Done

[Greenhouse133]

I have owned 6 BMWs. I’m now on my 3rd 7 series and also my last one. My car battery died on a trip and a local garage replaced it for $300 and car still wouldn’t start. They put the original battery back in and didn’t charge me a penny. Found out BMW has to program the car to accept the new battery. Had it towed to dealership who of course was closed for the holiday weekend. $777 for battery replacement, 2 tows, and a 4 day car rental. I will never buy a BMW again or any other new vehicle until right to repair becomes a law.

[mandd]

Something was missed/forgotten when re-fitting the new and original battery from the first shop, 100%.

The vehicle will still start and run without coding the new battery.

The purpose of coding the new battery has to do with power management, the DME controls the alternator output based on demand and calculated battery life/use.
An aged battery will require an increased charge rate to maintain stability, conversely a infrequent charge rate is needed for a new battery.

If a new battery is fitted without entering the replacement in then DME then it may be overcharged and will experience a short service life.

The first shop likely did not refit the power connector on the distribution box fitted above the battery which must be removed to pull the battery.

The dealer merely fitted a new battery and connected all the terminals has needed, and then entered the replacement in the DME. There is no magic here, the first shop missed something.

I get your feeling but this occurrence has nothing to do with the product and everything to do with the first shop that attempted to replace the battery.

Just to reiterate the vehicle will always start/run without programming the battery, you could drive the car for the next 10 years without programming the battery replacement has it would only affect the service life.


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[Qsilver7]

Ditto the above.

BMW has required new battery REGISTRATION since the introduction of the IBS (intelligent battery sensor) on the e60 5 series…and it was then rolled out as new models came out. (See info below)

There’s also two different requirements that many times get conflated (discussed as if they are the same thing):

• Battery registration: (no need to explain since mandd did an excellent job
• Battery coding: this is required if you change the specs (amp hour rating) or the type of battery (lead/a did to AGM or vice versa)

As far as cost…if you have just a few rudimentary tools…and the physical strength to lift the battery…the cost of battery replacement could be cut by a third. I just replaced the battery in my f06 in January and it uses the larger 105AH battery (a 95R/H9 battery class size). I called around locally and the BMW dealership actually had the best price. They were selling this battery for $236 +$18 core exchange. With my BMW CCA discount and core refund, I was out the door for $227….and about 1/2 hour of my time to install in my driveway (it was my first time removing that red thing on top and finding the 3 battery hold down clamps).









And if you have a simple app like Bimmerlink and an OBD II compatible dongle…you can register the battery yourself:







New battery hooked up to vent tube & hole on the other side was plugged up to prevent off-gasses from escaping into the enclosed battery compartment: