HELP! X6M Battery Issue

[EXSIXEM]

Hi there,

New to this place, would really like some guidance / help.

I have a 2010 X6M, been driving around for the past couple of years with absolutely no problems.  I look after the car meticulously, only premium fuel, regularly serviced, etc.  Went on holiday for two weeks, left the car on the driveway.  When the missus was turning the car on this morning, the engine had a long crank and the following messages came up on iDrive:

Servotronic Failure
DCM Failure
Fuel Pump Failure

What could be the issue?  I have had the recovery people put it in neutral with a large orange key and have towed it to the local BMW garage.  I thought it would be a flat battery / low battery charge issue, however the recovery firm didnt even check that, just looked at idrive and told me that the fuel pump is bad.  Really worried that BMW are going to rip me off for something trivial.  :'(

Please help, any guidance / comments would be most welcome!! 

[Horizon]

Hi and welcome. Flat batteries are common place with X5/X6, with all BMW's even. Especially when left stood for a while, some members have battery conditioners to keep them topped up when they are away.
I only used to use mine at weekends and had to trickle charge it once a month at least, and that was with a brand new Bosch Silver 100ah battery on.
You get random faults being flagged up when the battery voltage is low, common problem, so probably just needs a good charge up.

[EXSIXEM]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. 

Is it possible for me to pull the battery out and charge it myself? Will doing this render my car "unlockable"?  The BMW garage here are totally useless, they havent even looked at my car yet as they have so many in their queue to be repaired.  Really need to get back on the road as the missus is expecting and we need to be mobile.  I have a battery charger, I wont do any damage to the car if I just yank the battery out and charge it overnight?

[X5Sport]

You should have two charging points under the bonnet.  No need to take the battery off at all.  One has a big red cover over it and the earth return is pretty close by.....a 17mm plated nut.  BMW say in the manual this is how it should be charged.

On my X6 the +ve terminal is mid way up, right side of the bay with a heavy cable coming to it as in the piccie.  The -ve terminal about 6" away out of shot to the right.  A 10A intelligent charger will take about 12 hours to get it fully charged.


Richard

[Horizon]

BMW recommend that you charge the batter via the connections under the bonnet, so there is no need to remove the battery. Lift the bonnet and look for the live terminal, it's probably on your right on the bulkhead, under a black plastic cover. The negative lead can be fastened to a similar lug which is bolted to the inner wing.
You also jump start the car via these poles
Obviously Richard can type faster than me

[EXSIXEM]

Right, just had a call back from BMW who have said that the battery is faulty, as well as (and I quote) "faulty engine box".

They are quoting me 3500 euro to get the car sorted!!  I cant believe this, the car has been fine, no fault lights, anything whatsoever.  I only left it on my drive way for the past two (sunny) weeks and now this.

Anyone got any guidance / comments to get me out of this mess?  Should I just go to BMW, get the battery and try charging it myself?

[X5Sport]

Any warranty cover?

Certainly get the battery charged up first as a low battery can throw all sorts of faults - almost always false alerts - up.  The Dealer should not even be testing it without first fully charging the battery.

BMW dealers have a very nasty habit of misdiagnosing issues and charging customers a fortune for that habit.  More than a few have found that to their cost!!  >:(.  Over-reliance on what the 'computer says' rather than what is really wrong is now a prevalent methodology.  Too few 'Technicians' with too little knowledge of too complicated cars!

Certainly if it was me, I would get a new battery - not from BMW - try it and if all is well then drive away after having had some very serious words with the Service Manager about incompetence and unnecessary repair bill quotes.

Richard

[EXSIXEM]

Cheers Richard, much appreciated.

If I was to go out and buy a new battery for it, are you able to tell me what kind I need to buy?

(Sorry for asking trivial questions, not so good with cars...!)

[EXSIXEM]

...and sorry, no warranty, the car is a Jan 2010 X6M, I think I am out of warranty cover now.

[X5Sport]

One of these Bosch batteries should do it.  I think the battery is at the back left of the boot under the plastic trim cover.  You'll need to take a screwdriver and some small spanners (could be 10/11/12/13mm) for the battery contacts.

The book says it's a 90Ah battery and BMW will want about £300 for theirs plus fitting based on others comments.

Bosch batteries are generally pretty good.  The car does need to be 'paired' to the battery but that doesn't have to be done there and then.  It's only a clever function to monitor how well the battery accepts a charge.

Going forward, you might want to invest in a battery conditioner that you can leave connected when you go away.  Several folks on here have the CTEK ones (which BMW buy and rebadge and add a premium too).

Richard

[EXSIXEM]

Update:

Been to BMW garage holding my car, who showed me that the rubber water seal in the engine bay had not been replaced properly during the last service by my local BMW garage (two weeks ago, just before my holiday).  As a result, there has been water ingress into an electronic box located in the top left corner of the engine bay (it looks like a small silver amplifier), which has caused corrosion, and hence these issues.  The head mechanic has indicated that it must have happened over the past couple of weeks.

Im really irritated and p'd off majorly.  Now I have to try and prove that the idiots that I took it to have it serviced have caused this.

[X5Sport]

All I can suggest is you get photos and a report (from where the car is now) and go see the other dealer and have it out with them.  If it was serviced by them they'll have a record of the mileage (or should do) and you can compare that with the current mileage, add the fact you have been away and not use the car and demand they fix it.

Don't take no for an answer.  Just tell them they serviced it, they failed to correctly re-assemble the car leading to water damage so it's for them to fix through their 3rd party liability insurance.  You could even ask for policy details etc.

Richard

[snipez999]

A real shame that you are having such bad luck with such a cracking motor.

Liability claims have a habit of eeking themselves out, so best of luck with acquiring a 'hands up' ASAP pal.  That is one unwelcome bill on return from hols!

[EXSIXEM]

Current (crappy) situation.

Basically there has been water ingress into the DME.  The reason behind this is unknown, the garage that serviced it aren't taking responsibility, the insurance company does not want to know, and I have a 3.5K bill to think about.

The BMW garage holding my car are now sending a report to BMW Germany to see if the repairs can be made through the reasons of a manufacturers defect.  Really p'd off, don't know how the hell the DME could have gotten water into it.  Not happy at all.

[EXSIXEM]

Right.

After much toing and froing and the BMW dealer opening a PUMA case, BMW Germany have agreed to pay 50% of the costs of replacing the DME and Battery.  They have ordered the parts and the car should be repaired by Wednesday next week, so will keep you guys posted!

Many thanks for all your help and guidance.