M3 rejects my 5mi round trip commute

Modena NYC · 10-28-2013, 03:59 PM

My m3 is rejecting my short commute. I could tell something was up because the time was losing two minutes per day.

Yesterday I finally got the needs service indication. I am pretty certain it's related to my battery and the cycle. I read the manual And it said any distance less than 10 mile a day requires a trickle charger. I am doing less than 5, unless it's the weekend.

Anyone else have this?

I drive to the train in case you were wondering. Lol.

LightWerkz · 10-28-2013, 04:13 PM

Eh not sure about needing a trickle charger. I guess we will see this winter. My commute is only 2 miles each morning and evening and I havent had an issue yet. However the battery was replaced by BMW only a few months ago. Did the car not start? What was the message?

FormulaMMM · 10-28-2013, 07:10 PM

Yep, clock losing time is a sure sign of the battery going bad.

I don't know about the service indication being related though. My battery was on its way out when I got the M3 years back and it didn't trigger a service alert. Battery went completely dead in my old M5 and nothing indicated beforehand.

Anyways, get yourself one of these and plug it in regularly. Takes 20 seconds.

http://www.bavauto.com/fland.asp?par...Fc4WMgodTgQANg

And find a longer route to your train stop! Engine's not even getting up to temp on that drive dude!

tdott · 10-28-2013, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

Anyways, get yourself one of these and plug it in regularly. Takes 20 seconds.

And find a longer route to your train stop! Engine's not even getting up to temp on that drive dude!

Those won't work on our cars. You'll need the one that has champs to hook up to positive and negative terminals.

The cigarette lighter is not powered when the car is off, there no connection to the battery.

FormulaMMM · 10-28-2013, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdott

Those won't work on our cars. You'll need the one that has champs to hook up to positive and negative terminals.

The cigarette lighter is not powered when the car is off, there no connection to the battery.

My bad. Didn't look closely at the picture.. What I meant.

CBS · 10-28-2013, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

My bad. Didn't look closely at the picture.. What I meant.

+1 - Clock losing time is one of the first symptoms.

I use a Battery Tender Plus regularly. Matter of fact, my M3 is on it right now. Charged Mom's BMW last night.

alee0729 · 10-28-2013, 09:25 PM

Trickle charger with a quick disconnect mounted to the battery in the trunk is how I do it. I'm in parking garage with no access to electricity so use solar panels to keep the my 2 cars topped up.

If you have fold-down seats or a ski-pass, you could mount the quick connect in the trunk and leave a small 5 watt solar panel on the rear deck right under the rear windshield, and secure it down with some zip ties. You definitely won't have a charging issue after you do this if you get a little bit of sun exposure in the parking lot.

swifty · 10-30-2013, 05:27 AM

Are you guys saying that M3s need to be driven more than 10 miles a day for the batteries to last 3-4 years?

Modena NYC · 10-30-2013, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swifty

Are you guys saying that M3s need to be driven more than 10 miles a day for the batteries to last 3-4 years?

I don't think it has to be every day

Just not consecutive days, consistently, less than 10 miles each time.

Before I moved to the burbs I didn't trickle charge it, I just used it on weekends and it was fine. But I would always go like 20-100 miles at a clip.

Modena NYC · 11-03-2013, 02:56 PM

Took the car in. Dealer didn't replace the battery to my surprise. They hooked it up to the charger (i had done this on my own trickle charger the night before) and they said that it "came back" - i have no idea what that means but i imagine they charged it and then tested it and it came back within spec. I will need to come up with an easy way to trickle charge a few times a week as some of the posters here suggested...i don't have pass through rear seats, but a solar trickle charge option would be neat. i need to look into it more. Maybe there is a way to get a wire into the rear head rest area from the trunk.

alee0729 · 11-03-2013, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modena NYC

Took the car in. Dealer didn't replace the battery to my surprise. They hooked it up to the charger (i had done this on my own trickle charger the night before) and they said that it "came back" - i have no idea what that means but i imagine they charged it and then tested it and it came back within spec. I will need to come up with an easy way to trickle charge a few times a week as some of the posters here suggested...i don't have pass through rear seats, but a solar trickle charge option would be neat. i need to look into it more. Maybe there is a way to get a wire into the rear head rest area from the trunk.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50022...3529970&sr=8-1

The cable is a bit chunky, but I'm sure you can find a way to pass it through the rear deck. It works very well. I've used both Deltran and Sunforce and both are equally rugged and suitable for keeping your battery topped off.

MTM · 11-05-2013, 10:03 AM

I love the idea of solar panel + trickle charger as a very technical solution. If you want a more "fun" solution, just go drive the snot out of your car every couple of weekends. Highway speeds for 20-30 minutes would probably be enough...just a thought. ("Honey...gotta go drive fast to charge my battery!" hehe).

1MOREMOD · 11-05-2013, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dashman

Rejects your commute??

I don't understand, is it driving you back home

i was thinking the same thing. reminds me of the interlagos guy needing a suit thread.

alee0729 · 11-05-2013, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTM

I love the idea of solar panel + trickle charger as a very technical solution. If you want a more "fun" solution, just go drive the snot out of your car every couple of weekends. Highway speeds for 20-30 minutes would probably be enough...just a thought. ("Honey...gotta go drive fast to charge my battery!" hehe).

City people problems unfortunately... my cars are both weekend/distance drivers. I will often go weeks without driving due to work demands and the fact that most of my trips involve subways and cabs.

Modena NYC · 11-05-2013, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dashman

Rejects your commute??

I don't understand, is it driving you back home

i was thinking the same thing. reminds me of the interlagos guy needing a suit thread.

You have to think less literally.

NYCM3ryder · 11-05-2013, 12:38 PM

i sometimes only drive my car once a week because i don't take my car to work. i don't need a charger lol.

Modena NYC · 11-05-2013, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdosu

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

i was thinking the same thing. reminds me of the interlagos guy needing a suit thread.

i interpret this thread as: "= time to sell M3?"

Mdosu - sharp inference. The thought did cross my mind.

It's not the frequency of use. It's the frequency and the accumulated mileage. According to dealer, 65 of my last 89 trips were less than 10km. That is no good.

I read on the web a guy with x6 having a similar prob. Most people cover the requires minimum distance each time they drive. Even if it's only once a week.

1MOREMOD · 11-05-2013, 05:22 PM

I guess I didn't think about this with my x5d since I only drive about 1 mile to work most days. Gym is also only 1-2 miles. Drive elsewhere though also couple times a week. Hasn't been an issue. My m3 I charge as I drive it once every couple weeks only.

fbm3cab · 11-05-2013, 05:40 PM

Forget about the battery, there cheap to replace but do you guys realize how bad this is for the engine, this car was not designed for that type of use, depending on the temperature where you live and the time of year it takes 10 to 20 minutes for the engine to fully warm up. If your only running it 5 minutes then maybe you should have a beater for this trip.

1MOREMOD · 11-05-2013, 05:50 PM

So I should move further from my job so its better for my car? Pfft. Good one. I've always lived within couple minutes of my job because I don't like wasting time commuting. Never blown up any cars.

Boostin FD · 11-05-2013, 08:26 PM

BMW has made it way too difficult... Or better yet, expensive to change a battery. First you need to get an expensive ass battery... And after you change it you have to pay them to code/reset it.

What a bs. Sometimes I miss my old car that had no ecu or any of this technical crap.

Modena NYC · 11-05-2013, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

So I should move further from my job so its better for my car? Pfft. Good one. I've always lived within couple minutes of my job because I don't like wasting time commuting. Never blown up any cars.

Yeah kind of agree.

I can understand "that is crazy" argument. I am nuts about maintenance and doing the right thing. Despite the short distance. The car warms and I leave it running for another 3 min while I wait for the train. It gets a workout on the weekends, trust me. Still, trust that BMW did it's testing. I only start my car twice a day. Others start and stop much more than that. So some is better, some is worse.

You get some beater, leaking oil, needing repairs, it's more trouble than its worth.

10-28-2013, 03:59 PM	#1
Modena NYC Private First Class 17 Rep 184 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	M3 rejects my 5mi round trip commute My m3 is rejecting my short commute. I could tell something was up because the time was losing two minutes per day. Yesterday I finally got the needs service indication. I am pretty certain it's related to my battery and the cycle. I read the manual And it said any distance less than 10 mile a day requires a trickle charger. I am doing less than 5, unless it's the weekend. Anyone else have this? I drive to the train in case you were wondering. Lol.
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10-28-2013, 04:13 PM	#2
LightWerkz Banned 56 Rep 530 Posts Drives: E90 M3 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oakland, NJ iTrader: (1)	Eh not sure about needing a trickle charger. I guess we will see this winter. My commute is only 2 miles each morning and evening and I havent had an issue yet. However the battery was replaced by BMW only a few months ago. Did the car not start? What was the message?
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10-28-2013, 07:10 PM	#3
FormulaMMM Brigadier General 3663 Rep 3,422 Posts Drives: E90 M3 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Midwest iTrader: (2)	Yep, clock losing time is a sure sign of the battery going bad. I don't know about the service indication being related though. My battery was on its way out when I got the M3 years back and it didn't trigger a service alert. Battery went completely dead in my old M5 and nothing indicated beforehand. Anyways, get yourself one of these and plug it in regularly. Takes 20 seconds. http://www.bavauto.com/fland.asp?par...Fc4WMgodTgQANg And find a longer route to your train stop! Engine's not even getting up to temp on that drive dude! __________________ M4 GTS, GT3, C63 S \| E90 M3s, E39 M5 Last edited by FormulaMMM; 10-28-2013 at 08:06 PM..
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10-28-2013, 09:25 PM	#7
alee0729 Lieutenant 175 Rep 586 Posts Drives: 2013 E92 M3, 2018 Tesla 3 Perf Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (0)	Trickle charger with a quick disconnect mounted to the battery in the trunk is how I do it. I'm in parking garage with no access to electricity so use solar panels to keep the my 2 cars topped up. If you have fold-down seats or a ski-pass, you could mount the quick connect in the trunk and leave a small 5 watt solar panel on the rear deck right under the rear windshield, and secure it down with some zip ties. You definitely won't have a charging issue after you do this if you get a little bit of sun exposure in the parking lot. __________________ 2013 E92 M3 (the weekend good weather car), 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance (the 20k mi/yr beater)
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10-30-2013, 05:27 AM	#8
swifty Colonel 314 Rep 2,448 Posts Drives: F80, Levante & Tesla 100D Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: canada iTrader: (7)	Are you guys saying that M3s need to be driven more than 10 miles a day for the batteries to last 3-4 years? __________________ __________________ Current Bimmer: '16 F80 M3, '20 F87 M2c Gone but never forgotten: '13 FO e92 M3, Swifts, volks/advan, Akra Evo, Kics R40 Past: Alpine white e46 323i, Jet Black e39 530, Saph Black e60 530, Space Grey N54 e92 335, Mineral White N55 e92 335
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11-03-2013, 02:56 PM	#10
Modena NYC Private First Class 17 Rep 184 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	Took the car in. Dealer didn't replace the battery to my surprise. They hooked it up to the charger (i had done this on my own trickle charger the night before) and they said that it "came back" - i have no idea what that means but i imagine they charged it and then tested it and it came back within spec. I will need to come up with an easy way to trickle charge a few times a week as some of the posters here suggested...i don't have pass through rear seats, but a solar trickle charge option would be neat. i need to look into it more. Maybe there is a way to get a wire into the rear head rest area from the trunk.
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11-05-2013, 10:03 AM	#12
MTM Lieutenant 83 Rep 468 Posts Drives: 2009 M3 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Houston iTrader: (1)	I love the idea of solar panel + trickle charger as a very technical solution. If you want a more "fun" solution, just go drive the snot out of your car every couple of weekends. Highway speeds for 20-30 minutes would probably be enough...just a thought. ("Honey...gotta go drive fast to charge my battery!" hehe).
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11-05-2013, 12:38 PM	#16
NYCM3ryder Razzor 28 Rep 517 Posts Drives: JB E90 M3 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: New York City iTrader: (0)	i sometimes only drive my car once a week because i don't take my car to work. i don't need a charger lol. __________________ 2011 E90, 6 speed, technology package, black 220 rims , EDC, moon roof, matt black grills, matte side grills, 15% carbon tints, carbon fiber M pedals, ACS roof wing, IND painted reflectors, mfest black gloss m3badges, Mfest side window stickers, Tuner MS 15mm spacers, Carbon fiber M foot pedals, MS air filter, RPI air scoops, euro switch mod
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11-05-2013, 05:22 PM	#18
1MOREMOD - 11817 Rep 23,187 Posts Drives: Race car-> Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: check your mirrors iTrader: (5)	I guess I didn't think about this with my x5d since I only drive about 1 mile to work most days. Gym is also only 1-2 miles. Drive elsewhere though also couple times a week. Hasn't been an issue. My m3 I charge as I drive it once every couple weeks only.
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11-05-2013, 05:40 PM	#19
fbm3cab Second Lieutenant 35 Rep 221 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: B.C. Canada iTrader: (0)	Forget about the battery, there cheap to replace but do you guys realize how bad this is for the engine, this car was not designed for that type of use, depending on the temperature where you live and the time of year it takes 10 to 20 minutes for the engine to fully warm up. If your only running it 5 minutes then maybe you should have a beater for this trip.
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11-05-2013, 05:50 PM	#20
1MOREMOD - 11817 Rep 23,187 Posts Drives: Race car-> Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: check your mirrors iTrader: (5)	So I should move further from my job so its better for my car? Pfft. Good one. I've always lived within couple minutes of my job because I don't like wasting time commuting. Never blown up any cars.
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11-05-2013, 08:26 PM	#21
Boostin FD Bored all the time 382 Rep 2,173 Posts Drives: Batmobile Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Kirkwood iTrader: (2)	BMW has made it way too difficult... Or better yet, expensive to change a battery. First you need to get an expensive ass battery... And after you change it you have to pay them to code/reset it. What a bs. Sometimes I miss my old car that had no ecu or any of this technical crap. __________________ Current: 2014 991 Turbo RS Past: 15 GT3, 17 R8 SC, Two 16 M4 GTS’s, Two 18 GT350R's, Two 13 RS5’s, 13 M3, 10 R8, 15 M4, 09 M3, 04 M3, 09 S5, 02 M3... It all started with an RX-7 (FD).
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