Electronics » Keyless fob at 50%. Should I change now?

I've just had a nag screen to tell me that the fob battery is at 50% but no functionality lost.

Is this just for information or is it suggesting that I change the battery now? I carry a spare battery so it's not a big deal but 50% seems quite a high figure to me.

The battery's obviously going down, isn't? Really don't know why you'd give this a moment's thought to changing a 50p battery in a motorcycle costing a 5-figure sum?

Well of course the battery is going down. It's going down from the moment it's installed.

But 50%? If wouldn't worry about my phone battery at 50%. Changing it this early seems very wasteful*, hence my question as to whether it's a warning a statement.



*yes I know it's only a cheap battery.

It’s a reasonable question. I got the same message this weekend. It’s a very risk averse alert as BMW don’t want you running out of battery. I’ll probably leave mine until spring.

Change it, ride on!

Who wants to be the fool at the petrol station with a fuel cap that won’t open and a bike that won’t start for the sake of a couple of quid?

I simply carry a few extras in my tank bag.

This is your friend

190021A8-B2DA-464E-8960-3D5121C47CD6.jpeg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

Zitat von Paul911 im Beitrag #8

---

I simply carry a few extras in my tank bag.

---

To keep risk low, I have spare batteries (more than one) in the tool-kit underneath the seat.

Odds are you can easily wait until spring.
I'll keep my story short, but my 50% light came on. I waited. Indicator was at 50%, when I dropped the bike off at the dealership for service, and left for a long weekend. Rode the bike home from the dealership, no problem. Next morning bike wouldn't start. Key fob battery was dead. The dealership left the fob with the bike the entire time they had it (~5days), and it drained.

Grumble grumble, the dealership should replace the key fob battery with an annual service, grumble grumble. I had a spare battery and changed it. Easy.

Mine went from 50% to won't work the keyless ignition in less than 2 weeks. Then I found that cheap batteries would only clear the error messages for a day or two. Only a fresh good quality ( Panasonic) battery cured the problems. Its also worth changing the battery not to have to clear the error meassage every time you turn the bike on.

Thanks for the all the information (and opinions). I've now done the sensible thing and tested the system with no battery and the plastic key so I know exactly what to do if the fob does fail. As mentioned, I carry a spare battery so I'll keep going until I get bored of clearing the message, or the battery dies completely! Which I'm expecting to happen sooner rather than later.