Battery Question

[Beemer Dreamer]

Please straighten something out for me. I heard that leaving a BMW sit for a period of time causes the battery to drain. Please tell me this is not true!

Thank you

 

[Ben]

i think that depends on whether or not you have a problem(short)............ maybe im wrong...........

 

[Big Daddy]

What is a "period of time"? I have never had a dead battery in any of my BMW's and the roadster sits for three months or more at a time. I started using a trickle charger on it this year however.

 

[AZRobert]

If I let mine sit for more than a few weeks, it does drain all the way (clocks read 12:00 after I get it charged and started).
No vehicle is supposed to do this and I'm not sure if it is the head unit on my stereo (aftermarket-pioneer) or something else. I cannot find a significant drian yet!!

 

[vlad]

Your battery may be slightly on the older side. I have had batteries do this after they're a few years old in Arizona. You're kucky to get a battery to last 3 years here. BMWs do have some electronics that operate when the car is off, but not enough to drain a battery in good condition.

I always recommend Optima batteries for people in Arizona. I just replaced one that was 5 years old.

 

[Kin]

When I went to the dealer to test drive a 330ZHP, the first dealer couldn't start the car because of dead battery. Then the same thing happened at the second dealership. They ended up jump started the car for me to test drive. They replaced a new battery after I decided to purchase it.

But it didn't happened on my old 88 735i. I let it sit for almost 2 months and it started without any problem.

I believe the newer BMW may drain the battery after sitting for a few weeks?!