[richl1969]

Hello everyone,
I ran into a problem on my 2015 328ix (91k trouble free miles)the other day and it went away then came back this morning. My apologies for the long post.

I was driving on interstate about 70mph and it wasn't raining at the time. All at once my radio goes out (was connected to BT on iphone), sunroof won't open, heater/AC out, center console out, turn signals blinking much faster than normal, CEL on, Driver restraint system warning light on, Lighting system failure light on. When I arrived home I shut her down and a few minutes later a neighbor said my tail lights were on. I go to check & sure enough they're lit up along with the interior heating/cooling system console lights. I couldn't get them to go out so I disconnected the (-) terminal from battery in trunk. This was an endeavor because on top of those issues now the trunk lid won't open so I had to climb in from back seat and pull the internal trunk release. Everything off now.
I let it sit at least 10 hours like that then reconnected battery & same results except tail lights weren't stuck on, yet now fuel gauge is showing out even though I had 3/4 tank. I took it to local dealer who confirmed the symptoms upon drop off but when they actually went to check it out everything was fine. I paid the diagnostic fee then drove home and it was fine all day.
The next morning I'm taking my kids to school and out of nowhere it started again, exactly as the first time with all systems failing.

I live in Ohio and it has rained every day for a week. I've looked for loose wire harnesses & pushed in all the fuses that I could find in trunk. No luck. No leaks and nothing wet that I can see from in trunk. It is raining again so I can't look under car.

The dealer offered to inspect the CANBUS (his word) at the cost of a few more hours and no guarantee on the outcome.

Does anyone have any suggestions or experienced this before? I love this car & would buy another but I have a negative equity situation and 2 more years of payments. (Nothing down, 0% financing) The dealer has done all maint and service so I'm at a loss.

[Zanity]

wow, what a nightmare, I would tell the dealer this vehicle is dangerous to drive, and they need to get to the bottom of the it instead of saying it's fine it's fine then the problem comes right back.

[Billfitz]

You need a diagnostic tool. I had a similar experience, luckily after I bought a Foxwell:
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...2#post23288222

Using the codes it gives you can google each condition and find out causes and cures. In my case a half dozen codes were caused by a single cause, lack of signal from an ABS sensor, which was an intermittent that didn't reoccur. I doubt you had a dozen components fail at once as well, chances are one component had a problem and it caused all the rest of the symptoms to occur, like dominoes. One saved trip to the dealer and diagnostic fee will pay for one.

[richl1969]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

You need a diagnostic tool. I had a similar experience, luckily after I bought a Foxwell:
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...2#post23288222

Using the codes it gives you can google each condition and find out causes and cures. In my case a half dozen codes were caused by a single cause, lack of signal from an ABS sensor, which was an intermittent that didn't reoccur. I doubt you had a dozen components fail at once as well, chances are one component had a problem and it caused all the rest of the symptoms to occur, like dominoes. One saved trip to the dealer and diagnostic fee will pay for one.

Thank you for the info. I went out to check the status of the car & everything was working again except the stability control (a new one) was out but after a few minutes the error went away. It may be my imagination but now the car seems to run like a banshee. I went to the Foxwell website & emailed them for the best application for my car but they're out on holiday for a few days. The NT510 & 520 have issues with the F series & the site says to look at the NT624 or 644. I'll wait to see what they recommend. Thanks again!

[328iX]

Why is everyone here so useless, it's your battery, is it original?

This happens often when the battery is low or about to fail.

[Commerce]

Originally Posted by 328dX

Why is everyone here so useless, it's your battery, is it original?

This happens often when the battery is low or about to fail.

+1 for the battery if it's the original. Our F25 35i had the water pump, thermostat and battery go simultaneously so it threw some weird codes. Once it was all replaced the 'problems' went away.

[richl1969]

Originally Posted by 328dX

Why is everyone here so useless, it's your battery, is it original?

This happens often when the battery is low or about to fail.

I don't consider these suggestions useless. I would expect the dealer to have figured this out considering the amount of money I've spent there and this being my third BMW.
I do appreciate the input on battery being culprit because on my last scheduled maintenance they put the battery on their charger. This stood out to me looking over the service record and I mentioned it to my wife. It is original and considering the age and mileage on the car I'm surprised they didn't recommend replacement. Also with all the system failures showing up not once did it indicate anything battery related. It is something I will take up with the dealer. Thank you for the assistance

[Billfitz]

The battery is long in the tooth, but if it's a charge problem that's going to be evident mainly when first starting the car, not when you're on the highway at 70.

[328iX]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The battery is long in the tooth, but if it's a charge problem that's going to be evident mainly when first starting the car, not when you're on the highway at 70.

Batteries can fail at any time, and he is a good case in point.

BMW batteries are not constantly being charged by the alternator, so they can fail at any point as it doesn't have a steady power supply going to it. Any decrease in the nominal voltage will shoot up errors instantly.

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by 328dX

Batteries can fail at any time, and he is a good case in point.

BMW batteries are not constantly being charged by the alternator, so they can fail at any point as it doesn't have a steady power supply going to it. Any decrease in the nominal voltage will shoot up errors instantly.

And we have seen countless posts here where phantom issues were solved with a new battery and coding for the new battery. Sometimes without setting codes to "reveal" the issue.

Just him saying it's not an issue, when it could be an issue, is just downright not responsible. Now it may not be a battery, but it's most likely on the checklist.

[328iX]

Originally Posted by deviantspeed

And we have seen countless posts here where phantom issues were solved with a new battery and coding for the new battery. Sometimes without setting codes to "reveal" the issue.

Just him saying it's not an issue, when it could be an issue, is just downright not responsible. Now it may not be a battery, but it's most likely on the checklist.

Him saying "the dealership had to put it on the charger", i mean it can't get any more straightforward than that lol. They're not slappin a charger on every car they get

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by 328dX

Him saying "the dealership had to put it on the charger", i mean it can't get any more straightforward than that lol. They're not slappin a charger on every car they get

Bingo! Suspect. cats and raccoons

[richl1969]

Originally Posted by deviantspeed

Bingo! Suspect. cats and raccoons

You guys crack me up thank you!

[upsidedownfunnel]

If you're handy, you can just try replacing the battery yourself before you pay any more diagnostic fees. Whenever multiple electronic things fail like that, it's a single common part that is the issue like the battery or alternator. Note that it could be a failing alternator as well.

Ask what the dealer did with your diagnostic fee. Did they at least test your battery and alternator? If they didn't, they basically stole your money and didn't do anything with your car. Since you already paid the fee and they didn't do anything, I'd demand they at least test those two components for free.

[Mr Podman]

Back in the 70's my first car was a 1971 Chevelle.
I say that just to let you know how long I've been messing about with cars.

I've probably experienced about a dozen failed batteries since then.
Every one of them failed in their own unique and special way.
Some of them were: "I'm fine, I'm fine....I'm dead".
Some of them gradually faded away.
Some of them held 12.5 volts no problem but couldn't crank the motor over.
Some of them were perfectly fince except for that one cell that was dead.

I've since learned to buy a new battery every 5 years.
I just bought a new one for my 2015 F32 a few weeks ago.
It's a preventative maintenance thing.




podman

[AndDown]

As others here have mentioned, the first thing going through my mind as I was reading OP's description was...battery, battery, battery. Please give us an update after you have the battery replaced so we can benefit from your experience.

As for the battery dying mid-drive, I recall the time my GF and I were driving to the airport after visiting her folks in Ohio and it was snowing flurries. The wipers were going, but then start to slow down and eventually the car stalled. Turned out, it was a bad alternator and wasn't keeping the battery charged.

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by Mr Podman

...
I've since learned to buy a new battery every 5 years.
I just bought a new one for my 2015 F32 a few weeks ago.
It's a preventative maintenance thing.




podman

Sage advice. They are also not making batteries the way they used to. I remember when my batteries would last up to 7 years or more. The last two batteries I purchased didn't make it too far beyond three, and I always splurge and buy the "premium" batteries. Even Interstate doesn't make batteries like they used to.

[328iX]

Originally Posted by Mr Podman

Back in the 70's my first car was a 1971 Chevelle.
I say that just to let you know how long I've been messing about with cars.

I've probably experienced about a dozen failed batteries since then.
Every one of them failed in their own unique and special way.
Some of them were: "I'm fine, I'm fine....I'm dead".
Some of them gradually faded away.
Some of them held 12.5 volts no problem but couldn't crank the motor over.
Some of them were perfectly fince except for that one cell that was dead.

I've since learned to buy a new battery every 5 years.
I just bought a new one for my 2015 F32 a few weeks ago.
It's a preventative maintenance thing.




podman

I've been driving for about 10 years now and i've experienced all of those symptoms, but I've probably owned close to 20 cars now.

But I agree on doing it preventatively, especially on a BMW with "Sensitive" electronics. I got a 2015 and probably will be done in the next few months

[Mr Podman]

I should have added to my history of battery failures this point:

Every single time since the 70's that I took a failed battery to the place I bought it to have it "tested", they told me the battery was fine.

None of them were.




podman

[Livetodrive]

I usually change my battery in the dead of winter at the shopping mall parking lot, where my car car decided it wouldn't budge anymore!

[pshovest]

Battery failures show up when starting, not at 70MPH. More likely an failing/intermittent alternator, causing car to run entirely off the battery until battery depletes. Unlock the OBC, and monitor system voltage in the cluster while driving.
The "Code" is the sum of the last 5 digits of your VIN.

[agentorange]

I saw something similar to this on a 1995 Isuzu Rodeo. It was a ground on the engine that had worked loose that threw the A/C and a bunch of other stuff out of whack.

If it's not a buggered ground, dying battery would be my next guess followed by rodent damage to the loom.