[Tiger Joe]

car is a 2012 535 xdrive. I've owned it for 1 year.

within the past 2 weeks I have had the following happen:

1- got a "battery low charge" message on car one morning. not right away when I started, after I drove 15 min shut car off and went to restart. I put the car on a battery tender and never saw message again.

2- one day last week, I got a random "high discharge" after parking the car for maybe an hour? I don't remember the exact message but something about battery discharging.

3- this morning, car starts fine no issues. drop my son off go to get back in car. I open passenger door set bag on the floor, hear this clicking sound coming from rear. almost sounds like trunk lock cycling. By the time my brain processing something is happening the sound stopped. I get in car push button to start, nothing happens. I hit the button again, car turns on, but no engine(like you pressed button without foot on brake). But my foot was on the brake. drive home and when I exit car hear that clicking sound, pay more attention and its def from the rear of car.


my gut says these are all telling me the battery is failing, just double checking. I need to check the date on the battery

[Hoa]

Sounds like a bad battery. You can pull it out and have an auto parts store test the battery to confirm. If you have a volt meter, see if it is within 12.4-12.9V. Anything less is an indication it may be bad as well. If you have a scanner, see if it is throwing any codes.

[Tiger Joe]

I searched on the forum and found there is a date stamped in the negative terminal.

I went down and popped out the trunk floor piece, and its stamped 03/12 so pretty sure thats March 2012 when the car was brand new.

going to go ahead and replace it since its that old

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by Tiger Joe

I searched on the forum and found there is a date stamped in the negative terminal.

I went down and popped out the trunk floor piece, and its stamped 03/12 so pretty sure thats March 2012 when the car was brand new.

going to go ahead and replace it since its that old

Wow surprised it made it thus far

[Surly73]

1/ A 2012 battery doesn't owe you anything. You may choose to replace it no matter what anyone says or what it's doing. Failing batteries can make lots of weird things happen, but...

2/ "Low charge" or "Recharge battery" means just that. The IBS in the vehicle has calculated or observed that the battery has capacity but it is run down. It needs to be charged, as you did, or there will soon be risk of being unable to restart the engine. This does not mean that the battery has no capacity left or has reached end of life. A brand new battery can be in this same condition.

3/ I have never heard of "high discharge" but I have seen "discharging while stopped". That has nothing to do with battery condition, state of charge or health. That is telling you that the IBS has detected that there is abnormal current draw when the car is supposed to be sleeping. It could be a bad module somewhere in the car (on my car it was a parking brake actuator, Comfort Access door handles are a common failure), or it could be an aftermarket accessory, cell phone charger, or bluetooth dongle left in the OBD port.

A "discharge while stopped" message means there's something wrong in the car other than the battery. Unless it is a one time fluke, if you throw a new battery at it the problem will just run it down flat too.

4/ If you have both "discharge while stopped" and "low battery" you likely have an active parasitic drain while parked that is killing your battery. Pull codes with ISTA and start digging...

When you get a new battery remember to REGISTER it with the car. If you're changing chemistry or capacity substantially then it must also be CODED.

[airframer84]

When my battery failed, I got a bunch of random errors, my back up camera went out, my TMPS stopped reading, the seat restraint my function came on every time I drove, the battery discharge I only got twice. New battery and no problems since.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Tiger Joe

car is a 2012 535 xdrive. I've owned it for 1 year.

within the past 2 weeks I have had the following happen:

1- got a "battery low charge" message on car one morning. not right away when I started, after I drove 15 min shut car off and went to restart. I put the car on a battery tender and never saw message again.

2- one day last week, I got a random "high discharge" after parking the car for maybe an hour? I don't remember the exact message but something about battery discharging.

3- this morning, car starts fine no issues. drop my son off go to get back in car. I open passenger door set bag on the floor, hear this clicking sound coming from rear. almost sounds like trunk lock cycling. By the time my brain processing something is happening the sound stopped. I get in car push button to start, nothing happens. I hit the button again, car turns on, but no engine(like you pressed button without foot on brake). But my foot was on the brake. drive home and when I exit car hear that clicking sound, pay more attention and its def from the rear of car.


my gut says these are all telling me the battery is failing, just double checking. I need to check the date on the battery

Although your battery is old, you are seeing signs of a parasitic drain. Be aware, even with a new battery, you may repeat the same issues. Particularly if there are clicking sounds involving the locking system. Locks/door handles are a weak point, if you have comfort access.

Are you seeing something like this... if so, there is a parasitic drain.

[Tiger Joe]

Highland Pete- yes that is the message I got. Sorry couldn’t remember exactly what it said. This always happens at the worst times when I’m in a hurry with the kid

So update- yes I replaced the battery. With a battery approaching 9 years old it was the logical place to start. And yes as you guys have said it appears that didn’t solve my problem.

I put new battery in and went to code it in with bimmerlink. I didn’t have my fob so I went to get it. As soon as I walked in the garage with fob I heard the clicking again. Then randomly the fob wouldn’t work.

It’s hard to find clicking. It’s faint. Def from rear of car. Almost sounds like backseat. Could be gas door? And it stops after a few seconds.

It also seems like my fobs/comfort access aren’t working correctly.



I coded the new battery and am cleaning everything up walked away for a few.

Dumb question here. How do I scan the codes/modules? Using the bimmerlink app correct?

I hope I didn’t screw up, when I went to code the battery it gave me a message to clear codes and I did. Didn’t even pay attention to what they were. I’m sure the code will come back.

At this point I’m thinking it’s the comfort access- the “clicking” sounds very similar to the door unlock you hear. I just have to narrow down exactly what it is

[Tiger Joe]

And another dumb question- if I suspect it is comfort access can I pull a fuse or something to disable it temporarily? Need car for 2 days then I could have more time to troubleshoot come Sunday

[Tiger Joe]

Ok so another update- I’ve some more time to think and another chance to look at the car.

Car sitting in garage I picked up remote walked toward it. Locked unlocked pass front door without issue. Moved to pass rear worked once then wouldn’t. Then car started acting weird. Comfort access wouldn’t lock or unlock. Sometime it would. Key fob wouldn’t work at all. Had to wait like 30 seconds. Then it would unlock.

So my brain is thinking- passenger rear door is the door I always take in my kid in and out of so used just as much as driver door. I hear clicking from that area. I might try unplugging that door handle see if it stops

[HighlandPete]

Should be able to disable the faulty handle and continue using while you seek a solution.

Garage did that for me, while a new handle was sourced.

[Tiger Joe]

very slight update. drove the car this morning and heard the clicking once again , the more i listen to it I'm now thinking it might be the fuel door.

also, the issue doesnt really seem to be comfort access, but the actual locking and unlocking of the car. for example today as soon as i touched the drivers door handle with fob i heard clicking from rear. by the time i walk around it stops. but im also noticing an odd issue when i am playing around where the car doesnt want to unlock. sitting inside of the car i hit the button on the center dash and the car wont unlock.

i think the fuel lock mechanism is in the truck correct? which would make sense as to why i said it sounded like it was in the back seat originally

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by Tiger Joe

And another dumb question- if I suspect it is comfort access can I pull a fuse or something to disable it temporarily? Need car for 2 days then I could have more time to troubleshoot come Sunday

CA fuse or individual handles can be unplugged easily

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Tiger Joe

very slight update. drove the car this morning and heard the clicking once again , the more i listen to it I'm now thinking it might be the fuel door.

I think the control module may be near the fuel door. When my driver's door handle failed, the clicking was coming from the fuel door area. When the rear door handle started to go intermittent, same clicking from the fuel door area, as I approached with the fob.

[Tiger Joe]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

I think the control module may be near the fuel door. When my driver's door handle failed, the clicking was coming from the fuel door area. When the rear door handle started to go intermittent, same clicking from the fuel door area, as I approached with the fob.

thanks Pete.

so i still havent been able to actually look at the car, but the good news (if I can call it good?) is this is now happening just about every time, so its making it easier for me to follow. drove the car a few times today and this is what i found

the clicking is definitely related to me approaching the car with a fob. this likely also explains the low battery- i usually left my fob in the car so it was probably never going to sleep

i confirmed the clicking is the gas door lock. its as if it is constantly trying to unlock. but the interesting thing i have found- it seems to do it when i am on the drivers side, step around the car and it stops. also on 2 occasions when this did happen, the car didnt recognize the remote- i had to hold it right next to the column to start.

now this has me leaning back toward a door handle, likely the driver as that has the most use.

hoping I get some time tonight or tomorrow morning to dig into the car

[Tiger Joe]

Well still have actually had more than 5 min to look at the car BUT found this out

1- fob battery died as well. Changed that and seems like 99% of my issue is gone. No steady clicking anymore.

Every once in a while I hear a clicking but I have also now noticed comfort access isn’t working on drivers rear door. Going to try to disconnect it tonight.

Side note- I always left my fob in the car when I parked in the garage. Could that been part of my issue? Car never went to sleep?

[Tiger Joe]

Well I got to look at it and think I solved it. Drivers rear door. Unplugged the comfort access handle and seems like everything is working perfectly.

At least it’s the door I use the least. So I have time to find a handle.

My last question still remains though- can I leave my fob in the car when parked in my garage or should I take it out?

[Global-F10]

Keep your Key fob far enough away so the car can actually go to sleep- it’ll prolong your battery and FOB battery as well

Nice work figuring out the CA issue. Bad CA handle is known to drain batteries as well... your old battery served you well!