Battery covered under warranty/maintenance?

[mwlmd]

Question:

My dealer says my battery is bad and needs to be replaced. 2008 M3 with 23K miles. Still under warranty/maintenance period.

They say it is NOT covered and want to charge me $467 for a new one.

Is this reasonable? Any thoughts??

Matt

[WillC310]

Seems a bit odd. When I bought my MCoupe back in the day they replaced the battery under warranty.

[M3tallicar]

In my experience it depended on how much the car was driven, if it was not enough by their standards they did not cover the battery ( since, I assume, they do not think you are driving it enough to keep it charged) Also after a certain point of time I think it is considered a consumable ?

[persian54]

Call BMW NA

you're under the 50k 4 years right? then it should be covered

[montreal red]

am curious to know bout this as well. i would assume its covered as long as youre within the warranty period.

[mpm3]

batteries are not covered on any warranty, they are however only covered if that battery is defective ! and or if your dealership really loves you they will one time good will it to you TRUTH !

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

The short answer is that it depends on the dealer and the reason for the battery failure. If they think or believe that the failure was caused by your actions, then no may be the word of the day. Let me clarify what your actions could mean:

- leaving accessories plugged into the outlets (yep, Center BMW stated that this kept the car from 'sleeping' and leads to battery depletion)
- adding aftermarket amps or other accessories to the ciruit (hard-wired radars come to mind)
- as CWS530 stated, not having a 'favorable driving profile' (yup, they pull this bullshit on people too)

If one dealer denies it, another may approve it. It really is the luck of the draw it seems. Good luck!

Keep also in mind at BMW you will pay around $300- for a new one and at a general supply store it will be 1/3 the cost.

[Jdubya]

I had this same issue come up on our 2009 X5. Dealership said battery wouldn't be covered under warranty as it died one weekend while we were camping, and due to the key history, we evidently went back and forth too often without putting the car in a mode where the comfort access stops searching for the key. WTF? Anyway, service advisor tells us that our sales consultant should have explained this to us when we took delivery (they never did). I then printed off the user manual for the X5, which doesn't address this issue at all, went in and met with SA and asked her to show us where in the manual it addresses that you can't go in and out of an X5 more than 4 times in a two hour period. Also, where does it show how to put car in non-searching mode? It doesn't address this (you press the igition twice when exiting the car, evidently). Dealership covered the battery under warranty.

[goldminer]

Originally Posted by Jdubya

I had this same issue come up on our 2009 X5. Dealership said battery wouldn't be covered under warranty as it died one weekend while we were camping, and due to the key history, we evidently went back and forth too often without putting the car in a mode where the comfort access stops searching for the key. WTF? Anyway, service advisor tells us that our sales consultant should have explained this to us when we took delivery (they never did). I then printed off the user manual for the X5, which doesn't address this issue at all, went in and met with SA and asked her to show us where in the manual it addresses that you can't go in and out of an X5 more than 4 times in a two hour period. Also, where does it show how to put car in non-searching mode? It doesn't address this (you press the igition twice when exiting the car, evidently). Dealership covered the battery under warranty.

I'm having trouble understanding what the issue is with with your comfort access. What do you mean you "went back and forth too often"? What "stop searching mode" are you referring to?

Can you please explain a little more slowly and in detail? I have CA and don't want to screw up a battery.

[dexx]

$470 for a battery? LOL I'm sure there's an aftermarket alternative which isn't a kick in the balls while you're already bending over for them..

[frankzlin79]

BMW batteries must be coded after installation. I think we have to stick with oem.

[markjord]

Mine started to fail last winter. Dealer stumped up half the cost. I was told they would only cover it under warranty if it proved to be a manufacturing fault. So they kept my car for three days to determine that it was not. Waste of time.

[shendrick]

When my battery died at 38K on our 2007 X3, the dealership did some tests, determined the battery would no longer hold a charge, and then replaced it free. Since batteries are suppose to last at least 4 years, the dealer should really give you a new one for free.

[BMRLVR]

Originally Posted by shendrick

When my battery died at 38K on our 2007 X3, the dealership did some tests, determined the battery would no longer hold a charge, and then replaced it free. Since batteries are suppose to last at least 4 years, the dealer should really give you a new one for free.

I had the battery replaced on my 06 330i under warranty.

[MB Hawaii]

I had a 3 1/2 year old battery replaced under the warranty for my 2004 E46.

[mwlmd]

Update:

After several conversations with my service advisor and no luck I wrote a letter to the service manager expressing my frustration/dissatisfaction/irritation etc.

The next day I received a call from one of the service techs explaining they had made a mistake in the diagnosis and would happily replace the battery under warranty. I picked the car up 2 hrs later without incident.

[Grail05]

Originally Posted by mlaynemd

Update:

After several conversations with my service advisor and no luck I wrote a letter to the service manager expressing my frustration/dissatisfaction/irritation etc.

The next day I received a call from one of the service techs explaining they had made a mistake in the diagnosis and would happily replace the battery under warranty. I picked the car up 2 hrs later without incident.

MISTAKE MY ASS....

POST YOUR LETTER we can use that as a template.. LOL

[MB Hawaii]

Originally Posted by mlaynemd

Update:

After several conversations with my service advisor and no luck I wrote a letter to the service manager expressing my frustration/dissatisfaction/irritation etc.

The next day I received a call from one of the service techs explaining they had made a mistake in the diagnosis and would happily replace the battery under warranty. I picked the car up 2 hrs later without incident.

Cool!