Battery dying

[Minesapint]

Anyone had to have their battery replaced?

It was flagged at our second annual service as needing replaced, but the cost seemed high so I declined.

Our cars keyless entry is only working intermittently now....

What is a reasonable life for a car battery these days?

[hcvo1]

Anyone had to have their battery replaced?

It was flagged at our second annual service as needing replaced, but the cost seemed high so I declined.

Our cars keyless entry is only working intermittently now....

What is a reasonable life for a car battery these days?

In my Golf GTI, I got 6 years out of the battery. With my Tiguan, I too have just got my second service done and the battery report came back as being ‘good’. However, what I am finding is that the stop/start system cuts in and out all of the time and the message that the system gives me is ‘power consumption too high’ even though I have switched everything off. This message will only go away after a long drive to recharge the battery.

Maybe a good long drive will help?


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[Minesapint]

"Maybe a good long drive will help?"

Good point, will give it a go. Most of our driving is very short trips less than 30 minutes.

[Hole46]

Anyone had to have their battery replaced?

It was flagged at our second annual service as needing replaced, but the cost seemed high so I declined.

Our cars keyless entry is only working intermittently now....

What is a reasonable life for a car battery these days?

Mine died just after my second service, called VW assist, and it was replaced free of charge.


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[Beedub]

Short trips will definitely shorten the life of your battery. Get yourself a battery charger like a CTEK and connect it up overnight. They're safe to use as they switch off once the battery is full, and will keep topping it up intermittently if left on for long periods.

I managed 8 years out of my previous battery in my 2010 R36, my wifes 2016 Polo was reporting a low battery on it's 2nd service.
We turned off stop-start and I charged the battery overnight a few times and it's still going strong, even with short trips.

The high price of a new battery is all thanks to the stop-start tech. I personally find this tech a waste of time and always turn mine off when I jump in the Tig. This tech leads to shortened battery life due to more demand placed on the battery due to deeper dishcarge rate and faster charge cycle as a result of the engine turning off and on more frequently, compared to conventional engines.

Here's some further reading on stop-start tech and batteries:
Battery replacement for stop start vehicles | RAC WA
The Truth About Automatic Engine Stop-start Systems — Auto Expert by John Cadogan - save thousands on your next new car!

[The_Hawk]

A good long drive is probably far further than you think, a drained battery can take many hours on a decent charger to get back to 100%.

My Golf wasn't getting driven nearly far enough so I picked up a CTEK charger to keep it topped up (these days it basically lives on the charger). I also use it on the Van's battery every now and then on it's recondition cycle. More often you run into issue in Winter as the cold makes the battery work harder coupled with your lights on more draining more power.

I've got this one which does go AGM batteries:
MXS 5.0

With a stop start vehicle there is a special one that also does EFB batteries which are commonly used in start/stop systems (I'm not actually sure which ones VW use as I don't have one so have never needed to know )
CT5 START/STOP

They are around $100 - $150 depending on where you find them and for the cost are very handy to have around, especially if you're not driving far enough.

I bought mine from the local battery world (and probably paid a little more for it), but they also did a test of the battery and the car (alternator) and gave it the OK. It also makes warranty (should you need it) much easier vs some online place.

[Hillbilly]

Ive got this one MXS 7.0

Bought it on sale at Repco a couple of years ago Think it was $159

Has been good on my stop start battery in the Passat where 1st battery lasted 5 years .

Polo has just turned 8 and is still on original battery and is only used for shopping trips and a 100km trip maybe 4 times a year

[FastMitch]

I guess the question is, if the stop / start saves you fuel over the year, is the saving greater than the need to replace a battery sooner

This UK tests says you should save on avg 10% fuel costs with city driving



Put another way, does starting an engine use more or less fuel than letting it idle ?



"4% - 8.7% fuel saving in real world tests"

[Hillbilly]

Stop start is about emission reduction rather than fuel consumption as the engines are using sfa at idle anyway.

They could have just got the cheat code to kick in instead of stopping the engine ROFL

[FastMitch]

Stop start is about emission reduction rather than fuel consumption as the engines are using sfa at idle anyway.

Lets go with some scientific research and not anecdotal one liners like 'sfa at idle'

Fuel Consumption Improvement of Vehicles by Idling Stop

Costly myths: An analysis of idling beliefs and behavior in personal motor vehicles

"4% - 8.7% fuel saving in real world tests"


Q: Does the Tiguan have a separate stop/start battery ?
Q: What is the cost for a new Tiguan battery ?

• If you spend $1500 per year on fuel
• And assuming you get a 4% stop/start fuel saving
• That's an annual saving: $60
  
• If your car battery prematurely dies at year 2, is the cost of replacing the battery less than $120 ?