don't get it, but now I'm worried that my car isn't going to start due to a dead battery.

Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone have any idea what's wrong?

The incessant rattles coming from everywhere are one thing, but this takes German "reliability" to a new level

There is a software fix that recently came out from BMW to cure this erroneous waning. Take it to the dealer and they will update it for you. Have them reference SIB 61 03 14

[Rodion]

Taking into account that the battery sits in a cold place in the car without any heating, it is no surprise that with -27 Celsius degrees driving it still thinks the battery is not fully charged.

Also taking into account that the "efficient dynamics" only charges 80% to leave space for "braking regeneration", ie. higher voltage generating while braking.

Just take a look at this image:




and:




What is says that 20min driving with cold battery and the battery charges only 1.1 A, compared to warm battery taking 4.3 A

[Tjalle]

It also says that the Polar heater is better than the Arctic!

Can be found in any battery heating store near you!

[Jordster]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

There is a software fix that recently came out from BMW to cure this erroneous waning. Take it to the dealer and they will update it for you. Have them reference SIB 61 03 14

Thanks! I will do exactly that

[Jordster]

Originally Posted by Peter_R

It is the technology incorporated into the car that makes the car more fuel efficient that gives this battery warning. From what I have heard and confirmed by knowledgeable UK dealers, the normal charging process in every day driving only charges the battery to 80%. In colder temperatures even with the heavy duty battery this throws up the warning. This deficit leaves energy recovery systems to charge the other other 20% up to 100% when braking, so making the car more energy efficient. The Civic Si and the Mazda3 do NOT have this level of technology.

I do appreciate the energy regeneration system... But a complex system is no good if it's flawed. I don't know if I've met any BMW owner, ever, who would be okay with some potentially scary error messages (scary because being out with your family on a -27 degree day and being worried your car might not start is scary) to save about 1 mpg.

I LOVE the idea of this technology, but it really has to work under all foreseeable conditions before it goes into cars.. It's not new, either. I understand it debuted on the 2012 3-series.

[MichiganMike]

Originally Posted by Jordster

I LOVE the idea of this technology, but it really has to work under all foreseeable conditions before it goes into cars.. It's not new, either. I understand it debuted on the 2012 3-series.

I agree. I use a battery tender on my BMW at least once a week to prolong the battery life and charge because of the limitations of EfficientDynamics. Another example, how may BMW owners would opt for the auto start stop capability given a choice? Also consider electric powered steering systems that often lack the feel of older hydraulic systems and electric coolant pumps that appear more prone to early failure.

Unfortunately, the questionable tradeoffs and complexity BMW imposes on customers in the quest for marginally higher fuel economy are being driven not by consumer preferences but by the need to meet government regulations regarding CAFE and emissions.

[Rodion]

Originally Posted by Tjalle

It also says that the Polar heater is better than the Arctic!

Can be found in any battery heating store near you!

Actually it says that the difference between ampers charged with Arctic and Polar is caused by the face that Arctic has already charged the battery while heating the battery before engine start compared to Polar which did not charge but only heated before starting the engine.




To me it seems silly why the battery couldn't be charged 100% when outside temp is below zero Celsius. And why there is no battery heater installed in factory with the cold climate package.

[Tjalle]

I take it SIB 610314 means Service Information Bulletin, and that it gets me full charge, which I am going to refer to when vehicle due for service-should be valid also in Sweden.

[Rodion]

Originally Posted by Tjalle

I take it SIB 610314 means Service Information Bulletin, and that it gets me full charge, which I am going to refer to when vehicle due for service-should be valid also in Sweden.

Och jag också!

[Tjalle]

[Braumin]

Does anyone have the text from SIB 61 03 14? My wife's X3 has had this issue and is under warranty. I've also gotten it many times on my 2009 3 series. The entire battery system is poorly done on these cars in regards to cold weather.

[Iowa X3]

Bringing this back up as I had similar warnings light up my dash today but with an added problem. This morning on the way to work the blower motor for the heater suddenly slowed down and will now only operate at the lowest and second to lowest speed selections. I can increase the fan speed with the climate controls but the blower motor doesn't respond, it just keeps going at the second to lowest speed.

If I hit the button for defrost, it does go into defrost mode including cranking up the blower motor speed. But under just normal heat settings it will not increase the speed.

I got the discharged battery/disabled some accessories notice when shutting down once I got to work and also when I just now got home. Is it possible that part of "disabling accessories" also involves lowering the max speed of the blower motor to conserve power? I wouldn't think this would be the case but it just seemed like a bit of a coincidence.

I'm going to put a trickle charger on the battery tonight.....and if this isn't the issue, I'll need some help diagnosing the problem. Any educated guesses would be appreciated....

[Iowa X3]

Originally Posted by Iowa X3

Is it possible that part of "disabling accessories" also involves lowering the max speed of the blower motor to conserve power? I wouldn't think this would be the case but it just seemed like a bit of a coincidence.

For anyone who runs across this thread in the future with this same problem, the answer to the above question may in fact be "yes." I charged up the battery to full with my NOCO charger and now the blower motor responds as normal to all speed commands from the climate control.

The car has also been sitting in the garage for the past two days, but it's not heated, just out of the elements. So, it could have been the extreme cold but now it seems more likely that it was some kind of power conservation mode. I was getting ready to order a new blower motor resistor but glad I held off.