BMW 1 series battery - Approved Used car
Discussion
I bought a 2019 M140i 6 months ago, approved used main dealer, so it came with a BMW 12 month warranty.
Just before Christmas, it started throwing a "battery discharged, start engine" warning as soon as the door was opened. After a 20 mile drive, the car would still display the warning when switching off the engine, but it would go away after a longer drive. If the car was left unused for a few days, it would come back.
Giving it a 24 hour charge on my CTek would clear the error for a couple of weeks.
I plugged in one of those ciggy lighter socket voltmeters. As soon as I started the engine, the voltage went up to 14.7, so it's charging OK.
Switching off after a 30 mile drive, the voltage was 12.4, but dropped down to 12.0 after a couple of minutes. The next morning, it was down to 11.7v.
Seems like a dodgy battery to me, which is covered by the warranty, so I booked it in.
I've just got back from the dealer. They can see all the errors logged on the key. The technician said the battery was only at 20% charge, despite me driving the car 100 miles in the last 4 days. Apparently they can't test it, as it's too flat! They want to charge it up in the workshop - 5 hours - then test it.
Tried to blame the additional devices that I'd installed in the car. The only thing extra is a Garmin satnav, which is plugged into the 12v socket next to the glovebox. That socket switches off after 20 minutes when the car goes to sleep. No chance of that draining the battery.
When I pointed out that it was plugged into a 12v socket, and not hardwired, they stopped blaming it.
Receptionist insisted that it wasn't covered under AUC warranty, so I asked her to prove it. She printed off the latest T&Cs, and hunted down an old printed brochure, but couldn't find an exclusion for batteries. Had to agree that it was covered.
I've had to book the car back in for 2 days next week, and they will give me a loan car.
What gets me is that the loan car and workshop time must be costing them way more than the cost of a new battery....
If I'd known how much hassle it would be, I'd have just gone to Halfords and had them fit/code a new battery. They can't be any less useless than the dealer.
Just before Christmas, it started throwing a "battery discharged, start engine" warning as soon as the door was opened. After a 20 mile drive, the car would still display the warning when switching off the engine, but it would go away after a longer drive. If the car was left unused for a few days, it would come back.
Giving it a 24 hour charge on my CTek would clear the error for a couple of weeks.
I plugged in one of those ciggy lighter socket voltmeters. As soon as I started the engine, the voltage went up to 14.7, so it's charging OK.
Switching off after a 30 mile drive, the voltage was 12.4, but dropped down to 12.0 after a couple of minutes. The next morning, it was down to 11.7v.
Seems like a dodgy battery to me, which is covered by the warranty, so I booked it in.
I've just got back from the dealer. They can see all the errors logged on the key. The technician said the battery was only at 20% charge, despite me driving the car 100 miles in the last 4 days. Apparently they can't test it, as it's too flat! They want to charge it up in the workshop - 5 hours - then test it.
Tried to blame the additional devices that I'd installed in the car. The only thing extra is a Garmin satnav, which is plugged into the 12v socket next to the glovebox. That socket switches off after 20 minutes when the car goes to sleep. No chance of that draining the battery.
When I pointed out that it was plugged into a 12v socket, and not hardwired, they stopped blaming it.
Receptionist insisted that it wasn't covered under AUC warranty, so I asked her to prove it. She printed off the latest T&Cs, and hunted down an old printed brochure, but couldn't find an exclusion for batteries. Had to agree that it was covered.
I've had to book the car back in for 2 days next week, and they will give me a loan car.
What gets me is that the loan car and workshop time must be costing them way more than the cost of a new battery....
If I'd known how much hassle it would be, I'd have just gone to Halfords and had them fit/code a new battery. They can't be any less useless than the dealer.
Grumps. said:
It’s not them that insisting on following procedures for warranty claims, it’s BMW.
If a dealer just swaps the battery and tries to put in a warranty claim, if procedures weren’t followed, they won’t get paid.
I appreciate that, but it still makes no sense to spend more diagnosing a fault than it costs to just fit the part that is 99% at fault.If a dealer just swaps the battery and tries to put in a warranty claim, if procedures weren’t followed, they won’t get paid.
No excuse for them saying it's not covered though. Or for them making an appointment for me at 10:30, then not even moving the car into the workshop until 12:20. Or giving me BS about a device that's clearly plugged in, not hard-wired.
Another customer had been waiting nearly 4 hours to get his first MOT done. Car had only done 9000 miles since he bought it new. Receptionist made it seem like they were doing him a favour by passing it, then tried to charge him £160 for a brake fluid change. Feigned ignorance when he pointed out that he'd bought a service plan with the car.
I took the car back in to the main dealer yesterday morning, and they left it on charge overnight.
They have just phoned to say that they can't find any parasitic power drains, so it must be the battery that's faulty.
They are going to replace it, under warranty.
Should be ready tomorrow.
They have just phoned to say that they can't find any parasitic power drains, so it must be the battery that's faulty.
They are going to replace it, under warranty.
Should be ready tomorrow.
Sounds like a great candidate for a 'name & shame', so everyone can see the name of the Dealer that made a mountain out of a molehill
Clearly they put great value on £50 or so's worth of Battery...
...but zero value on your time & inconvenience.
I hope you do the sensible thing and vote with your feet next time your vehicle needs Parts / Servicing or you buy another.
Clearly they put great value on £50 or so's worth of Battery...
...but zero value on your time & inconvenience.
I hope you do the sensible thing and vote with your feet next time your vehicle needs Parts / Servicing or you buy another.
I picked the car up yesterday, and all seems good so far.
It was a bit of a pain having to go back and forth 3 times, but we got there in the end.
Service desk said that the dealer had swallowed all the costs, as they could clearly see from the error logs that there was a problem, but couldn't actually pin it down to the battery. All they could see from diagnostics was that there was no other issue causing the battery voltage to drop, so the battery itself was the most likely cause.
I get the impression that BMW would've dragged their feet in authorising replacement of a slightly dodgy battery that didn't fail diagnostics, so the dealer paid to put an end to it.
I've had worse service from other dealers in the past (Vauxhall, VW, Skoda and Ford), so I am reasonably happy with the BMW dealer, and I would buy from them again.
BTW, the last time I paid for a new battery in a BMW was for my old E61. Fitted and coded by an indy about 6 years ago - £240!
It was a bit of a pain having to go back and forth 3 times, but we got there in the end.
Service desk said that the dealer had swallowed all the costs, as they could clearly see from the error logs that there was a problem, but couldn't actually pin it down to the battery. All they could see from diagnostics was that there was no other issue causing the battery voltage to drop, so the battery itself was the most likely cause.
I get the impression that BMW would've dragged their feet in authorising replacement of a slightly dodgy battery that didn't fail diagnostics, so the dealer paid to put an end to it.
I've had worse service from other dealers in the past (Vauxhall, VW, Skoda and Ford), so I am reasonably happy with the BMW dealer, and I would buy from them again.
BTW, the last time I paid for a new battery in a BMW was for my old E61. Fitted and coded by an indy about 6 years ago - £240!
clockworks said:
I picked the car up yesterday, and all seems good so far.
BTW, the last time I paid for a new battery in a BMW was for my old E61. Fitted and coded by an indy about 6 years ago - £240!
Indeed - bought one for a 2016 Merc recently and was around £150!BTW, the last time I paid for a new battery in a BMW was for my old E61. Fitted and coded by an indy about 6 years ago - £240!
Good to hear you got it sorted.
SmithCorona said:
However, look at it from the cynic's perspective.
They likely knew the battery was faulty from the off and the warranty would cover it, but all those hours on diagnosis work are now chargeable to the warranty company.
Easy money at circa 175 an hour labour rates.
Approved used car, so I think the warranty is with BMW themselves? They likely knew the battery was faulty from the off and the warranty would cover it, but all those hours on diagnosis work are now chargeable to the warranty company.
Easy money at circa 175 an hour labour rates.
clockworks said:
Receptionist insisted that it wasn't covered under AUC warranty, so I asked her to prove it. She printed off the latest T&Cs, and hunted down an old printed brochure, but couldn't find an exclusion for batteries. Had to agree that it was covered.
How do these people not know their own jobs? I recall many years ago I received a letter from BMW introducing "MOT Insurance" as part of the warranty. Basically if your car failed its MOT they'd fix it under warranty. At my next MOT it failed on something so I mentioned the MOT insurance and they knew nothing about it!Anyway, screen grab from an approved used BMW listing...
"even the exhaust and the battery are guaranteed"
Also detailed on this page if you scroll down to the bit under the heading "PROTECTED: COMPREHENSIVE COVER FOR AT LEAST A WHOLE YEAR."
That's exactly what I said to the receptionist "even the battery and exhaust". It did strike me as poor that she didn't know this. Lack of product training, probably not helped by BMW going "paperless".
I wonder if the covered/not covered doubt was because the battery hadn't actually died, but was just "degraded"? The car never failed to start, just kept throwing up dash messages and turning off "consumers"
I wonder if the covered/not covered doubt was because the battery hadn't actually died, but was just "degraded"? The car never failed to start, just kept throwing up dash messages and turning off "consumers"
VanDiesel99 said:
ro250 (I've no idea how to quote)
I've bought two Batteries in the past two months, both new, Exide Branded, one for a petrol Polo, the other for my Diesel Focus, approx £50 and £60 respectively from Tayna Batteries
Are you paying too much for yours?
No - that was the price of a start-stop battery. Just ran another search on ECP. Prices range from £154 - £260. Ridiculous!I've bought two Batteries in the past two months, both new, Exide Branded, one for a petrol Polo, the other for my Diesel Focus, approx £50 and £60 respectively from Tayna Batteries
Are you paying too much for yours?
clockworks said:
SmithCorona said:
Lovely car though. Hope you are enjoying it!
Only thing I don't like is the slightly "jiggly" ride over poor road surfaces at lower speeds. Made worse by general traffic speeds getting slower. It's like everyone is driving slower to maximise fuel economy.Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff