Replace Battery?

[Frupal]

My 2016 640 GC was first sold in August 2016. Six years ago. I am 99% sure that the battery is original. I am not getting any battery warnings from the car. I know that they are around $500.00, plus perhaps an installation fee. BMW is offering 15% off of batteries through September 30th. Would it behoove me to replace it now?

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Frupal

My 2016 640 GC was first sold in August 2016. Six years ago. I am 99% sure that the battery is original. I am not getting any battery warnings from the car. I know that they are around $500.00, plus perhaps an installation fee. BMW is offering 15% off of batteries through September 30th. Would it behoove me to replace it now?

I know you don't DIY, but it might be useful, and even kinda fun, for you to invest in downloading the Bimmerlink app to your phone. It costs like $35 or thereabouts. You also need a BT dongle to plug into your OBDII port. That's another $30 or so. They have recommended ones. Among the hundreds of things you can monitor, you can see if the battery was ever replaced and at what mileage, and you can see what voltage it has at rest and what its state of charge is. If it registers 12.3 volts or higher with the ignition on but not running, and the lights and blower off, and the charge is above say 65% and sometimes goes into the low 80s by the end of a drive then I would just monitor it now and then but not replace it yet. Batteries in our cars usually don't register a state of charge above the low 80s, and are typically in the 70s, so that's ok. If the voltage is only 12 or 12.1 volts or less, I'd probably go ahead and replace it. And Bimmerlink has basically zero learning curve. If you can use any app you can use it.

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by Opie55

I know you don't DIY, but it might be useful, and even kinda fun, for you to invest in downloading the Bimmerlink app to your phone. It costs like $35 or thereabouts. You also need a BT dongle to plug into your OBDII port. That's another $30 or so. They have recommended ones. Among the hundreds of things you can monitor, you can see if the battery was ever replaced and at what mileage, and you can see what voltage it has at rest and what its state of charge is. If it registers 12.3 volts or higher with the ignition on but not running, and the lights and blower off, and the charge is above say 65% and sometimes goes into the low 80s by the end of a drive then I would just monitor it now and then but not replace it yet. Batteries in our cars usually don't register a state of charge above the low 80s, and are typically in the 70s, so that's ok. If the voltage is only 12 or 12.1 volts or less, I'd probably go ahead and replace it. And Bimmerlink has basically zero learning curve. If you can use any app you can use it.

I actually have Bimmercode - demo version - and have coded some useful things in and some annoying ones out. I don’t remember seeing a battery check but I’ll hook it up later today and check it out! Thanks for the great advice!

[Opie55]

Not Bimmercode. Bimmerlink. Bimmercode is for changing coding. Bimmerlink monitors all sorts of live parameters, reads and clears errors, etc. But in that case you already have the BT dongle.

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Not Bimmercode. Bimmerlink. Bimmercode is for changing coding. Bimmerlink monitors all sorts of live parameters, reads and clears errors, etc. But in that case you already have the BT dongle.

Got it. I’ll get the app.

[Opie55]

Bimmerlink allows you to create a live "dashboard" on your phone of your chosen parameters to monitor, then you can just put your phone wherever you put it to see the screen. You can watch your rate of acceleration, turbo boost pressure, actual gear, oil level, actual oil and coolant temps, rate of battery charge, etc. Whatever you pick.

[Qsilver7]

Bimmerlink’s 12 volt battery info that is retrievable by simply plugging in the OBD II dongle and opening the app on your phone or iPad:

https://bimmerlink.app/

[Opie55]

Q, how did you get Bimmerlink to display miles instead of km? I thought it was all metric.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Q, how did you get Bimmerlink to display miles instead of km? I thought it was all metric.

I honestly don't remember...there must have been a "unit of measure" selection somewhere...plus I'm using my (Apple) iPad. I do know from a recent thread that there is slight difference in some wording between Android & Apple versions of the software.

EDIT...just pulled out my iPad & opened the Bimmerlink app to check settings...and I do have "MI" checked under DISTANCE:

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Frupal

Got it. I’ll get the app.

Frupal...just to circle back to the condition of the battery...when I took the snapshot of the f06's battery condition...it had been sitting un-driven for almost a month.

I do have a BMW battery maintainer that I hook up routinely but it was not hooked up prior to taking the pic. When I saw the battery was at 50% state of charge...I definitely hooked it up to give it a charge. And I've been driving the F06 for most of the summer except for a couple of weeks in August she sat for new front brake pads & sensor to arrive & get installed.

If you do get the Bimmerlink app and find that your battery state of charge is dropping into the 70% zone...if you have a battery maintainer/charger...that would be a good time to hook it up overnight or anytime you know she'll be down for a bit so that you can give the battery a recharge.

This will help you nurse that battery to a longer life...as well as give you empirical data as to the health of the battery to determine when it's time to replace it. And since Bimmerlink has the capability to register a new battery...it may even "tip" you into DIY for your battery replacement (as long as you replace it with the same type & capacity battery you won't need to code it...just register it).

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

I honestly don't remember...there must have been a "unit of measure" selection somewhere...plus I'm using my (Apple) iPad. I do know from a recent thread that there is slight difference in some wording between Android & Apple versions of the software.

EDIT...just pulled out my iPad & opened the Bimmerlink app to check settings...and I do have "MI" checked under DISTANCE:

Hmm, I do have the apple version. I'll have to see if I have the settings icon.

[Opie55]

Well I'll be darned. I do have it. How did I miss that? Thanks.

[Qsilver7]

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Frupal...just to circle back to the condition of the battery...when I took the snapshot of the f06's battery condition...it had been sitting un-driven for almost a month.

I do have a BMW battery maintainer that I hook up routinely but it was not hooked up prior to taking the pic. When I saw the battery was at 50% state of charge...I definitely hooked it up to give it a charge. And I've been driving the F06 for most of the summer except for a couple of weeks in August she sat for new front brake pads & sensor to arrive & get installed.

If you do get the Bimmerlink app and find that your battery state of charge is dropping into the 70% zone...if you have a battery maintainer/charger...that would be a good time to hook it up overnight or anytime you know she'll be down for a bit so that you can give the battery a recharge.

This will help you nurse that battery to a longer life...as well as give you empirical data as to the health of the battery to determine when it's time to replace it. And since Bimmerlink has the capability to register a new battery...it may even "tip" you into DIY for your battery replacement (as long as you replace it with the same type & capacity battery you won't need to code it...just register it).

Thanks very much!!

[Derekz4]

So, after some 7+ years of what I believe was it’s original battery I decided it was time to replace it now versus waiting until I was in a bad spot.
I decided to use my local BMW dealer over a local Indy as the price was only about $50 different. The headache of using the Indy was just not worth it. (Not open Saturday or loaner cars available)

Of course, using the dealer wasn’t free of surprises either. Before I presented the coupon I printed off BMW USA website, I played dumb and asked if they had any deals on battery replacement.
I received a “Yes, we will take $80 off the battery.” So I ask, “What is the total price?” He said, “$718.”

I then proceed to hand him the printed coupon you can see below and received a 22 X5 for the day.

[Opie55]

Battery for your car at a BMW dealer can be had for $239 (just bought one 3 days ago and QSilver got one at the same price a couple weeks before that at his dealer). Those dealers sure do make money on simple installs and registering. I had a coupon a month or so ago from the same dealer for $530 for a battery.

EDIT: Oh yeah, it was $236 not $239, as Q says below. All their install prices are ridiculous - even the $440 - but the $718 you were originally quoted is nearly criminal.

[Qsilver7]

^^^Ditto. My local dealer sells the 105 AH battery for $236. The other auto stores around town were $239 for a 100 AH battery, and BAtteries Plus was $280 something for a 105 AH battery.

Then my local BMW dealer also gave me the BMW CCA 10% discount. My total price after the return of the $18 core charge & CCA discount…I was out the door for $227. It took about 30 minutes to install and register (it was my first time with the f06). Next time would be simpler.

The tools required to remove the electronics above the battery and the hold down clamps was a:
10mm socket (pos/neg battery terminal)
13mm socket
14mm socket
17mm (?) w/ 8”-12” extension (for battery hold down screws…I only needed to remove the one on the right side. The one on the rear side only need to be loosed a little…which allowed the battery to be pulled toward the rear and lifted up/out)

If you have a ratchet set and software/app to register the battery…the battery is easy to install yourself.

[Qsilver7]

In the 1st pic you can see the left bracket built into the battery floor (gray) that you slip the left foot of the battery…and the rubber hold down clamp that secures the battery on the back side (toward the cabin).

The second pic shows the hold down clamp that secures the right side of the battery and you can see the 3 threaded holes that you can use depending on if you are installing an H7, H8, or the largest H9 battery. The 105 AH battery requires using the last threaded hole on the far right:

[Qsilver7]

I forgot to mention that if you replace the batter yourself (and probably if you pay someone to replace it)…you may need to reset a few things.

I needed to reset the clock…and I actually forgot to check it out…but the sunroof usually will need a reset, and sometimes the auto up window feature, too. (I’ll have to check it out tonight when I get home).

[flyinginsectturnips]

Originally Posted by Frupal

My 2016 640 GC was first sold in August 2016. Six years ago. I am 99% sure that the battery is original. I am not getting any battery warnings from the car. I know that they are around $500.00, plus perhaps an installation fee. BMW is offering 15% off of batteries through September 30th. Would it behoove me to replace it now?

If you're not getting any battery warning messages from your car, then it's likely that the battery is still in good condition and it's probably not necessary to replace it. However, if you're concerned that the battery is nearing the end of its life and you want to avoid any potential problems, then you may want to consider replacing it now. The 15% discount may make it a good deal, especially if you're able to get the installation fee waived.