The lifespan of a BMW factory battery is...

wiseguy

wiseguy

Member
 Mississippi, USA
(drumroll)- 4 years, 3 months, 26 days. Or at least that is what mine was. I found out today at lunchtime. The car was slow to start and the steering was very heavy, like power steering was not working (electrical steering + weak battery = 1960s roadster motoring). I Took it to the parts store, & testing indicated I had a bad battery. The Car had to be jumped to get me home. So, you have been warned. Change your battery when the factory warranty elapses or prepare to break down. With it being 95 degrees F here today (110 heat index), it could have picked a better day to die... :tumbleweed:
 
Changed mine in December 2010 after roughly 6 years 9 months of ownership from new.
Though I think it was it not being used for 3 months last winter while I was away that did in for it.
 
I think most Z4 are not daily driver, so the lifespan of the battery is generally shorter than those in other BMW. I didn't have any battery changed in all my BMW during the ownership.
 
Using a Ctek charger keeps the battery going forever.

Without it, I killed the battery in 2 years ...
 
Mine is on its original battery and was 1st registered on Xmas eve 2004. I'm guessing I'm on borrowed time but it seems fine at the moment! 8)
 
mine was replaced 2 weeks ago after 8-9 yrs...
... battery is still good enough for the e36 M3 though which doesn't need as much juice. That's where it resides now. :)
 
mines still strong after approaching 5 years of ownership....

no idea if the previous owners had a new one but I suspect not...

and mine is predominately a weekend car :o

of course I've jinxed it now...
 
Killed mine in under 3 years due to not being driven for a period of 5 weeks. Replaced under warranty and now always connected to CTEK charger so as long as PVR is right, which of course he is (before he says it) it will last forever.
 
On the plus side, my Dice Mediabridge arrived today, so I was going to have to disconnect the battery anyway in order to install it.

I thought it odd that my BMW battery's color indicator on the top of the battery was black (undercharged) and not yellow (battery defective). Perhaps I should wait a few days before turning in my old battery for the core charge, in the event that it was really a problem with the alternator, etc. I did see the tester's device screen, which read "Bad Battery!"

I've never gotten more than 5-6 years out of ANY vehicle battery. I'm amazed that y'all are getting 8-9 years out of these. My Z4 is a daily driver since I got it (May 2010), but perhaps the original owner didn't drive it everyday, leading to a shorter lifespan.

Kudos to my Chicago Electric 5 in 1 battery jumper/air compressor pack that I keep in my trunk. It got me home today.

Wiseguy
 
Mine on the ///M is coming up to 5 years old, but the car get's used daily - and usually for more than 20 miles at a time.

My 1994 M5's was still on it's original battery when I bought it in 2000, and I only changed it in 2006 when my voltage regulator on the alternator decided to expand the battery's casing by 25%. The one the AA fitted lasted 20 miles before it suffered the same fate.
 
Oh well, not long after posting on this thread, I just now had to replace my original battery, after 8 years!

Steering started feeling "notchy" on me a few times during my last couple of drives, and the red battery light came on for the 1st time last week. Stayed with an OEM replacement from the dealer, direct fit, no hassle with the vent, etc...
 
Mine is still going on a 2003 with 32k on the clock

I work at home most days so only use it 2 or 3 days a week

Although my alarm has started to go off every so often for no apparent reason. Faulty bonnet sensor or the battery starting to dip...?
 
Ditto Ranski,

My original battery is still going on 2003 2.5 with 34k on the clock.

I too only use the Z 2/3 days a week never more than 40 miles per week. (had the car 5 yrs)

The alarm has been going off randomly for the last 6 months, hoping prob is the battery dip.
 
your alarms going off is probably the bonnet sensor - less than £10 from the dealer and under a minute to fit :D
 
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