New member, hoping for help…

[Bigblue916]

My Grandparents passed away and left me their 2009 BMW 128i with around 40k miles. We got to California to pick it up and haul it back to Idaho where I live. The cars battery is apparently toast and I’ve read nightmare stories about trying to jump it and how bad of an idea that is.

The issue we are running into is trying to get it in the car hauler with a dead vehicle. Is there a way for us to get it into Neutral without the car starting?

Appreciate any and all help!!!

[tracer bullet]

It shouldn't be a problem to jump it. Look for the red cover at the back, passenger side of the engine bay, for the + connection. Any nearby metal will do for - .

Stick or automatic? Guessing the latter or you wouldn't ask. I'm not familiar with them, sorry.

If it's been taken care of, it's a fun car. Not sure what else you drive or have driven to compare to.

See to hear about your grandparents.

[Bigblue916]

Appreciate that! I’ll give it a shot! This is a big difference between my 4 door Rubicon and my Denali lol! Thank you for the help!

[ejm3]

Honestly I wouldn't jump it. If its really dead and you do get it started are you really going to make it back to Idaho?
When my went I had it towed to the dealer. But the tow-hook was in the trunk and the trunk won't open with no power. So they tried to "jump" it just to get enough power to open the trunk. It didn't work and my main computer got fried and had to be replaced.
Also remember new batteries need to be "registered" and you can't just install a new one and move on.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by ejm3

If its really dead and you do get it started are you really going to make it back to Idaho?

Agreed. I was thinking of jumping it only to be able drive it onto the trailer...

If it's to get it going for a road trip, absolutely just replace the battery. And yes it needs to be "coded", which is telling the ECU that a new battery has been installed and that it can ignore what it knows regarding the current battery's condition (and how it attempts to charge it and such while driving). The 128i isn't a particularly tech heavy car compared to today but this is indeed something that needs to be done.

There are tools and DIY's to do the battery swap but you start to potential pay for more things that you originally hope to get away with. Or you swap it then drive it to a shop that can perform the coding, but I'd agree with them ahead of time on the job.

[NorthernDancer]

As I understand, you need power to be able to shift the transmission into neutral from park. Jumping the battery should do this for you.
It is "best" to get a new battery "coded" to the car but I don't think it's absolutely mandatory. How many other millions of cars get new batteries coded? Sure coding might give you 8-10 years of life whereas not coding will give you 5 to 7.
You're taking a BMW 128 [I own one too] from California [with hundreds of garages that know BMWs] to Idaho where BMW service may be non existant. If you ever see another BMW there, try to ask the owner what garage he uses. Trying to use Joes corner garage will fill your heart with headaches.
In the next week or so I'm going to our BMW dealer to buy a new battery which will be coded by my BMW indy garage. Battery is original to my 2008 128 so 15 years old. Car is not winter driven-sits on a Deltran Battery Tender all winters.

[mkeiser]

shift interlock release ... should be the same on our cars

[Donkeyshins]

Can you put a trickle charger on it for 24 hours to see if the battery will hold a charge?

[Bigblue916]

We were able to jump it enough just to get it into the trailer and then I shut it down. I wasn’t going to try and drive it to Idaho since it has t been driven in 2 years basically.

[NorthernDancer]

Congratulations; I'm assuming you jumped it, it started and were then able to drive it into the trailer.
When you get home, buy a new battery and install it. Try and get as close as possible to same specifications and type as in the car now. This way "coding" will not be a major issue. Likely no one in Boise knows how to code a battery for a BMW.
Try to buy 2 or 3 or more good oil filters from Pelican Parts or Autohausaz or similiar. Probably also engine air filter and cabin filter. Engine air filter is a bit difficult to check but cabin filter is very easy.
For first drive, do at least about 30 minutes. This will get engine up to proper temperature and get all fluids mixed up well. Then change oil & filter.
Look in youtube or other for how to do your own oil changes. You can do them for $50-$60 which is half of what a garage will charge you.
Look very carefully around engine for any oil leaks.
Search this site, also 3 series E90's for oil filter housing gasket [OFHG], valve cover housing gasket [VCG].
And, as I said before, when you see another BMW, ask owner where he/she gets their car serviced. 128's are very reliable.
Good Luck

[BimmerxVision]

Originally Posted by Bigblue916

My Grandparents passed away and left me their 2009 BMW 128i with around 40k miles. We got to California to pick it up and haul it back to Idaho where I live. The cars battery is apparently toast and I’ve read nightmare stories about trying to jump it and how bad of an idea that is.

The issue we are running into is trying to get it in the car hauler with a dead vehicle. Is there a way for us to get it into Neutral without the car starting?

Appreciate any and all help!!!

I would recommend not jumping from the battery in the back, take the battery out and trickle charge it if at all possible, the only place you should be jumping a bmw is from the positive and ground from the engine bay, positive connection has an obvious red cap on a spot to clamp
On the jumper cable next to
The suspension tower, if you do it from the black it’s possible to blow your fusible link which is the red battery distribution box on top of the battery and possibly have other fuses blow as well. There also should be a spot on your rear lower bumper on the passenger side with a cover, remove the cover and thread your tow eye in it, you then can winch it up with a load rated come-along, this is assuming you can’t drive it on and the car is in neutral. If you replace the battery it needs to be registered to the cars ecu otherwise you will most likely have problems with starting, power or components.

[BimmerxVision]

Originally Posted by BimmerxVision

I would recommend not jumping from the battery in the back, take the battery out and trickle charge it if at all possible, the only place you should be jumping a bmw is from the positive and ground from the engine bay, positive connection has an obvious red cap on a spot to clamp
On the jumper cable next to
The suspension tower, if you do it from the black it’s possible to blow your fusible link which is the red battery distribution box on top of the battery and possibly have other fuses blow as well. There also should be a spot on your rear lower bumper on the passenger side with a cover, remove the cover and thread your tow eye in it, you then can winch it up with a load rated come-along, this is assuming you can’t drive it on and the car is in neutral. If you replace the battery it needs to be registered to the cars ecu otherwise you will most likely have problems with starting, power or components.

Just another thought as well, leave your back seats down to have access to the trunk in case you get locked out without power you will still have access to the emergency pull cable to the trunk and can open it that way, keep in mind not to lock your key inside if you only have one, you can slide your manual key out of the fob to gain access through the drivers side door.