BMW iX Electrical Gremlins: Battery or Something More?

Hey there! I've got some experience with EVs and had a very similar issue with my 2019 BMW i4. I also own a BMW iX3, so I'm quite familiar with BMW's electric line. The symptoms you're describing sound exactly like what I went through. My i4 was showing the same signs, dim lights, system warnings all over, and those pesky undervoltage alerts. Took it to my workshop and they confirmed the battery was severely discharged and starting to fail. Not the main drive battery, mind you, but the 12V auxiliary battery that powers the car's electronics. They had to replace the battery and recalibrate some systems. Cost me around 290 Euro, but it fixed everything right up. No more issues since then. Before suggesting anything specific for your iX though, could you share: How many miles/kilometers on your car? Are you seeing any specific error codes? Have you noticed these issues more after leaving the car parked for longer periods? This info would help me give you more relevant advice based on my experience.

Thanks for the detailed reply! My iX just hit 138975 KM and had its last service about 3 months ago. I'm also thinking it's the 12V battery, especially since these issues started after I left the car sitting for a week during a business trip. Getting those exact symptoms you mentioned. Definitely going to get it checked at the workshop ASAP. Thanks for sharing your experience, glad to hear it was a straightforward fix! I'll keep an eye on this thread and let everyone know what the workshop finds. Really appreciate your help with this!

Hey again! Glad to hear back from you. Yeah, that week-long sit definitely sounds like what triggered it. That's exactly what happened with my i4 too, left it for about 10 days while I was away, and when I got back, all hell broke loose with the electrical systems! Based on your mileage (mine was around 125000 KM when it happened), it's definitely time for that 12V battery to start showing its age. These auxiliary batteries in EVs actually work pretty hard, even when the car's just sitting there, maintaining all those electronics and monitoring systems. Just to share a bit more from my experience, after I got the new battery installed, the workshop guy told me something interesting. Apparently, these modern BMWs are super sensitive to voltage fluctuations. Even a slightly weakened 12V battery can trigger all sorts of crazy warnings. They also mentioned it's worth getting the charging system checked while they're at it, just to make sure everything's playing nice together. Let us know what they find! I'm betting it'll be the same issue I had. Quick heads up though, make sure they do a proper system reset after the battery swap. My first workshop didn't, and I had some lingering warning lights until another tech sorted it out properly. Hope this helps! Keep us posted on what the workshop says.

Thanks so much for all that extra info, super helpful! It's really reassuring to hear your experience was so similar. I've already called the workshop and booked it in for tomorrow morning. Will definitely make sure to mention the system reset after the battery swap, great tip about that! You know, it's actually kind of a relief knowing this is probably just a 12V battery issue rather than something more serious with the main EV systems. I was getting a bit worried when all those warnings started popping up! The fact that your car's mileage was so close to mine when you had the same problem makes me even more confident that's what we're dealing with. I'll definitely update the thread once I get it sorted. And thanks for the heads up about getting the charging system checked too, I'll make sure to ask them about that while it's in. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience in such detail. You've saved me a lot of worry!