[tooloud10]

Originally Posted by E91toG05

Firestone is not a good shop. Don’t.

Depends on the location. I guarantee you that the Firestone network has some better alignment guys than the low tier at the BMW dealer network.

[MadameLV85]

Originally Posted by swainbmw

That’s how they got their name stealerships I never take my cars back to the dealer all they do is rip you off I don’t even care if they give you a free oil changes or free service. I just do it myself. and yes, if my car needs a battery, I’m not going to the dealer I’m going to the closest parts store and see what the availability is and doing it myself I would never pay that price

Originally Posted by Photographer918

I’ll throw out an opposite viewpoint on dealers - you’ve identified one who’s not good.

I have the good fortune of having a master Ford mechanic for a best friend, who before returning to Ford worked as a BMW and later a Mini tech - so I’ve got someone to run things past. My local dealer has been wonderful - service, repairs and parts have been reasonable.

The one time I had a minor problem, the SA corrected it, and ten minutes later called to let me know that he’d reversed the credit card charge for my oil change and tire swap.

So - shop for a better dealer. Good luck!

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Also, the parts department at your local BMW dealership may sell the BMW branded batteries for about the same cost of an aftermarket battery.

It only costs more money if you pay to have the dealership install & register the battery through the service department.

If you go to the Parts department and buy the battery yourself (and register it yourself if you have the tools)…the cost drops drastically.

The larger 105AH battery usually runs between $200-$240 in many recent threads across several forums. Unfortunately I haven’t seen what the cost is for the slightly smaller 95AH battery…but again, if that’s the one you have, you can simply call your local dealership’s parts department (not the service dept) to get a price quote.

My local BMW dealership had the lowest price for the 105AH battery when I replaced it last year…I was out the door for $227 after the $18 core charge return.

Originally Posted by E91toG05

Firestone is not a good shop. Don’t.

Well, I was able to get the battery price out the door to $325. They're waving the labor for me after I argued with them yesterday.

Tires they brought down to $841. It's only $70 more than the cheapest I've found, so the convenience of having a loaner is worth it to me as we only have one car right now.

I found a BMW dealership that has alignment for new customers at $79.99, and my SA is seeing what they can do for me on that too.

Overall, I'm bummed about the battery, and pissed at the carseat company, but overall ok with how it turned out.

I'm thankful for all the advice and info I've gotten from you all.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by MadameLV85

Well, I was able to get the battery price out the door to $325. They're waving the labor for me after I argued with them yesterday.

Tires they brought down to $841. It's only $70 more than the cheapest I've found, so the convenience of having a loaner is worth it to me as we only have one car right now.

I found a BMW dealership that has alignment for new customers at $79.99, and my SA is seeing what they can do for me on that too.

Overall, I'm bummed about the battery, and pissed at the carseat company, but overall ok with how it turned out.

I'm thankful for all the advice and info I've gotten from you all.

Very well done, that is a good outcome.

[X6ix GTA]

Originally Posted by MadameLV85

Well, I was able to get the battery price out the door to $325. They're waving the labor for me after I argued with them yesterday.

Tires they brought down to $841. It's only $70 more than the cheapest I've found, so the convenience of having a loaner is worth it to me as we only have one car right now.

I found a BMW dealership that has alignment for new customers at $79.99, and my SA is seeing what they can do for me on that too.

Overall, I'm bummed about the battery, and pissed at the carseat company, but overall ok with how it turned out.

I'm thankful for all the advice and info I've gotten from you all.

Glad to see things got sorted out for you after your persistence. I'm not clear on the obd device and car safety. Are you referring to a baby car seat?

[RidgeHauler]

Sorry for your troubles. You received some solid advice from people herein.

I have found it beneficial over the past 13+ years of BMW(s) ownership to charge the AGM battery occasionally using a good quality smart charger.
Especially if your vehicle is used for frequent short trips or sits idle semi-frequently.

How and with what level of convenience you accomplish this is up to you but I've found it's a worthwhile exercise.

Glad you're safely back on the road.

[jad03060]

My first BMW didn't get used much once I retired. The original battery was replaced under warranty after about a year. I started to use a smart battery maintainer on it, and the second one lasted seven years. IF you drive it regularly, and in a profile the charging system was designed for, it should last, but 3-4 years is not uncommon for today's high-powered vehicles, with all sorts of electrical loads. Unlike a conventional charging system, a long highway trip does not offer many opportunities for the battery to be charged...and short trips in the winter are particularly hard on any battery.

Throw in a constant discharge, and all bets are off.

[MadameLV85]

Originally Posted by X6ix GTA

Glad to see things got sorted out for you after your persistence. I'm not clear on the obd device and car safety. Are you referring to a baby car seat?

Yes. The obd is for a safety feature on the car seat that alerts my phone if my child unbuckles while I’m driving, if the car is too hot, in case of a highly unlikely event I forget him in the car, etc. Their website even states the device is safe for any vehicle 2008 or newer. Silly me for believing that. I honestly don’t use the frature much and forgot I even put it on the car. Lesson learned.

[X6ix GTA]

Originally Posted by MadameLV85

Yes. The obd is for a safety feature on the car seat that alerts my phone if my child unbuckles while I’m driving, if the car is too hot, in case of a highly unlikely event I forget him in the car, etc. Their website even states the device is safe for any vehicle 2008 or newer. Silly me for believing that. I honestly don’t use the frature much and forgot I even put it on the car. Lesson learned.

Thanks for the details. That is one feature we also considered when our younger child was born. But we were not convinced so decided not to get it.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by MadameLV85

Yes. The obd is for a safety feature on the car seat that alerts my phone if my child unbuckles while I’m driving, if the car is too hot, in case of a highly unlikely event I forget him in the car, etc. Their website even states the device is safe for any vehicle 2008 or newer. Silly me for believing that. I honestly don’t use the frature much and forgot I even put it on the car. Lesson learned.

Keep in mind that just because the tech said it could have caused a problem that does not mean it did. It seems it is more or less the standard operating procedure to blame a dead battery on an OBD device if one is found.

[swainbmw]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Keep in mind that just because the tech said it could have caused a problem that does not mean it did. It seems it is more or less the standard operating procedure to blame a dead battery on an OBD device if one is found.

There’s gotta be an escape goat, somehow surely it couldn’t be a BMW. Battery

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by E91toG05

Firestone is not a good shop. Don’t.

Firestone can be pretty good. I've had them do race spec alignments on my track cars before. If you don't rush them and are cool with them and tell them what you want, they're usually more than happy to get it perfect.

Are there bad firestones? Sure. But there's bad BMW dealers too and there's some great firestones.

That said, alignments aren't rocket science. A lot of places have machines that are mostly automated for it anyways.

[Photographer918]

Originally Posted by davchr

You have obviously been lucky. I have not. That is one reason I do almost everything except warranty work on my cars.

For what the dealers charge, they should be the BEST. A person should not have to shop for a decent on.

Before I bought my Tundra in 2014, I interviewed a bunch of owners, and dropped in on the service department a couple of times to ask questions. I actually did that with several dealers - both first thing in the morning, when they were really busy, and late in the day. I eavesdropped on how they were talking to their customers.

Then I rolled into sales, and eventually bought my truck from a place that seemed like they were customer service oriented in both service and sales. For BMW it was a bit easier because my best friend had worked there, and every interaction just confirmed what he said about the place a decade ago. No red flags, no pressure, just a desire to be helpful……

[tooloud10]

Originally Posted by jad03060

Unlike a conventional charging system, a long highway trip does not offer many opportunities for the battery to be charged...and short trips in the winter are particularly hard on any battery.

Throw in a constant discharge, and all bets are off.

This can't be stressed enough and was the main reason for all of the battery issues on the old N63 engines. I liked that on the previous generation BMWs (at least my old F25 X3) it would show you on the MPG gauge when the car was actually charging the 12V battery--and it was remarkably little, essentially only happening when the vehicle is braking.

Originally Posted by MadameLV85

Yes. The obd is for a safety feature on the car seat that alerts my phone if my child unbuckles while I’m driving, if the car is too hot, in case of a highly unlikely event I forget him in the car, etc. Their website even states the device is safe for any vehicle 2008 or newer. Silly me for believing that. I honestly don’t use the frature much and forgot I even put it on the car. Lesson learned.

Every ODB device manufacturer is going to tell you that it's 'safe' to use...

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Keep in mind that just because the tech said it could have caused a problem that does not mean it did. It seems it is more or less the standard operating procedure to blame a dead battery on an OBD device if one is found.

...and every BMW tech is immediately going to blame the OBD device for a battery draw, probably because that indeed is what is causing the battery draw in almost all cases.

I'm not saying the OBD device was responsible in this case, but it's the very first thing I would consider because it's so common.

[jad03060]

OBD is a diagnostic port...not really intended for something to be in there constantly...only while diagnosing a problem. When used in that manner, it should not cause any harm. They tend to stay on so they can do their job, and power to that port is there.