BMW's TwinPower tech is eating batteries

BMW is gently rolling out An Individual Care Bundle, or CCP, for its N63 twin-turbo-charged V-8 to repair some of bugs which have blighted the 4.4L because it premiered in 2008. The CCP isn't a recall because it will not address safety related issues.
In accordance with Road & Monitor, the CCP addresses an extensive array of things, from timing chains susceptible to failure to leaky gas lines to defective vacuum pumps. The CCP even decreases the N63's oil service time from 15,000 miles to 10,000 miles. Interestingly, that decrease in fuel consumption rate is the effect of consumers taking it too simple on the V-8 rather than the other way around -- without an effective flogging through the breakin period, the N63 has the inclination have more oil. But the best little the CCP has to do with batteries. In other words, the turbo-charged N63 was consuming through them at an alarming speed. The battery problem comes from BMW's intelligent charging program. Built to boost fuel economy by lowering drag, the program only tops off the batteries when the car is coasting. Yet, most Americans do not coastline while they push, resulting in depleted batteries that were hard to keep charged.BMW attempted to repair that problem by changing to Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries that are more skillful at managing deeper and more regular discharges. That functioned as a bandaid till BMW fitted warm-working turbochargers to its V-8, which necessitated the cooling program to keep working following the car was switched off off. Even after hitting the batteries from 90-Ah AGMs to 105-Ah AGMs, the batteries nevertheless need to be changed every 10,000 miles, or at every oil change.A actual remedy to the issue would need BMW to re-map its charging program. But because that will entail more regular charging, BMW will have to recertify using the US Environmental Protection Agency and would necessarily find yourself with lower fuel-economy rankings. Obviously, that will lead to a lot more than some of miserable owners whose cars unexpectedly get worse mileage than publicized.BMW seems to be out of viable alternatives as of this time, but itis a safe bet the organization is going to have the problem sorted with its next generation of turbo-charged engines.

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11.05.2015
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