Battery exploded

[EvoRoadster]

The battery in my wife's 328iT exploded when she went to start the car. She told me she heard a loud bang when trying to start the car but being a guy I discounted it. Called AAA for a jump and lo and behold he did get it to start. Drove it over to our independent shop to change the battery since this was the second time the battery failed to start the car. Now some background. At around 2 years old the battery died when it was valet parked. BMW kindly replaced the battery at no charge to us as a customer service gesture. However they did not register the battery! My take is the ECU overcharged it resulting in fluid boiling out exposing the plates, they sparked and ignited the hydrogen gas resulting in the explosion. Cost was $145 for the new battery and over $800 for the replaced negative cable and cable cutter!!! We are done with BMWs.

[mike the snake]

Well you got off lucky there, because I have had batteries explode and still have scars on my face from one!

One blew the back off a VW bus, one blew up in my face while trying to jump start (disconnected jumpers in wrong order before I knew what I was doing at age 17-always hook up cables to dead battery first, and remove the cables from dead battery last) and I helped a lady put her burning car fire out after a situation JUST like your wife's. She went to start the car and BOOOM! Then smoke and fire, I ran and got a fire extinguisher and opened the hood and put the fire out. Batteries are bombs kids.

Having to have parts like batteries and injectors coded to your car is a new thing to me, but I'm old.

[EvoRoadster]

I agree Mike. Be careful when dealing with jump starting. At least in this instance no one was hurt and the damage was easily repairable. The independent shop verified the battery was not registered at the time of replacement. I would suggest those of you who do their own battery change periodically check fluid level.

[magnetchief]

What year was this 328


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[Codes2]

When I was a kid I learned accidentally that you could blow up batteries by force charging.
The first time it happened I got real careful.
Then it turned to fun... then I got scared of the chemicals and parked the hobby.

I've never seen a car battery go before. That's just scary. While my 335 battery is good, i will not forget reading this thread. It's burned in my mind now.

[mike the snake]

Yeah people take batteries for granted. Hydrogen collects on the insides of the batteries, especially when they go dead and get charged or jump started.

I see people hammering their posts in place, and just wince. My explosion experience was serious, and blew plastic all into my face. Tapping on the battery breaks the bubbles loose from the insides of the battery case, and forms a hydrogen cloud around the top of the battery. One little spark and BOOM!

When jump starting , just keep in mind you want NO SPARKS near the dead battery (or the one being charged/jumped) so always hook the cables up to the dead battery first, then to the good battery-dead leads going to dead battery, and once started, always unhook the good battery first. you'll then be removing dead leads from your dead battery, and no chance of spark happening.

Sparks almost ALWAYS happen when hooking up batteries, so you want the the one with the chance of blowing up (the dead one usually) to not have sparks happen by making sure the jumper leads going on, and off the battery are dead by installing and removing in the correct order. This is critical.

I really like the jumper cables that you hook up and then they plug in to each other at the center of the cables. They usually have a polarity light, and you're nowhere near the battery if it does blow.

[moldman1]

A friend of mine was recently charging his battery when it exploded. Fortunately he was elsewhere when it blew up and was not injured. Scary though, not something you think might happen until it does. The article at https://doyleshamrock.com/battery-safety-precautions/ gives a list of safety measures to follow whenever working on or near a battery.

[Pilgrim]

Another "I had X break down and I'm done with (car brand.)"

That's hardly justified when the battery wasn't installed correctly. The OP is justified in criticizing the dealership, but not BMW. Installing parts incorrectly will create problems in any vehicle.

[legoman67]

so you jumped to conclusions and then blame the car manufacturer for a battery that failed after 6 years? Seems totally logical... dont let the door hit you on the way out.