I see from a tech article from pelicanparts on changing the battery, "If your R56 is not equipped with the IBS unit you do not have to register it." If anyone can tell me how to determine from looking at the vehicle if it does, in fact, have the Intelligent Battery Sensor, I'd appreciate the information. I checked a couple of VIN decoders on my vehicle, and do not see any mention of IBS; maybe it wasn't optioned or standard for that time in production, or maybe they just don't mention that detail in the VIN decoder.
Look at the battery terminal connection... If it has this sensor as part of the cable clamp you have it... If it looks like a normal batter cable clamp, you don't... Here's a pic with the sensor as part of the battery cable clamp...
Did someone ask if their car had IBS, AKA irritable bowel syndrome? Jk! Looks like you got a good answer! The purpose (primarily) of the ibs was to allow start -stop programming....but on cars that it is not used, it can cause issues, like more difficulty in swapping batteries.
Thanks for the info. What I have on my car does not look like the picture with the sensor (although the cable does not exactly look "normal" to me either---but my normal is stuck in the late '60s) . And also my car does not have start-stop. That's interesting information on the use. So I think that answers the question. Sure, I asked whether my car had IBS, and I did it with a straight face; it's not my acronym.