[jjdurrant]

First this car is amazing coming from a G37X. Wow.. Love it!

1. The car has been throwing a few different battery low and discharge messages. I have only had it a few days.. It is under warranty so I took it to the dealer today. BMW denied a new battery as apparently the car sat more than 30 days. I talked to the dealer I bought it from (not BMW dealer but they specialize in BMW lease returns) and he said this is normal, battery should be fine and to run put it in the charger overnight as the car sat for like four months before they bought it I guess. Charger is showing 62% charged and is increasing. Thoughts?

2. When I start the car, iDrive goes to "external devices" and I have to select my phone and then song and album art shows. Any way to get around having to select the phone each time? I should add, BT always connects OK, but annoying to have to select the phone to see song and album art.

3. Seems I have to hit the button twice to fully shut the car off. I read you can hold start\stop a little longer but does not seem to work for me.

4. Thoughts on extended warrant options? The BMW warranty is up in 7k miles and given the fact the damn battery is $500, I want to be covered. BMW extended? 3rd party? Etc..

Any other tips, gotchas, etc? Thanks!

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by jjdurrant

First this car is amazing coming from a G37X. Wow.. Love it!

1. The car has been throwing a few different battery low and discharge messages. I have only had it a few days.. It is under warranty so I took it to the dealer today. BMW denied a new battery as apparently the car sat more than 30 days. I talked to the dealer I bought it from (not BMW dealer but they specialize in BMW lease returns) and he said this is normal, battery should be fine and to run put it in the charger overnight as the car sat for like four months before they bought it I guess. Charger is showing 62% charged and is increasing. Thoughts?

2. When I start the car, iDrive goes to "external devices" and I have to select my phone and then song and album art shows. Any way to get around having to select the phone each time? I should add, BT always connects OK, but annoying to have to select the phone to see song and album art.

3. Seems I have to hit the button twice to fully shut the car off. I read you can hold start\stop a little longer but does not seem to work for me.

4. Thoughts on extended warrant options? The BMW warranty is up in 7k miles and given the fact the damn battery is $500, I want to be covered. BMW extended? 3rd party? Etc..

Any other tips, gotchas, etc? Thanks!

1) I would get it to fully charged and see what happens. IMHO you'll be alright. Look up BMW's charging strategy in the OM.

2) That's how my car works, depending on my phone. If the song appears on the lock screen then I don't have to select the phone in the iDrive; if not, then I have to select it. I have an iPhone XR...

3) Normal for BMW; just like the double-pull for the door handles. You can code it out with the Bimmercode (one-time fee) or Carly (annual fee) apps or ESys.

4) Warranties don't cover batteries and $500 is excessive. I can get the correct battery from my dealer coded (yes, the new battery must be coded to the car; see charging strategy) for around $200. The days of $35 batteries are pretty much gone with today's highly electricity dependent cars. Outside of typical gasket leaks, the N55 is pretty bulletproof. IMHO, you'd be better served to take the money you'd spend on a warranty and put it in the bank for any future repairs.

[philipm785]

Originally Posted by jjdurrant

F.3. Seems I have to hit the button twice to fully shut the car off. I read you can hold start\stop a little longer but does not seem to work for me.

It also turns off completely when you lock it from the outside. So one push of the star/stop button will turn off the engine but leave other electronics on. When you get out and lock it, the electronics will also turn off just as if you'd pressed start/stop a second time.

[Encendido3]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

....4) Warranties don't cover batteries and $500 is excessive. I can get the correct battery from my dealer coded (yes, the new battery must be coded to the car; see charging strategy) for around $200. The days of $35 batteries are pretty much gone with today's highly electricity dependent cars....

Where is this magical dealer and do they have an online ordering site? I called 3 different dealers and the cheapest one was $400. $295 if I just bought the battery and coded myself.

[philipm785]

Also, on number 2 - if you're playing MP3 files from your phone (vs. streaming), you may want to consider downloading the MP3 files to the car. Then you can play them directly from the Music Library function and won't need to select the external device each time.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Encendido3

Where is this magical dealer and do they have an online ordering site? I called 3 different dealers and the cheapest one was $400. $295 if I just bought the battery and coded myself.

BMW of Escondido. That was about 4 years ago. I do know that AGM batteries ain't cheap! They are very competitive with the indy a couple of blocks away.

[Encendido3]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

BMW of Escondido. That was about 4 years ago. I do know that AGM batteries ain't cheap! They are very competitive with the indy a couple of blocks away.

Ahhh so Cali. Trade off for higher gas prices I guess.

[jjdurrant]

Thanks guys! I put the battery on a 3amp charger overnight and it shows fully charged and the battery messages are gone. Hopefully I am good now.

[jjdurrant]

So I looked again and it was not $500.. estimate shows:

$276 - battery
$85 - code it

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by jjdurrant

So I looked again and it was not $500.. estimate shows:

$276 - battery
$85 - code it

Sounds about right; as long as it's 105Ah. The AGM battery here at AutoZone is $200 (+ core charge; 3-year warranty) and as it's listed as factory my assumption is it's a 95Ah battery. Even if the dealer's is 95Ah, I would pay the extra $75.