New (to me) e89 owner, got questions...

[Fasttimes7]

Took ownership of a super clean 2012 35i w/42k miles, 6 speed, msport. So far, enjoying it. Definitely has some power, great sound coming from that inline 6.

So I'm starting to make a laundry list of things to get done asap on the car. Although it has a clean car Fax, I know I'm the 4th owner and have no real service history. Everything works on the car, it basically looks new. Computer says all the services are up to date and that almost everything is a good 10k miles away. But I'm not sure how reliable that system is.

Today I decided to take a good look at the battery and the hydraulic pump for the roof. Everything looks great, but after deciphering the battery it seems I have an 11 year old battery! Car starts on a dime, but I really need to get that replaced stat. This I assume is the original BMW battery. I can't believe it has lasted this long. Any recommendations on replacements? Can it be that the BMW sourced batteries are that great, or is it just that this car was so lightly used it lasted this long?

I'm thinking battery, oil change, top relays, lubricate top mechanisms and seals, window tints, and looks like I'll need a new set of tires before rainy season starts at which point I'll look to ditch these brutal run-flats.


Initial negatives so far, for the price point of this car there are way too many cheap plastic interior parts that squeak like crazy. The dash, the arm rest, and the two head rest bars all seem like the cheapest plastic money could buy and are cheapy-loud. Crazy coming from a car that in today's dollars would be $83k.

Also noticed while driving hard, there were a few instances of gurgle and slight back-fire. Not sure if that's normal or something that needs to be addressed?

Anyhow, I appreciate any feedback and look forward to participating in this forum.

[B21]

Welcome and enjoy the car..

Thanks to the Intelligent Battery System (IBS) the E89 can stretch out the life of the battery..I've known even 2009 batteries taht were still going well enough to start the car.

However all sorts of gremlins and occasionally difficult to fix faults can be caused by pushing the battery too far..so best to change it to another 70ah or 80ah AGM battert, Yuasa, Exide, Varta are amongst A tier suppliers..remember to have who fits the battery to register it and code it otherwise the new battery won't last as long.

Your maintenance ideas are good..some would suggest to be careful as what you lubricate on the roof..I defer to world esperts on that matter.

Trading the worst known performing sports tyre for almost anything else will be a major step forward.

Yes plastics do rattle, various folks use foam strips and employ witch doctors to try and solve them rattles.

The ECU / DME / TCO does inject farts and burbles on fast shifts, especially in sports mode.

Enjoy!

[Fasttimes7]

Originally Posted by B21

Welcome and enjoy the car..

Thanks to the Intelligent Battery System (IBS) the E89 can stretch out the life of the battery..I've known even 2009 batteries taht were still going well enough to start the car.

However all sorts of gremlins and occasionally difficult to fix faults can be caused by pushing the battery too far..so best to change it to another 70ah or 80ah AGM battert, Yuasa, Exide, Varta are amongst A tier suppliers..remember to have who fits the battery to register it and code it otherwise the new battery won't last as long.

Your maintenance ideas are good..some would suggest to be careful as what you lubricate on the roof..I defer to world esperts on that matter.

Trading the worst known performing sports tyre for almost anything else will be a major step forward.

Yes plastics do rattle, various folks use foam strips and employ witch doctors to try and solve them rattles.

The ECU / DME / TCO does inject farts and burbles on fast shifts, especially in sports mode.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm planning on taking her in to a local independent BMW specialist soon to get their feedback and have services done.

But I'm thinking maybe the first trip should be to the local BMW dealer to see if any recalls are outstanding and perhaps they can scan to see if a dealer did the services already that I'm planning on doing. I'm assuming the battery at the dealer will be super expensive so I'll decline that offer I'm sure I'll get.

This morning I checked the the voltage of the battery after overnight site and it's at 12.52 which is about 85% charge. Got the charger on it now will retest later to see how it holds it's charge.


So I think battery asap, tire shopping to start but might be able to extend till June, and I really would love to have a rear camera installed and if possible to add the rear parking sensors to the car.

[B21]

Ideally for E89s you need a good code reader / coder ..probably the first tool you should have…with over 30 onboard computers / controllers almost all issues start with diagnostics..

With one of those you can source your battery elsewhere and code it.

Dave here is the go to person for retrofits ..

[paris1]

Don't forget Bosch for batteries. I got a great buy on one a few years ago and had the dealer register it for $40. Not all top relays go bad. I've got 70k+ on my '13 with no top problems.

[B21]

Originally Posted by paris1

Don't forget Bosch for batteries. I got a great buy on one a few years ago and had the dealer register it for $40. Not all top relays go bad. I've got 70k+ on my '13 with no top problems.

I think the argument based on our resident expert on these matters is that they can fail in such a way that the roof motor runs constantly with an inability to switch off / disbar causing major destruction to parts in the boot if not the car.

Given the low cost and ease of swapping the relays seems little pain to avoid a major issue?

[MRCW]

The relays are cheap and easy to replace. I keep the old set in the trunk just in case.

Bosch makes great batteries. I use them in Porsches, Bmws and Mercedes...

Get the 80Ah AGM. The car should be already coded for this size. Then you just need to register the battery...

[Fasttimes7]

Originally Posted by MRCW

The relays are cheap and easy to replace. I keep the old set in the trunk just in case.

Bosch makes great batteries. I use them in Porsches, Bmws and Mercedes...

Get the 80Ah AGM. The car should be already coded for this size. Then you just need to register the battery...

Who sells the Bosh batteries? I was looking at the Die Hard Platinum at Advanced Auto or the Duralast Platinum, both clocking in around $240 with similar specs.

I imagine a BMW battery from a dealer will be considerably more?

[paris1]

Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, Amazon...Google is your friend.

[Fasttimes7]

Originally Posted by paris1

Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, Amazon...Google is your friend.

Autozone and Advanced do not carry them, at least not in Florida. Amazon has apparently, $305.

[KennyP]

I also had original battery for about 11 years... though for the last 2 i did use a charger on it once in a few months.i thought short trips were the issue.

Finally went on and replaced battery... I went with if i remember correctly EXIDE AGM EK800 12V 80Ah battery. Cost was 149 eur.
Installed the battery and registered it with i think it was INPA software. My new Exide battery matched OEM specs so i didnt have to go and configure battery settings. If you get a different Ah battery for example, then you have to change battery configuration settings and that gets a bit more complicated.
Registering was fairly simple. With INPA you can also see battery history and if battery has been replaced and registered before. Mine was not.

This was about 2 years ago.. havent had any battery issues and i have used my ctek charger only once or twice since then.

[MRCW]

Originally Posted by Fasttimes7

Who sells the Bosh batteries? I was looking at the Die Hard Platinum at Advanced Auto or the Duralast Platinum, both clocking in around $240 with similar specs.

I imagine a BMW battery from a dealer will be considerably more?

Pep boys has them. I get mine there

[paris1]

Originally Posted by MRCW

Pep boys has them. I get mine there

That's where I got mine too. I didn't suggest it 'cause I didn't think they were in Florida.

[Fasttimes7]

Originally Posted by paris1

That's where I got mine too. I didn't suggest it 'cause I didn't think they were in Florida.

They are, but all locations I believe were turned into a service only station, no parts store. Store me lists "0" batteries for Z4. Strange.

[MRCW]

I haven't bought a battery in about 2 years...Bosch is not the only one... many good ones are available...80 Ah, AGM good warranties are key

[GerryC]

I replaced the battery in my Z4 about a year ago. Bought the DieHard from Advance Auto Parts. I also looked at the DuraLast from Autozone. A little investigation turns out they are the same battery from Johnson Controls, and they were the same price. Went with Advance as they're closer.

Almost all batteries in the US are built by JC or East Penn. There are fans of both. A good warranty from someone that will be around for a while is your best bet.

They advertise that they'll swap the battery for you, but when they see it's for a BMW it becomes "The store policy is we can't change batteries on German cars." Turns out one of their employees fried the electronics in a customer's car and now they won't touch them.

No big deal. I picked it up, swapped it and took the old one back to get my core charge refunded. I registered the battery using BimmerLink. Took all of 20 minutes.

The H7 AGM 80Ah is a direct replacement. If you go with a different capacity, you'll need to code it which can be done in BimmerCode.

[Fasttimes7]

Originally Posted by GerryC

I replaced the battery in my Z4 about a year ago. Bought the DieHard from Advance Auto Parts. I also looked at the DuraLast from Autozone. A little investigation turns out they are the same battery from Johnson Controls, and they were the same price. Went with Advance as they're closer.

Almost all batteries in the US are built by JC or East Penn. There are fans of both. A good warranty from someone that will be around for a while is your best bet.

They advertise that they'll swap the battery for you, but when they see it's for a BMW it becomes "The store policy is we can't change batteries on German cars." Turns out one of their employees fried the electronics in a customer's car and now they won't touch them.

No big deal. I picked it up, swapped it and took the old one back to get my core charge refunded. I registered the battery using BimmerLink. Took all of 20 minutes.

The H7 AGM 80Ah is a direct replacement. If you go with a different capacity, you'll need to code it which can be done in BimmerCode.

Thanks for the heads up on BimmerLink and Code. This is what I did just now, got the Duralast from AutoZone, installed and used the BimmerLink. Assuming it worked, software says new battery was registered.

Only question I have is the battery specs are not 100% same as the BMW battery I replaced. The Duralast is 80ah, but 850 CCA versus the BMW of 800. Do you think I need to make any software changes because of that?

[GerryC]

Originally Posted by Fasttimes7

Thanks for the heads up on BimmerLink and Code. This is what I did just now, got the Duralast from AutoZone, installed and used the BimmerLink. Assuming it worked, software says new battery was registered.

Only question I have is the battery specs are not 100% same as the BMW battery I replaced. The Duralast is 80ah, but 850 CCA versus the BMW of 800. Do you think I need to make any software changes because of that?

No worries. The 80Ah is the critical value as that's how much capacity the battery has. The coding and registration provide a charging profile to maintain that level without overcharging. Coding sets the charge profile. Registration resets the profile for a new battery. The profile increases the charging current slightly over time to compensate for battery aging.

The CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) number is the amount of current the battery can discharge and sustain for 30 seconds at 0 deg F. The CA is the same test measured at 32 deg F.

So, on a cold start, the Duralast can provide a bit more amps while cranking. Generally that's a good thing.

Gerry