Greetings everyone,



I had a generic battery in my 2012 R56S for the past 3 years. The battery died this weak. I went to the mini dealership to buy a new one. They sold me one, but the service guy told me that I don’t need to register it. The car does not have the start stop function, but I think there is a IBS attached to the negative terminal (it looks like one, if I compare it to pics online). I did tell him about the IBS system, but he insisted that I don’t need to register the new battery.



The new battery is working just fine and everything seems to be normal, with no errors.



Can anyone double confirm with me, whether I do need to get it registered?



Thanks and be safe!

 

There is a difference between "registering" a battery and "reseting" the battery.

An IBS sensor constantly monitores voltage and currents. As the battery's capacity decreases with time, the car adjusts charging currents and stops charging earlier. The battery's nominal capacity is factored into the equation.

In order to avoid undercharging a new battery by applying the reduced charging curves of the old battery, the car has to be told that a "fresh" battery has been fitted and to start "learning" the new battery's behaviour from zero. This is done with a "battery reset".

If the new battery is of different capacity/specification than the old one, then the car needs to know not only that a new battery has been fitted but also its (differing) capacity. This is a "battery registration".

The dealer's response would be correct, if the new battery fitted is of that capacity that was last written to the car AND a reset was done. If either of the two (or both) is NOT the case, then the reply is not what BMW instructions allow for in such a case (provided an IBS sensor is indeed fitted).

Note: lead battery's wear faster, the more time they spent in a non-fully-charged state (the lower the charge level, the faster they wear, also).

 

Thank you Girogios for the detailed response. I had to go back to the dealership to return the old battery for recycling. I saw a technician and he did confirm that since it's a new battery and the last battery was different, it would need to be registered. He was kind enough do it for me without any charge.

 

While your battery's long term health should not depend on you making enquiries elsewhere, at least they dealt with it immediately and without charging you for it. Mistakes can happen everywhere, what counts is how they are dealt with afterwards.

 

Yep, new battery will need reset, schwaben tool can do it. It just helps prolong the battery life as stated above.

 

Hi,

Sorry to keep an old thread alive. I've read other posts and just want to confirm my understanding is accurate.

If the negative terminal is like a normal battery cable, there is no battery management sensor (IBS) or need to program the car when you replace the battery.


Battery without sensor on the negative cable No need to program on replacement



Battery with IBS and needs registration with the scan tool.

Thanks for any replies.

 

@Rob Rocheleau

YES, that is correct