[ukaussi]

Did not see a recent post about this but have seen discussions elsewhere for a few months prior to my wife's X5 45e finally arriving today.
As some know BMW does not enable all the battery capacity for various legitimate technical reasons as I discovered on my 2022 330e as it has a 12kWh battery but only 10.7kWh is available from what I have read meaning 10% is unavailable.

For the X5 45e it is a 24kWh battery and 21.5kWh is available which is the same 10% in reserve for technical reasons.....except in the USA where only 17kWh is available (speculation says due to 8yr warranty they have to provide versus 6yr elsewhere)

As this is a 30% loss naturally many have "revolted" and turned to tuners who can RECODE their battery to the RoW (Rest of World) setting of 21.5kWh to get 20% back.

Besides the (IMHO) overpriced $500 option from 1 supplier is their anyone else that has been able to recode this?

[aus]

Agree it's way overpriced for downloading a Euro car program onto a US car.
Similar to when Euro traction control program for the e92 M3 was down loaded to a US car, but it wasn't $500.
.

[nZtiZia]

I'd say they tapped a niche opportunity. anyone will pay whatever for something if they feel it's worth it

[ThomasShelby]

Best $500 I've spent in a long time, though I do believe it should have come this way in the US to begin with and annoyed I had to spend it.

[bimmer_fast]

Originally Posted by ukaussi

Did not see a recent post about this but have seen discussions elsewhere for a few months prior to my wife's X5 45e finally arriving today.
As some know BMW does not enable all the battery capacity for various legitimate technical reasons as I discovered on my 2022 330e as it has a 12kWh battery but only 10.7kWh is available from what I have read meaning 10% is unavailable.

For the X5 45e it is a 24kWh battery and 21.5kWh is available which is the same 10% in reserve for technical reasons.....except in the USA where only 17kWh is available (speculation says due to 8yr warranty they have to provide versus 6yr elsewhere)

As this is a 30% loss naturally many have "revolted" and turned to tuners who can RECODE their battery to the RoW (Rest of World) setting of 21.5kWh to get 20% back.

Besides the (IMHO) overpriced $500 option from 1 supplier is their anyone else that has been able to recode this?

Will this tweak from US to Europe void the 8 years warranty?

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by bimmer_fast

Will this tweak from US to Europe void the 8 years warranty?

initially, folks said no because they were under the impression that BMW can't see the modification, but I proved that they can through vehicle telematics. still, the onus will be on BMW to prove that the modification absolutely caused the problem with your HV battery

[bimmer_fast]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

initially, folks said no because they were under the impression that BMW can't see the modification, but I proved that they can through vehicle telematics. still, the onus will be on BMW to prove that the modification absolutely caused the problem with your HV battery

I am thinking to request dealer do the Europe version upgrade not sure if that will be the option of upgrade in the us

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by bimmer_fast

I am thinking to request dealer do the Europe version upgrade not sure if that will be the option of upgrade in the us

the dealership will not perform any modification of the HV battery usable capacity

[bimmer_fast]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

the dealership will not perform any modification of the HV battery usable capacity

Good for them

[kyoshozx]

Charging the batteries to 100% puts a lot of wear and tear on it so they probably reserved it for longer battery lifespan. I would be careful about coding it, as you'll be trading battery lifespan for the extra capacity.

[LOFT]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

initially, folks said no because they were under the impression that BMW can't see the modification, but I proved that they can through vehicle telematics. still, the onus will be on BMW to prove that the modification absolutely caused the problem with your HV battery

Thanks for the proof points that you confirmed. At the same time, why would the onus be on BMW to prove battery damage? If BMW declares up front that battery modifications void the battery warranty, would that not protect BMW and future CPO owners from potential battery damage issues?

So BMW has not made this clear in its warranty documentation?

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by LOFT

[Thanks for the proof points that you confirmed. At the same time, why would the onus be on BMW to prove battery damage? If BMW declares up front that battery modifications void the battery warranty, would that not protect BMW and future CPO owners from potential battery damage issues?

So BMW has not made this clear in its warranty documentation?

outright denying a warranty claim just because a modification was done is illegal. according to the Magnuson-Moss Act, they have to prove a connection between the modification and the problem to deny a warranty claim.

i doubt BMW is even aware of this battery mod let alone address it in the warranty terms, but again, the Act prevents them from issuing any umbrella statement saying they'll deny any claim if this is done.

I've already had one HV battery module replaced under recall, so my vehicle is already under the radar. i decided not to do the mod because I don't want to even give them the chance to deny a claim. It's not worth the likely hassle for 20 more miles of electric range

[White340]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

outright denying a warranty claim just because a modification was done is illegal. according to the Magnuson-Moss Act, they have to prove a connection between the modification and the problem to deny a warranty claim.

i doubt BMW is even aware of this battery mod let alone address it in the warranty terms, but again, the Act prevents them from issuing any umbrella statement saying they'll deny any claim if this is done.

i decided not to do the mod because I don't want to even give them the chance to deny a claim. It's not worth the likely hassle for 20 more miles of electric range

You don't think anyone at bmw is on this forum?

Also, I think tuning/coding your car (higher boost or altering battery software) isn't covered by this act. Otherwise, every bmw would be tuned as manufacturers wouldn't be able to void warranties (plenty of voided warranties on the F80 forum).

The act protects against voiding warranties for replaced items with aftermarket parts (like brake rotors).

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by White340

You don't think anyone at bmw is on this forum?

Also, I think tuning/coding your car (higher boost or altering battery software) isn't covered by this act. Otherwise, every bmw would be tuned as manufacturers wouldn't be able to void warranties (plenty of voided warranties on the F80 forum).

The act protects against voiding warranties for replaced items with aftermarket parts (like brake rotors).

all the more reason I'm glad I didn't perform this mod

[mlurker]

Originally Posted by kyoshozx

Charging the batteries to 100% puts a lot of wear and tear on it so they probably reserved it for longer battery lifespan. I would be careful about coding it, as you'll be trading battery lifespan for the extra capacity.

With EU limit it's still not 100%. Also, charging battery frequently puts wear on the batteries. Charging, for example, 4 times a week vs 7 times a week makes a difference. So the bigger capacity - the less charges overall for some cars.

[BimmerM33]

Federal law aside, Dealers and manufacturers are well practiced at denying claims on modified cars.

Ive even had friends denied lifetime powertrain warranty claims for not being able to prove all maintenece (like oil changes) performed at required intevals.

Id love to go into battery mods, and also tuning with my coming 45e, but will likely only get into mods after warranty period.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by BimmerM33

Federal law aside, Dealers and manufacturers are well practiced at denying claims on modified cars.

Ive even had fiends denied lifetime powertrain warranty claims for not being able to prove all maintenece (like oil changes) performed at required intevals.

Id love to go into battery mods, and also tuning with my coming 45e, but will likely only get into mods after warranty period.

I would agree.

Pull a BMW CarData report on your car sometime. It shows just how much BMW is collecting even before you pull into a dealership.

One section is it includes every time you charged the car. How much charge the car took in. Etc… They’ll easily see the mod once it came time to deny a warranty battery replacement.

Here is a sample from my personal CarData report.

[arRod1981]

After my 45e was built, I was seeing everything on the app and it showed the current battery level was at 0% charge. Once they got it prepped for PCD and the first time they charged it it charged 21 kWh. Is that normal if they only allow 17 kWh for the US?

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by arRod1981

After my 45e was built, I was seeing everything on the app and it showed the current battery level was at 0% charge. Once they got it prepped for PCD and the first time they charged it it charged 21 kWh. Is that normal if they only allow 17 kWh for the US?

yes, that's normal. those 4kWh account for normal losses during the charging process. it always takes a bit more energy to charge, but you'll still have 17.1kWh of usable capacity at your disposal

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...arging-losses/

[doyall]

I suppose it is also possible that in the US battery capacity is limited to ~17kWh so that if the battery does drop below the guaranteed 70% (if that is what it is) threshold, BMW can initiate a clandestine release of the reserve to restore enough capacity to be above the 70% threshold in order to avoid replacing the battery.

[jad03060]

Charging from a real 0 to 100% is one cycle. Charging from 90-100% is not a real cycle. It's equivalent to 1/10th of a cycle, so recharging from 90-100% 10x equals one charge from 0-100%. Since the computer won't let you use the full battery, each time you recharge from an indicated zero, it's only 70% of an actual cycle, but on the ROW, it's 90%, so a much bigger 'hit' on the longevity of the battery.

Recent data on actual battery life seems to indicate with today's modern battery management logic and cooling, batteries are living much longer than what you might see in something like a cellphone or similar battery powered device.

Nissans have been around for over a decade with battery packs (the Leaf), ad efforts to reuse batteries has pretty much failed from lack of a supply...IOW, the batteries are lasting too long for that recycling effort, and the Leaf, with its air cooling (much less sophisticated than most's liquid cooling should fail sooner. Some of the first Tesla's are showing good battery conditions.

Keep in mind that BMW must meet both a general US battery warranty, and CAFE states that have a longer one, so not knowing where the vehicle may end up, it's longer than 8-years.

[gschlact2]

Has anyone checked the hidden car menu (very long press of the b/c button) for a setting for battery capacity allowed?