Kuhan

Why $100 for labor? Do they need to register the new battery to the car?

I know for my old BMW, I had to register the new battery for it to properly charge.

DJWLDW

Update

The Toyota dealership in Bentonville could not help me with the warranty issues as it was a Lexus Battery Made a quick 220 mile round trip to Lexus of Springfield, MO. The deal that made this 220 mile drive well worth it was that I was able to take my DW to one of our favorite dives the Red Barn Cafe for lunch in Mt Vernon, MO. Got a 50% pro rate on a replacement just like what I had the L00544-MF240-575. So out the door for $67.61 (not bad) with new 84 month warranty. Spending the day with and having a great lunch with the Love of my Life. (Priceless)

Dennis

CRowe14

I'd say you made out perfectly!

Nospinzone

I've never heard of registering a battery to the car. What exactly is that?

jmcraney

Corrosion on battery terminals is usually caused by corrosive gasses leaking from the battery where the terminals pass through the case. The felt washers are pretty effective at limiting this, if they fit the terminals snugly but it seems that many of them are too large and don't fit well. I recently read that a small bead of RTV Silicone Seal around the terminals, where they pass through the battery case, provides a very good long lasting deterrent for terminal corrosion. I think I will try that the next time I replace one of my car batteries.

roadfrog

In many BMW's (like my former 7 Series), when replacing the battery, it has to be "registered" to the car through the computer, This allows that new battery to receive proper charging. As the old battery wears, the charging system adjusts charging rate etc. When replacing the battery, that same charging rate will be applied to the new battery, resulting in over-charging and other issues. Many never bothered to do so at Bimmerfest, without issue, but others did have problems as a result of not registering. Just another "over-engineering" by BMW.

roadfrog

So they basically doubled the normal retail price of the battery and charged you 100 bucks for 10 minutes labour.....nice.

caha14

Some things that traditionally used to be a no-no to get at the dealer, like tires, are now competitively priced at many dealerships. Batteries, unfortunately, are not on that list...

I did two batteries on my 460L. The original failed within the 4/50 warranty, mainly because the car wasn't used for two months between trade-in, selling to me and shipping from TX. The replacement failed a couple years later due to stupid owner (different story), and while I managed to recharge it, it didn't last long. Enter Duralast Gold. It had more CCA than the dealership's battery (which is not the original Panasonic) for a much lower price.


Dennis, glad it all worked out for you, sir.

Nospinzone

Thanks for that explanation Chris. I never knew that, but then I never owned a bimmer.

roadfrog

Rub it in pal....rub it in.....

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

No, they don't register the battery - just take the old one out and put the new one in. Plus $85 to have it towed to the dealer (it died while I was at work). Only took 3 days before I could sit down again.................

roadfrog

And get rid of all the sand?...... lol

Riick

The LS 460 uses a very standard group 24 battery.
Advance Auto usually has a $50 off coupon, net installed there would be under $100

If you want a *permanent* battery, go to Costco. If/As/When their battery begins to go bad,
as in cranking a little slow, just return it. They'll refund 100% for almost anything you buy there
and you need no reason to return it, other than: I don't like it anymore.
Just be sure to have the original receipt.
Now go and buy a new Costco battery.

DJWLDW

Riick

No Costco's in Arkansas. The first Costco in OK is opening 21 April 2016 in Tulsa which will be 124.5 miles from door to door. Otherwise KC is a quick 450 mile roundtrip. Love Costco.

Dennis