Mini charged me $482 for a $235 batt., I got aggravated - I got Veepeak dongle, Bimmerlink, & Romondes RD510 batt. machine. Mini charged me $739 for a Downstream aft. cat. O2 sensor & didn't tell me it would repeat itself due to cat.less DP. I found out on this website how to do it myself for $108, if I wanted to wait for another CEL.It occurred to me I didn't have to wait So, yesterday I put 18mm X 1.5 (fine thread size) plug in aft. cat. bunghole, (never to occur again) for $5 & zip-tied it out of the way. The moral of this story is "Screw me once shame on you, screw me twice shame on me." Thank You My Friends, Stu-mon P.S. I know they make Bimmerlink, Bimmercode, & Bimmertool (that's what Mini uses.) On my '15 F-56 I got double stern running lights (fog lights) that would be nice to turn on when I hit my little button for Sport Lights (cornering & fog-low beam, all 4 Driving Lights-high beam) I'll cogitate on that awhile !

 

Yeah, $739 for an O2 sensor is just too much, glad you made it work for you.

 

Do some digging around in here for ideas on how to avoid stealerships. Replaced my battery a while back at a parts store. Paid the man for the battery, he brought it out, installed it and said have a nice day.

 

yeh, figgered I'd make it easy on my next batt. install & pull my tower brace, battery cover, & whatever else, & Register my new batt. in their parking lot.

 

Quick battery replacement rundown:

• Pull the:
  • battery cover
  • cover at the base of the windshield directly behind the battery cover
  • airbox
  • plastic "wall" that sits between the battery and airbox
  • hydrogen gas vent hose/elbow attached to the side of the battery facing the front bumper
  • and a 2-piece lock plate (held in place by 1 bolt) sitting at the base of that "wall", right in front of the bottom of the battery. Pay attention to how that lock plate works, doing so will help you at reinstall.
• Disconnect the negative cable from the battery.
• Disconnect the IBS sensor from that cable, noting that it has thin wires and at least in my 96K-mile F56 they don't bend much -- treat as super-fragile unless you want to make your day really unhappy.
• Disconnect the positive cable from battery, but do NOT disconnect the various cables connected to the positive terminal even though tempted to do so.
• Remove old battery from vehicle.
• Prepare new battery:
  • Plug hydrogen gas vent on the side of the new battery that is going to face vehicle rear.
  • The vent on the side facing vehicle front will be plugged into the hose/elbow you disconnected from the old battery.
  • Since you have a Romondes, test the new battery and take a pic of the results, so you know your starting point for baseline uninfluenced by the vehicle's electrical systems.
• Place new battery in vehicle.
  • Reinstall the lock plate. Be sure you have the battery firmly secured in a way that it won't bounce/move/shift. That battery is 51 lbs minimum so the lock plate is critical. Be sure to observe proper torque spec as best as possible -- you don't want to strip that bolt and you don't want to undertighten it either (bouncing battery).
  • Connect/reinstall other cables/parts in reverse order of how you removed them.
    • Be sure to connect the IBS cable to the negative cable ONLY AFTER you have connected the negative cable itself to the battery. If you do otherwise you may send a nasty spark down the IBS cable. You probably don't want to be the first to figure out what consequences that may have for your electronics.
    • Be mindful of torque on battery terminals. You need a solid connection but you also don't want to go crazy.
• If new battery has different Ah rating than old battery, you MUST code that new Ah rating (use BimmerCode or other capable tool) BEFORE you register the battery.
• Register the battery (use BimmerLink or other capable tool).

One loud note to anyone taking this on: failing to properly code (if needed) and then register the battery (definitely needed) has charging consequences that will shorten the life of the new battery. Given that a new battery from an auto parts shop will probably run at least $225, take the time to make sure you don't have to spend that again any sooner than you have to.

 

Thanks Man, I have a Forge AF so alot of that stuff is out of the way already Ima surgeon about parts, I don't force nuthin !

 

So, the IBS sensor is really the only critical thing that sets your replace buzzer off in the swap ?

 

"replace buzzer"

?

I don't quite get the question

 

replace buzzer = Focus, Attention-getter, special notice ! not actual buzzer !

 

LOL. Ok I kind of thought so but wasn't sure.

Well, there are 2 things, the IBS sensor is one. Again, thin wires, not particularly flexible ones at that, and mission-critical all at the same time. Order of reconnect probably matters more than order of disconnect but it's something to be deliberate about for sure.

The other is that on the positive battery cable, there are cables bolted to "the" cable, and some instructions I saw made a big deal out of DO NOT UNDO THIS NUT/BOLT CONNECTING THESE CABLES TO THAT CABLE. I had already undone the bolt, of course (after disconnecting all that from the battery, of course), because all those cables make it harder to get the old battery out.

I was trying to figure out what I might have injured, before I put it all back together. Well, turns out I injured nothing at all, not the least because I did make a point of putting that thing back together with all the cables angled (relative to each other) EXACTLY how I found them. But you get the idea.

For context, my R56S had this stupid issue (and it wasn't just *my* R56S) where when you reconnected the battery you got this major spark. In my case after so many disconnects and reconnects it fried the footwell module. Not a cheap replacement. Not fun driving around with no ability to control windows and lighting. Just really, really not fun. The F56S is better about the spark and the R56's footwell module was a known funky car part anyway -- but still. Since fried module replacements should be expected to have price tags of at least $1K, I'm not putting convenience or hurry over diligence in dealing with battery disconnect / reconnect. Not in this car, no way.

 

the only other thing I can think of is this : when you register your new batt, I know the ignition has to be on with dongle in, but does the motor have to be running ? 1 flip of the swich vs. 2 flips ! Thanks Man

 

Yes to ignition on. Motor does *not* have to be running.

 

Ive learned, before disconnecting battery, let the DME go to sleep at least 45 minutes with your keys 50 feet away.
When time to reconnect, keys myst be 50 feet away, then positive first.
These F56s seem to know when you come near, and prime the tank fuel pump, and wake electronics up.

 

*peeks at MINI in garage*

*hears fuel pump sound*

*decides never to do that again*

 

You’ve never heard the fuel pump prime right before you open the door in the morning?
Maybe your keys are too close to the car at night?

 

Oh I've heard it. I was just making a joke about the car being ultra-hyper in wanting to be ready to go

Although it's usually when I open the door (if already unlocked) or unlock the car that I usually hear it. Have never noted it on approach, but my car is in an attached garage and pretty much *always* well within 50 feet of the key as a result, just by virtue of my keys being in the building.