Difficult to Replace Battery?

other then the dealer or autozone is there anyone who makes a battery for the E46 i dont wanta get one at autozone but dont really wanta get one at the dealer either

why not Autozone? Its a battery for gods sake...

It works, or it doesnt, no better, no worse

Its not rocket science, its rated much higher than the battery the dealer would sell you and has a better warranty and less BS if you did have a problem

You dont see tons of threads about Autozone batteries dying......

got the Duralast 49-DL battery
fits fine in my 2001 325i
thanks for the tip guys

My OEM battery died two days ago. I checked out this thread to see what you guys did for replacement since I'm not keen on my dealership for parts/service. Went to Autozone and asked for the 49-DL, but it was physically longer than OEM. Didn't want to dic-around with making tray adjustments, and there was no hole for the vent hose. So I asked the Autozone guy to enter "'01 330ci" in his system (didn't think to mention cic), and came up with the 94R-DLG. Fits perfect, has the vent hole, and the car cranked right up in 22 degree weahter. Thanks Fanatics!

Maye someone needs to make a list of all the batteries people have used in their car so that anyone needing to replace it can pick whichever one they want.

I'll start (feel free to add/correct):

1. BMW OEM
2. Autozone Duralast 49-DL
3. Autozone 94R-DLG (from user LakeHaus)

Sorry to bump an old thread, but this wasn't brought up and I just need to ask: When you disconnect and replace the battery will you need to reset anything? i.e. Will the airbag light come on and need to be reset by the dealer?

I suspect not otherwise someone would have mentioned it, but I need to ask.

And I just checked Autozone's website. It appears they no longer carry Duralast batteries. Is there an Optima equivalent? Or does Costco carry Duralast batteries?

Thanks Fanatics! You all rock!

Originally Posted by Koti

Sorry to bump an old thread, but this wasn't brought up and I just need to ask: When you disconnect and replace the battery will you need to reset anything? i.e. Will the airbag light come on and need to be reset by the dealer?

I suspect not otherwise someone would have mentioned it, but I need to ask.

And I just checked Autozone's website. It appears they no longer carry Duralast batteries. Is there an Optima equivalent? Or does Costco carry Duralast batteries?

Thanks Fanatics! You all rock!

No need to reset or worry about anything. Just don't leave the key in the "ON" position when you hook it back up (could cause problems in some cars, not sure about E46, since I have never done it).

COSTCO sells optima.

Originally Posted by ca1242

No need to reset or worry about anything. Just don't leave the key in the "ON" position when you hook it back up (could cause problems in some cars, not sure about E46, since I have never done it).

COSTCO sells optima.

Thanks for the info! That's a load off my shoulders...and wallet. I've checked online and couldn't find what optima battery works for the e46. Would you know where I could look? I checked optima's website and it said there was no equivalent.

Originally Posted by Koti

Thanks for the info! That's a load off my shoulders...and wallet. I've checked online and couldn't find what optima battery works for the e46. Would you know where I could look? I checked optima's website and it said there was no equivalent.

Just measure the battery hole (you can use the stock battery as a reference), note the posts position (+, -), then go to optima's website and get the biggest battery that can fit in that hole.

If you have a big stereo system, get the yellow top, if not, just get the red top.

Originally Posted by ca1242

Just measure the battery hole (you can use the stock battery as a reference), note the posts position (+, -), then go to optima's website and get the biggest battery that can fit in that hole.

If you have a big stereo system, get the yellow top, if not, just get the red top.

Thanks ca1242! Perfect! Will do.

Battery replacement:

Dealer Quote: $253.00
Autozone & 15 minutes of my time: $90.00

E46Fanatics RULE!

I have the Duralast 49-DL also. Perfect fit.


Rich

Thought I'd chime in too. The wife's '03 330xi needed a jump this morning in 10 deg weather. So with the car being about 4.5 yrs old already, I went out and bought a Duralast Grp 49 battery at Autozone just to be on the safe side (she's already traumatized from a 2-flat tire day last year, the poor thing!).

Fits like a glove (almost better than OEM it looks like), better CCA rating than OEM, and easy on the wallet ($90). Good deal all around!

jason
PS- I never realized how long the old battery took to crank before I installed the new one. Seems practically instantaneous now.

Blackxi... I have the same car.... I found some connections from an old buddy of mine and put the group 31 battery ylw top from Optima. it's a commercial grade battery and fits nicely. it's nice and long as the OEM and it's ylw top. AWESOME!

Here is a thread with MUCH discussion of various batteries (consensus seem to be the Duralast 49-DL).

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...duralast+49-DL

And this DIY has many pictures to walk anyone through replacing the OEM battery with the Duralast 49-DL.

http://reviews.paonet.org/20070221-D...-DL/index.html

I just installed the 49-DL last week and it fits fine (with a spacer under the battery brace). Newbies, don't forget to attach the vent tube-batteries produce hydrogen gas during driving/charging (VERY explosive).

In most of the discussions ehre I saw that mostly 49-DL or the 94R batteries were mentioned. I drive a 99, 323 IS and my battery died on me yesterday. I went to Autozone for replacement and after putting in my car details they gave me the Duralast 48-DL. So, should I use the 48 ? Just a little confused, since, like I said, everyone here seems to mention 49-DL .. Any suggestion ??
- Thanks

The biggest difference between the listed batteries and a run-of-the-mill battery is the venting. There are many batteries that will physically fit but only a few have the venting moulded into the top of the casing to vent to the tube. Regular batteries just have venting out the edges of the cap, so no way to send the gases down a tube to the outside of the car. This is VERY important.

I just did my battery last week. We don't have Autozone in Canada so it has been difficult to find the venting battery, so I ended up getting an Exide spiral wound battery (same design as the Optima). These batteries are completely sealed so they do not need external venting. They are more pricey but have great warranties and lots of power, great for ICE equipped cars.

Mark

Most of the posters who have been insistant on the vent tube have mentoined the buildup of hydrogen gas prompting the need for the vent tube.

A secondary concern is the minute particles of acid that are carried out with the gases. These corrosive gases are bad news - damaging the adjacent materiels and building up as a corrosive white goo on the negative terminal.

You really need the tube - don't short-change yourself when changing the battery.

Let me start off by saying that even minor do-it-yourself car projects for me end up in a disaster so when I say this one was easy, it must be really easy.

My notes:
Battery - Advanced Auto Parts 94R2. Perfect fit. No mods to battery well required. $118 (after returning old battery and receiving $10 credit)

Hardest part was removing plastic trunk tray that is over battery. Pull out the plastic plug clip that is up and to the left of the battery on the side of the trunk. That gives the gray carpet trunk liner a bit more wiggle room so the black plastic tray can be worked out from underneath it.

Note that the metal bracket in the battery well is much longer than the OEM battery. There is a little white plastic block towards the rear of the car that keeps the OEM (and then the replacement battery) from sliding front to back. Just make sure you put the battery in place so that the white plastic block is behind it.

Take the negative terminal off first

The Advanced Auto Parts battery appears to have vent holes on either side. I swapped the little black plastic plug from one side of the Advance battery to the other so the vent could be attached on the same side as it was on the OEM battery.

That's pretty much it. Oh, and you should check your spare tire pressure since you already have the trunk cover out.

Heads up: The 49-DL didn't fit in my my 2002 330 convertible. It was 3/8" too long. Maybe the battery compartment is smaller on convertibles, but this might apply to all models. The AutoZone clerk looked up my car, and there wasn't a convertible listing, just coupes. They listed 94R-DLG as the battery to use for 2002 330 coupes, and it did fit well when I tried it.