Is it time for Battery replacement? *UPDATE* New battery installed

[Exclusivs]

Hey guys

The "increased" battery warning has reared its head a few times on my 09, but went away when car was driven for longer durations w/ time to charge. Low mileage car (21,xxx) -nor my daily.

The error message appears every time on startup now.

Will be my first BMW battery replacement - my preference is to keep it OEM.

Where is the best place to find an OEM battery?
How much will dealer charge for change?
Is ECU tune wiped clean?

Thanks in advance guys!

[squartus]

Yep sound like you need a new battery, mine was doing this and its a 2010.
I wanted to stick with OEM myself but kept having problems with any of the sellers willing to ship the battery to me.
Ended up getting a very close match from Napa, the battery reset is on the coding side of things and required a different cable than tuning does.

I only paid $180 for the battery and installed it myself. Had BPM reset it remotly since I have coding from them, most any shop that works on EURO cars should be able to reset if for you. Wont mess with your tune

[Exclusivs]

Originally Posted by squartus

Yep sound like you need a new battery, mine was doing this and its a 2010.
I wanted to stick with OEM myself but kept having problems with any of the sellers willing to ship the battery to me.
Ended up getting a very close match from Napa, the battery reset is on the coding side of things and required a different cable than tuning does.

I only paid $180 for the battery and installed it myself. Had BPM reset it remotly since I have coding from them, most any shop that works on EURO cars should be able to reset if for you. Wont mess with your tune

Contacted Turner - and shipping is surcharged.

Dealer quoted $155 for labor - and around $355 for OE battery.

[squartus]

Yea dealers always rape ya pretty good.

[Exclusivs]

Originally Posted by squartus

Yea dealers always rape ya pretty good.

If done through the dealer - can anyone chime in on if ECU info is erased?

Not thrilled of the thought of investing $500 for new battery - but again am one biased to keep parts OEM quality.

[rjd598]

Originally Posted by Exclusivs

If done through the dealer - can anyone chime in on if ECU info is erased?

Not thrilled of the thought of investing $500 for new battery - but again am one biased to keep parts OEM quality.

your ecu won't be erased.

[Exclusivs]

Originally Posted by rjd598

your ecu won't be erased.

Glad to hear this.

Does anyone have source for good price on OEM battery?

[Exclusivs]

UPDATE: Had new battery installed & registered at the dealer today. It was confirmed my old battery was on the way out so new one was replaced with Oem EP 92AH. Not sure if this is an AGM battery or not - Read that BMW is no longer making AGM Oem batteries. Is this true? In any case - glad to have replaced this and though a bit more expensive going through the dealer route - gives me peace of mind of using OEM parts / and OEM registry. So far car starts up faster, navigation is no longer laggy, and overall electronics just seem to be functioning to where they are suppose to.

For cross reference battery part # that was installed is : 61-21-2-353-812

As I said - unsure if it's an AGM or not. Or if BMW is making AGMs anymore. Maybe someone can clarify and confirm.

All in all today was a good day!

[USCTROJANSFIGHTON]

Originally Posted by Exclusivs

UPDATE: Had new battery installed & registered at the dealer today. It was confirmed my old battery was on the way out so new one was replaced with Oem EP 92AH. Not sure if this is an AGM battery or not - Read that BMW is no longer making AGM Oem batteries. Is this true? In any case - glad to have replaced this and though a bit more expensive going through the dealer route - gives me peace of mind of using OEM parts / and OEM registry. So far car starts up faster, navigation is no longer laggy, and overall electronics just seem to be functioning to where they are suppose to.

For cross reference battery part # that was installed is : 61-21-2-353-812

As I said - unsure if it's an AGM or not. Or if BMW is making AGMs anymore. Maybe someone can clarify and confirm.

All in all today was a good day!

AGM
i had battery installed about 2 months ago.
AGM for M3.

[Exclusivs]

Originally Posted by USCTROJANSFIGHTON

AGM
i had battery installed about 2 months ago.
AGM for M3.

Same battery / part #?

[USCTROJANSFIGHTON]

Originally Posted by Exclusivs

Same battery / part #?

YUP. BLACK.
92AH

326.47+150 (labor)

[Exclusivs]

Originally Posted by USCTROJANSFIGHTON

YUP. BLACK.
92AH

326.47+150 (labor)

Excellent - thats exactly what I paid as well. Thanks for confirming it is an AGM! Though an unwanted expense - in my mind its peace of mind going the right way in OEM part/ registry.

Need to pick up a trickle charger now ...

[admranger]

Originally Posted by Exclusivs

Need to pick up a trickle charger now ...

A Battery Tender is what you need.

Battery Tender Plus

Works with AGM batteries.

RECHARGING AGM BATTERIES: The Battery Tender® has an absorption charge mode, but the the Battery Tender® Plus has a different absorption mode maximum charge voltage and a timer to hold the absorption voltage longer. These specific changes were made to accommodate the charging requirements of Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) style lead acid batteries.

Source of Quote above

FWIW, I used this on my wife's 2002 M3 when I was detailed to DC for four months. Worked like a champ.

Hope this helps!

[Exclusivs]

Originally Posted by admranger

A Battery Tender is what you need.

Battery Tender Plus

Works with AGM batteries.



Source of Quote above

FWIW, I used this on my wife's 2002 M3 when I was detailed to DC for four months. Worked like a champ.

Hope this helps!

It's absolutely time to pick up one -

Hadn't driven car for roughly a month due to travel - came back and "welcome lights" didn't activate as usual for about the first 2/3 drives till battery was back charged again.

These cars are so sensitive

[Grail05]

Bought a battery from sears AGM and been 3 years now still good if your in the OC area or LA i can register it for u for free

[Exclusivs]

Originally Posted by Sean05

Bought a battery from sears AGM and been 3 years now still good if your in the OC area or LA i can register it for u for free

Had replaced by dealer / w OEM unit and registered by them as well

All running well and strong - the key is to keep driving/ charging these cars! They like it!

[mazing M3]

I am replacing mine this spring in my E93. Going with interstate had problems with the oem batteries with my 540 so switch to interstate. Good price and never had a problem in my 540.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by Exclusivs

[
As I said - unsure if it's an AGM or not. Or if BMW is making AGMs anymore. Maybe someone can clarify and confirm.

BMW does not make batteries, they buy them from one of the big manufacturers like Johnson Controls and just get them relabeled. If you do some Googling you can find guides on indicators of who makes the battery (cap design, housing markings, etc). In the end, the manufacturer is largely irrelevant. Car companies routinely change suppliers. As it is, there are only a few battery manufacturers and tons of the stuff you see in stores is just relabeled. Even within the same "brand", you might have different suppliers -- the Sears DieHard, as an above poster referenced, could literally be any brand underneath.

The easiest way to tell if it's AGM is to look for venting. If there is a ventilation tube or some sort of opening to the outside of the car, it's probably not AGM.

My understanding is that the OEM E90 batteries are AGM and hence that's what you need to replace them with.

[wanesso]

Originally Posted by Exclusivs

Hey guys

The "increased" battery warning has reared its head a few times on my 09, but went away when car was driven for longer durations w/ time to charge. Low mileage car (21,xxx) -nor my daily.

The error message appears every time on startup now.

Will be my first BMW battery replacement - my preference is to keep it OEM.

Where is the best place to find an OEM battery?
How much will dealer charge for change?
Is ECU tune wiped clean?

Thanks in advance guys!

I'm still driving with the original battery, 83K miles, 2008 M3 (I'm original owner)--had it tested and they said don't change it yet....but you can be sure I'll use the OEM to replace it! And the car still starts first time, everytime after 5-6 months in cold winter storage every year. I've mentioned this before to many a naysayer, but started up first time again last weekend after 5 months in storage for the 8th year in a row. NO trickle charger, ever........

[UPSROD]

My M3 had a new genuine BMW battery installed 3-15...the positive post is dated 1-15...it is black and there is a vent tube coming off of the front of it.

[G80indy]

Originally Posted by UPSROD

My M3 had a new genuine BMW battery installed 3-15...the positive post is dated 1-15...it is black and there is a vent tube coming off of the front of it.

Yes even the AGM batteries have the vent tube outlet. They have a pressure relief valve there in case of overcharge. Otherwise they're sealed, so no actual venting occurs under normal conditions

[admranger]

Originally Posted by 330indy

Yes even the AGM batteries have the vent tube outlet. They have a pressure relief valve there in case of overcharge. Otherwise they're sealed, so no actual venting occurs under normal conditions

Don't tell my wife. I keep telling her it's the battery venting that is causing that *odor*.