[jingle68]

Very intermittantly , the BATTERY FAULT indicator comes up on my dash when i start my car,

Its been into the dealers & they cannot fault it.

It has had 2 alternators fitted previously for different faults.

My warranty runs out next month & i'm worried It will fail after that !!

Sorry to be vague but any idea's ?

[milesr3]

Take it to a different dealer.

My 535d went back to the same dealer five times with 'reduced battery voltage' and 'increased battery drain' warnings and an intermittent electromagnetic steering lock fault.

Despite the battery indicating it was insufficiently charged in the window at the top, they re-coded the body control module and changed the battery lead and then told me the battery was fine and they wouldn't change it under warranty (by I could of course pay them to do it). By this time the car wouldn't start if I left it in airport parking for 3 days...

Took it to a different dealer and they phoned back to say the battery was at 30% capacity and anything less than 80% was unserviceable. They changed it the same day under warranty and none of the problems re-occurred.

[simples]

i've been having problems with my battery as well. if i insert the key but do not start the car after about a min i recived a warning battery charge very low, 30 sec after the car switches itself off, to save battery power i suppose. back to a dealer 1 who said there was not enough charge so they charged it up for about an hr. after a day or 2 i got the same warning message on the i drive, so i took it into a closer bmw dealer. they also said that the charge was low so charged it up overnight. a week later i got the same message and told the dealer what happened. so they said they can't change the battery under warrenty as they have to follow diagnostics before submitting them to bmw warrenty. basically they changed afew electrical cables and sensors for the battery, re charged it overnight and said should be fine now. it was for a few weeks until i was sat in the car listening to the radio engine off and the same warning light message came on. back to the dealership and they said everything has been double checked, re alternator, electrical cables changed, sensors etc. this was all done under warrenty so no charge, but my concern is why the battery is warning me of low voltage. the engineer finally found the answer why, it was becasue i am not driving the car much miles and showed me a report they printed off saying because of this the battery is not getting charged enough. i'm not a heavy driver but i have done afew long motoway journeys and after i would turn the engine off put the key back in, do not start and still i get the error message about the battery. so wat do i do, i do drive the car every day prehaps not for long periods but do u think the bmw engineer is correct in what he said about not driving the car much causing the problem. i have no 3rd party gadgets fitted on the car.

[milesr3]

Originally Posted by simples

i'm not a heavy driver but i have done afew long motoway journeys and after i would turn the engine off put the key back in, do not start and still i get the error message about the battery.

Sounds like you need to go back to the dealer and tell them that the battery is still holding insufficient charge after a long run.

FWIW I was only doing journeys of 120 miles or more twice a week to/from the airport in my car when the battery packed up and the supplying dealer still wouldn't change it. This was when my frustration led to me take it to a different dealer. They tried to recharge it, but it even after this it was less than the 80% capacity them deem to be serviceable, so they changed it.

Unfortunately I think that the warranty criteria for getting a battery change are quite tight (too tight) and more often than not the computer says 'no'. And this is all they will go on, rather than using their common sense or considering the inconvenience a failing battery can cause.

[simples]

Originally Posted by milesr3

Unfortunately I think that the warranty criteria for getting a battery change are quite tight (too tight) and more often than not the computer says 'no'. And this is all they will go on, rather than using their common sense or considering the inconvenience a failing battery can cause.

i agree here, i was getting so pissed off about them keeping the car, charging it overnight and then me having to make my way there to collect the car just to find the same issue still there that i was thinking about fuck it i'll just go out and buy a battery. i hav'nt done so and the last time the car went in for this problem was around 2 months ago. it was all done under AUC which has now ended. i have extended to their component level warrenty which does cover electrical but not battery replacement i believe.

[milesr3]

The thing that really pissed me off was the service manager telling me my battery was 'good' and that I really shouldn't pay any attention to the window in the top of the battery as the car had a much more advanced battery health monitoring system. This was after my car failed to start in airport parking the night before after being left for 3 days. Sometimes good, old-fashioned technology and a bit of common sense is all you need.

If I didn't have the warranty I would have put a new battery in, but refused to because it was covered.

I've had so many problems with this car, the supplying dealer in particular and no great response from BMW customer services that this will probably be the last BMW I own for a while. And that's after 20+ years as an enthusiast who's had one after another.

[dxb335d]

Which dealers were they Miles?

[milesr3]

The supplying dealer (where I've had all the problems) is Cooper Colchester. I have no issues with naming and shaming, because I think they are without doubt the most incompetent, dishonest bunch I've ever had the misfortune to deal with and I would dissuade anyone else from going there.

When I collected the car someone had flatted a big patch of clearcoat off the bumper, presumably trying to polish out a small scratch. It's been re-sprayed three times now, finally in their approved bodyshop due to the clearcoat repeatedly flaking off and overspray on unpainted plastic parts. I've had to get the wheels refurbed too due to the same problem. Driving home from the dealer when I first collected it, it had a seized turbo actuator, which took them 10 days to fix. It then went back in once more because the DPF was blocked as a result of running round with no boost and five more times for the battery. I've lost count but it's been back at least nine times in as many months at great inconvenience for me as I frequently work outside the UK.

I actually asked for my E39 back when my car had to spend the first 10 days of my ownership in their workshop. Conveniently for them it had suddenly been sent to auction, despite them insisting I put a new windscreen in because they were going to retail it.

My local dealer (who fitted a new battery whilst doing a brake fluid change) are Cooper Ipswich. I've always had good service from them, but I'm so disillusioned with BMW now and I think they've lost the plot with their current range of cars, that I'm probably going to get a Jag XF to replace my 535d. I thought about swapping it for an E90, but I borrowed a 320d sport the other day and it was possibly the most unpleasant ride of any car I've ever driven.

[jingle68]

thanks for your replies guys, I will book it in with another dealer & see what they can do for me.

[dxb335d]

Dont give up mate on BMW, Try a non runflatted E92. Cracking car to drive.

I have had problems with dealers also mate. Not many of them are good.