Is it time for a new battery? BMW 116i Series1 F20 7 years old.

Belenus

I think it probably is as the battery is 7 years old. See below for details.

What is the best type of battery to buy, is it easy to fit myself or should I get BMW or a professional to do that?

Any suggestions and advice would be welcome.

Here is the battery.

BMW 116i Series1 F20 January 2015. Petrol engined, 7 years old on original battery. It has stop start. It has done about 28,000 miles. We used to do lots of short trips and fairly regular long trips but, due to Covid, the number of long trips has significantly reduced.

In January last year during cold weather (1 degree C) we got a low battery warning. See this thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6230430/for-how-long-should-i-charge-a-car-battery#latest

Since then we have not had another low battery warning.

Recently I have noticed that the Start/Stop function no longer activates. I put that down to the very short trips we do but I now think that is due to a failing battery. On Sunday morning we drove 80 miles to a hotel for a party. After the car had been parked for about 4 hours I went to the car to listen to a football commentary on the car radio. I did not start or drive the car. The radio and the information display screen were on but they presumably don't use much power. After 45 minutes the low battery warning came on. I turned the radio off and rejoined the party. I left the car in the hotel car park overnight.

The next morning the car started normally with no battery warning. We drove 10 miles to a National Trust property and three hours later we drove the 80 miles home, all with no issues.

When we got home I put the battery on charge using my very old 4 amp trickle charger. It started off with a reading of 3.5 amps which dropped to about 1.5 amps after about five hours. The car started normally this morning.

motorguy

It sounds like its on its way out, so its whether you want to perservere with it and try and get a bit longer out of it, or have the piece of mind of replacing it now.

You could try a full regenerative charge of the battery with a charger like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FC42HAA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But you're in to a good percentage of the price of a battery anyway and it might not work.

A good local battery supplier should be able to supply, fit and code a new one in for you.  BMW will charge you a fortune by comparison.

Belenus

Thanks. I'd rather have the piece of mind so I am going to get a new battery. I think we probably did well to get 7 years life from the original battery, especially was we do a lot of short trips.

I will check prices locally as my nearest BMW dealer is 17 miles away. I did buy tyres from them a few months ago as the car needed to go there for a recall and they offered me a £10 MOT. The MOT found two tyres requiring immediate replacement and, to my surprise, their price was competitive.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6335318/bmw-wanted-to-charge-me-44-for-a-rear-windscreen-wiper-but-were-surprisingly-competitive-on-tyres#latest


Should I stick with Varta or are there better or equally good brands?

I prefer quality, longevity and reliability over price so I am not looking to skimp on this. We plan to keep the car for the foreseeable future.

Goudy

From what you describe, the battery doesn't sound too bad yet, but if it is 7 years old it may be getting to the end of it's natural life soon.

The sensor on the battery for the stop/start all tend to end up like this when short tripping.
It doesn't really indicate a duff battery, just that it's doing its job and protecting the battery for stops when the charge rate is lower than needed.

When it does come for a replacement you are best going for another quality battery, perhaps one of the higher end Varta Silver Dynamic or Borch S5 with 4 or 5 years guarantee.

You need a AGM battery (Absorbent Glass Mat) rather than a flooded type of battery.  This has acid soaked in glass matting rather than sloshing around loose inside the case.

These tend to cost a bit more than your normal car battery.
A quick search throws up this one, it gives you an idea of what they cost. 
https://batterygroup.co.uk/batteries-by-application/boats-marine/starter-batteries/9560/varta-start-stop-silver-dynamic-agm-f21-12v-80ah-800a/en-580-901-080-starter-battery#gref

It shouldn't be too hard to swap yourself.
They'll be a clamp holding the battery down at the end and the two terminals to undo, though without a battery backup you will likely lose all your trip and radio settings.

Careful not to touch your spanner to earth when undoing the positive terminal!!

Also it worth thinly smearing petroleum jelly (vaseline) over the terminal posts before fitting the terminal clamps, this keeps the air and mositure away so the terminals don't fur up (sulfation). 

If you don't fancy it, buy your battery online and run it in to a local garage to swap out.
They shouldn't want more than a decent drink for doing it.

motorguy

Goudy said:

From what you describe, the battery doesn't sound too bad yet, but if it is 7 years old it may be getting to the end of it's natural life soon.

The sensor on the battery for the stop/start all tend to end up like this when short tripping.
It doesn't really indicate a duff battery, just that it's doing its job and protecting the battery for stops when the charge rate is lower than needed.

When it does come for a replacement you are best going for another quality battery, perhaps one of the higher end Varta Silver Dynamic or Borch S5 with 4 or 5 years guarantee.

You need a AGM battery (Absorbent Glass Mat) rather than a flooded type of battery.  This has acid soaked in glass matting rather than sloshing around loose inside the case.

These tend to cost a bit more than your normal car battery.
A quick search throws up this one, it gives you an idea of what they cost. 
https://batterygroup.co.uk/batteries-by-application/boats-marine/starter-batteries/9560/varta-start-stop-silver-dynamic-agm-f21-12v-80ah-800a/en-580-901-080-starter-battery#gref

It shouldn't be too hard to swap yourself.
They'll be a clamp holding the battery down at the end and the two terminals to undo, though without a battery backup you will likely lose all your trip and radio settings.

Careful not to touch your spanner to earth when undoing the positive terminal!!

Also it worth thinly smearing petroleum jelly (vaseline) over the terminal posts before fitting the terminal clamps, this keeps the air and mositure away so the terminals don't fur up (sulfation). 

If you don't fancy it, buy your battery online and run it in to a local garage to swap out.
They shouldn't want more than a decent drink for doing it.

It will need registered / coded in to the car though.

https://www.autoscopecarcare.com/car-tips/bmw-battery-replacement-why-register-new-bmw-battery/

• Registering - This is a simple procedure that is always required. It simply tells the vehicle the battery has been replaced with a new battery that has identical (or very close) specifications to the battery that was just removed. Most full system BMW scanners can complete this procedure. Skipping this step can shorten the life of the new battery. 
• Coding - This is a required step if you install a new battery that has specifications that are very different than the battery you are replacing. If you install a new battery with significantly different Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) or Ah or battery type (Pb or AGM), then you need to complete coding. Very few scanners can complete this procedure. We strongly recommend that you look at the old battery and try to find a replacement battery with similar specs. CCA, Ah should not vary by more than 5% if you want to skip coding. The 5% value is based on our testing and experience.  Also do not change battery type. If the old battery is AGM, find the same type of battery. 

Grumpy_chap

Goudy said:

They shouldn't want more than a decent drink for doing it.

I think the days of a garage ' doing a favour' like this are long gone.  You'd need to actually know a mechanic who helps you out one evening outside of work.

Belenus

BMW have just quoted me:

The battery including fitting is £283.78 Inc VAT - You can sit and wait on site the appointment will be 90 minutes including the wash and vacuum.

So I will be searching for someone local. I do know a good reliable independent that I have used many times in the past. I used them for the last service as my 5 year BMW service plan had expired.

I could DIY it but these days I prefer to pay someone who knows what they are doing as I know there is more than just the physical replacement involved. From googling I need to pair the new battery with the car. I also want to avoid losing any radio and other settings etc.

I welcome any further advice on the best battery brand and type to get.

diystarter7

7 years seems to be the norm for battery life for day to day, non-business used cars. Mine went at 7 years on two cars as did my daughters, all were Fords and one was a BMW.

shiraz99

Belenus said:

BMW have just quoted me:

The battery including fitting is £283.78 Inc VAT - You can sit and wait on site the appointment will be 90 minutes including the wash and vacuum.

So I will be searching for someone local. I do know a good reliable independent that I have used many times in the past. I used them for the last service as my 5 year BMW service plan had expired.

I could DIY it but these days I prefer to pay someone who knows what they are doing as I know there is more than just the physical replacement involved. From googling I need to pair the new battery with the car. I also want to avoid losing any radio and other settings etc.

I welcome any further advice on the best battery brand and type to get.

As already mentioned you're going to have to get it registered and coded so unless you have the tools and software to DIY then no point trying to fit it yourself. Have a look at Halfords, there own brand batteries are very good, they're manufactured by Yuasa and are equivalent to Varta or Bosch in terms of quality. Last time I was looking they were over £100 cheaper than BMW.

TBH, during covid even I had battery warnings on my F20 as it was rarely being used, but since using more often and occasionally charging it fully I've not had any issues. What type of charger are you using, does it have an AGM battery setting and are you charging the battery correctly, ie using the charging posts under the bonnet rather than connecting directly to the battery in the boot?

Ibrahim5

The battery including fitting is £283.78 Inc VAT - You can sit and wait on site the appointment will be 90 minutes including the wash and vacuum.

I never clean new batteries. Never had a dirty one.

Goudy

motorguy said:

It will need registered / coded in to the car though.

https://www.autoscopecarcare.com/car-tips/bmw-battery-replacement-why-register-new-bmw-battery/

• Registering - This is a simple procedure that is always required. It simply tells the vehicle the battery has been replaced with a new battery that has identical (or very close) specifications to the battery that was just removed. Most full system BMW scanners can complete this procedure. Skipping this step can shorten the life of the new battery. 
• Coding - This is a required step if you install a new battery that has specifications that are very different than the battery you are replacing. If you install a new battery with significantly different Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) or Ah or battery type (Pb or AGM), then you need to complete coding. Very few scanners can complete this procedure. We strongly recommend that you look at the old battery and try to find a replacement battery with similar specs. CCA, Ah should not vary by more than 5% if you want to skip coding. The 5% value is based on our testing and experience.  Also do not change battery type. If the old battery is AGM, find the same type of battery. 

I thought this might be the case after I wrote my reply.

Seems a few manufacturers fit Intelligent Battery Sensors (IBS) to their charging systems these days so the charging system can adapt the charge rate to the condtion of the battery which may save fuel and lower emissions.

Though they should really be call it an Unintelligent Battery Sensor if you need to tell the ECU software what the sensor is meant to do, that the condtion of the battery has changed?

Seems odd it can monitior battery and alter the charge rate all by itself until you have to put your hand in your pocket and replace the battery, then it doesn't work and you have to reach deeper.