[Fisch]

I have comfort access and I've been getting the "remote battery discharged" message on the idrive screen. I figured the battery in the key FOB had to be replaced. I was taking my car in today for a warranty issue to get the rearview mirror replaced since the auto dim stopped working so I thought I'd mention the "remote battery discharged to them". I thought it would be easiest because it should take them 1 second to swap a new battery in and I wouldn't have to hunt down the correct one in the store.

First, the whole rearview mirror ordeal

1st trip - My mirror isn't auto dimming. Disposition "No faults found". When I picked it up I told them the loaner car I had worked great and dimmed. I know mine isn't working correctly! They said come back and tell the shop foreman when he's in.

2nd trip - Show it to the shop foreman. Drop the car off for the day as they fixed something else. They said they would call me the following week when the new mirror was in and that I could just wait with the car since it's a 15 minute job.

3rd trip - Leave work for my appointment to get the mirror swapped out now that the new one was in. I also mentioned the battery low message for the key FOB. I told him "I know it's probably simple and just the battery. Can you guys just go ahead and replace that while I'm here? I understand if something like this isn't covered under warranty, but if it is awesome!"

So I was patient. Really patient especially since I was missing work. Two hours later I walk into my service advisor's office and ask "What's the status on replacing the mirror on my car?" He calls down to the shop and 1. They ordered the wrong mirror! 2. They've been performing a full electrical diagnosis on the car to be absolutely sure it was the battery in the key FOB that needed to be replaced. They ended up replacing the battery under warranty (which is a $2 battery).

I just have to vent. Sitting there for from 9:00 to 11:30 they replace a $2 battery that I could have done on my own. I only mentioned it since my car happened to be there and I thought it would take them 1 minute to pop a new one in.

Well fingers crossed for my 4th trip back to the dealership for the same issue next week. A mirror isn't really a trivial issue

[bimmertt]

hmm...I have been getting the low battery on my key fob too...was planning on having the dealer replace, but now I am having second thoughts.

[tofu-]

just go to a local radio shack and pick one up... it was $5 and change

[E90PAT]

im curently looking for one on ebay but i cant decide which one to get

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-PANASONIC-CR20...#ht_1646wt_907

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-pc-SONY-CR2032...#ht_1646wt_907

[galahad05]

It took me about 3 minutes to replace the battery in the first fob. Then 1 minute to replace the other battery.

Bought a five-pack off of amazon for something like $6, I think.

[cronus]

Wow. I thought Best Buy robbed me when they charged $25 to replace the batteries in my TV remote.

[bimmertt]

Originally Posted by E92PAT

im curently looking for one on ebay but i cant decide which one to get

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-PANASONIC-CR20...#ht_1646wt_907

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-pc-SONY-CR2032...#ht_1646wt_907

wow, good find. i'd go with the sony.

[username604]

Originally Posted by E92PAT

im curently looking for one on ebay but i cant decide which one to get

Ebay batteries aren't reliable. I bought a nice panasonic cr2032 for a garage opener.
The original battery that came w/ the garage opener lasted 8 years before dieing... 5 months into the ebay battery and its nearly dead.
Just go to walmart and spend the extra $1, its worth it

[Fisch]

Originally Posted by tofu-

just go to a local radio shack and pick one up... it was $5 and change

If I would of known they were going to spend 2 hours running an electrical diagnostic on a low key FOB battery I would of just picked one up at a store on my own time. I was there though for an appointment to get a rearview mirror that actually auto dims. That's all I really cared about! But nope, wrong mirror, and 2 hours to replace a cheap battery that I could have done in 15 min (which includes driving to the store to buy the battery and return home).

[E90PAT]

Originally Posted by davidkneiber

Ebay batteries aren't reliable. I bought a nice panasonic cr2032 for a garage opener.
The original battery that came w/ the garage opener lasted 8 years before dieing... 5 months into the ebay battery and its nearly dead.
Just go to walmart and spend the extra $1, its worth it

yeah this is def something thats been going through my mind. I just dont know how much charge the things have. i also wanted to by some cr123 batteries for my tactical flashlight but i scared the batteries wont last.

[E90SLAM]

Took me 30 mins to replace the battery.

15 mins to drive to supermarket, 5 minutes to find the battery, and 7 minutes waiting behind the cashier line, and 3 mins to swap the battery.

[Elie335]

lol, It took me like 2 minutes to change the battery in the key fob; I've got a recent crashed pc board that still have the battery inside, took it off and swap it into the key fob and it worked

[ENINTY]

Sounds like you need to do the "key fob battery registration" procedure before everything will work correctly. Some folks on here will emphatically say it is necessary and others will argue it is not necessary and it is just the dealer trying to scam money from rich BMW owners. We'll never get to the truth.

[Elie335]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

Sounds like you need to do the "key fob battery registration" procedure before everything will work correctly. Some folks on here will emphatically say it is necessary and others will argue it is not necessary and it is just the dealer trying to scam money from rich BMW owners. We'll never get to the truth.

IT doesn't need any " key fob battery registration " it works perfectly whenever u swap the battery. And yes, we all know it and it doesn't need to be argue that the dealers scam money from ANY/RICH BMW owner.

[billeul]

You will probably pay as much for shipping as for the battery. go to Radio Shack or even try Walmart.

[John 070]

The battery takes less than 1 min. to replace, so if the dealership charged back BMW for 2 hours, that's not right. If BMW allows for 2 hrs., then they're after the revenue out-of-warranty that that would bring.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Elie335

IT doesn't need any " key fob battery registration " it works perfectly whenever u swap the battery. And yes, we all know it and it doesn't need to be argue that the dealers scam money from ANY/RICH BMW owner.

Dude, I was joking... Just trying to have fun with the whole (car) battery registration discussion we've been having for past few weeks.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

Dude, I was joking... Just trying to have fun with the whole (car) battery registration discussion we've been having for past few weeks.

I got lucky and the dealership only charged me $139.95 because I had the "key fob 2032 battery replacement super saver service."

They told me the battery replacement is very quick, but it's the alignment of the plastic cover that can take up to 3 hours.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by John 070

I got lucky and the dealership only charged me $139.95 because I had the "key fob 2032 battery replacement super saver service."

They told me the battery replacement is very quick, but it's the alignment of the plastic cover that can take up to 3 hours.

Yeah, they say it takes 3 hours, but a bet they do it in less than 1. It's fraud!

Enjoy the Nissan.

[roadkillrob]

It's called book time - they charge what the book says a job will take not the actual time, then they incent the employees typically by how much under book time they can bill in a 40 hr week, so if your working 40 hrs but doing 120 of book time that they can bill for - big bonus at the end of the year!

The battery is just wrong though charge 20 bucks or something, but not hours of time, battery was 8 bucks at radio shack and I changed it while walking to the car to use it in mine!

[John 070]

Originally Posted by roadkillrob

It's called book time - they charge what the book says a job will take not the actual time, then they incent the employees typically by how much under book time they can bill in a 40 hr week, so if your working 40 hrs but doing 120 of book time that they can bill for - big bonus at the end of the year!

The battery is just wrong though charge 20 bucks or something, but not hours of time, battery was 8 bucks at radio shack and I changed it while walking to the car to use it in mine!

Did you ever pay attention to the health insurance statements that come when you've visited the doctor? They'll say like amount billed, $750, amount paid, $89, amount not paid, $661. Patient not responsible for unpaid amount because physician is a participating provider.

Now guess what happens when you don't have health insurance (I got a taste of it because when I changed jobs, my new employer paid for my COBRA, but wouldn't you know it got messed up by the insurance co.)?

Being on health insurance is like having a factory warranty on the BMW, having no health insurance in the above case, is like getting your BMW repaired when the warranty has expired.

And great point about the book time, a former coworker who managed a BMW service dept. said exactly what you did. So imagine these nuisance N54's which cannot be fixed within the book time, and take much longer?

[GenePoole]

Originally Posted by Fisch

OP, I see you're from St. Louis. Which dealer? I've had a not-so-great experience once at Autohaus, but Plaza Motors has always treated me pretty well.