BMW Battery Life
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm pretty sure my 2003 E46 still has the original BMW battery in it. the car has a good history and there is no note of any replacement, plus it has a sticker on it relating to a spare wheel check which is dated 2009.. I'm thinking over 15 years is a bloody good innings for a battery!! Has anyone got a similar or even longer lasting one?
I'm pretty sure my 2003 E46 still has the original BMW battery in it. the car has a good history and there is no note of any replacement, plus it has a sticker on it relating to a spare wheel check which is dated 2009.. I'm thinking over 15 years is a bloody good innings for a battery!! Has anyone got a similar or even longer lasting one?
bmwmike said:
My ex car 1999 e46 BMW battery is still going strong! Not powering a car though, it is powering my automated greenhouse in its retirement. Still holds a charge just fine. In fact I think the car it came with has since expired.
Haha, that's excellent!Changed the battery on my (2001) E39 M5 in 2016 and according to the production data on the battery it was the original as fitted in the factory.
15yrs is pretty good going, especially for a car that is sensitive to even quite slight deterioration in battery condition.
The original battery in my E86 managed just 10 years - still that's much better than the AGM "Super-wonderful" one in my E87 with stop/start that didn't get to 5 years, and cost over £250 to replace by the time it was coded to the car on the OBD! 
Progress, my A*se.
Mrs Tidy's Mini R56 is still on the original battery which will be 12 years old in December - that seems pretty good to me!
Progress, my A*se.Mrs Tidy's Mini R56 is still on the original battery which will be 12 years old in December - that seems pretty good to me!
My friend's 52 plate 330Ci Convertible has just had a new battery and I fitted it. Yep, was the original from late 2002. The old one (the car had done 45'000 miles) took a trickle charge and is now in my '04 E46 diesel Estate and works just fine. Like a lot of things, these old Varta batteries are from an era when things were made properly.
You'd be surprised at how many old BMW's such as the E46 etc still have the original exhaust as well.
You'd be surprised at how many old BMW's such as the E46 etc still have the original exhaust as well.
iSore said:
My friend's 52 plate 330Ci Convertible has just had a new battery and I fitted it. Yep, was the original from late 2002. The old one (the car had done 45'000 miles) took a trickle charge and is now in my '04 E46 diesel Estate and works just fine. Like a lot of things, these old Varta batteries are from an era when things were made properly.
You'd be surprised at how many old BMW's such as the E46 etc still have the original exhaust as well.
Wife's 52' plate 325ti had its battery replaced earlier this year when it started to go flat if the car was not run much for a couple of weeks. You'd be surprised at how many old BMW's such as the E46 etc still have the original exhaust as well.
On the original exhaust. Other than consumables it is on the original everything bar the front suspension bushes, rear wiper motor and hedgehog.
crankedup said:
I purchased our 325i one year ago, it’s a very late 2010 car.Noticed on the service history that the battery had been replaced making the original battery life just six years. Replacement cost was £325, hope it lasts longer than six years.
I had to replace the huge battery in my E61 a few months back. Would have been more than that to do at BMW. £70 with a discount from ECP and 15 mins DIY was all that was needed. Plus my Carly app to tell the ECU. crankedup said:
I purchased our 325i one year ago, it’s a very late 2010 car.Noticed on the service history that the battery had been replaced making the original battery life just six years. Replacement cost was £325, hope it lasts longer than six years.
Stop start?Or maybe BMW just pay 2 quid per battery from whichever Chinese supplier knocks them out cheapest! I guess high quality batteries that last 10-15 years don't make commercial sense.
I'm not sure I've ever changed a battery in a road car to be honest.
One thing I have experienced though is that the stop/start in my present 2010 car ceased to function after a few years, and I've been advised it's the battery. In all other operational respects the battery is absolutely fine, it's just that stop/start doesn't work (as the car constantly likes to remind me!).
One thing I have experienced though is that the stop/start in my present 2010 car ceased to function after a few years, and I've been advised it's the battery. In all other operational respects the battery is absolutely fine, it's just that stop/start doesn't work (as the car constantly likes to remind me!).
RobM77 said:
I'm not sure I've ever changed a battery in a road car to be honest.
One thing I have experienced though is that the stop/start in my present 2010 car ceased to function after a few years, and I've been advised it's the battery. In all other operational respects the battery is absolutely fine, it's just that stop/start doesn't work (as the car constantly likes to remind me!).
Be grateful - I suspect stop/start is the reason I only got just over 6 years out of the starter motor on my 123d. One thing I have experienced though is that the stop/start in my present 2010 car ceased to function after a few years, and I've been advised it's the battery. In all other operational respects the battery is absolutely fine, it's just that stop/start doesn't work (as the car constantly likes to remind me!).
The battery lasted 16 years and 100,000 miles in my E46. Still worked fine, but was becoming slow to crank, and I don't use it much now, so a Bosch replaced it.
My dad's E53 did over 150,000 miles on the original battery, alternator failure meant it was totally drained, prematurely ending it's life.
My dad's E53 did over 150,000 miles on the original battery, alternator failure meant it was totally drained, prematurely ending it's life.
Just dont expect these long life-span mentions on modern BMW cars or anything else for that matter stop/start higher intended parasitic drains (too much CAN equipment/sleep timers) etc constantly pulling the batt voltage below a happy threshold especially with infrequent vehicle use the kiss of death IME cant blame the battery for this stuff/demand 
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