Car Died While Driving

[E93M3ofSFL]

Originally Posted by dmppdx

This issue can also cause your car to stall suddenly and there is a recall on it for the regular three series, but not the M3 for what ever reason.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=804545

I'm having issues with mine so I'm going to do an DIY in the next week or so. Mine didn't cause the car to stall, but it completely lost power a couple times when it was just sitting. Once it happened over night, the other time it was only an hour after I had driven it. Both times the power came back on immediately once I jiggled the fuse box.

I am having same issue now , I know this thread is old , OP did not post outcome , having same symptoms

[BGBF18]

Originally Posted by CoasterFuelPhil

Hey everyone,

So I have a strange issue with the M3. Today I went to start it up, and it started up fine; battery didn't seem to be fully charged as I haven't driven it in a month. All was fine and the car seemed to drive fine until about 10 minutes later when I was doing 60mph on the highway, the car said "Increased battery discharge" on the i-drive screen. About a minute after that the ABS, traction control, EDC, check engine lights came on.

I pulled over and coasted in neutral on an off ramp to try to get off the highway. After about another minute, the car essentially turned itself off. Engine stalled, radio and nav screen went blank, no power. I tried to start it again but it looked like the battery had completely died.

I ended up getting a quick jump and was able to drive for another 45 minutes without any issues, no error lights came on and the Check Control setting came back OK.

This same exact thing has happened twice before, and after those two times I replaced the battery. Now I have a new battery but the problem has happened again.

Any thoughts?

Just lived this. Buy a Valeo alternator on Amazon for about $400 and have your favorite mech install it. Expect 4-5 hours labor at a BMW dealer.

BL, your alternator is intermittent and weak. A graceful degradation of performance is pretty typical of a failing alternator.

[E93M3ofSFL]

Originally Posted by BGBF18

Just lived this. Buy a Valeo alternator on Amazon for about $400 and have your favorite mech install it. Expect 4-5 hours labor at a BMW dealer.

BL, your alternator is intermittent and weak. A graceful degradation of performance is pretty typical of a failing alternator.

Car is in the shop now , waiting for estimate tomorrow morning ...
odds indicate it is alternator so ...

Is it really 4 or 5 hours ??

Wow crazy

Thank you

[E93M3ofSFL]

Didn't find anything on amazon , found this in the forum

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-valeo-pa...317837981~val/

[BGBF18]

Originally Posted by E93M3ofSFL

Didn't find anything on amazon , found this in the forum

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-valeo-pa...317837981~val/

That works as well. I may have bought mine from ebay vice amazon. It's been a few months.

As for labor - apparently the correct r and r calls for going in from underneath. It can be done from the top, but appears to me to be a pia which is why I didn't do it myself.

I'm pretty sure the final install bill (minus parts) was close to $600.

They wanted $1200 for the oem alternator alone!

[E93M3ofSFL]

Originally Posted by BGBF18

That works as well. I may have bought mine from ebay vice amazon. It's been a few months.

As for labor - apparently the correct r and r calls for going in from underneath. It can be done from the top, but appears to me to be a pia which is why I didn't do it myself.

I'm pretty sure the final install bill (minus parts) was close to $600.

They wanted $1200 for the oem alternator alone!

Ok good to know , I guess I will get the bad news tomorrow , I will keep everyone posted , looks 99 % alternator ... even though it looked new when I did pre purchase inspection ... crazy

[E93M3ofSFL]

Originally Posted by E93M3ofSFL

Ok good to know , I guess I will get the bad news tomorrow , I will keep everyone posted , looks 99 % alternator ... even though it looked new when I did pre purchase inspection ... crazy

Finally labor from my mechanic to change alternator came to $320 plus alternator $600 from mechanic Source so I order from the link above at $347 same oem Valeo alt...
Does my mechanic need to change supplier or I need to change my mechanic ??


Labor cost not bad compared to others here

[BGBF18]

Originally Posted by E93M3ofSFL

Finally labor from my mechanic to change alternator came to $320 plus alternator $600 from mechanic Source so I order from the link above at $347 same oem Valeo alt...
Does my mechanic need to change supplier or I need to change my mechanic ??


Labor cost not bad compared to others here

I think what you're paying for is a warranty on parts and labor. Typically if a shop installs a customer-supplied part, they will only warranty the labor and not the part. Your up-front cost is cheaper when you supply the part, however you are simply deferring risk.

That said, my alternator lasted 7-8 years, so your alternator will likely last longer than the shop's warranty period (usually 12 mos.) anyway.

[CoasterFuelPhil]

Originally Posted by E93M3ofSFL

Finally labor from my mechanic to change alternator came to $320 plus alternator $600 from mechanic Source so I order from the link above at $347 same oem Valeo alt...
Does my mechanic need to change supplier or I need to change my mechanic ??


Labor cost not bad compared to others here

That is pretty much what I paid for mine. It totally fixed the problem!

[WingZeroX5]

Originally Posted by E93M3ofSFL

I am having same issue now , I know this thread is old , OP did not post outcome , having same symptoms

I created a DIY thread on this, but i don't think that was your issue. Agree with everyone else, does sound more of an alternator problem and that's what I thought mine was initially, until I shook the fuse box when the car was completely dead on my driveway

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1357407

[E93M3ofSFL]

Originally Posted by WingZeroX5

I created a DIY thread on this, but i don't think that was your issue. Agree with everyone else, does sound more of an alternator problem and that's what I thought mine was initially, until I shook the fuse box when the car was completely dead on my driveway

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1357407

Finally got it back from mechanic , alternator swap was $320 in labor , we also swapped pedals, glad to have it back ...