[bmwsone02]

2019 50i. 54k.

What battery are you guys using?

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by bmwsone02

2019 50i. 54k.

What battery are you guys using?

Interstate AGM

[Qsilver7]

BMW…the price of the battery from my local BMW dealership’s parts department is the best deal vs the same battery class sizes sold at other auto parts stores.

For both my f06 650ix & f15 X5…both had the 105AH battery (which is a 95R/H9 class size battery)…they both cost $227.70 with my BMW CCA discount and core charge return. Before the discounts, they sold the 105AH battery for $253.

I replaced the battery in the f06 back in Jan/23 and just replaced the battery in the X5 in Oct/24.

Also, both times the batteries came with an aux plug to insert into the opposite side of the battery to prevent any expelled gases from the battery from being released in the enclosed battery compartment. The recent battery had a knock-out plug built into the protective cover on the positive battery post. Two years ago, the extra plug was in a little plastic baggy attached to the side of the battery.

[jad03060]

Last time I replaced a battery, the BMW parts department was the least expensive I found for the proper size battery as well.

[streborx]

Most of the car batteries sold in the U.S. come from one of three major producers -- Clarios, East Penn or Exide -- and are private labeled under dozens of different brand names. Many brands offer three levels of warranty, 12, 24 or 36 months which are progressively priced, and many warranties are for free replacement in the event of failure. I don't shop primarily on price, but rather on convenience. A top of the line battery from any national auto store works for me.

[rmorin1249]

We have 2 independent battery stores in my town and both offer top line AGM batteries with a 3 year free replacement warranty plus 2 additional years pro rated. I just replaced a 4 year old battery in my wife's Lexus and they knocked off $50 off the price of the replacement. I may well have the dealer replace the battery in the X5 as it's a heavy one and I want to make sure it is properly fitted.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by bmwsone02

2019 50i. 54k.

What battery are you guys using?

Oh....and make sure you get the new replacement battery properly registered in your car when it's installed.

[JMD]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Oh....and make sure you get the new replacement battery properly registered in your car when it's installed.

I was looking for a post regarding the "registering of the battery"!

I replaced battery in X5 4.4 (E53),...and didn't know about having it registered,...my alternator went bad over time!,...cost nearly $1000 to replace the alternator! Lesson learned the hard way! I will gladly now pay for a new battery directly from BMW next time,...and have it properly registered.

[biterror]

Originally Posted by JMD

I replaced battery in X5 4.4 (E53),...and didn't know about having it registered,...my alternator went bad over time!,...cost nearly $1000 to replace the alternator! Lesson learned the hard way! I will gladly now pay for a new battery directly from BMW next time,...and have it properly registered.

I'm not so sure those two are related.. Registering the battery replacement is done so the car knows how to charge the new battery correctly. Not to protect the alternator somehow.

[slilley]

Originally Posted by biterror

I'm not so sure those two are related.. Registering the battery replacement is done so the car knows how to charge the new battery correctly. Not to protect the alternator somehow.

This! Your alternator was going to fail no matter what - not registering the battery had nothing to do with it. It's best-practice to register the new battery, but lots of us (myself included) do not normally do it. Skipping it probably causes the battery to have a 2% shorter life than it would had it been properly registered. Sorry BMW, not worth my time.

[MystroX5]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Interstate AGM

Interstate batteries in all my vehicles when it’s time.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by JMD

I was looking for a post regarding the "registering of the battery"!

I replaced battery in X5 4.4 (E53),...and didn't know about having it registered,...my alternator went bad over time!,...cost nearly $1000 to replace the alternator! Lesson learned the hard way! I will gladly now pay for a new battery directly from BMW next time,...and have it properly registered.

Actually not registering it may have caused your alternator to last longer than it would have if you would have registered the battery. The point of registering it is to create a new charging profile for the battery. As batteries age they require less of a charge, hence the alternator running less. New batteries are changed more so the alternator would run more.

[JMD]

Originally Posted by biterror

I'm not so sure those two are related.. Registering the battery replacement is done so the car knows how to charge the new battery correctly. Not to protect the alternator somehow.

Well, my Service Advisor asked me if I had 'registered' the new battery and I said "No",...and then he said, that probably caused my alternator to die. Now, that said, the thing with the alternator was that the "Voltage Regulator" died,...and the times of being able to replace just the "Voltage Regulator" on an alternator were long gone,...so I had to buy a new alternator, etc.

On another know, the issue my X5 was suffering as a result of bad alternator/voltage regulator was,...I'd be driving down the road at highway speed,...and the engine would just DIE,...there would be some Crazy hard Clunk of the transmission,...and a boatload of 'idiot lights' in the dash! The first time it happened, I freaked-out,...as I knew it was VERY UNSAFE, etc. By the time I got it in for service, it had happened several more times,...to the point, there would be a warning it was going to occur,...which allowed just enough time for me to put the transmission into "Neutral",...and allow me to 'Turn the ignition Off and back On (restarting) the engine, and placing it in back,...all within slowing down less than 5mpg! Did I say it was UNSAFE! Anyway, I told my SA what was happening,...they ran a test ,...which showed a bad Voltage Regulator,...and the alternator was replaced north of $900 and my X5 never had that issue again,...even some some many thousands of miles later.

[suitedcboy]

The only verified consequence of battery registration is money in the service department's pocket. Registration does do a reset and the charge profile adaptation memory is cleared and adaptation will start immediately. If you do not reset then the battery may have to go awhile before the conditions where SOH and SOC are evaluated enough to affect a change in the target voltage communicated to alternator integrated voltage regulator. There is enough variation in batteries cover time that the longevity of battery related to registration is not a study anyone has done. LOADS of anecdotal "evidence". To know the effects of registration you'd need to have measured and tracked the battery initial tested CCA and then run vehicle for years and recorded total starter time, average start time and amperage for starts, and average battery discharges with KOEO. Alternator efficiency should be monitored too. The first battery in vehicle is likely freshest one that will ever go into vehicle and the starter and cranking time will be optimal as well as alternator performance.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by JMD

Well, my Service Advisor asked me if I had 'registered' the new battery and I said "No",...and then he said, that probably caused my alternator to die. Now, that said, the thing with the alternator was that the "Voltage Regulator" died,...and the times of being able to replace just the "Voltage Regulator" on an alternator were long gone,...so I had to buy a new alternator, etc.

On another know, the issue my X5 was suffering as a result of bad alternator/voltage regulator was,...I'd be driving down the road at highway speed,...and the engine would just DIE,...there would be some Crazy hard Clunk of the transmission,...and a boatload of 'idiot lights' in the dash! The first time it happened, I freaked-out,...as I knew it was VERY UNSAFE, etc. By the time I got it in for service, it had happened several more times,...to the point, there would be a warning it was going to occur,...which allowed just enough time for me to put the transmission into "Neutral",...and allow me to 'Turn the ignition Off and back On (restarting) the engine, and placing it in back,...all within slowing down less than 5mpg! Did I say it was UNSAFE! Anyway, I told my SA what was happening,...they ran a test ,...which showed a bad Voltage Regulator,...and the alternator was replaced north of $900 and my X5 never had that issue again,...even some some many thousands of miles later.

Your service advisor doesn't understand batteries and the registration process if they told you that.

[JMD]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Your service advisor doesn't understand batteries and the registration process if they told you that.

Well, the dangerous issue my X5 was having was immediately resolved 100%! So, I'd say, the diagnostic and remedy was spot on!

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by JMD

Well, the dangerous issue my X5 was having was immediately resolved 100%! So, I'd say, the diagnostic and remedy was spot on!

It's only what they said I took issue with. Your voltage regulator would have died anyway and replacing it was the proper thing to do. Not registering the battery had nothing to do with it. Glad it's all solved.

[pshovest]

Originally Posted by JMD

......Well, my Service Advisor asked me if I had 'registered' the new battery and I said "No",...and then he said, that probably caused my alternator to die.......

Gotta love dealership SA's.
E53 charging systems don't have the hardware/software that is capable of, or needs battery registration.

How many miles on the alternator when it failed? Water cooled alternators seem to have a short life compared to the air cooled.

[streborx]

Attributing an alternator failure to battery non-registration seems impossible to confirm. Regardless of a battery's age, condition, and charging behavior, the battery management system is unlikely to allow an alternator to self destruct trying to charge the battery. Ask the SA exactly what battery registration does and how it safeguards the alternator.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by pshovest

Gotta love dealership SA's.
E53 charging systems don't have the hardware/software that is capable of, or needs battery registration.

This is a good point...especially for anyone that owns any E chassis BMWs.

BMWs prior to the 2004 E60 5 series don't require registration due to the old BUS system which doesn't have an IBS (intelligent battery sensor) or the new communication bus that started with the new e90 3 series & e65 7 series. The latter models (prior to the introduction of the IBS module) used the LIN bus or BSD module to monitor the battery. All of the E chassis models in production prior to 2004 e60 5 series( with the exception the aforementioned E90 & E65)...don't have a way to register the battery since it wasn't designed to do so.

So hold onto your money...or don't worry about hooking up your software/hardware to register the older E chassis BMWs that don't have an IBS, LIN bus or BSD module.