[gunner]

I'm having an issue with my car. About once a week the darn thing won't start when I put in the FOB and push the start button. I though it might be the steering wheel lock issue but I don't get that error displayed. If I keep trying, the car will eventually start. It might take about 5 tries of taking the FOB out and putting it back in.

Last Wednesday morning the car wouldn't start. Battery was dead. The car was in my garage overnight and as far as I can tell I didn't leave a light on or anything.

I've noticed in the past that I can't listen to the radio with the car off for more than a minute or two before getting a low battery warning.

I have 42000 miles on my car.

So I took it to the dealer yesterday to let them see if they could find anything wrong with it.

They tested the ignition and said they couldn't find anything that was causing the ignition to not work (no steering wheel lock issue).

This really pissed me off. They said that the battery needed charging but that the problem was due to "Unfavorable Customer Operating Profile" (UCOP). I made up the abbreviation but not what's in quotes.

They claimed that I had done something to damage the battery! I've not modded the car and the only thing I've ever plugged in was a phone charger!

They told me they couldn't replace the battery due to the UCOP code.

One other issue is the high rear brake light is defective. They tried to fix it at a 28000 mile service but it went right back out. Now they have ordered the part due to the "third brake lamp assembly internally faulty".

I asked if that could have been causing my electrical issues and they of course said no. So, I have to go back for the install of the third brake lamp.

Sorry for the long post but I had to vent somewhere.

To top it off, this morning the battery was dead again!

What do I do now???

Thanks.

[40yroldawakening]

A call to BMWNA is where I would start, or try another dealer.

[bsamoul]

Definitely call BMW NA. There really wasn't any mod you can wire up to a 330 to get more power like you can do with a 335, so that's out. And if you haven't hard wired a radar protector or changed out any light bulbs with something non OEM then it's on them. That battery of yours needs to be replaced. Doing a simple load test should tell them that...and batteries are covered under warranty... Even if you had left a light on, in 45 minutes when the car goes to sleep should and will turn off that light if left on, UNLESS it's the parking lamps that you hit the blinker stalk when the car is off that illuminate half of the car so people can see it from the street if it's dark.

That being said, UCOP or whatever is a load of crap. Especially if they can't even tell you what is causing it. Your computer might not be going to sleep, you can run a simple test to see if it is. An hour after turning everything off and shutting the door, locking it or not, see if the orange light next to Park on the shifter is still on. If not, it's sleeping.

Some wire could be faulty or something causing excess strain on the battery, so who knows. It could be related to your brake lamp if the bulb keeps blowing, but if it keeps blowing it should blow the fuse to that bulb first..

Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Hope this helps a little.

[K330i]

sounds like they are blowing you off until the warranty runs out...keep after them!

[gunner]

I told them I was calling BMW about this. They said they'd be happy to replace the battery if BMW says its ok. They quoted me 320 bucks to put in a new battery to which I told them no way, it's a warranted part! They said normally it would be but UCOP voids that.

I've not hooked up any mods to this car, no radar detector, etc. I have an iPhone and keep a charger plugged in. Since when did plugging an accessory into a lighter plug void a warranty? Fuses are there for a reason!

I'll let you know what BMW has to say about it.

[K330i]

Originally Posted by gunner

I told them I was calling BMW about this. They said they'd be happy to replace the battery if BMW says its ok. They quoted me 320 bucks to put in a new battery to which I told them no way, it's a warranted part! They said normally it would be but UCOP voids that.

that's a crock.......i had mine replaced (6 months ago) with no issues (dealer static).

sounds like he really wants your business after the warranty runs out.

[SoCalTech]

When we have a dead battery, we have to do what's called "energy diagnosis". It's a test module done through the computer that analyzes the most likely cause of the dead battery. There's a sensor on the negative battery terminal that senses how much draw is being produced. That, along with other data, informs us of why the battery went dead.
It gives us different reasons, such as: parking lamps left on, ignition left on, vehicle not driven enough (too many short trips, car sat for extended period), control module not going to sleep/excessive closed circuit current draw, closed circuit current infringement, etc. If the computer tells us that the most likely cause is something caused by the customer (like the first three that I mentioned), then BMW will not pay for the battery. We as a dealership then have two options: Pay for the battery ourselves, or make the customer pay for it.
I, as a technician, would rather do it under warranty than to charge the customer for a couple reasons. If warranty won't cover it, I have to then put a quote together, talk to the service advisor, explain why it's not covered, push the car back out, wait for approval, push the car back in, and then get paid less than warranty would have given me. Plus, now the customer is pissed off, so they will probably go to a different dealer next time, which means less work/money for me in the future.
If I warranty the battery, I can just go through the process, put the battery in, and get paid more to do it under warranty.
BUT, there is unfortunately nothing we can do about it. We are a business, and we need to get paid for parts/labor one way or another. If BMW won't pay for it, then the customer needs to.

[ENINTY]

SoCalTech, wouldn't you think it strange for a one-time incident where the owner left the parking lamps on or the ignition that would drain the battery and sulfate it to the point it wouldn't hold a charge. Repeated drainings will kill a battery, not just one time. The OP has 28K miles on 2006, which seems to me to be pretty normal and that short trips are not an issue. Shouldn't the dealer at least tell him what the unfavorable operating condition was, so he could at least figure out if he is operating the vehicle improperly?

[martyp]

When I bought my car, I had the same issue with my battery. I just replaced it and it's fine now. The car had 80,000 kms at the time I bought it. I now have 90,000 and it's running A+ with the new battery. I installed it myself, it took me 10 minutes and I payed about $100 for it.

[gunner]

Originally Posted by SoCalTech

When we have a dead battery, we have to do what's called "energy diagnosis". It's a test module done through the computer that analyzes the most likely cause of the dead battery. There's a sensor on the negative battery terminal that senses how much draw is being produced. That, along with other data, informs us of why the battery went dead.
It gives us different reasons, such as: parking lamps left on, ignition left on, vehicle not driven enough (too many short trips, car sat for extended period), control module not going to sleep/excessive closed circuit current draw, closed circuit current infringement, etc. If the computer tells us that the most likely cause is something caused by the customer (like the first three that I mentioned), then BMW will not pay for the battery. We as a dealership then have two options: Pay for the battery ourselves, or make the customer pay for it.
I, as a technician, would rather do it under warranty than to charge the customer for a couple reasons. If warranty won't cover it, I have to then put a quote together, talk to the service advisor, explain why it's not covered, push the car back out, wait for approval, push the car back in, and then get paid less than warranty would have given me. Plus, now the customer is pissed off, so they will probably go to a different dealer next time, which means less work/money for me in the future.
If I warranty the battery, I can just go through the process, put the battery in, and get paid more to do it under warranty.
BUT, there is unfortunately nothing we can do about it. We are a business, and we need to get paid for parts/labor one way or another. If BMW won't pay for it, then the customer needs to.

What I can't understand is how one incident (and I really don't think I did anything) could drain a battery to the point that it no longer holds a charge.

I haven't done one thing that could damage that battery. The lighter circuits are all fused. Like others say, the damn car is suppose to go to sleep after 10-15 minutes.

This really sucks on my end. We only have one BMW dealer in town so I stuck with them unless I want to drive 90 miles to Lexington, Ky.

[gunner]

Originally Posted by SoCalTech

It gives us different reasons, such as: parking lamps left on, ignition left on, vehicle not driven enough (too many short trips, car sat for extended period)...

Not a one of these applied to me. In fact they couldn't give me any specific cause. Just the this energy diagnostic came back as UCOP.