[Slalom]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

With the very cold weather that we have been experiencing, has anyone had battery issues?

From new my F34 has hated the cold and goes into a limited functionality (not limp) mode. I had the threshold changed from 80% to 65% cranking power, but at -25c the same thing happens. I have my car plugged in to a BMW trickle charger and hopefully it warms up by next week.

Apparently it was shipped with a 90 vs 92 amp hour battery.

How are your X3's holding up in the frozen tundra?

[ando]

It's been cold here in Chicago for a couple of weeks and no battery issues and my car sits for a day or two until I drive it next. There was one early morning where I was cringing to see if the electric tailgate would open and close and it did just fine.

[meanmusic]

Here in Montreal I had no issues with the cold weather. It started with no problems all throughout this cold spell.

[Keweenawbee]

Originally Posted by meanmusic

Here in Montreal I had no issues with the cold weather. It started with no problems all throughout this cold spell.

Same here -13° F the morning on drive to airport all systems go (except the washer fluid system still a no go)

[KevinAC]

Here in California it did drop below 60F last night, it's ok, the seat warmers worked perfect.

[BMWX3DRIVER]

This post now concerns me.
I've been keeping mine in garage for the last almost a week as I have had a foot injury and didn't want to risk getting it worse by walking/driving/doing anything with my foot.
I thought it wouldn't be a problem since it's quite brand-new with new battery, it's kept in the garage...but now it would be good to just check, have the engine on for several mins to warm up and re-charge the battery.

[Ranger8]

No trickle charger, no issues thus far.

[JSY]

No issues but I haven't checked on it since the BOMB CYCLONE (lmao) hit us.. I expect no issues when I start the car tomorrow? (hope)

[Slalom]

Dealer here will not sell without a trickle charger. Never had one until the F34. No problems in the cold with E30, E36, E39, E53, E70, E91, E92 There are more electronics on the cars but the E70 was fully loaded. I see this as another case of BMW cutting corners and putting in batteries that are too small for the demands. They used to talk about their arctic testing in Scandinavia. They should come to Canada for that testing.

[Slalom]

Originally Posted by KevinAC

Here in California it did drop below 60F last night, it's ok, the seat warmers worked perfect.

Careful Kevin, my wife has been threatening to book a trip to some place warmer than it is here. Of course these days that includes the North Pole!

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by KevinAC

Here in California it did drop below 60F last night, it's ok, the seat warmers worked perfect.

It went down to 48F one night a week ago. I actually tried out the heated steering wheel just to see if it worked. That and the heated seats worked quite well.

[75fusca]

Originally Posted by Slalom

Dealer here will not sell without a trickle charger. Never had one until the F34. No problems in the cold with E30, E36, E39, E53, E70, E91, E92 There are more electronics on the cars but the E70 was fully loaded. I see this as another case of BMW cutting corners and putting in batteries that are too small for the demands. They used to talk about their arctic testing in Scandinavia. They should come to Canada for that testing.

Indeed, just noticed the trickle charger in my X3 quote.... Don´t have one on my 2014 F30 and never had any problems. I was planning to ask them to delete it from the order.

[nosnoop]

Originally Posted by Slalom

Careful Kevin, my wife has been threatening to book a trip to some place warmer than it is here. Of course these days that includes the North Pole!

... and Mars!
Parts Of Canada Are Currently Colder Than The North Pole, The South Pole And Mars

[Keweenawbee]

Well it hit 8 degrees above today and both the front and rear window washers started working nominally!

Is there an accessible mileage log showing dates driven via iDrive?

[Seaz]

-37c and I'm drifting no problem

[voyagergab]

Originally Posted by Seaz

-37c and I'm drifting no problem

That's a bit chilly. Was +10C in Calgary today

[Seaz]

Originally Posted by voyagergab

That's a bit chilly. Was +10C in Calgary today

no way.

[JSY]

I had no electrical issues at all today after not driving it for a few days in sub 20F temps. However, while driving today, I got this message. I think it was because my sensors were dirty from all the snow/ice/salt and the message actually said to check it and clean it if necessary and it also warned me that the Frontal Collision detector was not going to work. A little while later, the alerts went away while driving.

I'm inclined to believe that the sensors were dirty (my car is filthy right now), but when they say sensor, I am thinking they mean the PDC sensors since those are the only ones I can clean (other than the big ACC sensor). This leads me to wonder - are the PDC sensors also used for other things such as frontal collision warning? I just assumed they were for PDC and it didn't dawn on me that they could be used for anything else. If not, why was it telling me that Frontal Collision detection was not going to work? The picture made me assume the specific PDC sensor to clean.

Anyway, I'm learning so much as this winter rolls by - and because of it, I'm seeing all these things that I might not have if it was warm weather.

[Slalom]

Originally Posted by JSY

I had no electrical issues at all today after not driving it for a few days in sub 20F temps. However, while driving today, I got this message. I think it was because my sensors were dirty from all the snow/ice/salt and the message actually said to check it and clean it if necessary and it also warned me that the Frontal Collision detector was not going to work. A little while later, the alerts went away while driving.

I'm inclined to believe that the sensors were dirty (my car is filthy right now), but when they say sensor, I am thinking they mean the PDC sensors since those are the only ones I can clean (other than the big ACC sensor). This leads me to wonder - are the PDC sensors also used for other things such as frontal collision warning? I just assumed they were for PDC and it didn't dawn on me that they could be used for anything else. If not, why was it telling me that Frontal Collision detection was not going to work? The picture made me assume the specific PDC sensor to clean.

Anyway, I'm learning so much as this winter rolls by - and because of it, I'm seeing all these things that I might not have if it was warm weather.

The ACC sensor (radar) is supposed to be heated on the X3. On my F34 it gets covered with snow and slush. When that happens it sends up a warning and disables cruise control. The windshield wipers on the F34 do a poor job of clearing the area around the rear view mirror. With salt spray and the sun low in the sky, that disables other driver aides.

Basically my E92 is a better winter car!

I had hoped that the X3 would be better. We shall see.

[JSY]

Originally Posted by Slalom

The ACC sensor (radar) is supposed to be heated on the X3. On my F34 it gets covered with snow and slush. When that happens it sends up a warning and disables cruise control. The windshield wipers on the F34 do a poor job of clearing the area around the rear view mirror. With salt spray and the sun low in the sky, that disables other driver aides.

Basically my E92 is a better winter car!

I had hoped that the X3 would be better. We shall see.

Interesting - I haven't had the ACC disabled yet and actually the ACC sensor doesn't seem to be that dirty considering where it is at too.

One thing that worked for the first time for me is the PDC auto stop that stops your car before you bump into something when you have the PDC view on. Worked while backing up and it is jarring since it really slams on the brakes. lol