The discussion about a dead battery in another thread piqued my curiosity and prompted an investigation into that subject. As some will probably recall, I've railed about the complexity of these cars in other threads. If anyone doubts the levels of insanity we've attained with them, have a look at the notes that accompany the replacement battery at RealOEM:

So let's think about this... There's no such thing as pulling into your local Auto Zone and buying a new battery for $100 anymore. Nope. Now, due to the complexity of the electrical system, a new battery has to be configured, at the dealer, with their computer-coder, before it can be used. Holy mother of somebody. So when it goes bad, instead of [insert name of common auto service chain] replacing it at no charge with purchase, we'll get to make a visit to the dealer (yay) and pay them $400 for a $175 Optima-like battery and then pay them another $250 to install it and "register" it to the car's electrical system. (Yes, I just made up those numbers, but they're probably not too far off)

Something stinks here. Thanks to the omniscient car computer, we are now forced to use the dealer for what should be common replacement parts. Does anyone know if Toyota/VW/Kia/Ford/GM etc. do anything as sleazy as this? Next thing you know, we'll have to "register" windshield wipers if BMW keeps up this kind of abusive tactic.

FWIW, I have a 2014 Silverado that has an electrical system roughly comparable to that in the Mini. It's quite a bit more complicated than previous models due, I suspect, to its electrical power steering. It also has similar monitoring and load-shedding capability, presumably to keep power around as long as possible to keep the steering working. Anyway, it does all this with a standard cheap flooded electrolyte lead-acid battery. Replacement cost -- $120. And how do you accomplish that replacement? Take out the old one and put in the new one. Thus my suspicions about BMW's motives here.

Much as I do like this car, the thought of what's to come in the long term, given shenanigans like this, is just a little scary.

 

That's not good. And the reason for the different battery is so the car can do auto shut off, a feature that many turn off (I would if I had it). To think that if you got stuck where it live, 100 miles from a dealer, with a dead battery and had to have the car towed to Scottsdale, or even have to drive there after a jump start, is crazy. The other thing weird is that it's possible to leave you lights on and have a dead battery the next day. I can't do that, my lights automatically shut off.

 

with our two MINIs - 2008 Cooper & 2009 Clubman all we had to do was call AAA battery service, they came out and installed a new battery in each MINI. No muss, no fuss - and no special prep or procedure required.

 

Somebody's dealer quoted him $310 to replace it after he left the lights on by accident. He was able to charge it up though. So you can use any similar battery, but it won't connect without a code entry that can only be done by a dealer using equipment they have?

 

My point precisely. Creeping Complexity. As Newt pointed out, in addition to the electrical power steering, there's the start/stop to contend with now. There's no doubt that these drive additional requirements onto the electrical system. I'd happily give up both to get a simpler system such as in your cars.

 

I haven't even *found* the blasted battery in the car yet! I'd bet you a pizza that there aren't any aftermarket substitutes yet either. The real question is what would happen if you'd just stick in a new battery and decline the dealer visit. I have a feeling that it would still work. Just imagine the bad publicity that having to get a 200-mile flatbed trip to the dealer for something as mundane as a failed battery would cause.

 

Drivers side by firewall under a couple of covers.

 

Wonder if a battery tender would help keep the codes in place while the battery was exchanged? I used this on the wifes X3 to keep the clock and radio settings. I guess it depends how "dead" the battery is.....will is support the lights and just not start the car, or is it so dead that nothing, clock, will not work?

 

Why couldn't you just run jumper cables from another battery (perhaps off your other car) to keep current active to the Mini while you disconnect the old battery and re-connect the new.
The mini would never know batteries had been switched.

 

The R56s went through the same basic confusion: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ment-help.html

I suspect the final answer is the same, replacement will be no big deal.

 

I remember that thread, with the vent tubes and stuff. My favorite part was this:

 

+1...

I specifically asked the mini rep who explained the car when we took delivery if there were any special procedures or concerns if I disconnected the battery and his response was, "No. Just re-program the clock".

 

I ran into the same BS when replacing the battery in my '07 MCS. Installed a 40R-70 from Carquest. Never had a problem.

 

I changed the battery on my R56 and did some investigation to see what type I needed.


It seems if you get one of the same type (ie AGM) with the same A/H rating and then you can just change it. You only need to reset the system if it is a different rating.


I went for one with a higher A/H rating and had the system reset at my local independent Mini workshop and it worked fine. Hope this helps.

 

Yeah, it does. Exchanging for an identical battery technology and capacity ought to entail nothing more than the battery swap.

Unless it's abused regularly an AGM battery ought to last quite a long time. It would be interesting to know how consistent use of something like auto start/stop affects battery lifetime.

 

I had the same registration issue with my last car. I was able to change the battery myself. No issues, however I dropped by my mechanic some time later to register it. Supposedly not registering it can impact it's life, whether it's charged properly etc. It's really not a big deal, but if they charge the same prices as BMW did for my E60 they'll fetch $400 for battery plus installation. I bought my battery for $160. Registration was complimentary.

 

I just changed the battery in my 2006 MCS with no issue since it doesn't have any of that BS battery registration going on.

Oh, 2006, the good ol' days when cars were simple ... The good old days? Oh that sounds very strange to say about 2006 :(

 

The registration helps match the characteristics of the charging system to the
age and capacity of the battery (if it is different than the previously registered battery).
Not a huge deal if you don't do it, but slightly better for life of the new battery if you do.
No need to maintain voltage with another battery or a tender if you change it without doing
the registration, after all, many repair instructions begin with "disconnect the battery" first
and make no mention about re-registering the battery after reconnecting.

 

I guess what bothers me about this is not so much that they've used an unusual battery, but that they've structured the process to require a visit to a dealer to perform this 'registration' business. I can't think of any good reason why this couldn't be a user-initiated function in the settings menu branch accompanied by appropriate instructions/warnings.

From some of the above comments, it appears that the price of the battery itself may be in line with Optimas which are also AGM types. So no problem there I suppose. But this is the first time I've ever heard of being captive to the typical excessive charges at a dealer for something as routine as a battery swap. It seems like the "Let's stick it to them every time we can" kind of approach to customer relations. If BMW could figure out a way to make tires and wiper blades dealer-only items, they'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

Have you looked at the rear wiper on the F56?

 

Um, what about it <ducks>?

 

I have had a 2015 Mini Cooper S Hardtop, Manual Trans, for two days and I cant believe the complexity of the electronics. It starts with the electronic dip stick. If its not broken why did it get fixed. I like the car but... man this thing is electronic complexity just to be electronically complex

 

One thing I learned a few years ago is that if you jump start newer vehicles is let them idle if not drive for close to 30 minutes which allow the ecu,s to totally reset themselves.

 

it's an odd little wiper

 

Rear wiper is not that much a concern to me. I don't think there's even a standard for that. It doesn't get replaced that often, if ever.

@cristo, that's a good explanation for why there is such a B.S. registration process. But yeah, it would be better to just let the customer type it in through the infotainment system.

I'm wondering if there is any way to buy those hook up cables for cheap ($10 max) and download the software and just do it at home. Or do they use a special proprietary embedded device for programming?