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      11-24-2011, 07:40 AM   #1
June
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Increase battery discharge

Hi! ... just bought a 2012 X3 a month ago and when I start the engine this morning, it says "increase battery discharge". Just wondering is this something that I should be alarmed of? Do I have to bring the car to the dealership to be fix? What is the cause of it? Every time I locked the door I thought it automatically shuts off everything in the car... but how come the battery drained? I have my ipod on the car at the center console... is that the cause of it? Has anybody experience the same thing? Can anybody give me advice on what to do? thanks...
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      11-24-2011, 10:18 AM   #2
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There have been a few people reporting similar problems with low battery charge. Was it left for a long time without being driven? My advice is to get the dealer to fully charge it for you and then only worry about it if happens again. Search for "battery charge" on this forum to see some other threads
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      11-24-2011, 11:50 AM   #3
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Message of "Increase battery discharge" during starting means battery is unable to give enough cranking amps. Reason could be low charge on battery or poor battery connection.
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      11-24-2011, 12:32 PM   #4
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Thanks guys... read several threads about this issue and wow
BMW, are you serious? couldn't believe I will get this problem from a brand new car. How could I fix this problem now? This is totally ridiculous... we just got the car for a month, use it everyday, and now we already have this major issue... never thought I'd question the reliability of this car.... too bad its Thanksgiving here, all service centers are close... Hope this car will keep on starting and will not totally be discharge until monday... Luckily I have honda civic 2003 to use as a backup this holiday. I guess my honda is more reliable than my new car for I had never encountered a problem like this ... BMW should fix this and be aware that this is happening...
Thanks for the help...
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      11-24-2011, 01:04 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by June View Post
Thanks guys... read several threads about this issue and wow
BMW, are you serious? couldn't believe I will get this problem from a brand new car. How could I fix this problem now? This is totally ridiculous... we just got the car for a month, use it everyday, and now we already have this major issue... never thought I'd question the reliability of this car.... too bad its Thanksgiving here, all service centers are close... Hope this car will keep on starting and will not totally be discharge until monday... Luckily I have honda civic 2003 to use as a backup this holiday. I guess my honda is more reliable than my new car for I had never encountered a problem like this ... BMW should fix this and be aware that this is happening...
Thanks for the help...
Relax a bit here, buddy. The car may just have come with a weak battery from the factory or something.

Question: do you do a lot of short drives? That could lead to increased battery consumption or more specifically, reduced battery charging.

Regarding your situation and going into the weekend, taking the car on a long drive could be just what it needs to charge up. For the long drive, don't run the stereo, etc. to keep all the alternator output going to charging the battery.

Going forward, you may want to get a BMW trickle charger (or some other compatible unit) that you can plug the thing into should you run into similar issues in the future.

I am going to guess that your battery was just weak from the factory. Doesn't mean the car is a piece of shit, just means production of stuff isn't always perfect.
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      11-25-2011, 09:34 AM   #6
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Question battery tender

Hi, I bought a battery tender and I hooked it on last night. The monitoring light on the charger went from "red" to "green" overnight. I would think it's from "charging" to "charging completed". This morning I started my engine; then, I get a warning saying "Increased battery discharge". Yes, it is "Increased". Center console message says "Battery discharging while stopped, electrical devices were temporarily switched off".

Why is this happening? Should I worry about this warning?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus7 View Post
There are many reasons a battery can discharge, especially in a new X3.
You may want to read these threads:

Battery Issues


Trickle Charging

Battery Discharge when Starting
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      11-25-2011, 11:08 AM   #7
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Guess what happen? it was a whole nightmare last night.... our 1 month old brand new X3 2012 broke down, left it on the parking lot the whole night for there was no assistance from the BMW. Battery was totally drained that it didn't start... we spend our THANKSGIVING waiting for a tow truck that didn't came. They called us back and said they can provide service on the next day... wow, how was that assistance? We even missed the thanksgiving party with friends... and I was so ashamed to say that our BMW broke down. We were so embarrassed that we bought a BMW which is I thought produce very reliable cars, and after a month it didn't start... I don't really understand it at alll...
Then the next day (which is today black friday) they came and they jump start the car. I brought it to the dealership service center and told me they'll gonna diagnose the car and will charge me $209 if they found some misuse... I told them I left the ipod plugged in the center console, then they said that may be the cause of it... what the heck? You mean to say that if you left you Ipod plugged in the car, it will totally drained the battery even if you shut down the engine? Again I don't understand it....BMW should fix this problem... It should not be possible that an ipod can drain car's battery.... especially if we use the car everyday and I believe the engine will constantly charge the battery.... (sorry I don't know how to explain this).
Now I was in the dealership this morning, it's black friday, and I was suppose to go shopping and buy TV.. but guess what, they told me they can't fix the car at the moment for it's holiday and there was no technician available... Ok, so I told them if they can give me service car... They said it is not possible at all, there is no available.... I said, wow, I heard my friends who own, honda, toyota, even hyundai, they give service cars if they have their car fix, BMW NOTHING!!! I EVEN ASKED THEM JUST A RIDE GOING TO THE SUBWAY STATION... THEY SAID THEY CAN'T DO IT AND THERE IS NO CAR AVAILABLE... HOW WAS THAT???? They sell cars but don't have shuttle or ride for customers. TERRIBLE... I really thought I was just having a bad dream... but IT WAS REAL!!!! Then I complain and complain and complain inside their office.. until finally a guy inside who felt my frustration and anger gave me a ride home.... what a day!!!!
Sorry to shared these sentiments here... I know this is not the right place to say all of this, but I just want this out of my system right now... I was really pissed by what happened to me, and hope BMW should give me better service next time because the reason why we bought BMW is that I thought it will not give us so much problems at least not for a month or 2... or even 3 years... I think that it was too soon for the car to break down considering it was brand new...I just really regret the decision of buying BMW after all that happen to us...anyways, hope I can have my car tomorrow as they promised...or at least they should give me a service car for the moment for it is totally not our fault at all... BMW gave us a lot of inconvenience and I think as a customer, we deserve better service than that....
(Sorry, I can't express myself properly in english for it's my second language. pls. bare with my grammar here)
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      11-25-2011, 11:28 AM   #8
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@richardchou... got the same message on the screen.... better have it check before battery will totally drained and can't start you car... Hope you don't get stuck somewhere like me... Good luck...
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      11-25-2011, 01:11 PM   #9
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Unhappy HELP

Quote:
Originally Posted by June View Post
@richardchou... got the same message on the screen.... better have it check before battery will totally drained and can't start you car... Hope you don't get stuck somewhere like me... Good luck...
I got this message from CHARGING the battery over night. How could the battery be drained from charging? I verified that the power socket the car was charging from is indeed working. Is it because the computer senses battery fluid/charge level is different (like from 80% to 100%)? HELP?!
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      11-25-2011, 01:24 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by richardchou View Post
I got this message from CHARGING the battery over night. How could the battery be drained from charging? I verified that the power socket the car was charging from is indeed working. Is it because the computer senses battery fluid/charge level is different (like from 80% to 100%)? HELP?!
Take it to the dealer and explain the situation....................!!
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      11-25-2011, 01:43 PM   #11
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Having your iPod plugged into the center console had nothing to do with the battery discharging. Both the 12V. accessory socket and the 5V. USB power on the USB port are turned off (after a 5 to 15 minute delay) to prevent discharge after the vehicle is parked with the engine off.[/QUOTE]



Hi Lotus7!
Just heard from our BMW SERVICE CENTER and they are letting us pay the diagnostic of $209 for our misuse of the car....(that's crazy)..They said we left the ipod on the car that is why the battery drained. Again They said the cause of the the battery drained was the ipod plugged into our car .... Is BMW built this way? I think it is a stupid idea if it was built that way, it is a big problem and not really safe, what if you just forgot to unplugged the ipod in the car, that means the next day you are stuck coz your car will not start? THAT IS RIDICULOUS.... Is this found in the manual? I can't find a warning that you can't leave you ipod or else your car will get discharge...Is the dealership wrong about their diagnostic? I really don't trust their findings anymore, it's just unbelievable...I'll not drive that car until they'll figure out what really is the problem of that new X3...I think the car I got is defective.....Please give me advice on what to do???
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      11-25-2011, 02:16 PM   #12
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Disgraceful! Don't let them get away with this. Demand a view from BMWNA.
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      11-25-2011, 02:42 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by June View Post
Having your iPod plugged into the center console had nothing to do with the battery discharging. Both the 12V. accessory socket and the 5V. USB power on the USB port are turned off (after a 5 to 15 minute delay) to prevent discharge after the vehicle is parked with the engine off.


Advice: first, calm down. You're getting hysterical over this for no reason.

I agree, them charging a diagnostic fee is not acceptable for a car under warantee. Refuse to pay it.

I leave stuff (iPod, Nav, etc) in my E90 plugged in all the time and they do not drain the battery. That is not the problem with your car. The guy who said that is the problem is mistaken. If that is in fact the cause, then there is a defect with the car that BMW is responsible for repairing.

You probably just got a wimpy battery from the factory or something that is going on with the charging system.

Its pretty easy to demonstrate in another X3 in inventory that an iPod plugged in with the car turned off does not draw power. The socket shuts down. Do the same in your car. Depending on the results you either have found the problem and/or have clear reason not to pay a diagnostic fee.

It sounds to me like you have a small problem the car that you car making a big one. It sounds even more so like the person at the dealership you went to is full of shit and a douche bag. That is not the service level I am used to at my dealership.

Last point... relax. People who get so worked up never get taken seriously. Just calm down and look at the situation logically. If they want to charge you a fee because they think it is something you did, make them prove what you did caused the problem in another BMW at the dealership. If they can't clearly show to you that you did something to cause the problem, then you shouldn't pay a fee for to fix something on a brand new car under warantee.
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      11-25-2011, 03:41 PM   #14
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@richardchou... I talked to my sales agent, the person whom I bought the car... he said he never really heard about this problem before... He was also surprise by the diagnostic result and that he cannot do anything to help me as of the moment. I just really want to find out if the ipod is really charging even if the engine or the car is shut down... for that is what the manager of the service cente told us, and they said we misuse the car for doing that. They can't give us back the car without paying for the diagnostic because its our fault that we left the ipod plugged in the car. This is still unbelievable to me... I really want to fight for this that our car is under warranty still, and it just a month old with 1000 miles, and it's impossible that the car could be drained by only leaving an ipod on the car... I know in other car or in all cars that I know, it will not charge something if the engine is off... Hope I can settle this tomorrow with them and prove to me that it is really charging and it will drain the battery of the X3.
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      11-25-2011, 04:04 PM   #15
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@epiphone3... Thanks for the advice...I know I just got so hysterical about this... I just felt disappointed, frustrated, and I was shocked for the service I got in my dealership... I was expecting more and never thought that I would be treated like that considering they are carrying a big name... It was really a long day for me... and moreso the timing was really bad, (Thanksgiving day and Black Friday) . Was suppose to go shopping but got no car to use, have plans this weekend and again no car to use... Thanks for saying that what they did was very unacceptable and I'll do what you said tomorrow....
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      11-25-2011, 05:30 PM   #16
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Talking It's fine now

The message went away after I start the car for the second time this afternoon. So i believe it is just a warning message when I plug the charging clamps onto the battery (the electrical system wasn't completely shut off when clamping on.) Basically, it's saying computer senses the battery is charging, so the electrical will be switched off due to self protection. I hope I am right.

As for the ipod, I have both sockets plugged in most of the time, one charges my ipod and the other charges my blackberry. Never had any issues with the battery. Your dealer is full of crap.

Quote:
Originally Posted by June View Post
@richardchou... I talked to my sales agent, the person whom I bought the car... he said he never really heard about this problem before... He was also surprise by the diagnostic result and that he cannot do anything to help me as of the moment. I just really want to find out if the ipod is really charging even if the engine or the car is shut down... for that is what the manager of the service cente told us, and they said we misuse the car for doing that. They can't give us back the car without paying for the diagnostic because its our fault that we left the ipod plugged in the car. This is still unbelievable to me... I really want to fight for this that our car is under warranty still, and it just a month old with 1000 miles, and it's impossible that the car could be drained by only leaving an ipod on the car... I know in other car or in all cars that I know, it will not charge something if the engine is off... Hope I can settle this tomorrow with them and prove to me that it is really charging and it will drain the battery of the X3.
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      11-26-2011, 10:15 AM   #17
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So me and my wife went to the service center this morning to pick up the car... Again when we talk to the advisor there, he keeps on arguing to me that the cause of the battery discharge was an ipod. I totally burst out there and said to them that it is impossible that an ipod could kill the battery of the car especially if we just bought that brand new a month ago.. I was suspecting that maybe the factory might have given us a defect battery or the battery that was not fully charged. And besides, I just learn from my wife, coz she was the last time who used the car, that she removed the ipod when she went to jersey during the day the car broke down. So I told them, the car should have at least charge up and that is why I asked them to diagnose the car coz I really wonder how come the battery died and it will not even start that day... I was so angry coz they will not give us the car back until we pay $209 for the diagnostic... It should be under warranty... They should give their customer that peace of mind when driving a vehicle especially if it is just a month old... and now I felt that everytime I will get off the car, I need to make sure that I unplugged the ipod for it will drained the battery... BMW should investigate this matter... we are really planning to report this... It should not be possible.... Now I went outside to get some air coz I could not handle it anymore... I asked everyone outside if the ipod could trully discharge the battery, and they are all in disbelief... but my wife who was there made a compromise with them for she badly needed the car that day... Even if I told her not to pay, she paid half of it just to get the car... I totally disagree with her coz we might never get back the money we paid for.. That's why this monday, I will fight for it to get our money back... Our sales agent said he will back us up and talked to the manager, who is off today, if we can reimburse the money we paid... But I really doubt it... If they are really concern about the customer, they should give us that money back, but if not, they are just all for the money.... and make an impression the BMW really suck.... So this monday.. we'll see what will happen...
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      11-26-2011, 12:04 PM   #18
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Thanks a lot Lotus7! I just called BMW NA but their office is still close, they said they are open mondays to fridays... I will definitely report what happen and hope we'll get our money back.. we already got the car so we'll see what happen if the problem is really fix...
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      11-26-2011, 12:07 PM   #19
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@Lotus: Very well written

Not to hijack the thread, is there a web site where we can see the dealers service dept ratings?
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      11-26-2011, 11:15 PM   #20
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Ok, so if anybody reading my thread and followed my story, it's not yet over.... Guess what happen today? THE NIGHTMARE CONTINUES... Again for the SECOND TIME AROUND.... our new 2012 X3 BROKE DOWN and it will not start... I want to post the video but I don't know how, maybe I'll post it in youtube tomorrow so anybody can see it and help me here... Anyway, I think we got a LEMON CAR 2012 BMW X3 here... Remember, I just picked up the car from the dealership service center, have it checked and perform a diagnostic test, and the result of the diagnostic is that there is no problem with the car. They even said we misuse the car by plugging the ipod on car and that's the coz of the first break down....I DON'T THINK SO.... THE CAR IS NOT STARTING AGAIN. NO IPOD, NOTHING PLUGGED IN THERE... IT JUST BROKE DOWN AFTER LEAVING IT IN THE PARKING LOT....So we called the BMW roadside assistance, and waited for 2 hours, and they said to wait for another hour, until we just cancel it and left the car for it is a safe parking lot anyway. THANKS TO MY HONDA CIVIC 2003 THAT IS VERY RELIABLE.....AND I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'D CALL THAT SERVICE BUT THAT IS REALLY A TERRIBLE HORRIBLE SERVICE FROM BMW...WHAT A SHAME REALLY!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY ANYMORE...I THINK THAT IS TOO MUCH.... So tomorrow, I WANT TO RETURN THE CAR... FOR ME, I REALLY SUSPECT IT IS LEMON CAR...DEFECTIVE CAR.. I don't know if the problem is the battery anymore... Something's running inside even if the engine is off.... When I tried the remote again to open the car... It just alarmed... then I tried restarting it, it didn't start... Hope I can show you the video, I'll try my best to post it here.. So I NEED SOME HELP HERE... IS THERE ANYWAY I CAN RETURN MY CAR? THE CAR IS LEASED? ANYBODY KNOW THE CONTRACT OF LEASE HERE. we just bought it last Oct 22 i guess..Anything you can recommend, suggest on what to do? I don't want that car back anymore... I'm traumatized, scared, and really it gave us a lot of inconvenience for the past 3 days... Never in my life I would imagine that... I have so much headache right now... I THINK IM STILL JUST HAVING BAD DREAMS HERE... PLS....HEEELLLPPPPP!!!!!!
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      11-26-2011, 11:58 PM   #21
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I'm losing patience anymore... please check my videos and help me diagnose this car...Can I return it? I demand our money back on our purchase.....
here is the links...






PLEASE EVERYONE HELP
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      11-27-2011, 12:23 AM   #22
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@Lotus7... Sorry sir.. I respect your advice... I don't know anything about the machine, I admit that... but I am really traumatized by this whole experience.... If this is simple to you... not for me....It caused us a lot of trouble over the weekend... And I don't know if BMW can repay the stress that has given us... I know I may be overreacting, but I just think that my case must be investigated...I believe that my case is not common, and hope it will never happen to anybody... not in a BMW CAR.. or BMW service... I will never trust that dealership anymore...
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