Procedure

The maintenance tracking system provides for 3 distinct options:

1) Removal of battery main disconnect switch upon arrival of car at dealership (or car not equipped with disconnect switch)

1.1) Vehicle goes into storage (back lot)

A four-week charging cycle and calendar has been established for these cases.

The car arrives marked with a color-coded sticker on the windshield. The respective color (one out of four possible colors) designates the vehicle's battery must be charged in accordance with the new calendar on a four-week cycle.

Also, the car will be provided with a BATTERY LOG FORM. This form has to be filled in upon receipt and subsequently has to be filed in the BATTERY CHARGE LOG (binder) under the applicable color coded section. All cars identified by their respective sheets in one section will have to be recharged in that week.

1.2) Vehicle goes into showroom or new car display

Due to the exposure to customer traffic, that is, the increased current draw imposed on the battery because of frequent usage of the vehicle's electrical components (demonstrations, product familiarization), a four week charging cycle will not suffice.

Please fill in section "A" of the BATTERY LOG FORM upon receipt of the car. Further, the battery voltage should be monitored depending on the extent of customer traffic the car is subjected to or is used for demonstrations. (Maximum: 1 check per day; minimum: 1 check per week.) The battery has to be recharged as frequently as necessary to ensure that the voltage never drops below 12.5V.

Please note every instance of recharging on the BATTERY LOG FORM, section "C". Please file in BATTERY LOG FORM in the BATTERY CHARGE LOG (binder) under the section "SHOWROOM" to provide for an instant overview of the charging activities on these cars at all times.

2) Battery main disconnect switch remains on car if "OFF" position Since the battery main switch, in its "OFF" position minimizes the current draw on the battery, a 3-month charging cycle can be followed. Please use section "D" of the BATTERY LOG FORM to document every occurrence of charging.

Please fill in section "A" of the BATTERY LOG FORM upon receipt of the vehicle. The new windshield labels can be used to track these cars with the exception of those vehicles bearing a "yellow" label. These yellow labels have to be removed and replaced by one of the three applicable colors.

Please file the BATTERY LOG FORM in the BATTERY CHARGE LOG (binder) also under the SHOWROOM" section.

3) Used cars

Used cars in dealer inventory should be monitored and recharged according to the above principles. There is no reason why the battery maintenance should be neglected since poor reliability of a pre-owned BMW may deter a customer from buying a new one at a later date.

The above guidelines for proper battery maintenance are meant to provide maximum flexibility to every dealership. Regional BMW personnel will be happy to assist with setting up an effective charging and monitoring program.

Upon the sale of a car, its BATTERY LOG FORM should be removed from the BATTERY CHARGE LOG (binder) and filed in the vehicle file to be available for future reference.

Because leaving a battery in a discharged state has a detrimental effect on its service life, improper battery maintenance will be grounds to reject battery warranty claims.

Further technical notes:

Topping up a battery with anything but distilled water will cause irreparable damage to that battery.

DO NOT ADD TAP WATER! DO NOT ADD ACID!

If, at any time, battery voltage should drop below 11.6 volts and remain at this level or less for three or more days, this battery MUST BE SCRAPPED, and the vehicle battery MUST BE REPLACED.

Dispose of all batteries properly.