New car problem

Mike2006

Hi all,

Looking to see if anybody else here has had the same issue and what the steps in resolving are:

We bought a new BMW in 221. Last month we got a call from one of the dealers to say that a software update was required. Brought car in for software update. Two days later a fault appears on car which states that the battery is being depleted at a higher rate than expected while stationary.

Brought car back to dealer and they are saying not their problem. Problem is the way the car is being driven (not enough!), even though in 18 weeks, there is more than 10,500kms on it.

Contacted BMW directly and the answer was that they spoke with dealer and they are happy that it is not their problem and that a battery replacement is required and it is not under warranty (even after 4 months!)

BMW have now stopped responding to my emails.

Next steps ?

Will SIMI be of any help?

Small claims court?

Other?

Thanks, Mike

10-10-20

Help me understand this better.

Is this a hybrid? Are you referring to the 12v ("auxiliary") battery here?

"battery is being depleted at a higher rate than expected while stationary" - do you mean:

• while stationary ignition on and fuel-engine in a running or non-running state, but not physically moving
• while parked-up with ignition off but with the vehicle supplying power to the radio and devices

Mike2006

Hi,

Petrol car. 12v ‘standard’ battery.

When car is parked up and not running the battery is under too much load.

Photo of fault attached.

Mike

FD46CD89-8599-4968-8369-897BEA0EFAF9.jpeg

10-10-20

And do you have after-market devices fitted such as a phone/amp or a hardwired tracker, etc or is the car as it was received at the point of sale?

walterking

Many motor dealers have a dreadful attitude these days due to the shortage of cars.

Discounts are gone, added extras are being charged full whack

Their profits have gone through the roof

Their customer service has gone through the floor.

BMW USED to want you to be a "customer for life" - these days its take the money and run.

SIMI represent the trade - they DO NOT represent the customer.

Get an opinion and quote for fix from a mechanic. Inform BMW and the garage that you are initiating small claims procedure against them unless fixed satisfactorily within 7 days.

Its a sad reflection on BMW & the dealer as its probably a simple and cheap fix

10-10-20

It clearly says that there was a fault in shutting down the vehicle electronics.

This implies that the vehicle ECU is remaining in a wake state and can't sleep within a period after the vehicle is manually locked. That can be triggered by external events such as an open boot/bonnet/door or faulty switches - or 'other' events. The continuous deep discharge and recharge events then cause premature damage to the battery and it dies after X number of cycles. Have BMW checked this and examined the ECU to determine the sleep state and the trigger for the wake-up event?

I'd be visiting the manager and requesting a written statement as to what has been done to investigate this and how it falls under your buck to rectify it.

You may also need to visit another BMW dealer or very reputable vehicle electrical specialist to have a diagnostic performed and a write-up. Any of these types costs should be included in the claim if you then have to go down the small-claims court route.

Mike2006

Unfortunately I think that BMW are the only ones who can fix it as they need to remove the new software (which added more multimedia functionality).

No aftermarket stuff. As new.

Yes - that is my interpretation of the fault as well.

The only thing that they did was to recharge the battery! They treated the symptom instead of fixing the cause...

Mike

Padre_Pio

Is this a recurring fault or a one off?

If you cleared the error code, will it come back?

Mike2006

Recurring... First start of each day and is fine then until the next morning! Another sign that it is being drained overnight while it is off.

Mike

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119457857#Comment_119457857

If the battery is low or nearly dead, then it's probably only retaining about 20% of it's charge - hence it's not lasting long. The problem there is that you'll only find out that it's fully dead once the car doesn't crank over.

The risk right now is that if you take this to another dealer they will immediately blame the battery and potentially not look at the cause (again), that's why an impartial engineer's input is so useful here.

Mike2006

Thanks,

I have asked BMW to get another dealer to look at it. There is no denying the text in the fault. I would nearly buy a new battery and wait for the fault to reoccur 2 days later just to prove the point!

Mike

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119457917#Comment_119457917

I went through similar with Hyundai on a 26-month old 12V battery. It was 2 months out of warranty. I ended up installing a type of DIY logger onto the new battery to identify the cause, but from what I can tell it was a boot-lid which was triggering the ECU to wake and we haven't had the same issue (that I can tell) after I adjusted the lid bumpers.

But 4 months.... that's taking the piss.

enricoh

Battery gone after 18 weeks on a new car and they won't stand over it? Piss take, I'd be emailing to BMW Ireland and send the contents of this thread. Petty stuff like that wouldn't inspire anyone to buy a beemer- just milking customers dry.

The Continental Op

The software update could have also changed the voltage that produces that error msg?

While setting up a case against the dealer (small claims) I would spend a few quid and get something that I could use to monitor the state of the battery. At least then you know how bad the problem really is.

Now assuming there is a cigarette lighter in a BMW that stays on when the ignition is off I would get one of these cheap and cheerful battery voltage checkers https://www.amazon.co.uk/JZK-voltmeter-thermometer-temperature-indicator/dp/B01N53MABJ/ .

No need to leave it plugged in but I'd check the voltage with the ignition off before starting the engine and the voltage when you stop the car. The table below gives an idea of the battery condition.

The battery is never not doing anything in your case with the car electrics but when you stop the car after a drive you should have a charge of 12.5 volts or more and never go below 12.06 volts before starting up. If you get readings of below 12.06 volts then the battery will be dead in no time.

If when you start up after the car hasn't been used say after a weekend and it isn't below say 12.3 and was 12.7 when you last stopped it you have an idea of how quickly the battery is discharging.

Yes I know those cheap testers are crap but they can still give an indication of whats going on and either freak the OP out with how quickly the battery is discharging or let them know that its a problem but not one that will leave them stranded at the side of the road.

If the battery never reaches at least 12.5 volts after a run then the battery might just be shagged and need replacing. I can make a battery last about 7 years so no way should a 4 month old battery let you down but you never know how it was treated before the car was delivered. If the battery went down near 10V before delivery because the car was left draining the battery then the battery would have been half worn before you got it.

Buffman

So BMW say 10500km over 18 weeks (almost 600km per week) is not enough driving for a brand new BMW?

You should ask them what is their recommended minimum mileage to stop their brand new car breaking!

Seeing as BMW have stopped replying to your emails I'd ask them on their Facebook and see what response you get.

Also have a look at your rights under the 'sales of goods and supply of services Act', as it sounds like BMW have admitted with the low mileage claim that the new car was not of merchantable quality, not fit for purpose, and not as described.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer/consumer_laws/your_rights_as_consumer_in_ireland.html

Furze99

4 months? Sure even if you buy a toaster and it's faulty within 12 months you can bring it back and get replacement or manufacturer fix.

I'd be telling the manager to wise up, that you'll be sending the story onto the print media and even Joe Duffy. They like nothing better than a bit of click bait and a story about a four month old faulty beemer and the garage doing nothing about it is right up their street.

The Continental Op

I don't know how new cars are shipped nowadays? If they are shipped with the battery connected then its quite possible by the time the new owner has got it the battery has gone down below 10V and had to be boosted by the dealership before sale. If that happened then the original battery was never going to last. While it should never happen at this stage I wouldn't rule out the condition of the battery without monitoring it.

Back Home

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058258358/new-car-problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsRJYxjrdg0

The worst thing about owning a modern car

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119458422#Comment_119458422

Depends on the car but some new cars come in a "sleep" mode and you'd have to push in a fuse to get the electronics working. We used to put every new car on charge making sure the battery is full charged and also supplying a battery report with the pdi checklist before the new owner collected it. We had to replace one battery on a car after a week because it went flat on the owner. A cars registration might say its a 222,221 etc but it might have been built 12 months ago or more so the battery could already be a year or two old