[26theone]

Posting this in case it helps someone in a similar situation.

2022 X5 sDrive40i, we are second owners, purchased with 8600 miles. (owned it for 2 weeks)

Wife called from work, cant get into X5 with keyfob, handle, digital key, etc. Battery completely dead. She drove to work fine with no issues early that same morning. My BMW app would not connect to the vehicle. Talked her through using the manual key to get into the vehicle to verify no lights etc. No lights at all.

I drove to her work with my battery jump starter and jumper cables. Snap On battery jump starter wouldn't jump start the car. It wasn't charged to 100% but should have had plenty of juice to start the X5. I used the jumper cables and was able to jump start the X5 off my car (once I found the negative battery terminal under the hood!)

Drove it home with the following symptoms noted. Emergency call system malfunction warning on screen with chimes every few minutes, navigation system location of my vehicle was off like the gps was out, time was not set and wouldn't set automatically, voice controls I tried were not working, basically anything that needed to connect to the outside world wasn't working.

My main concern was the battery drain issue as it left my wife stranded. I connected my battery tender to the X5 when I got home and booked a service appointment for the next morning. Then started reading forums to try to find the cause. The info I found seemed to all zero in on the Telematics Control Unit/Module/Box (TCB).

The next morning the battery tender showed green status and car started up fine for trip to dealership. Emergency call system malfunction chime/bong every few minutes for ~45 minute drive to the dealership. Service advisor checked a few things and suggested it could be the small backup battery in the TCB.

Later that afternoon technician sent a video that he ran an electrical system test and found a failed TCB unit. They had the part (84-10-5-A59-D28) in stock and replaced it under warranty. I picked it up end of same day. Tech didn't state definitively if the TCB drained the 12v battery.

TCB failure was sudden and without warning. The whole time the My BMW app has this giant ALL GOOD status for the vehicle. Thought it might send a notification if 12v was getting discharged at a high rate or below <12v but nope.

I am probably going to start putting the battery tender on it weekly or so and start checking the 12v battery level for a while to keep an eye on it.

[MaKSiNG]

Very interesting info.
Thanks for that.
I currently have the same malfunction message and GPS is off.
Will try to get into the dealer ASAP to get this rectified.

[beermato]

Originally Posted by MaKSiNG

Very interesting info.
Thanks for that.
I currently have the same malfunction message and GPS is off.
Will try to get into the dealer ASAP to get this rectified.

Hi - what did you find out from your dealer? My 2019 X5 (now out of warranty) has both these symptoms develop this week. First the "Emergency Call system malfunction" and then the GPS location is wrong. TIA

[MaKSiNG]

So with the holidays coming up, no one can get an actual appointment until the new year, so my car will have to be driven as is until then.

Thank goodness for Apple CarPlay!!!
Wish I could turn off the annoying warning though.

I did get an independent to plug the car in to have a quick look yesterday though. The only error he found was that the car indeed cannot connect to the TCB unit.
He suggested this is either due to the battery on the TCB being dead or the whole unit having died. I’ll find out in the new year once he exposes the unit.

The batteries are easy to obtain and easy to switch out. The access to the unit is the problem since a whole bunch of trim needs to be removed in order to gain access to the unit under the headliner at the back. It is then possible to reach the unit through the small space created. So that’s where the replacement cost comes from, the labour required.

Very silly design by BMW IMHO.

[26theone]

Yes the TCB module looks to be around $650. Hopefully the TCB includes a new battery as well. Some of the diagrams show the battery with its own part number. Battery is obviously cheaper but once you get access to the TCB under the headliner you would ideally want the other part available if its determined the TCB is dead.

[MaKSiNG]

Yep, good point.

I am now reading that some people are finding the battery which is supplied with a new TCB unit is dead after only a short time.

The fact that such new cars, such as yours, are suffering from this is strange and very worrying.

[26theone]

yes for sure concerning especialy if it can take out the battery.

I am going to install a wireless battery monitor and see if that helps monitor battery state of charge.

[jad03060]

BMW, and many other manufacturers, use the computer to sequentially send messages to various units to tell them to shut down. If there's a wiring issue, the message may not get there, and a module(s) may stay in operate mode versus low-power sleep mode. There is a specification that indicates the maximum off/standby battery drain. Checking that parameter could indicate a problem. It could be a CANBUS issue, or a module issue that is not getting to somewhere needed, and the power drain is pulling the battery down. Repeated discharge can damage them, and if low, and also at a low ambient temperature, could cause the battery to freeze, expand, and burst.

[26theone]

I went ahead and put a small bead of silicone around the shark fin antenna just to be safe. Not sure if it was a water issue or not.

[magas]

Had some minor body work done on my 2022 X6 and it seemed my lights were left on by the mechanic or the battery just died for unknown reason.

They had to jump start the car only to find the a display ERROR: Emergency Call System Malfunction error.

• Navigation / GPS works fine
  
• Blue tooth works fine
  
• No issue seen
  
• I CAN communicate and control the car with MyBMW app
  
• But there is a constant alarm and notification on my screen
  

For the last 2 days the error has not cleared.

• I have tried to hard and soft reset iDrive with (No Resolution)
  
• Tried to clear the code with Car Scanner (No Resolution)

Warranty should cover, but dealer is 2 hours away and if its a simple fix I prefer to do it.

Anyone else run into this after a dead battery?

• I know there is a emergency battery for Telematic Communication Box (TCB) that may be bad?
• Also known leaks in the shark fin seal that can cause the issue?

Anyone know a way to reset this code with either a simple car scanner or BMW Link, or if it may go away?

Also it seems like many times the lights stay on after I leave the car unlocked in my garage even though I do not activate ready mode.


THANKS!

[e61it]

Does the x5 45e high voltage battery keep the TCB battery charged?

[magas]

After making an appt with BMW and driving for 2 days, it went away. I canceled my appt.

Initially I reset the error with bimmerlink and it came back...

I'm assuming these small battery discharged and takes a few hours to charge. Its been 1 day and no recurrence..

If I had to guess lights were left on discharging all batteries. Error finally went away after the small TCB battery got charged back up?

Ill report back if it fails again.

I never lost an GPS, NAV or call functionality.

[yzhou2004]

wonder if the problem ever came back or was solved permanently for you