12 Volt Auxiliary Battery East Penn Deka AUX18L

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mtkkk45

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Apr 8, 2019
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12 Volt Auxiliary Battery East Penn Deka AUX18L

Dealer wanted to charge $575 to replace and register the Auxiliary 12 volt battery. Highly recommended by several battery experts to use the East Penn - Deka AUX18L. This battery has a special vent that the ETX18 does not. If you replace it yourself (go to YouTube) you can buy at Remy Battery or any local battery retailer who caries East Penn - Deka for special order. YOU MUST HAVE THE BATTERY REGISTERED by any reputable mechanic. I’ve been able to get the battery for $98 and have it registered to the onboard i3 computer for $65. That just over $160 total where the dealer want close to $600. See this spec sheet from East Penn - Deka

http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/wp-content/uploads/2190-AUX-Battery-Flyer_11_26_17-1.pdf

It took me four days of research and conversations with Los Angeles four largest battery retailers and the District Manager at East Penn - Deka to CONFIRM the AUX18L is the only battery you’ll want or risk voiding your warranty.
 
Just FYI, East Penn Manufacturing makes the original OEM 12 volt battery in the BMW i3 .
The Deka AUX18L IS the original factory i3 12 volt battery in every new i3.

Look at the manufacturer's tag on your OEM i3 BMW battery.

It says "Produzido por E.P.M. Products"
Which translated is Produced by East Penn Manufacturing Products

And check out the address of "E.P.M."on the tag - 1 Deka Rd, Lyon Station, PA 19536

View attachment Deka.jpg

Also, East Penn has warehouse outlet stores in major cities in the U.S. where you can buy the battery over the counter.
 
Unfortunately, Honolulu isn't one of the cities with a warehouse outlet store, so I had to order the Deka AUX18L from a local Deka retail partner. The best price I was able to get was $150 including shipping to Honolulu. Remy Battery wanted to charge ~$80 for shipping increasing the total cost to over $200. The price at BMW of Honolulu is ~$210. I wish I had been able to buy one for mtkkk45's $98 price, but Honolulu is an expensive place to live, so I paid the "paradise tax".
 
I wish I had been able to buy one for mtkkk45's $98 price, but Honolulu is an expensive place to live, so I paid the "paradise tax".

You didn't do badly - mtkkk45 managed a real deal. Here in Dallas, at the East Penn warehouse store, the Deka AUX 18L battery is about $150 with tax.
 
Thanks for the info. Just checked with remybattery.com in Milwaukee, they have it for $119.95 with free shipping, $16.11 for FedEx Ground to my location in Cleveland, OH.
There's also a couple local East Penn distributors in the area, who I will also check with when I need a battery.
 
Anyone in Central Florida... I was able to get the Deka AUX18L from:

Posey Power (Posy Distributing Co)
4319 N 40th St
Tampa, FL 33610
813-621-6402
Called owner David before hand and had one ready in 2 business day for pick up. $122.95 for the battery.
 
Thank you. Unfortunately their search feature will not accept a postal code. Comes up with an error message because we don't use a zip code. So I sent them a message. Will see if they respond.
 
Bought battery from dealer. Installed it today. Didn't register it (don't believe this is necessary). 2015 i3 with REx with 81,000 km. 3rd battery. 2nd battery would be 3 years old in June. 1st battery replaced under warranty (defective). You guys have made me paranoid! Got battery about a month ago (prior to Covid19 distancing).
 
So I just called my dealer here in the Chicagoland area and they want $600.00 to install a battery.

I have a trusted mechanic I have used for 15 years. I think I'll try him as well. Do you think this would void what little warranty I have left. I have a 2017 i3 with 22,000 miles on it. I have a bit of warranty left.

The car was purchased 2 months ago CPO. Do you think the dealer should cover the battery under the CPO?


Doug - out.

PS Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
Doug, from the forums it seems there is a lack of consistency with respect to warranty replacement.

But first and foremost, you don't mention whether you're observing any symptoms of a depleted battery. If it's just age-based concerns, they'll probably tell you to shine.

For what it's worth, my 2017 has 30,000 and is still on the original battery.
 
When dealer replaced our 1st battery in Toronto Canada we had no symptoms. Apparently they saw messages in car CBS history that informed them of defect. Had 2nd battery checked by dealer during 55 point inspection done at end of warranty. They said it was fine. Over the past year we have seen several messages regarding battery discharging while car sitting idle. So imho this isn't a good indication that battery is bad. Checked 2nd battery voltage after removal. It seems fine.
 
I have replaced many 12 volt batteries over past 50 years. This one was almost as difficult to replace as the one located in the passenger footwell of our smart car. Imho this battery replacement should only be tackled after watching online videos how to.

No idea if replacing battery yourself will negatively impact warranty.

Definitely not a job you want to do on the side of the road in January!
 
eNate said:
Doug, from the forums it seems there is a lack of consistency with respect to warranty replacement.

Based on what I have read online, It seems that the 12V battery is covered under the original warranty, but not by the CPO warranty (in the US). And, the car has to be displaying error messages for it to be replaced under the original warranty.

I had mine replaced under the original warranty which was a nice surprise because I had recently bought my i3 used and thought it was no longer under the warranty.
 
Interesting. I replaced mine a few months ago. Didn't think it was that difficult. Had a local mechanic register the battery after I got it installed. He said "no charge" but I gave him a few bucks anyway.

By the way, my car became completely non-functional when the 12v battery suddenly died (you can see my thread "My i3 is dead" elsewhere on this forum). But as I looked back on it afterwards I realized that there had been a few signs. Most prominent was that for a couple of weeks prior to the failure I had been noticing that my main traction battery was slowly losing charge while sitting unplugged. At first only a few percentage points but later as much as 5%-10% while sitting overnight. It must have been trying to charge the dying 12v from the traction battery. But I never received any messages on the iDrive indicating that the 12v was dying. But now I'll definitely know to check the 12v battery if/when I start losing charge from the traction battery while the car is sitting again.
 
After reading this I don’t want to take any chances with my 2015 REx at 35k being 12V dead. Any experience with East Penn in WA State?
 
Just had mine replaced under warranty when I started getting the symptoms. 2017 BEV with 48,000 miles.
 
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