BMW X1 - "SOS Call system failure"

BMW X1 - "SOS Call system failure"

Author
Discussion

55palfers

Original Poster:

6,007 posts

171 months

Monday 16th January 2023
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My wife has a 67 plate petrol X1 and this message has appeared on the dash.

The internet reckons it's a battery that needs to be replaced but does not say where it is on our car.

Easy to replace at home? Job for indy?, Code it out?

Any ideas please chaps?

Thanks.

rottenegg

817 posts

70 months

Tuesday 17th January 2023
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My 2016 330d shows the same fault code in Bimmerlink, but nothing on the dash though. No idea what the issue is though!

NorthEast

317 posts

244 months

Tuesday 17th January 2023
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I made the mistake of giving the job to a dealer as they said my bmw approved warranty would cover it.
lt didn’t because batteries are excluded. BMW coughed up 50% contribution but still over £300.
An indy is best bet, battery is under head lining. Battery is a abt £60, cost from an Indy quoted on another forum was £150 ish.

Paw

179 posts

190 months

Tuesday 17th January 2023
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I had this on a 68 X3 with a pan roof, it was not always there and it went in (Sept 22) for service and to look at it.

The response was it was like you say the battery, and it was changed as a good will gesture from the dealer as it should have lasted longer. I was please to hear it as it was £50 for the battery and £750 for the labour (due to the pan roof).

The battery sits under the shark fin aerial.

Good luck.

Paw

spreadsheet monkey

4,548 posts

234 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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I have a 2019 X1, and have had the same error message intermittently in the last couple of months.

As others have said, the SOS call system has its own independent battery, and this lives in the roof of the car. It’s a few hours labour to change it, as the roof lining has to come out. Probably worth getting an independent BMW specialist to do it if you don't have a BMW warranty and don’t fancy paying main dealer labour rates.

An alternative is to code it out, and just do without the SOS functionality altogether.

https://www.6post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1690...

It seems ridiculous that BMW would put this battery in such an inaccessible location, given that it only has a life expectancy of 3-4 years.


ukpolak

182 posts

46 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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Had this last week on a 2017 F36 after (bizarrely) just having changes my key fob remote. It soon disappeared and hopefully never to return.

I did read on other forums that the battery was just a backup (??) as the SOS call button would still work if you pressed it, and that other people have had joy in taking their cars out for extended, higher speed drives which seemed to eliminate the fault. Maybe it recharged something.

Others put the root cause down to water ingress in the shark fin, and most people got the warnings only when it was cold.

rottenegg

817 posts

70 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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Not worth fixing at that cost. Plus once interior panels get removed/refitted, they invariably start rattling/squeaking soon after, even with new clips.

Who has ever used it though? Surely in an emergency you would use your phone? Or does it use GPS or something in case you get stranded in the middle of Dartmoor?

Mr Whippy

29,943 posts

248 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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Failed on my E81, no idea how to fix.

Bought an iPhone 14 Pro which now uses satellite SOS if you crash… cheaper option vs fixing the daft system BMW seem to fit.

spreadsheet monkey

4,548 posts

234 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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rottenegg said:
Not worth fixing at that cost. Plus once interior panels get removed/refitted, they invariably start rattling/squeaking soon after, even with new clips.
Yes, agreed.

Hence the suggestions in the link I included in an earlier post, to just code it out.

Origin Unknown

2,364 posts

176 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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I have this on my F13 640d, very intermittent. It'll show every day for a week, then won't show for a month, with no rhyme or reason. I bought a bluetooth ODBII thing to code it out as per the 6post post, but I have an MMI box installed for CarPlay meaning the bluetooth OBDII thing doesn't work.