Battery Replacement and Recoding

[M3amigos]

I started getting the symptoms of a bad battery on my 08 E93, slow clock and low battery warning while the car is off. The dealer quoted approx $290 for the battery plus installation. I was able to find aftermarket AGM batteries with comparable specs at Napa, Autozone, and Sears that cost much less. Has anyone had any bad experiences with any of these aftermarket batteries? I'm leaning towards the Sears Die Hard Advance Gold currently on sale for $144 and I'll just install it myself.

What is the most inexpensive way to code for the replacement? Should I just buy a coding cable from one stop and do it myself? Has anyone found any cheaper cables that work just as well?

[Sean05]

yes sears will work fine.. you need to Register the battery though.. make sure this is the one your referring to...

02850749000
DieHard Advanced Gold AGM Battery - Group Size 49

850 CCA
92 AH

[nmehta211]

Great info.

My question is regarding the Battery. My car tends to sit for a week at a time in a Manhattan parking garage, and when driven during the week, it is often short distances. Of note, the car is also equipped with Comfort Access. Recently, the car has been showing error signals such as increased battery discharge, or the battery charge symbol. It also seems that the remote battery has died as well. Does this car battery require replacement, or simply a charge? And does the car need to have a battery charger connected to it weekly? Certainly a tight Manhattan garage is going to make this difficult, but I can bribe my way into getting it done if it prevents frequent battery changes.

And what is a fair price for "registering" the battery?

Thank you in advance.

[Sean05]

Originally Posted by nmehta211

Great info.

My question is regarding the Battery. My car tends to sit for a week at a time in a Manhattan parking garage, and when driven during the week, it is often short distances. Of note, the car is also equipped with Comfort Access. Recently, the car has been showing error signals such as increased battery discharge, or the battery charge symbol. It also seems that the remote battery has died as well. Does this car battery require replacement, or simply a charge? And does the car need to have a battery charger connected to it weekly? Certainly a tight Manhattan garage is going to make this difficult, but I can bribe my way into getting it done if it prevents frequent battery changes.

And what is a fair price for "registering" the battery?

Thank you in advance.

you can go to any autoparts and have them check your battery if its good to charge or not. also with your situations yes you might need a battery tender and will need an outlet. Battery tender are pretty cheap and i suggest to get one.. just not sure how to charge the battery in a parking garage.

[nmehta211]

Originally Posted by Sean05

you can go to any autoparts and have them check your battery if its good to charge or not. also with your situations yes you might need a battery tender and will need an outlet. Battery tender are pretty cheap and i suggest to get one.. just not sure how to charge the battery in a parking garage.

Thank you. Did you end up going OEM or aftermarket battery? Its about a $130 difference between the two (OEM vs. Sears above).

[THE TECH]

I would stick to OEM. I would also invest in a battery charger first and see if it just needs a proper charging.

We can code batteries and everything else on the car that you might be interested in.

[nmehta211]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

I would stick to OEM. I would also invest in a battery charger first and see if it just needs a proper charging.

We can code batteries and everything else on the car that you might be interested in.

Thanks!

[808MGuy]

I've had that Sears battery for over a year now. No issues at all. I registered it with the one stop coding cable but it was a major PITA to get it working. If you're not tech savy, I would say go for the Bav Technic cable. Its more expensive but should be way easier to use. The only bad thing is that their software only works on older computers. If you have USB 3.0 ports, it won't work.

[M3amigos]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

I would stick to OEM. I would also invest in a battery charger first and see if it just needs a proper charging.

We can code batteries and everything else on the car that you might be interested in.

Tech, do you sell the cables and/or do remote coding for this? If so, can you give a price? Thanks.

[nmehta211]

I went with the sears battery. Got it for $144, and my indie mechanic coded it for next to nothing. Lot better than the $650 Rallye BMW quoted, and $835 BMW Manhattan wanted!

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by M3amigos

Tech, do you sell the cables and/or do remote coding for this? If so, can you give a price? Thanks.

We sure do!!

PM coming.

[Gemcoska]

Hey Tech,

I also need a new battery... Please PM me the details for your coding solutions.

Thanks

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by Gemcoska

Hey Tech,

I also need a new battery... Please PM me the details for your coding solutions.

Thanks

PM on the way!

[M3amigos]

Update...I installed the Sears battery and all is well. I'm just waiting on my coding cable now.

[Gemcoska]

Originally Posted by M3amigos

Update...I installed the Sears battery and all is well. I'm just waiting on my coding cable now.

Where did you buy your coding cable... how much?

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by Gemcoska

Where did you buy your coding cable... how much?

We also sell the coding cables. You can pick one up if you are coming down.

[Gemcoska]

Originally Posted by Sean05

yes sears will work fine.. you need to Register the battery though.. make sure this is the one your referring to...

02850749000
DieHard Advanced Gold AGM Battery - Group Size 49

850 CCA
92 AH

So I just went to the sears website and it says that this battery is not compatible with my 2008 M3...

Instead it reccommends:
Sears Item# 02833148000 | Model# 33148
DieHard Gold Automotive Battery - Group Size H6/48
730 CCA
Lead-Acid <---- I KNOW THIS IS WRONG!

http://wwww.sears.com/diehard-gold-a...ype=SKIP_LEVEL

Can someone ease my mind here and tell me that the first battery is the correct one? Its about $179 right now

[Sean05]

Originally Posted by Gemcoska

So I just went to the sears website and it says that this battery is not compatible with my 2008 M3...

Instead it reccommends:
Sears Item# 02833148000 | Model# 33148
DieHard Gold Automotive Battery - Group Size H6/48
730 CCA
Lead-Acid <---- I KNOW THIS IS WRONG!

http://wwww.sears.com/diehard-gold-a...ype=SKIP_LEVEL

Can someone ease my mind here and tell me that the first battery is the correct one? Its about $179 right now

that will work but thats not the one.. Sears will suggest a different battery. make sure you get the Group size 49... keep in mind that there are 2 types none AGM and AGM...

http://wwww.sears.com/diehard-advanc...49000P?prdNo=1

unfortunately i bought mine for $138.. it was on sale thats why i opted for the sears... dealer was asking close to $250 and i have not heard bad things about sears AGM battery... keep in mind that there will be additional cost for coding which is why i also opted for sears.

if you wait every week or everyday they keep changing their price... mine went down to 138 including the coupon code i added which you can find at retailmenot.com

FYI: make sure to whoever going to code/register your battery that the specs are 92ah and 850cca....

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by M3amigos

I started getting the symptoms of a bad battery on my 08 E93, slow clock and low battery warning while the car is off. The dealer quoted approx $290 for the battery plus installation. I was able to find aftermarket AGM batteries with comparable specs at Napa, Autozone, and Sears that cost much less. Has anyone had any bad experiences with any of these aftermarket batteries? I'm leaning towards the Sears Die Hard Advance Gold currently on sale for $144 and I'll just install it myself.

What is the most inexpensive way to code for the replacement? Should I just buy a coding cable from one stop and do it myself? Has anyone found any cheaper cables that work just as well?

Least expensive way would be to have an autologic dealer perform registration for you after the new battery is installed. Contact autologic at 877.945.6442 or visit www.autologic.us, once given your location - they will locate a programming facility nearby in your area.

Registration literally takes less than 10 minutes.

Unless you plan on doing additional coding, purchasing cables simply are an unnecessary expense.

[Sean05]

Originally Posted by Gemcoska

So I just went to the sears website and it says that this battery is not compatible with my 2008 M3...

Instead it reccommends:
Sears Item# 02833148000 | Model# 33148
DieHard Gold Automotive Battery - Group Size H6/48
730 CCA
Lead-Acid <---- I KNOW THIS IS WRONG!

http://wwww.sears.com/diehard-gold-a...ype=SKIP_LEVEL

Can someone ease my mind here and tell me that the first battery is the correct one? Its about $179 right now

I just noticed that your in Redondo Beach Ca. EAS tom did my coding i suggest to contact him... FYI i did not expect the weight would make a difference and i should have opted a battery that EAS sells its OEM BMW but lighter... if you need more info just pm him ...

Since we live in a sunny california, i would get the lighter battery contact EAS Tom and he can provide more information.

[Gemcoska]

Originally Posted by Sean05

I just noticed that your in Redondo Beach Ca. EAS tom did my coding i suggest to contact him... FYI i did not expect the weight would make a difference and i should have opted a battery that EAS sells its OEM BMW but lighter... if you need more info just pm him ...

Since we live in a sunny california, i would get the lighter battery contact EAS Tom and he can provide more information.

I called EAS yesterday and got their price. But I also need to program a CD changer so the two tasks together cost more than the cable. Apparently there is a plethora of coding options available so as long as the procedure isn't excessively convoluted or you need a bunch of special software, i think buying the cable is the right route for me. UNLESS you have other thoughts. You bought a cable right? How did that go?

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by Gemcoska

I called EAS yesterday and got their price. But I also need to program a CD changer so the two tasks together cost more than the cable. Apparently there is a plethora of coding options available so as long as the procedure isn't excessively convoluted or you need a bunch of special software, i think buying the cable is the right route for me. UNLESS you have other thoughts. You bought a cable right? How did that go?

CD Changer isn't a problem, as it requires the optiplexer tool which performs the job correctly. this also updates the VO to reflect the change permanently, just as if the dealership was coding for you.

We have the correct equipment and experience to perform this job for you.

If you would like to purchase a cable and tackle the job yourself, please make sure you take the necessary precautions (and procedures) in doing so. BMW developer software was meant for those with armed with experience.